My friend was in Charlottesville to offer a non-violent presence when the recent chaos erupted. Ann and I have served together for more than a decade as pastors at Massanutten Presbyterian Church. I know her to be a faithful pastor with a keen mind, a compassionate spirit, and a servant’s heart. And, for what it’s […]
What Happens When Billy Collins’ Lanyard Becomes a Song
My mother used to give me a card on Mothers’ Day. “You and your brother and sister made me a mother,” she would say, “and I am so thankful for you.” She didn’t need to give me a card for me to know that, as I have lived each day of my fifty-two years in the light […]
Dear Tony: I’m Glad You’re Done (But Not for the Reason You May Think)
Dear Tony, I am glad you will no longer play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Your decision to retire means that I am free of the burden you have become to me. I first became a fan of the Cowboys in 1969, the summer my family moved to Dallas just before I turned five. Coach […]
The Grammar of Our Grief
Today is my sister’s birthday. Or maybe I’m saying that wrong, as she died in 1990. Maybe I should write, “Today was my sister’s birthday.” Or, “Today would have been my sister’s birthday, her fifty-eighth.” My struggle to use the correct tense reflects the latest way that grief taunts me. Grief complicates everything. And though its […]
What Happens When You See Your Ugly Truth
I keep finding people to blame for destroying the communities I cherish: Those who don’t care about the right things. Those who care too much about the wrong things. Those who don’t vote. Those who vote the wrong ticket. The ones stuck in the past. Those who abandon the past to embrace anything new. People who demand […]
What Viola Davis Taught Me About My Life
Viola Davis finally won an Oscar. (Well, at least at the time of this writing she did. But with the Best Picture fiasco, you can’t be too sure.) Nominated twice before, Davis won this year’s Best Supporting Actress for her role in a film I have not yet seen, Fences. I watched so few movies in […]