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“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is a reserved for me the crown of righteousness…” That was St. Paul (or a disciple writing in his name) addressing his mentee, Timothy, from prison, maybe in Rome. This passage has often been read⦠Read More
First the good… *May 8th marks a milestone in the Christ Church lifecycle. That evening at our Annual Outreach Benefit we will recognize the first graduates of our program in Washington Heights for mothers with children 0-3 years-of-age, our initial intervention for breaking the cycle of generational poverty in a neighborhood. Nido de Esperanza (Nest⦠Read More
Palm/Passion Sunday presents a complicated problem, and it just might be more of a problem for New Yorkers than residents in other parts of the country. That’s because New York City is brimming with strivers of every sort, in every field of endeavor. It attracts the adventurous and dreamers and high achievers, and all of⦠Read More
With the arrival of spring and the advent of Easter, a favorite memory came to mind… When four years old, my son, Luke, loved to imitate me as I worked in the yard. He observed how I toiled over establishing a bed of roses and other flowering plants and trees. Among my various tools, he⦠Read More
I went to bed irritated the other night and I woke up with the same irritation. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say this irritation is chronic and unavoidable, or so it would seem. I’m not certain what to do about the cause, and I don’t like the helplessness this engenders.⦠Read More
It’s a recurring theme in this blog, but the American church in all its permutations is facing very strong headwinds. Even as the United Methodist Church anticipates fracture, the trends do not favor institutional religion. As reported in The Christian Post, according the General Social Survey, persons of “no religion” (otherwise known as the “nones”) now⦠Read More
I received a telephone call from a stranger in search of a minister. She was the caretaker of an elderly gentleman whose age was something north of 90 years, although I was told the precise number was not known. Just a week prior he had recovered from a very serious illness the doctors were certain⦠Read More
Carol had been beaten down by several terrible tragedies. The first shocker: her daughter had drowned in the backyard pool while celebrating her third birthday with friends. Then, during the subsequent counseling, her husband fell in love with the therapist whose professional boundaries were swamped by passion. Divorce ensued. Two years later I sat with Carol in⦠Read More
At some point in the course of February, check out a challenging and important online exhibition entitled, Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America. Make this an intentional personal assignment for Black History Month. (I recommend you include the short video as you scroll the site.) I first came in contact with these photographs⦠Read More
The United Methodist Council of Bishops has called a special session of the General Conference to be held February 23-26 in St. Louis, Missouri. (General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church and normally meets every 4 years. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held in May of 2020 in⦠Read More