Betty had once owned a home, but now she was homeless. When a small fire damaged her home, a devious contractor swindled her out of her house. At first she found shelter at The Catholic Worker House where guests were allowed to stay for thirty days. Most often, the staff was able to connect a […]
Late one July afternoon, a stranger stepped into my office. I was serving a church, nestled in a community along the Mississippi River, in South East Minnesota at the time. The first thing I noticed about him was his walking stick, a rather crooked looking stick, with a small handle on it. He was asking […]
Memories of September 11, 2001 continue to haunt us, with searing images of planes smashing into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. We recall the horror as the towers crumpled into ashes, fire and rubble. We knew in that instant thousands of lives had been lost. Anguished images of people running, covered in ash, filled […]
From the Gospel of Mark, Chapter Six, verses Nineteen to Twenty-four. Herodias had a grudge against John (the Baptist) and wanted to kill him. But she could not do it because Herod was afraid of John and protected him. He knew that John was a good and holy man. Finally, Herodias got her chance when […]
A speaker at a recent seminar began by reading (Alfred) Joyce Kilmer’s poem, “Trees.” “I think I shall never seea poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is pressedagainst the sweet earth’s flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day,and lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that […]
We hosted Community Education’s Adult Literacy program in one church I served. The combination of being a college town, with International students and a place where many of the Hmong refugees were settling, kept the program busy. One year, the church decided to be more intentional in interacting with the students. Teachers were on board, […]
After a year and a half of controversy and coming to blows over mask mandates, social distancing, school closings, restaurant closings and Covid vaccines, I’ve concluded we need another *Great Awakening in this country. We need a conversion to a love and concern for our brothers and sisters. Governor Bill Lee has had his setbacks […]
