I just received an invitation to attend the installation of the new bishop of the synod where I serve as a pastor. I feel very uncomfortable about this, and I’m really not sure what I’m going to do. Let me explain. The installation of a synod bishop is normally a huge occasion, a festive affair. … Continue reading Invited or Impostor?
I have a group of friends from my college days who get together weekly on Zoom. I’m not there every week; some of us go in and out. But each week we pose questions to the group, and discuss them. It’s a great opportunity to discuss questions, sometimes silly, sometimes deep, sometimes difficult, with people … Continue reading Can you really be “objective”?
I've been writing these occasional essays for a little over a year. In them, I'm sharing the story of turning my manuscript into a book. It's been a long process, and every time I think it's gotten as long as it could, another thing comes up to slow it down again. Read Slow Telling 1, … Continue reading The Slow Telling of a Story 6: Downtime
We've all heard a lot about "Cancel Culture" lately, how Fox News and other right-wing media sources have decried the recent changes to such properties as Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. I was trying to leave it alone, trying to ignore it all, letting it just play out and eventually run out of fuel. … Continue reading A Parable about the Fight over “Cancel Culture”
Wake up, sheeple. There's something going on around us that you need to know about. So, I was minding my own business, just browsing through The American Dictionary of the English Language, when I noticed something that disturbed me. The word Democrat was listed before the word Republican. And not just a few words before … Continue reading A Conspiracy of Letters
Pinewood Men Productions, the "film" "production" "company" of which I am about 50%, has entered a new realm -- the political ad. See our inaugural offering below. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you feel a twinge (or more) of anxiety near the beginning of the video, do not worry. It's not going where you think. https://vimeo.com/469043611 Image … Continue reading A Refreshing Political Ad
Every time I read a book about being Black in the United States, I become sad at the horrible way that people of color have been treated, and continue to be treated, in what is so often called "the land of the free." Every time I read an article this year about the 100th anniversary … Continue reading How do you do it?
I had a wonderful weekend away at Bear Creek Camp, the Lutheran church camp I've been connected to in various ways for my entire life. My family and I went there for a special "Labor Day Family Camp," an event I last attended in 1987 or so. Wow. That's a long time. Anyway, while I … Continue reading Phones No More
I just read Wendell Berry's book The Hidden Wound, an extended essay about racism, told in part as a memoir of his childhood experiences with two Black people who touched his life. The Hidden Wound was written in 1969, but it's remarkable how applicable it is to today's world. Berry wrote this: I am trying … Continue reading Some Wounds are Still Open
So I've changed my mind about something political. I have to admit, this is something I didn't think was possible. I didn't think any of us could change our minds at all. But thanks to an article in my local paper, I did. It's about the Electoral College, the arcane tool used to elect presidents … Continue reading Electoral Change
