Last month, Pope Francis appointed 21 new cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. Although cardinals in the Roman […]
politics
Last Sunday, Americans learned that our president pardoned his son, Hunter. It’s a wide-sweeping declaration covering not only […]
Yes, I believe your vote counts and even ‘makes a difference.’ Yes, I believe that in a representative […]
The story is told of a pastor who asked the kids during a children’s sermon, “What is a […]
Well, here it is. The week we have been waiting for, longing for, highly anticipating with fear and […]
One of the most frustrating things for me since 2016 is the open and absolute polarization of everything. […]
Once upon a time there was a beautiful city whose occupants were pigs. Like all pigs, they came […]
It started as a cozy little saying for kindergartners. “Just be yourself.” Or “No one can do you […]
I recently listened to a lecture given in a church on a Sunday morning by one of the […]
No matter what side of the political spectrum we hold to, it would be hard not to admit […]
Last year gave us all plenty to talk about and discuss, and so far, this new year of […]
Oftentimes I receive new listeners and members from more liberal churches who say the same thing, “All that […]
Well, my jagged friends, I have been found by the COVID. And what a week to be stuck […]
The story of Trump supporters storming Capital Hill yesterday should not be viewed as unpredictable or shocking in […]
I am not passionate about politics…at all. Of course, I hold a general ideology and perspective on how I think our country ought to be governed, but I find more value in pouring time and energy into fostering my relationships with the people around me who actually impact my life on a daily basis, than I do staying up to date on the nuances and intricacies of national or international politics. So, when I say that I sit here, a week after election day, saddened and disappointed, it has nothing to do with the projected winner. I’m frustrated by the inflammatory rhetoric I saw flying from both sides. I’m disheartened by everyone’s apparent inability to empathize with people who think differently than they do, or to even see a reason to.
Believe in conspiracies these days? It seems that, like alcoholism, some people are more prone to believing in […]
As we watch political parties and candidates and pundits maneuver for power, we should be reminded that having […]
I think it is safe to say that most Americans have at least tasted the end of the Founders’ experiment this past year. I am not necessarily saying it is going to end today. Though it might spoil like milk soon. But it has become incredibly evident that just like your personal life, it only takes a couple bad choices and you are outside begging for your abusive boyfriend to take you back.
When someone mentions the church and politics in the same sentence, the picture most people flash on is a pastor standing in the pulpit, waving a red or blue flag, and telling you why it would make Jesus happy if you voted for a particular candidate or a specific proposition. It is an off-putting image for many, and accusations of preachers exceeding their authority or manipulating congregations often follow. To avoid this, then, churches swing all the way in the other direction, to where we do not want to talk about politics at all in the church. Keep church and state separate, as they ought to be. There is, however, a middle ground between littering the church lawn with campaign signs and making politics a taboo subject.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up…”
Isaiah 6:1
The signs are all around us. We just don’t want them to be real, or at least we don’t want them to mean what they seem intent on conveying. After all, it’s that special time of year when everything appears to carry more weight. So, we take comfortable stances and head down familiar roads. Once again we are told that this election is the most important election of our lifetime, there is more at stake, more to gain if my side wins and more to lose if those idiots try and steal the election.