President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 that bars Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. indefinitely and bars all other refugees for 120 days, and keeps out visitors for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Initially, as ABC News reported, administration officials said the…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Boise, Idaho January 29 ,2017 Luke 6:1-16 Last week, Jesus was talking to Simon Peter about fishing for people. We considered what that somewhat awkward metaphor might look like today. If you read the rest of chapter 5, it seems that fishing for people involves healing people…
Today I participated in the Boise Women’s March on Idaho, one of hundreds of marches around the world. Many have asked why we marched. The crowd in Boise was somewhere over 5,000 people (I’ve been to lots of marches here and this was, by far, the largest) and I suspect there were 5,000 different reasons…
A sermon preached at Southminster Presbyterian Church Jan 14, 2017 Luke 4:14-30 I was sorry to miss a chance to worship with you last week. The sermon you didn’t hear preached is here, and it covered the story of John the Baptist, preaching of repentance and baptism. The sanctuary is decorated still for the celebration…
Boise is getting a lot of snow. I’ve shoveled A LOT since Dec 14 when it first started falling. I shoveled last night before I went to bed, even though it was still snowing, because I figured it would make the shoveling easier this morning. Justin did another round before he went into work this…
Time flows on, in ever widening circles, unfazed by our arbitrary markers of “Tuesday”, “10:00” or “2017”. The struggles, joys, hopes, and fears we carry will be there for us tomorrow, in a new year, if we choose them again. Maybe we need an excuse for a clean slate, a fresh start. Resolutions could be…
Think about a favorite memory from your early childhood. Maybe you can see it in your mind, like an old family movie, images reinforced with the family stories told about it. I “remember” my first trip to Disneyland, even though I was not quite 3 years old. I’ve seen the home movies. I’ve heard the…
My word for 2016 has been “WONDER”. You can read more posts about our stars here. In the years we’ve been doing this at church, my words have been PRACTICE, ADVENTURE, PLEASURE, and MIRACLE. I was excited about my word in January. The year was ahead of me and it felt hopeful. I tried…
I’ve never asked for money on this blog before, but as you’re making your final 2016 donations, I’d like to make a request. The church I serve, Southminster Presbyterian, generously supports my writing, both theological and civic. It is because of them that I have the privilege of time for blog writing. If that weren’t…
I read an article in yesterday’s New York Times about a study that showed that women who had abortions did not experience the pain and trauma that is often spoken of as a reason to make abortion illegal. “Researchers followed nearly 1,000 women who sought abortions nationwide for five years and found that those who…
Glass Overflowing 