The first time I was in a prison, I was twelve. The Episcopal chaplain at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia asked me to be his altar boy at the prison. Moyamensing was built in 1835 and continued mistreating inmates until 1963. Seventy-seven years later, I can still hear those big metal doors scrapping open and close.… Read more >
The murder of George Floyd on May 20, 2020, still brings tears and anger to me—tears because of our nation’s inability to stop racism and anger because I can still see the smirk on Derek Chauvin’s face as he executes a Black man. The next sad image that comes to mind is of the other three police calmly standing by and watching the execution.… Read more >
The word epiphany means “a manifestation, a showing forth.” Starting in the third century, January 6 became the Feast Day of the Epiphany, when Christians celebrate the Magi finding the baby Jesus with his mother at their “house” in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:11). The Western churches use Luke’s story (2:1–20) and December 25 to celebrate this birth.… Read more >
I have been a docent at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California since 1991. I conduct walking tours for fourth graders studying Californian history and adults who want to see this well-preserved historic landmark, which was built in 1776. I also give special tours explaining the mission’s collection of religious art.… Read more >
I met Sister Helen Prejean at Irvine United Congregational Church in 2010. She was a petite woman with a giant message about the death penalty. I bought a copy of her book, Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate, which was written in 1994 and made into a movie.… Read more >
The word hijacked is often used as a synonym for steal or seize control. In this blog post, I’m using it in reference to specific groups commandeering ideas.
For the past few months, I tried very hard not to disparage people of the fundamentalist persuasion who call themselves Christians. However, I recently read a letter to the editor in the Los Angeles Times entitled “God’s man in the White House.”… Read more >
I think every human being is racist to some degree. Racism consumes some people. Others don’t realize they are racist and deny it to the bitter end.
I believe racism stems from many factors (upbringing, family, judgments, religion, peer pressure, and negative experiences), but the primary cause is ignorance. For instance, I notice the ways that people are different from me and quickly form judgments, often built on stereotypes.… Read more >
I’ve been waiting for over thirty years for this to happen, and I often wondered why it didn’t before now.
I’m referring to the death of George Floyd and the resulting demonstrations and riots. These are the inevitable outcomes of decades of police brutality, our injustice system, a twenty-first century form of slavery (penal institutions packed with poor people of color), the white nationalism that permeates large segments of our country, and a government that constantly ignores gun violence, police brutality, and our founding principle of liberty and justice for all.… Read more >
This is the final part of a six-part series about the Christian apocalypse, in which a resuscitated Jesus and his angel army will end civilization and maybe even the universe, usher in the messianic age, and take 144,000 of the elect (who the elect are is debatable) someplace where they’ll live eternally.… Read more >
This is the fifth part of a six-part series about the Christian apocalypse, in which a resuscitated Jesus and his angel army will end civilization and maybe even the universe, usher in the messianic age, and take 144,000 of the elect (who the elect are is debatable) someplace where they’ll live eternally.… Read more >