Gardening is one of the most vital practices for teaching people the art of creaturely life. With this art people are asked to slow down and calibrate their desires to meet the needs and potential of the plants and animalsRead More →
Martin Luther once reflected, in his own down-to-earth way, about how to instruct new believers who already have faith in God as the Father, but who do not as yet believe in the whole Trinity. First, Luther said, encourage themRead More →
Remember the good old days when you didn’t have to lock your doors? When kids could just run outside to play and their parents didn’t have to worry? Those were the days – or maybe not. A Columbia University researcher,Read More →
My wife, Laurel, and I recently celebrated our 56th (I think it was) anniversary. Our children and grandchildren, thankfully, made it possible for us to do it. The event gave me occasion to revisit, in my own mind, a conversationRead More →
Sometimes the longest way ‘round is the shortest way there. I aim to talk about Fenway Park here, but first I want to take you around the world of biblical faith, mediated to us, in this case, through some traditionalRead More →
A dear friend of mine, a congenital Christian activist, Dave Gagne, now of Minneapolis, who has long been a keen observer of American church life as well as of American life in general, happened to see some statistics about theRead More →
When I published my first book in ecotheology in 1970, Brother Earth, I was one of a very few theologians who were interested in this field. Things have changed, dramatically. More than fifty years later, hundreds of ecotheology works haveRead More →
Reprinted Essay by Efran Menny for our Continuing Lenten Reflection* …Many witnessed the final moments of Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old father and teacher tased repeatedly… by an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department. He died just hours later. WhenRead More →
Who would even think about praying all the time? But brace yourself. That’s not only possible. It can be a blessing. Over the years I have developed a practice of prayer, which opens up the promise, I believe, of whatRead More →
When my two kids were young enough so that I could carry both of them in my arms, I sometimes found occasions to pick them up, sing a random ditty that I’d make up on the spot, and dance inRead More →
The NY Times recently provided a pop-quiz to invite answers to this now familiar question (12/15/22). It cited a dozen oft-discussed eco-acts aimed to help with that shrinking, such as turning down the heat at night during the winter. WhichRead More →
This may have happened to you. You’re at the airport, about to board your flight. People are milling around in the waiting area. Then everybody suddenly turns their heads and looks in the same direction. Why? Somewhere in the midstRead More →
On Sunday November 13, 2022, a group of world religious leaders held a gathering to jointly announce 10 Spiritual Principles for Climate Repentance that they hope will guide our work on behalf of our planet. This took place in London,Read More →
So, Rachel Maddow is now doing a major series of podcasts. Almost all the people I know of in public life – or maybe half – now have podcasts. What’s a podcast?* Add to the podcasts: many public-minded souls areRead More →
The eminent twentieth-century American historian, Perry Miller, once published a study in American history entitled Nature’s Nation. Woody Guthrie gave expression to that theme in his own memorable way: “This land is your land and this land is my land…Read More →