Recently, InternetMonk asked a question of the several of us that form his panel of Liturgical Gangstas. The questions is listed below and then my answer. I know that there will be discussion on his blog, and there should be. However, I know that there are people who read this blog who do not necessarily […]
Mulligan Stew rather than Melting Pot
What is Mulligan Stew? Well, there are a couple of definitions, but the one that I learned growing up was: Said to have originated in hobo camps during the early 1900s, mulligan stew is a sort of catch-all dish of whatever is available. It usually contains meat, potatoes and vegetables in just about any combination. […]
The poor teach us
The poor teach us. No, no, no, I am not talking some of the sloppy sentimentality that passes for serious thinking in too much of the Hollywood set. Rather, today I am thinking about the example of a friend of mine. In southern Peru, I was field director of a region. I had two indigenous […]
More about Christians fleeing Iraq
OK, so you are wondering where that 600,000 Christians fleeing Iraq comes from? Well, that is our official government figure! It is not made up. It does not come from some “liberal” website. It is from the U.S. International Commission on Religious Freedom, a body appointed by the USA Congress. If the Christians leaving can […]
Christians in Syria
I am priest in a Church whose Patriarchate is headquartered in Damascus, Syria. I have found that Americans have a number of misconceptions about Christianity in Syria. Because of Syria’s classification by the State Department as a terrorist state, the assumption has been that Syria is a radical Muslim state. But, actually, that is not […]
And, so, I am travelling again
I would ask for your prayers today. I, again, thought that I would be returning to finish a discussion that I had started days ago. However, yesterday, I was notified that my first cousin had had a stroke and is in intensive care. [I also need to visit my priest friend again.] Now, I should […]
Separating Church and State
In the post yesterday about Patriarch Alexiy, I wrote the paragraph below. It struck me that this could lead to some additional comments that might be helpful as we, in the USA, think through what Church and State mean. However, being Cuban, and having served as a missionary in South America, I had the opportunity […]
A small victory for religious expression
The Associated Press just recently published an article titled Rastafarian can sue over Jiffy Lube hair policy. You can read it here. The gist of the article is that Jiffy Lube had already in its employ a person who follows the Rastafarian religion. He had been allowed to follow the Rastafarian hair regulations previously, then […]
Black teenage church attendance rises
Over the last 30 years, a quiet revolution has been taking place. Among black teenagers, the rate of church attendance has been steadily rising since the mid 1990’s while white teenage church attendance has been very flat. Almost one out of two black teenagers is attending church regularly whle slightly less than one out of […]
2008 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Today is not a day to discuss theology or politics or disagreements, but a day to give thanks and to acknowledge that what we have we have in spite of ourselves (see earlier posts). In that spirit, let me simply post President Bush’s Thanksgiving proclamation for this year. May God forgive us of our manifold […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Next Page »