A homily preached at the Requiem Mass for the victims of Orlando. Pulse is a nightclub. People go to nightclubs to dance, to have some laughs, to meet people. Pulse also served as a haven of acceptance for the LGBT community. LGBT rights have come a long way since Stonewall: the riots in Greenwich Village…
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A Happier Place
Listen to Audio My fourth grade teacher took a dim view of me. At least, that’s how it seemed at the time. Take for instance her response to a playground incident I was involved in. It was a sunny late spring morning. The whole class was playing softball. I was up to bat, waiting for…
Read MoreThe Melody of Grace
Listen to Audio On a recent visitation to one of our congregations, Joy and I stayed in a hotel with a premium cable plan. We don’t have HBO at home. This hotel offered four different versions of that channel, as well as a number of listings we had never seen. It probably comes as no…
Read MoreWants and Needs
Listen to Audio Miss Beth was my oldest son Andrew’s first grade teacher. She ably and lovingly taught her little charges how to read and write. Increasing their knowledge base was part of her job description. And yet like all truly good teachers she understood that her vocation included much more. Miss Beth intentionally nurtured…
Read MoreGetting Rid of Enemies
Listen to Audio My father was a bigot. He wasn’t especially passionate or outspoken about it. In his mind, blacks were simply inferior to whites. This was for him a fact of the natural order. Dogs hate cats. Leaves change colors in the fall. Whites inhabit a higher social order than blacks befitting whites’ presumed…
Read MoreOne Day At A Time
Listen to Audio I have three children. Two boys. One girl. That means that five of us have taken long car trips to arrive at our vacation sites. Maybe you’ve heard some of the things I’ve heard from the back seat of the car. “He’s touching my armrest!” “She won’t stop humming!” “He’s looking at…
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