Every few years I want to slim down my web properties and internet use. The internet is a globally a large user of electricity, thus a large producer of greenhouse gas emissions. But the bigger pain are overbuilt sites that tax my computers and eat up my mobile phone data. Our “everything online” lives in… Continue reading A smaller web footprint
Category: Liminal places
Your church options in the Antarctic
We had a bit of unexpected warm weather yesterday afternoon in Washington, D.C. but fear not for the cold weather is returning! Which made me think of very cold weather. As in polar. More than a decade ago, I wrote about the churches of remote northern Greenland, so it’s only fair to go south. Fortunately,… Continue reading Your church options in the Antarctic
A summertime analogy for ministerial formation
Summer is at its peak. It’s hot. And for reasons outside your control, the otherwise-reliable power supply has been cut. No air conditioning, and since you don’t know when it’s going to come back (it will come back, right?) you don’t dare pillage the fridge, so to preserve the chilled food you have left. What… Continue reading A summertime analogy for ministerial formation
R&E Newsweekly: Expulsion of Iraqi Christians
It’s been a hard week in the news. Central American children in the borderlands. The deaths in Gaza. The Malaysian flight downing. Frightening news — let’s hope not all true — from ISIS/ISIL. You’d be forgiven for being overwhelmed. But please spare a prayer for the Christian minority of Iraq, and particularly of Mosul, an… Continue reading R&E Newsweekly: Expulsion of Iraqi Christians
R&E Newsweekly: Trafficking women from Vietnam
A version of the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly report about trafficked women — into forced marriage or prostitution — from Vietnam into China was repeated tonight on the PBS Newshour. A good review of a bitter case of modern slavery, with a few hopeful signs, which you may view or review here.
Unitarian worship resource for Union soldiers
This small 1865 American Unitarian Association assortment of rousing songs and Bible readings (arranged for unison or responsive reading, and with headings like “Those who turn from Holiness are condemned”) isn’t explicitly for Union soldiers, but songs like “Arise, New-England’s Sons!” and “The Massachusetts Line” weren’t likely to appeal to Johnny Reb. The Soldier’s Companion:… Continue reading Unitarian worship resource for Union soldiers
R&E Newsweekly: Rwandan Genocide twenty years on
A must-watch report from Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. I was ready to see reminders of the horrors, but the acts of reconciliation were unexpectedly disarming and humbling. For more detail and a transcript, click here.
Let’s review: the British Orthodox Church
Certain churches (as in denominations) attract my attention as an observer. What I suppose each of them has in common in marginality: being on the edge of culture, the edge of a theological spectrum, the edge of extinction or the like. But that’s not to treat them like playthings. Something can be learned from people… Continue reading Let’s review: the British Orthodox Church
A visit — heck, let’s call it a pilgrimage — to Mt. Auburn Cemetery
Mt. Auburn Cemetery is well known as the nation’s first “garden cemetery” which, though now the norm, contrasted with the gloomy church yard or burial ground. But Mt. Auburn does it better than any I’ve seen and there lies the mortal remains of many a famous Universalist and Unitarian. I joined dear friends, also Unitarian… Continue reading A visit — heck, let’s call it a pilgrimage — to Mt. Auburn Cemetery
Crazy snow coming? Download Pocket
To my dear Southern friends, family and readers: A once-in-a-generation snow and ice storm is coming in on you. You have plenty of bread and milk (right?) but now face Internet-free boredom. My suggestion? Put the Pocket app on every mobile device you have. Then add the plug-in for your browser and store as many… Continue reading Crazy snow coming? Download Pocket