Amos 5:18-24 Psalm 70 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 In these days of big, breaking news that rushes over us in a raging waterfall, drowning us mentally, emotionally and spiritually; in these times of frenzied Tweets, of friending and unfriending, of disappearing Snaps and Instagrams that live forever, you might be forgiven if you missed … Continue reading Like A River- A Sermon for Year A Proper 27

Today we shall weep for last night's lost basketball game and no longer for a child shivering in an African hut still scratching the bites that will kill her. Mourning rises like incense, hope crucified on the corpse of a tree.Wild beasts stalk the land, sniffing the air for a whiff of milk or honey.Our … Continue reading American Good Friday

September 6, 2009Proper 18 / Ordinary 23/ Pentecost 14Isaiah 35:1-10Psalm 146James 2:1-17Mark 7:24-37I will call him Brad. He was my spiritual guide as a teenager. He was the kind of pastor who radiated the Holy Spirit when he talked about God, who handled the Bible, not as truncheon, but as a guidepost along the pilgrim’s … Continue reading Salvation Goes to the Dogs

As long as I've been an Episcopalian (two decades--Lord, I'm old!), the triennial General Convention has been a source of glee to the mainstream media, who can usually be counted upon to misunderstand its actions and proclaim The Episcopal Church mortally wounded upon its conclusion. This year's gathering in Anaheim, ended on Friday, was no … Continue reading What the Media Got Wrong About the Episcopal Church in Anaheim (Nearly Everything)

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the … Continue reading When in the Course of Human Events

“Political suicide,” one of Governor Sanford's friends texted me today. Considering the prognosis of South Carolina's condition, perhaps political death by one's own hand is preferable to governing. Our economic infrastructure, too long dependent on manufacturing, has completely unraveled (and as John McCain famously said, “Those jobs are not coming back.”). There is no plan … Continue reading Physician, Kill Thyself

Yep, that's right (far right). Our own Senator No, Jim Demint has a new book.Back in 2004, Senator Demint proposed eliminating the IRS and replacing it with a 23% national sales tax. That was after it was revealed that he had several tax liens for failure to pay his own taxes. Of course, that was … Continue reading From the Famous Author of "Keep Gays and Whores Out of the Classroom"

It was dark. The kind of back-road Southern dark where the devil growls a low country blues and cicadas chirp like Hell's own minions. I was driving back from a late meeting with a co-worker and we had spent a couple of hours in the kind of small talk that people make when the road … Continue reading If You Meet the Anti-Christ on the Road, Kill Him

South Carolina GOP Senator Jim DeMint has a bit of difficulty reading a map. Evidently, he thinks that Cuba is part of the United States of America. Sort of a Little Miami, with more hurricanes. Today's Post and Courier quotes him as saying:"The fact is that Guantanamo is probably one of the nicer prisons in … Continue reading Gitmo is the U.S.? Jim DeMint Needs A Geography Lesson