{"id":5511,"date":"2013-10-30T13:57:27","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T20:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thedudeabides\/?p=5511"},"modified":"2015-03-10T10:02:53","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T17:02:53","slug":"where-the-heckya-been-god-girl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thedudeabides\/2013\/10\/30\/where-the-heckya-been-god-girl\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the Heck’ya Been, God Girl?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

So \u2026. yeah.<\/p>\n

About, oh, NINE months ago, I started a new gig as the Faith & Values columnist for the Orange County Register<\/a><\/em><\/strong> in Southern California. No, I never expected to return to writing for newspapers. But not unlike Don Corleone, the Register<\/em>\u2018s editor made me an offer I simply couldn\u2019t refuse. My first day on the job was the day before Pope Benedict XVI<\/a> retired and a week or so later, I found myself standing in St. Peter\u2019s Square<\/a> staring at the same smoke stack on top of the Sistine Chapel<\/a> that I had spent many hours surveilling for signs of white smoke eight years earlier when they fella who had just ridden off into the sunset (by helicopter and not figuratively this time) had been elected Pontifex Rex.<\/p>\n

A few days later, the world met Papa Frank and, well, as some of you have read or heard me say a million times, he had me at Buona Sera. I LOVE HIM.<\/em><\/p>\n

And then about a month or so later, I went on assignment to Africa \u2013 South Africa, Malawi, and Zambia \u2013 with the ONE Campaign<\/a> and brought Vasco (my son) with me. Epic trip resulting\u00a0 in a seven-or-eight-part series in the Register\u00a0<\/em>and on ONE.org.<\/p>\n

I write a couple of columns a week for the<\/a> Register<\/em> and my columns usually appear in Monday\u2019s Faith & Values section, although occasionally elsewhere. Then often, though not always, my ol\u2019 pals at Religion News Service<\/a> pick up my columns and make them accessible to the rest of the free world. Thanks, Kevin. I love you long time.<\/p>\n

As some of you also know, the Register<\/em> has a PAY WALL<\/a>. Dun-dun-duhhhhhh. I know. I KNOW. Stop kvetching at me, I KNOW!<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: You can pay $2 and get access to the ENTIRE ARCHIVE \u2013 i.e., you can see everything I\u2019ve written for Register since I got there. So that\u2019s option A.<\/p>\n

Option B is to wait for the (shorter) version of my column to (usually) move at www.religionnews.com<\/a> <\/strong>and read it there for free (but you may not post it in full or the RNS clandestine forces will knock down your door and seize your laptop, tablet, and your Bible\/Quran\/Book of Mormon. So don\u2019t do that.) You can quote 250 words and add a link to read the rest. That\u2019s the common fair use these days for blogging, as I understand it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m about to add a page up above at the top of the blog\u2019s home page with all the links to all my columns at the Register and via RNS since the end of February 2013 and will continue to update them as well as post a wee excerpt and link when each new column moves at the Register and RNS.<\/p>\n

Thanks for hanging in with me during this transition. I\u2019m planning on getting back to regular blogging (see new feature @PONTIFEXCELLENT!, which will, insh\u2019allah, be a daily thang, and look for other new stuff, too.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I\u2019ve got a new book coming out next fall called DISQUIET TIME:<\/strong> Rants and Reflections on the Good Book by the Skeptical, the Faithful, and a Few Scoundrels,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>co-edited by Jennifer Grant<\/a> (my homesizzle) and yours truly (and Eugene Peterson<\/a> wrote the foreword \u2013 SQUEEE!) Learn more about it HERE<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s great to be back in my own space. I\u2019ve missed The Dude. And all y\u2019all.<\/p>\n

[contact-form][contact-field label=\u2019Name\u2019 type=\u2019name\u2019 required=\u20191\u2019\/][contact-field label=\u2019Email\u2019 type=\u2019email\u2019 required=\u20191\u2019\/][contact-field label=\u2019Comment\u2019 type=\u2019textarea\u2019 required=\u20191\u2019\/][\/contact-form]<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No, I never expected to return to writing for newspapers. But not unlike Don Corleone, the Register’s editor made me an offer I simply couldn’t refuse. My first day on the job was the day before Pope Benedict XVI retired and a week or so later, I found myself standing in St. Peter’s Square staring at the same smoke stack on top of the Sistine Chapel that I had spent many hours surveilling for signs of white smoke eight years earlier when they fella who had just ridden off into the sunset (by helicopter and not figuratively this time) had been elected Pontifex Rex. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,622,18],"tags":[1423,1112,23,257,1399,1411,1424,370,1425,1414,1426],"class_list":["post-5511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-falsani","category-god-nods","category-godstuff-2","tag-don-corleone","tag-eugene-h-peterson","tag-jennifer-grant","tag-one-campaign","tag-orange-county-register","tag-peter","tag-pope-benedict-xvi","tag-religion-news-service","tag-rns","tag-saint-peters-square","tag-sistine-chapel"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere the Heck'ya Been, God Girl?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No, I never expected to return to writing for newspapers. 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