I’m part of a local network of parents of kids with Down syndrome, and we had a doctor from the Trisomy 21 Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia come to speak to us last night. She answered questions about potty training and aggressive behavior and communication and school inclusion. At the end of the night, I asked her how much communication they have with other doctors at the hospital. That is to say, how much influence does she have... Read more

My new friend Ellen Dollar is looking for people to interview for her new book about faith and reproductive choices. Here’s what she has to say about it: My forthcoming book, No Best Choice: A Christian Perspective on Disability, Genetics and Parenthood in the Age of Advanced Reproduction (tentative title—to be published by Westminster John Knox Press in 2011) is narrative nonfiction exploring a Christian response to genetic and reproductive technologies, especially in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis... Read more

New Post on the Park Forum: Religion and Women: Nicholas Kristof is Wrong... Read more

We went to the grocery store after church yesterday. We were out of milk. And bacon. And bananas. And a whole long list of items. And while we were at it, I remembered the list of things I had been meaning to buy at Target. So we divided and conquered and came home an hour later, trunk full. For a variety of personal reasons, we try to take Sundays as a day of rest for our family. There are Biblical... Read more

Lisa Belkin wrote about Down syndrome yesterday on her blog for the New York Times: “Should Down Syndrome Be Cured?” I submitted this comment: The language used from the title of this post through many of the comments implies that Down syndrome is a disease, a sickness that is currently incurable. But the reality is that Down syndrome is the presence of an extra chromosome in every cell of a human body. The presence of that chromosome can cause any... Read more

New post on the Park Forum: Desegregating the Sunday School Hour Read more

We traveled as a family to New Orleans over the holidays. For the first time, Penny asked us, “Where’s Grand Penny?” She knows that Grand Penny, her namesake, her grandmother, is from New Orleans. So why didn’t we see her when we were there? We tried to explain. “Grand Penny got really sick, and her body never got better.” “Why?” “Pen,” I said, “That’s really hard to explain.” “Oh. Otay.” So when we were in New Orleans I was thinking... Read more

Ten years ago, my dad called to talk to my husband. “I hear you’re working too hard,” Dad said. “I don’t have a choice,” Peter replied. “You always have a choice,” Dad said. And a few months later, Peter chose to leave his job as an analyst in an investment bank and work for a non-profit instead. And that choice led us to a boarding school, and ten years later, here we are. We’ve been on a path of downward... Read more

For those of you who live in the tri-state area, I wanted to let you know I will be preaching at 8:00 and 10:00 am this Sunday at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Providence, NJ. I will also be speaking and reading from Penelope Ayers at the Adult Forum at 11:15 that same morning. In other news, I’ve got a new post at The Park Forum: Homosexuality and the Love Command. Read more

Christmas Eve, 11 pm. It was the first time since we’ve had children that my husband and I attended “midnight mass,” and I had forgotten how long it took. At home, we attend a non-denominational church, but we had decided to go for the “smells and bells” of the Episcopal liturgy that night. It was 11:45. My eyes were drooping, as a woman sang a beautiful but long rendition of some line in Latin, over and over and over again.... Read more