My wife, The Reverend Natalie Van Kirk, is Rector of Saint Barnabas, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. We have been preaching a series of sermons based upon what we have called, “Questions Our Youth Are Asking.” It has been a good service and their questions have been thought provoking. One of the most recent questions was, “What does it mean to be an Episcopalian?” That’s been a popular question for a long time, but I’m not always sure that even we Episcopalians... Read more
In recent weeks, my wife and I have been tag-teaming on a sermon series devoted to questions that our youth have been asking. One of the most recent of those, was the question, “Why do I pray for other people and myself?” It’s a question a lot of us ask ourselves and it prompted me to think back across the shape of my prayers, which I had never really attempted. As far as I can remember, as a child my... Read more
The outcome of last week’s General Conference held by United Methodists was not at all surprising. As I have said in other articles, Protestantism — it seems — is made for schism and our tradition of national conferences or conventions has become a thin veil for the political maneuvering and animosity that is rife in the civic square. Even the ugliness on both sides was predictable. Speakers indulged in epithets and demonization. Denominational leaders who insisted that the church needed... Read more
I have a number of friends at the United Methodist General Conference, where the denomination is making decisions that will determine the future of their denomination. Most of those friends are observers or belong to the press corps, but they are also lifelong Methodists, so they offer a fairly personal window into the experience. As I listen in, I must say that nothing that I have heard thus far really surprises me, particularly having lived through my own denomination’s battles... Read more
As my Methodist siblings approach their General Conference, many have been looking for a way to hold their denomination together, and not a few have agonized over the prospect that they are headed for schism. While it is hard to be definitive, there seems to be more evidence than not that Methodists are going to part company with one another. “Denial,” as they say, “is not just a river in Egypt.” For one thing, as much as traditonalists and progressives... Read more
Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist is far more wildly popular than most Canadians and most psychologists. Where he is not popular he has been the flashpoint for considerable debate and controversy. Who would have thought that a professor of psychology with a deep interest in the work of Karl Jung and Friedrich Nietzshe could generate so much public interest. Heather Higgins at The Hill reports that scalpers are asking $500 for the cheap seats and $1000 for front row, center at... Read more
Prosper of Aquitaine, a disciple of St. Augustine in the church’s early efforts to clarify its faith coined a phrase in Latin that is often condensed and reads, lex orandi, lex credendi. Loosely translated the Latin (it is often said) means, “the law of praying is the law of believing” or – to put it more directly, “prayer leads to belief or shapes theology.” Like many, while I believe that motto to be true, I also believe that there is... Read more
November is National Children’s Grief Awareness Month and tomorrow, November 15th, is Children’s Grief Awareness Day. You can find more information at: www.childrensgriefawarenessday.org Losing a parent carries with it two huge challenges (among others): One is the loss of the immediacy of a parent’s companionship. Under the best of circumstances, a supportive relationship with a parent can be a lifelong gift. Nurture, guidance and correction can give way to a relationship that is marked by the free exchange of ideas, reflection... Read more
I am never quite sure what to make of Christian leaders and teachers who say that “they are shocked” at something like the murders in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania or that they “no longer recognize our country.” As a window into anger and grief, perhaps such observations are meant to express the shock we all experience when something so brutal and seemingly random occurs. But any robust doctrine of sin and evil that arises out of the Jewish and... Read more
In a recent New York Times editorial, Jonathan Merritt observes that “It is getting harder to talk about God.” Merritt became aware of this when he moved not long ago from Atlanta to New York city. He had not lost his facility with the English language, but he found that subtle social pressures made it harder as well. But, as Merritt notes, the fact that it really is getting harder to talk about God is neither limited to his own... Read more
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