Author: Rev

  • This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent

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    MLKBLM Today is the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech.” It rings especially loud again in 2020 with the death of George Floyd and just days ago the shooting of Jacob Blake. This year it’s not the mole hill vision than stands out to me, but the continued challenge that…

  • Daniel Haas and Dave Chambers on the art of Hospice Chaplaincy in a diverse society

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    I joined Saul on the Hospice Chaplaincy Show to talk about the intersection of hospice chaplaincy and military ministry.

  • The right dose of religion

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    As a hospice chaplain I know that Karl Marx was perfectly right when he described religion as “opium for the masses.” With the end of life approaching, I find patients and families seeking comfort in religion. For the person on hospice care that is perfectly appropriate. They receive all kinds of medications for pain-relief. They may also use religion for pain-relief. Similar to…

  • Flags in Churches – a nuanced approach

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    For the Fourth of July many congregations indulged in patriotic displays, others took pride in distancing themselves from national symbols. Somehow “the flag issue” is one of an up or down vote between right or wrong. It does not have to be that way. I wrote a piece for the United Church of Christ’s Center…

  • The Declaration of Interdependence

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    I work in healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams I work with have been called heroes in so many ways. You have seen the images of nurses and doctors pulling extra shifts – exhausting themselves to the breaking point and beyond. They appear powerless at times because they can only respond to the needs…