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  The following prayer was written by Rev. Timothy Whitaker (1948-2024), who served as bishop of The Florida Area of The United Methodist Church. In 2001, Bishop Whitaker published this prayer in The District Beam (newsletter, January/February) while he was the Norfolk (VA)... Read More →

  No one really believes in utterly free, unfettered choice. There are good choices and bad choices, and an enduring challenge in life is to know the difference. There are choices that we forbid ourselves and others to make. For instance, I have a legal right to drive my car... Read More →

      It was in a short piece posted by a cranky young blogger a little over a decade ago that I first read about dogs replacing children in the lives of young adults. This correlates to cohabitation replacing marriage in this cohort, but it reflects a cultural change... Read More →

      Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)   This sentence from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians contains an insight into what sin is, specifically for Christians. Sin is a “grieving” of the... Read More →

    In this seaside community in Beautiful British Columbia (as their license plates proclaim) where my mother- and father-in-law retired, seventy-five steel steps separate the trail where the staircase begins and the beach that lies below at the foot of a steep... Read More →

    “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” This advice, which has a happy resonance during the dog days of summer, is meant to encourage anyone who is going through a rough spot. Sour things can, and should, be turned into something sweet. What this adage leaves... Read More →

    The Democratic National Convention started on Monday with a bang, with activists dressing up as abortion pills and Planned Parenthood offering free vasectomies and abortion medication. A local affiliate of the abortion giant has set up a mobile health center in... Read More →

    All too often, prolifers have reason to feel as if our efforts have been futile. With Dobbs v. Jackson, we took one step out of the pro-choice hole our country has dug for itself, but since then it seems we’ve slipped three steps back. We’re barely two years past... Read More →

    Most pastors and most priests seldom speak about abortion from the pulpit during the weekly worship service.  Why are pastors and priests so reluctant to talk about this matter in the sanctuary?  Fear.  We are afraid that if we address abortion a woman of whatever age... Read More →

    Perhaps you know this Old Testament story (2 Samuel 11). King David, on his roof after a nap, spied a married woman, Bathsheba, bathing on her own roof below. Admiring her beauty, he sent for her and lay with her. Shortly afterward, Bathsheba sent the king word that... Read More →