Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth

  Sadly, death by abortion has always been around. In the ancient world, abortion was prevalent enough that the Hippocratic Oath had to be composed and administered to guide medical doctors away from taking innocent, preborn human lives. In our time, abortion has been... Read More →

    Across southwestern Kansas back in the mid-1960s, several rock bands played the small towns’ school gyms and National Guard Armories. Their names make you smile: The Blue Things, The Fabulous Flippers, King Midas and the Mufflers, The Rising Suns, The Sensational... Read More →

  It was a sweltering summer day. After graduating from college, then teaching for a year in a public school, he was finally able to have a block of time to do some long-delayed reading. Sitting in a lawn chair in the back yard and getting some sun, he dug into an... Read More →

  The Nazis produced powerful propaganda. Among their many propaganda products was “Dasein ohne Leben,” which is German for “Existence without Life.” The original film and its copies were lost at the end of World War II.  What follows is the transcript of a ten-minute... Read More →

  Early in December of 2025, our youngest son and his wife welcomed their newborn son into their arms. Her pregnancy had been difficult. “How difficult?,” you ask. While carrying the baby, she passed kidney stones on multiple occasions. That’s how difficult. Also, her... Read More →

    Thanksgiving is here. The time to give thanks in an intentional way —in silent prayer and/or before the family feast and/or in a sanctuary service and/or in a public square—has arrived. We give thanks to God, the source of all blessings—graces acknowledged and... Read More →

  The church witnesses for life simply by being the church. By gathering for worship, hearing the Word of God, celebrating the Sacraments, and observing the Christian Year, the congregation declares that innocent human lives are to be recognized and defended.  Without... Read More →

  This is my second, and last, Pastoral Reflection that centers on a declaration for life. Promise. In 1988, a small group of United Methodist pastors began discussing the possibility of writing a declaration addressed to The United Methodist Church on life and abortion. In... Read More →

    Let’s be honest. Congregations, as well as their pastors and priests, are hesitant, even unwilling, to address abortion either publicly or from the pulpit. We are afraid that we might make somebody in the local church mad. Nevertheless, faithful ministry involves... Read More →

  Dear Cardinals: Easter Season grace and peace to you and yours. With the help of God the Father, who displayed glorious power and good providence in raising His Son Jesus Christ from the dead, you can approach your duty of electing the next pope not with anxiety, not with... Read More →