Toughen Up

If the United States Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade next June (in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization), violent protests across the nation could very well surpass those that followed the May 25, 2020, killing of George Floyd. It is also likely that the fanatical...
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Rejoice!

In the Roman liturgical calendar, this is Gaudete Sunday, “Rejoice Sunday,” a break in the (formerly) stark fasting and penance of the Advent season in favor of a little anticipatory celebration of Christmas. If, like members of monastic orders, you’ve been steeped in self-denial...
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Advent Courage and Confidence

Advent is a time of expectation and preparation for the Christmas celebration of Christ’s first coming into our world. It is also a time to meditate upon the prospect of his second coming at the end of time. “No one knows the day or hour” (Mt. 26:34) when the Lord will return to...
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Photo 107814689 / Advent © Hel080808 | Dreamstime.com

Advent: No Time for Comfort Zones

  Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)   The word “comfort” has considerably weakened in the centuries since it was chosen to translate this passage from the Prophet Isaiah. In its original force, “comfort” comes from the Latin confortare,...
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Grieving With Hope

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1...
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technician working on cancer research

IVF Extras

She was telling me about her friend, a married woman who, having found it impossible to conceive a child, had turned to IVF. Two embryos were implanted in her womb, but as they were developing problems arose, resulting in a highly dangerous pregnancy from which she could have...
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Annie: Great-grandmother by Love (not Blood)

Annie Frances McCampbell was born in 1897 on Christmas Day. She hated having a Christmas birthday. As a child, I recall being shocked to hear an elderly woman complain that having her birthday on Christmas meant she got only one annual gift instead of two. Somehow, hearing an...
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Truth Has Stumbled

  Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter (Isaiah 59:14).  “My body, my choice” has been chanted by abortion advocates for as long as I can remember. So it is somewhat jarring, at...
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Saying One Thing and Doing Another

  In mid-October, I drove from my home in North Carolina to attend a board meeting of UMAction— the United Methodist desk at the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, DC. The night before the meeting, I bunked as usual at a Motel 6 located a mile north of Union...
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Pro-Life Together

At its core, the pro-life movement is about extending the protection of the law to unborn children. But prolifers should still care about winning over the hearts and minds of those who don’t share this commitment, not least because broad sympathy for the pro-life cause will help...
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