by Jack Moline | Jun 21, 2022 | Opinion
There is usually a bit of timeless wisdom that inspires these columns of mine. I will admit that the quotation that provoked this column — “Is this heaven?” — makes no sense out of context. Here is a link to a video of a little more than seven minutes that...
by Tony W. Cartledge | Mar 23, 2022 | Opinion
Words can have amazing power, so long as we grant it to them. In a story familiar by now, a popular Catholic priest in Arizona had to resign when someone realized he had been using one wrong word when performing baptisms. Andres Arango had served three different...
by Mitch Randall | Feb 25, 2021 | Opinion
Returning to the baptismal waters was more emotional than I ever expected. Recently, I was asked to baptize a young woman named Kate in the church where I served for 11 years. As a pastor with over two decades of local congregational experience, I grew accustomed to...
by Jack Moline | Sep 10, 2020 | Opinion
I have long been a fan of ritual. It is almost worth being religious just to be able to perform the rituals connected with a faith tradition. The prostration during Muslim prayer, the administration of communion during Christian worship, the devotional positions of...
by Paul Beasley-Murray | Aug 16, 2018 | Opinion
The three major events of life – birth, marriage and death – are marked by three traditional Christian rites of passage: the christening (or service of thanksgiving), the wedding and the funeral. Within the context of a nominal society, these three occasions are often...
