Welcome, friends. It is, as always, a delight to be with you in this pleasant place. It was Winston Churchill who famously said, “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape […]
Tag: pastor
Things That Give Me Hope (3) —Thank God for the Status Quo
A year after I was born, my father was hired by Johnson Wax as a salesman, visiting grocery stores across Indiana, peddling his wares, mostly Raid bug spray and Pledge […]
Do’s and Don’ts In a Time of Change (8)
I’ve been thinking about Georgie Baker, who last week shared the happy news that she was wrapping up her degree in social work. Georgie was two-years-old when we first met. […]
Do’s and Don’ts In a Time of Change (4)
Our gratitude to Mike Goss for bringing the message last week. I was at our farm in Paoli and Jackson was down with Covid in Richmond, after attending a Quaker […]
Things We Got Just Right (Vesting Power in People, Not Positions)
When I first came to Fairfield, I had a bad case of the big head. I’d had several books published, still had hair, was married to a striking, intelligent woman, […]
Things We Got Just Right (Equality Over Cultural Norms)
Several years ago, a man I know was told he was dying, which of course we all are, but his death was sooner than he had anticipated. Though well-off, he’d […]
Things We Got Just Right (We Value Experience Over Belief)
This happened maybe 30 years ago, when I attended a conference for Quaker pastors down in Orlando. Someone had the bright idea to get all the Quaker pastors in America […]
Things We Got Just Right (Sacramental Living)
When our children were born, Joan bought a camera and started taking pictures. Pictures of everything—vacations, hikes, family gatherings, birthday parties, first haircuts, first days of school, holidays, thousands of […]
Things We got Just Right (Our Insistence on Equality)
I got the notice this week that my high school graduating class is planning our 45th year reunion, which I was looking forward to, but now am not, due to […]
What In the World Were We Thinking? (Disownment for Marrying a Non-Quaker)
One of the things Joan and I have always enjoyed is antiquing, so when we renovated her family’s farmhouse, and had to furnish it, we went to Gilley’s Antique Mall […]