This week the Faith in Memphis panel reflects on the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo. My friend, Rob O’Neill, is the Episcopal Bishop of Colorado. As such, he has been directly involved in the aftermath of the shootings in Aurora. Rather than share my long-distance view, Bishop O’Neill’s “invitation” issued July 24th to his parishioners [...]

This week, the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church commended and approved for provisional use “Liturgical Resources I: I Will bless You and You Will Be a Blessing,” for study and use in dioceses and congregations of church. Contained within Liturgical Resources I are liturgies for “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant [...]

Should grieving be considered a psychiatric disorder? How do you define grief? How do you counsel or minister to those who are grieving? Can/should grief be medicated? When Charlie Brown exclaimed, “Good grief!” he was onto something important. Grief is an important and natural part of dealing with loss. It may be the loss of a [...]

Religion has been a major and hot topic among Republican presidential contenders. It also was a major topic in the 2008 campaign. What do YOU want to know about a presidential candidate’s faith? What do you NOT want to know? Belief is about what I hold on to. Faith is when I let go and let [...]

A few weeks ago, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich argued that the federal budget “isn’t just a bunch of numbers on a sheet or paper. The budget is a moral document.” Do you agree? Are government budgets moral documents? How should our morals and values guide our political decisions about budget cuts and deficits? Budgets are moral [...]

Is God good and all powerful?  If the answer is yes, why does God limit that ability to intercede when such “natural” disasters occur as those we continue to see unfold in Japan?  If God is good and all powerful, why hasn’t God interceded?  Or is it God’s “will” as some have maintained throughout the biblical [...]

This week’s question immediately called to mind the time The Times in London invited several eminent authors to write essays on the theme, “What’s Wrong with the World?”  One respondent’s contribution took the form of a letter, and was probably the shortest and most accurate reply they received. What’s wrong with the world? “Dear Sirs, I [...]

It is dangerous to use Bible quotes out of context to use to illustrate any point.  However, if the point is universal enough, with thoughtful care, we can risk using the following illustration to consider the moral dilemma presented by the prospect of living with a consolidated Shelby County school system. A religious leader (and it could have been [...]

“I wake up each morning with a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. And it makes it hard to get much done.”  These lines from the poet e.e. cummings give a partial explanation but not an adequate justification for much of the reason that we still see racism so [...]