Happy Lutheran

Plastic surgery:  yea or nay?  In truth, I don’t think about plastic surgery so much, but I’ve been thinking about it a little more this week, because in class on Friday we’re talking about anthropology, which includes conversation about bodies and sexuality.  So that was all in the back of my mind when I read…… Continue reading Plastic Surgery: "a burqa made of flesh"?

I live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  This means that I see the Confederate Flag all the time, everywhere I go.  There’s a house next to the place where I take Henry to be groomed that flies it; and I run and walk on the battlefield every day, primarily on the Southern line, which means that I…… Continue reading Selma and the Confederate Flag

I have been thinking alot about the Psalms this Lenten season.  The main reason for that is because I am leading an Adult study using the Psalms at John’s church.  I have chosen one Psalm for each week to “accompany” us that week.  I’ve asked people to try to read it every day, and just…… Continue reading Tonglen and the Psalms

If you’re like me, you know that Plessy vs. Ferguson is code for “separate but equal”–or, as it turned out, “separate but totally NOT equal”–but you don’t remember much more than that.  To be honest, I’m sure I learned about it at some point, but until last week, I didn’t remember who Plessy was–or Ferguson,…… Continue reading Plessy vs. Ferguson–A Recap & A Reminder

I had my Introduction to Systematic Theology class this morning [which, by the way, is going amazingly well–my students are outstanding this semester!], and someone mentioned something in class that I thought was worth sharing here.  One of our course textbooks is Migliore’s Faith Seeking Understanding, and in the chapter we read for today, he…… Continue reading A Common Word

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, which means we are on the cusp of another Lenten season.  I love Lent, not least because it’s the one time in the church year that I take more time and make more effort to tend to my relationship with God and my relationships with other people–and the whole world.  I…… Continue reading Looking for the Right Adjective for Lent

I want to get this post written before I leave for Naples tomorrow [congregational presentation–always fun!], but I don’t have much time–so it will be short!  I had the great opportunity to worship at a Sikh gurdwara in Washington DC today, and I just wanted to share that experience.  It was really wonderful–which, by the…… Continue reading Sikh Worship at a Gurdwara

I taught my first class of the spring semester last week, and, as I usually do, I went through my whole “functional extrovert” speech.  The gist of it is that while I know not everyone is an extrovert—and indeed, many people who go into professional ministry are introverts [and there’s nothing wrong with that!]—all public…… Continue reading Gender, Naming and Fluidity

A couple weeks ago, I read a piece in The New York Times that mentioned a short story titled, “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula K. Le Guin.  I’d never read it, and I had never heard of the author, but from the description, I went out [and by that I mean, I…… Continue reading What to do about Omelas?

The genesis of this post came from a long article in The New York Times that I read today on International Adoptions: Returning to South Korea. It’s about adoptions from Korea in particular, which is the source of the “largest adoption exodus from one country in history: over the past six decades, at least 200,000…… Continue reading Adoption and Identity