Black Lives Matter and the Power of Mary’s Song

I had the opportunity to attend a beautiful and inspiring Black Lives Matter rally at Government Springs Park in Enid, Okla., on Saturday, with my wife Tammy. We have attended several of these events in recent weeks -- a youth march, an NAACP-sponsored march and rally, and a grassroots protest at city hall. All of …

We must protect faith from the state, not by it

New Haven Colony Puritans hang a man for "crimes against the faith." As the presidential race prepares to jump into high gear, and as influential segments of American Christianity seek to ingratiate themselves with and guide — you could say manipulate — our civil government, it is worth pausing to consider the history of intermingling …

What is good about Good Friday?

What is good about Good Friday? As a child, pondering the horrible pain and suffering wrapped up in the Christian Passion narrative, I often asked this question. What is good about something that, on the surface, is so horrible? This question has taken on special meaning for me this year, as we — both Christians …

‘HEART OF THE FAITH’ Principles of unity, equality and peace emphasized in Bahá’í community

ENID, Okla. — If you browse the listings for area churches, there’s no shortage of options in Christian congregations. But, there’s one listing that stands out, if only because few people are familiar with it — the Bahá’ís of Enid. Background to the faith The small local congregation is part of a worldwide faith that is …

Answers

In silence we pray Rain falls as prayers ascend Soft flowing answers

Fading

  Skin draws paper thin Life shines through as body fades Life soon unfettered

The uncomfortable path of truth

Delivered for Noon Prayer, 2.19.2020, at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Enid, Okla., in observance of the Feast of Frederick Douglass (20 February). “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” That line, from our very brief Gospel reading today, is one of the most popular quotes from Scripture. But, what …

Listening to Creation

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the …

Be the bridge of reconciliation

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 One of the first people I met in nursing home ministry was Bruce, …

Good news — You may now be dismissed

This past Sunday was the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord — recalling Joseph and Mary presenting the infant Jesus at the Temple (Luke 2:22-40), to dedicate him, as their firstborn, to God. I love this feast day because it includes one of my favorite passages from Scripture, the Nunc dimittis, or Song of …