A friend of mine watched the video of my Oct. 10 sermon online and declared, “the best part was when you said ‘Amen’ and the clapping commenced – you were shocked and awed with love!” I’d say that was exactly right: both that I was awed by the loving response and that was the best …
Hey, Dave!!: The Nation of Hopeful Wanderers
Note: Here it is! The return of Hey, Dave!!, wherein my good friend, Ryan Hilligoss waxes poetic about, well, about whatever is on his mind. “Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times.”- Gustav Flaubert In light of the looming election, I would like to address the rise of an insidious line …
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Speaking Out: Clergy Against Bullying and Anti-Gay Violence
Thanks to a link on Twitter from Kimberly Knight, I became aware of this Clergy Against Bullying petition. In tone and message, the petition is a companion to my Oct. 10 sermon. I encourage you to go read the whole thing (it's not that long, especially as joint statement press releases go). Here's the opening …
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My sermon from Oct. 10, 2010: Settling In & Coming Out
As I wrote previously, the sermon I gave at my church (Woodridge UMC) garnered quite the reaction. I've never been more scared about the possible reaction to a sermon. I've never been more gratified by a response. 6 dead kids is 6 too many. Anti-gay bullying must stop. All bullying must stop. Every human being …
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More good thoughts on anti-gay bullying
There is no joking around about this one: I'm furious. And my heart is shattered. 6 teens from across the country dead at their own hand. 6 teens dead at their own hand because they were mercilessly bullied. 6 kids bullied, 6 kids dead because they were gay. And those are just the ones we …
RE-POST: Tyler Clementi and Me. And You. (via god is not elsewhere / some conversation about movies, art, politics and spirituality with gareth higgins)
There is no joking around about this one: I'm furious. And my heart is shattered. 6 teens from across the country dead at their own hand. 6 teens dead at their own hand because they were mercilessly bullied. 6 kids bullied, 6 kids dead because they were gay. And those are just the ones we …
Stop, stop, stop hurting the world! Part 1.1: Guest blogger!
Exciting news! In what I hope will become a regular feature here at All That I Can't Leave Unsaid (and, let's be honest, it wouldn't take much to become a regular feature here. So far the only truly regular feature is inactivity!), I offer for your reading pleasure some thoughts from my good friend, Ryan …
Continue reading Stop, stop, stop hurting the world! Part 1.1: Guest blogger!
Stop, stop, stop hurting the world! Part 1
For some dumb reason I've been sitting on a bunch of half-formed thoughts on recent events. Waiting for them to grow up all by themselves maybe? Whatever. I'm done. No more sitting on the sidelines. People are getting hurt, people are dying! These are still merely half-formed, but as a follower of God in the …
Offering of Letters – Update
As I wrote here and here, my church (Woodridge United Methodist) participated in a Bread for the World Offering of Letters on Sunday, August 22. It was still quite hot that day. And, for many of our families, it was also the last weekend before school started. Perhaps for those - and a myriad of other …
Back-to-School Prayer
Here in my neck of the woods, this is back-to-school week. Many of our kids started today, some start tomorrow, some even started on Monday. (Starting in new year on a Monday? That seems especially cruel.) So in spite of the 90 degree heat, I'm thinking about fall... This time of year there are two …
All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 