The Vulgar Rich

I know that I write often about the 1947 movie, “The Bishop’s Wife”, but is so rich with meaning and full of lessons we can still learn from today. For…

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It’s Tough to Be Small

The internet, as well as the ever-increasing ability to transport products quickly and cheaply, have left Mom & Pop shops floundering. Our family loves to go to a small beach…

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What’s Next?

I know that a lot of people make resolutions – or talk about making them – every new year. It is a good thing to look back at the past…

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Keeping it Real

Last week I went to the Farmer’s Market to get my week’s supplies, and I passed a diner that had, on its sign, “This Sunday – Breakfast with Santa –…

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Unworthy

I have told the story many times – I was in Cincinnati serving a poor, inner-city church, when I walked into the hall and found about a dozen neighborhood residents,…

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Telling the Truth

In my sermon yesterday, I spoke about the ways we either completely change the stories of our faith or fiddle with them so they fit our personal perspectives. We think…

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Good Words

I remember that moment when the dam broke loose on television and profanity entered the lexicon. It wasn’t a big word, or a necessarily foul word (it was @$$), but…

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Good Works

One of the central points of contention in the church of the 1500’s was whether or not we could rely on good works to get us into heaven. I have…

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We Are Better Together

Last night I gathered with about 100 people at the very cold corner of 5th and Penn Street in Reading, PA, to light a large electric Menorah. Across the street…

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The Language of Hate

They are the words almost every parent hears and fears – I hate you. We all, at some point, probably either thought it or shouted it at our parents; in…

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