Tear gas over the soccer field
“You’re welcome to take it back home with you,” my Palestinian friend said as I looked at the US-made canister in my hand. “Actually, take all of them.”
Speaking in two tongues
Growing up bilingual primed me to see the gifts offered at Babel and Pentecost.
Harmful people with helpful ideas
I still read Luther, Calvin, and de Beauvoir. But John Howard Yoder’s sexual abuse has made me rethink my mindset.
Joyful life in Bethlehem
At a L’Arche community, I learned something about working and dreaming for peace.
Give to the one who asks of you
I’m on this man’s side, even though I didn’t give him any money. Right?
Nonviolent crisis response in my city
I wish Durham’s HEART program had existed when my friend Joe was killed.
The altar in my attic
My boxes of old sermons are a monument to my church’s ongoing conversation with God.
A shower in the desert
At a migrant shelter in Tijuana, I met a woman who was about to give birth.
A liturgy in the borderlands
Alvaro Enciso plants crosses where migrants have died, to keep them from disappearing into oblivion.
After my friend’s suicide, my theology was in shock
I’ve been offering my tangled knots of questions and memories as prayers.
On the holiness of casseroles and spreadsheets
When our church offered Rosa sanctuary, our ordinary habits became a politics of hospitality.
Communion tears
In my 15 years as a pastor, I’ve seen a lot of watery eyes at the table.
At Tijuana shelter Casa del Migrante, every meal is holy
I take the morning shift to give the longer-term volunteers a few hours of rest.