Give voice to sorrow and fear — the wracking sobs at family betraying family the shock at the chasm separating neighbors “What will you do in the days ahead?” one asked. “Hide in an attic,” another replied, her eyes as wide and dark as Anne Frank’s. Already the assaults on bodies have...

Any time, Friday evening, Sunday morning, Monday afternoon Any place, Paris Beirut Baghdad West Bank Chad Cameroon Lebanon Syria Somalia Sinai Charleston Any number, 132 19 2 43 1 228 10 Fear invites new participants to its dance of death But every time, In every place, Numbers beyond counting ri...

When we are overwhelmed with the world And cannot see our way clear, When life seems a struggle between tedium and apathy Or frenzy and exhaustion; When today seems a punishment and tomorrow a torment, May we find the courage of patience. May we recognize courage in ourselves and our companions;...

Ever since I graduated from college, I have had a recurring dream. My wife has had it, too, as well as a lot of other people I know. In my dream, it is time to take an exam and I am unprepared. I have not gone to classes all semester. I failed to do the reading....

Our locks tell us a lot about our lives. Locks of all kinds hold my attention because of a dream I had when I was thirteen. In the dream a gray-haired woman in a white coat sat behind a desk. I knew she was me, far in the future. Behind her on the wall was a cross-stitched sampler with a motto. I...

When the escape from Egypt was certain, when the last furious wave had closed over their enemies' heads and the dangerous waters lay smooth again, when the Israelites could finally turn toward the future without fear that the past would snatch them back--what did they see before them? Not the...

I spent some time this weekend with an old friend, a dentist. She's considering buying her own practice, but wonders if she could retain the current patients and attract new ones. She wonders if the office staff would like her, or befriend her too much, or resent her, or desert her; she wonders...

Thou who art the soul and heart of life, save us from fear—the fear of days and nights yet to be, the fear of the known and the unknown, the fear that builds high walls around our spirits and our lives, the fear that closes in and envelops us, the fear that nibbles at the edges of every...

Eternal spirit, we witness bringing green growth throwing out tiny tendrils seeking support; sprouting thin twigs reaching for the bright golden sun; guiding new tubers seeking water in dark, sandy soil, Be in and amongst us this Easter morning. We gather this morning to celebrate the triumph of...

In prayer, we call to mind the peacemakers.