Sometimes it feels like Father’s Day is more about enshrining a myth than it is about facing the realities of fatherhood.

I invite you now to join me in the spirit of meditation and imagination. Find a comfortable position in your seat and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and try to find the restorative power of air and water in the breath. We must breathe to live, but our bodies also need water to survive. Our...

I got out of bed this morning because of all those who had to get out of bed before me: Martin and Coretta, the day after his home was bombed. (What did they tell the children?) My father, every day of his young life in Lowndes County, Alabama....

I saw the parade pass by with the last soldier marching. I saw politicians stand by not in pride, but in shame as they recited the names of the dead and admitted their failure. I saw the marching band step in time to silence, no more hymns of glory could they play. I saw mothers and fathers say,...

On a spring day in Farmington, Maine, as I was walking downtown, I made my way through a line of cars that were waiting for the light. In front of me was a large Confederate flag flying from the back of a white pick-up. I crossed the street, not looking at who was driving the truck, and went into...

On this green bank, by this soft stream, We place with joy a votive stone, That memory may their deeds redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. —Ralph Waldo Emerson A green heron stands motionless on the bank of Emerson’s soft stream. In its beak it holds a fish, just the right size for...

In prayer, we call to mind the peacemakers.

Innocence does not die at once, in that first raptured thrust. It dies in each small seduction, in every subsequent acquiescence....

(Hungarian first—English follows) Hol hit—ott szeretet Where there is faith there is love Hol szeretet—ott béke Where there is love there is peace Hol béke—ott áldás Where there is peace there is blessing Hol áldás—ott Isten Where there is blessing there is God Hol Isten—ott...

The church is a body. May this body breathe and be together in the spirit of hope May it feel held by comfort. Those who seek consolation, may they find it in the solace of this moment. The church is a body. It is as strong as all the people who have ever gathered within its walls....