Category Archives: Uncategorized

Eastern Baptist College July 23, 2018 – I spent barely six months at McConnell AFB, Kansas, from February to August 1968. It was the briefest and, in some ways, the most educational period of my Air Force experience. As a … Continue reading →

June 25, 2018, Feast Day of Philip Melanchthon, 1497-1560 Martin Luther’s friend and supporter, Melanchthon honed and refined Lutheranism as we know it today. With Luther he joined in the denunciation of indulgences, excessive saint worship, the sacrament of penance, … Continue reading →

I knew I understood Blackie Ryan, a fictional priest who appears in 17 novels by Father Andrew Greeley, because he esteemed three great Johns in his youth: John Unitas, John Kennedy, and John XXIII. I was never much into Unitas, … Continue reading →

May 31, 2018 – A year ago this month, the safety of secret Soviet spies Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, posing as middle-class Americans in the U.S., was assured by none other than the World Council of Churches. Elizabeth and Philip … Continue reading →

Port Chester, N.Y., May 23, 2018 – Note: I’ve written several times about my ambivalence toward military memorials and celebrations, and I’m reposting this essay, slightly edited,  from last year. As U.S. women and men in uniform serve on many … Continue reading →

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.  Shovel them under and let me work–  I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten … Continue reading →