The Winding Cloth
The electronic revolution increasingly knits us all on planet Earth into a common consciousness, a common memory. It also makes possible an increasing degree of empathy across the barriers of …
Mountains, Men, Mines and Minerals
We have just returned from six weeks in the Western Cape of South Africa and ten days exploring central Namibia, its neighbor to the north. While it is the people …
Titanic Revelations
Sometimes we don’t know where certain messages come from as we muse, fingering some words to give our intuitions substance. I think this poem comes from the haunting reverberations of …
Moving Midway: Toward Reconciliation
We recently saw an arresting documentary film entitled “Moving Midway,” a story about saving an old North Carolina plantation house and discovering the family histories behind it. Midway was a …
Peace Conference 2012
Every Fall for the past five years more than 300 people have convened here for the Lake Junaluska Peace Conference. This posting is a report on that conference. This year’s …
Contradictions in Cherokee
Last week we went over to Cherokee for the 16th Annual Trail of Tears Association Conference at the Cherokee Casino-Hotel. Cherokee is now effectively two towns – the traditional tribal …
Re-visioning Justice
For some months I have been helping to prepare for a conference on restorative justice that will take place this weekend, September 30 and October 1. Entitled “Re-visioning Justice,” it …
Racial Reconciliation in Mississippi
This May is the 50th anniversary of the “Freedom Rides” that broke down the segregation of transportation in the Southern states. The burning of one of the buses in Anniston, …
The Tucson Atrocity
Like you I have been trying to get hold of my emotions and order my thoughts in the wake of the atrocity last week in Tucson. Indeed, it was not …
JustPeace and Chris Wiman
On November 12 and 13 I attended the 10th Anniversary Gathering of JustPeace, the United Methodist Center for Mediation and Conflict Transformation. About 35 of us reflected on the first …
Getting to the Table
The past few months in American politics brings this reflection to the fore for your reflection and response. In 2008 a majority of Americans expressed, through their votes, a longing …
Bowl of Peace
My last few weeks have been consumed with preparations for the annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, for which I was Chair of the Worship and Arts Committee. This year’s theme …
Roundtable Worship Guide is Online!
I am pleased to announce that the book Roundtable Worship: A Reflective Guide is now available online at the website for JustPeace. Just go to the site (https://justpeaceumc.org/) and you’ll …
Invictus — The Sequel
As the US and Algerian soccer teams were resting up for their match in the World Cup, Sylvia and I watched the film Invictus, Clint Eastwood’s deft visualization of Nelson …