I realize that the idea of a commemoration, such as a World Toilet Day, is a bit humorous, but honestly, it’s no laughing matter. Its deadly serious. A child dies every two minutes from the diarrhea caused by poor sanitation.
The three composers we celebrate today — Byrd, Merbecke, and Tallis — were all English composers who lived around the same period of time and who helped Anglican church music grow from plainchant and simple tunes more complex melodies and harmonies of psalms, anthems, and service music.
Presumably the Crawley family is Church of England, but the only time you’ll see anything religious on “Downton Abbey” is during a wedding.
The most striking thing about this film is the stark reality of the early feminist movement. It was dangerous business to go against the will of the male dominated power structure and working women in particular who dared to do so paid high personal prices.
UPDATED: Here is a sample of some of the Episcopal Bishops who have responded to the governors who have closed the doors of their states to Syrian refugees.
Remembering Aquinas’ words that “fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts,” the author reacts to recent terrorist attacks and our response to them.
Betsy, Greg, Liz, and Tom Ferguson (aka Crusty Old Dean) talk about the NFL and the ethical choice to leave it behind.
It’s in our national DNA to distrust kings. Yet here we are, preparing to celebrate “Christ the King” Sunday. Actually, it goes deeper than that.
Anger has an important role to play in the life of faith. People who do not admit anger into their spiritual repertoire are living a faith unknown to Jesus or the prophets who preceded him, and unknown to the authors of the Bible.
“The empire of the world may have hijacked the season with consumerism, greed and the relentless pursuit of goods, using Christmas as an opportunity to buy and sale, but trying to force culture to respect our holiday (so to speak) will yield minimal results.”