Posts by diocese1
War Is Never Less Than Evil
The first Biblical war story is recounted in Genesis 14. It tells of when five Canaanite kings, including the king of Sodom, rebelled against Chedorlaomer of Elam. Chedorlaomer defeated the five and took away their goods, together with Abram’s nephew Lot, who was then living in Sodom, and his goods. Abram in turn pursued and…
Read MoreLa guerra nunca es menos que el mal
La primera historia bíblica de guerra se relata en Génesis 14. Cuenta cuando cinco reyes cananeos, incluido el rey de Sodoma, se rebelaron contra Quedorlaomer de Elam. Quedorlaomer derrotó a los cinco y les quitó sus bienes, junto con Lot, el sobrino de Abram, quien para aquel entonces vivía en Sodoma. Abram, a su vez,…
Read MoreGetting to Yes
It’s the title of a book that was first published in 1981 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin) and is still useful today: Getting to Yes. The authors—Roger Fisher and William Ury—were leaders of the Harvard Negotiation Project and were called upon internationally to advise and coach people negotiating disagreements in every sort of conflict, from the personal…
Read MoreObtenga el Sí
Es el título de un libro que se publicó por vez primera en 1981 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin) y sigue siendo útil hoy en día: Obtenga el Sí (Getting to Yes). Los autores, Roger Fisher y William Ury, fueron líderes del Proyecto de Negociación de Harvard y fueron llamados internacionalmente para asesorar y entrenar a personas…
Read MoreReaching Across Difference
I am writing this from the Lambeth Conference of bishops from across the Anglican Communion, in Canterbury, England, where questions of conflict have been very much on our minds. Some of that deliberation has centered on differences and conflicts within the Anglican Communion itself. This has mostly to do with conflicting convictions regarding human sexuality, particularly the…
Read MoreSuperar las diferencias
Escribo esto desde la Conferencia de Lambeth de obispos de toda la Comunión Anglicana, en Canterbury, Inglaterra, donde las cuestiones de conflicto han estado muy presentes en nuestras mentes. Parte de esa deliberación sobre el conflicto se ha centrado en las diferencias y los conflictos dentro de la Comunión Anglicana misma. Esto tiene que ver…
Read MoreConflict and Christian Nationalism: How to Talk across the American Divide
As recent congressional hearings on the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have reminded us in vivid detail, we are a nation deeply divided. Conflict due to political and cultural differences has penetrated every corner of American life, including our relationships with family and friends, and caused painful rifts among members of our congregations.…
Read MoreSpeak Out, Don’t Hide
Christ never flinched from addressing a conflict head-on, at the cost of his own life. Why, then, do we, his followers, seem so conflict averse? Or is it just us ultra-polite Episcopalians? As a former warden and vestryperson, I hesitate to put any of this down on paper—fearful of hurting someone, more fearful of the…
Read MoreA Prayer for Our Enemies
Because I find it the most difficult to pray spontaneously for my enemies at those very times when I need the most to do so, I “assembled” the prayer below from bits and pieces on the Internet. This way I only have to say the words. God seems to take care of the rest. Lord Jesus, following…
Read MoreChristianity vs. “Churchianity”
Christianity: The time of our Lord. “Churchianity”: Our time. I believe I was an Episcopalian before I was even born. St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn was my birthplace. My dad was a priest; my mother was a choir member in his first parish. I was ordained to the priesthood in…
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