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Everyone has their favorite Christmas traditions. Some people love baking cookies. Others enjoy decorating. Or sending & receiving cards from friends both near & far. For you, it might be singing festive music or finding just the right gift f…
While most of us were rolling over on the couch the day after Thanksgiving, or lining up outside a big box store to land a deal on a vacuum cleaner, a church community in Durham, North Carolina was struggling mightily. One of its own, an undocumented…
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In the great plains of South Africa, there’s a poor farming community called Nieu-Bethesda. One of the small houses stands out from the rest. The yard is full of statues – cement camels and mermaids, wise men and angels, and lots of owls. They are bi…
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Flying can be an isolating experience, which is ironic because airports and airplanes are usually crammed full of other people. But when you fly, your own needs and wants take up a substantial amount of space in your mind. Do you feel that way, too?…
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Last week I took a few minutes to thoroughly sweep all the nooks and crannies in our kitchen. Especially horrifying are the patches of floor under the chairs where my children sit to eat their meals. (Our beloved black lab, Sydney, passed away earlie…
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Growing up, I took piano lessons for the better part of seven years or so. And yet, if you sat me in front of piano today, about the only melody I might be able to produce would be one half of the Heart & Soul duet. Or maybe, if I had enough time…
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On my car radio on Monday afternoon, I heard a rabbi from Pittsburgh interviewed. Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel is the director of a humanitarian agency, the Aleph Institute. He lives and works in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, the site of the latest act…
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On a United flight to Denver last year, I ordered my customary cranapple juice to sip while reading a book. The napkin beneath my drink struck me as worth saving. So I did. It reads: “Planes change. Values don’t. Your priorities will always be ours.”…
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What can I do? I ask myself this question every time I learn about a different need in the world, or hear another great speaker bring an issue to light. At first I get fired up with great momentum, knowing I want to help fix the problem and bring abo…
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Science has a way of making a person feel small. For instance: We know that the ocean covers 70 percent of the earth’s surface, but it is so deep and dark that humans have only explored e a small fraction of it. There could be hundreds of species of…
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It’s been an intense week in the news. Cosby’s incarceration, the Kavanaugh/Ford hearings, and like other times these abuses have surfaced, floods of similar stories get told and re-told in solidarity and for the sake of collective healing. I’ve foun…
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A few weeks ago, I hopped in my car at the end of a full day, turned out of the church parking lot, and headed north on Brady Street to make my way home. Most days, I’m in no particular hurry. I’ve always enjoyed those few evening moments in the car…