When Trump’s crowd chanted “send her back” they echoed or amplified the president’s tweet: “why don’t they go back?” Sympathy for such rhetoric stands in opposition to Christian Scriptures. Jesus’ core teaching requires us to love our neighbors in the same manner we love ourselves. God will judge our lives by the way we welcome […]
Author Archives: paulrpurdue
With a beloved parable like the Good Samaritan we easily neglect the stories’ context: “A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to gain eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is written in the law? How do you interpret it?’ He responded, ‘You must love the Lord your […]
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23) Have you ever noticed how Jesus always seemed to be giving away free healthcare? Jesus called the Twelve together, gave them power and authority… and sent […]
The year after Mrs. Her-Name-Withheld read my best dyslexic sentences aloud to her class, my mother coaxed me into repeating the fourth grade at a new school. At Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary I found community, structure, love, and friends. I loved it! Sometimes we chanted like monks at lunch, “Would you trade your […]
June 28, 2019 Dear Belmont friends, I am not really sure just where to start with the good news from our Tennessee Annual Conference 2019. I might start by mentioning our youth reading an open letter to the Tennessee Conference, five Belmonters being elected to General or Jurisdictional Conference in 2020, the Conference voting in […]
I think someone gave me Anne Lamott’s “Traveling Mercies” years ago. Grace comes as a gift. I first read it 10,000 feet from the Earth, next to strangers, in the window seat. Around page 49, I found myself weeping. What makes a story resonate deeply? Anne Lamott defines grace as “the force that infuses our […]
I am filled with gratitude for every person who typed my number 114 into your electronic voting device. I am so deeply thankful for the young clergy and laity who led us and gave Tennessee our most diverse and progressive delegation ever. I am humbled to help represent the people of the Tennessee Annual Conference […]
