A few years ago I was invited to a dinner at someone's house where one of the people present made the rather incongruous statement: "I'm one of the most humble people I know."
Eastern Oregon dealt with a historical fire season with more than 80 large wildfires (at least 300 acres each) this year. During this past summer, resources were stretched thin, wildland firef…
I love watching this happen during interactions with the younger men we encounter in hunting season.
"This retirement thing is tough," a friend from Summerville — snowdrift capital of Northeast Oregon — says. "The days and weeks float by. It's hard to remember what day it is. Every day become…
"Our Women in Business group is having a guest speaker today,” said the facility director. “You are invited as my guest.”
A question from a college-age granddaughter set recollections in motion.
I still remember when in 1971 the voting age changed from 21 to 18, giving the right to vote to young men old enough to go to war. The unanimous Senate vote for the 26th Amendment to the U.S. …
“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues,” writes F. Scott Fitzgerald in his book "The Great Gatsby."
As a Protestant from birth, I know the tradition well. As a convert to Catholicism, I have a pretty good grasp on that, too. So I would like to take a little time to answer a few questions (an…
As many readers know, I recently moved with my wife, Wendy, from Pendleton to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Before I get to the main subject of this month’s column, I first want to acknowledg…
I have a dear friend who is in his final moments of life. He is dying of cancer at the end of a life well lived and well loved with his wife and children. He is lucky when it comes to a good d…
When I first read the term “county seat” I wondered whether these were thrones or rather more modest accommodations.
The breeze hinted at a whiff of burgers on the barbecue.
September is National Preparedness Month, the annual campaign to remind everyone that preparing for emergencies and disasters can keep them, their families and communities safe.
In a recent devotional reading I came across a thought-provoking question: "Are we really living in a time when a difference of opinion can't be tolerated?" Our current political climate, comb…
I felt so dizzy at work, I grabbed a desk top so I wouldn’t fall. Bad news, I thought. I’m having a stoke.
When speaking to fellow Christians, the question I most often ask is, not “Why are you a Christian,” for in this era there is great disinterest in the faith if not somewhat-deserved hostility …
My wife, Wendy, and I recently experienced a significant change in our lives.
The whole time I've known Nate Paulson, he's been dead.
I grow old …
The dead of summer is upon us, and with it, the greenery of our landscape has wilted into its familiar cured brown. Wildfires are more likely to start and spread under these dry conditions, bu…
July is the midpoint of the year, and the height of summer.
Have you ever driven down a freeway at night in a strange land, say, New Jersey, in the olden times before even Mapquest existed? You're tired, hungry, craving a hotel bed and you pass an exit…
As you may recall in this spiritual travelogue of sorts, I served my pastoral apprenticeship in a Black Baptist church, Church by the Side of the Road, on the border between Berkeley and Oakla…
My window of opportunity was narrow this morning. I needed to get in and out before anyone saw me. Because trying to vacuum your yard is weird and I wasn’t eager for witnesses.
The other day I was running up a set of stairs that connects the downtown area of Pendleton with the south hill. It got me thinking about extending the metaphor of stairs beyond their physical…
In my last column, which appeared in the East Oregonian on April 23, I presented a challenge for readers to join me in considering ways that we might facilitate world peace. Interestingly, wor…
I remember a sunny day last year, sitting with friends outside a Main Street restaurant, rapt in conversation on a hot topic, when another friend stopped briefly to greet us and ask what we we…
In late April, many people across the local area received a notification through their phones or wireless device for an Amber Alert that was issued in the Tri-Cities. Some people may have wond…
The first but not last time I had a parishioner walk out on my sermon was in the Chinese-Methodist Church in San Francisco where I had gotten a gig as associate pastor of the American-born, yo…
“We are spiritual beings having a physical experience.”
After weeks of hospitalization, Hannah McIntyre is back home in Athena.
I was just 8 years old in 1965 when the American folk-rock group The Byrds released the hit song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
As I sat down to write today, I looked at the date and realized today would have been my father’s 81st birthday. He died 13 years ago, reminding me once again how little control we have over t…
There’s plenty my town doesn’t have.
For those of you who have been following my journey into pastoral ministry from a decidedly antagonistic perspective, I thank you for sticking with me and, I can assure you, I plan on wrapping…
As spring started to emerge from what was still technically winter, there were some below freezing night-time lows, just the excuse I need for postponing seasonal garden chores. There were tex…
The most heartbreaking part of dog ownership is they don’t live long enough. My husband and I recently helped usher the General, my nearly 12-year-old German shepherd, across the Rainbow Bridge.
I can’t imagine a single person on this planet who doesn’t have some fascination with weather. We all talk about it, typically on a daily basis.
“Stuff” is one of those words in English that has so many meanings it almost defies definition. The word itself derives from a 14th century French word “stuffe,” which from my online etymologi…
Let’s say for the sake of argument that, like me, you are curious about what exactly goes on inside a building labeled a “church” or “temple” or “community center” or anything that smacks of r…
My wife, Wendy, and I just returned from a 16-day cruise to Hawaii. While visiting those islands I was able to meet and spend time with two Filipina friends who I first met 50 years ago during…
My friend Bill is a handsome guy. In the 20 years I’ve known him, he’s retained his boyish demeanor and grin.
There’s something about February, the shortest month, still winter, but with signs of spring apparent. My posts on social media speak to this transition, sometimes reflective, yet also hopeful…
I recently turned 64 — and on my birthday, I spent part of the day at the Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services office in Hermiston.
I have always thought it would be hard for me to live in any other time period than this one. Although I am an author of historical fiction, with characters who time travel to a medieval world…
It’s fascinating how personal interests and circumstances can change over the course of one’s lifetime.
Louise moved in next door last July.
Taking the risk of flogging a dead horse, I want to take you briefly to a classroom setting at the University of Oregon circa 1994 where I was winding up my bachelor of arts late in life. The …
Some of you might have heard a few months ago that the Pacific Northwest is expecting an El Nino winter this season. You may have also heard that El Nino in this part of the country typically …
Needles in hand, white yarn threaded through my fingers, I knit a row, then turn and purl the yarn on the back side to return to the starting edge.
Shortly after Santa packs up and heads back to the North Pole, people start looking ahead to the new year. And for many, part of that process includes making New Year’s resolutions.
“Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other.”