What's Tony Thinking

A Few Thoughts on Roe v. Wade

May 5, 2022 — To say that there has been a lot of response to the leaked Supreme Court opinion on Roe v. Wade is, of course, an understatement. Some of the stories and comments focus on the leaker and likely motivations. Others focus on the institution of the Supreme Court and its politicization. Still others try to envision... Read More

The Desert Is Blooming

May 4, 2022 — Last week I wrote to you from the high desert of southeastern Oregon and Malheur Wildlife Refuge. This week I am in a different desert landscape — the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, Arizona. I am here with a group of clergy friends who have been meeting together, more or less annually, for three plus decades,... Read More

This Is Fun (and wise as well)

May 1, 2022 — How to live a good life? Kevin Kelly this week offered 103 bits of advice on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Kelly is the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, the former editor of the Whole Earth Review, and also the co-founder of the All Species Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at cataloging and... Read More

I’m Just a Seeker Like You

April 30, 2022 — I was once on a panel sponsored by a Unitarian fellowship. There were several more or less mainline Protestant panelists, including one Unitarian, charged with describing what is particular to our church and tradition. Those that went before me made opening statements in which each said some variation on the themes of, “At our church... Read More

Hope of Overcoming Polarization?

April 28, 2022 — On a walk the other day a friend asked if I thought there was any hope of overcoming our, i.e. American, polarization. I said, “Well, I think about that a lot, and I’m not optimistic . . . at least not in the short term.” I would add that I think our oft-lamented “polarization” is... Read More

A Modest Proposal

April 28, 2022 — We’re home from our Malheur Refuge trip. It was a grand trip. In addition to the many birds, we were excited to see two dozen wild horses, members of the “Hollywood Herd.” I imagine that moniker owes to sighting them evokes the “Old West” of Hollywood movies. They were an array of colors and looked... Read More

From the High Desert

April 25, 2022 — As noted in my last post, we are now in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the high desert of southeastern Oregon. It’s unusually dry here. There is a lot of snow yet on Steens Mountain, which feeds streams and rivers in Malheur, so there should be substantial snow melt still to come. But what... Read More

Fast Takes

April 23, 2022 — Our next webinar, “Help My Unbelief” starts tomorrow. Registration is free. Use the link on the right side at bottom to sign up. You don’t have to attend every week. Come when you can. Registering will mean you get a follow-up email with audio/ video tape so you can listen to a session you miss... Read More

Whatever Happened to Globalism?

April 21, 2022 — Two memories: 1995 General Synod of the UCC. Jim Crawford, Pastor of Old South Church in Boston and Chair of the Hymnal Committee, was preaching as part of the introduction and celebration of “The New Century Hymnal.” Linda served on that Committee so we were in on those events. Jim began his sermon with a... Read More

From Atlanta to Popularism

April 20, 2022 — We’re in Atlanta visiting our daughter Laura and her partner, Noah. A lot more deciduous — read “leafy green” — trees here than we’re used to. Spreading a beautiful canopy of soft greens. Architecturally, Atlanta at least where we are — “Midtown” — is a nice mix of old and new. Lots of big, beautiful... Read More

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