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What's Tony Thinking
October 14, 2024 —
The first part of our time in Japan was on the relatively quiet southern island of Kyushu, and largely in the very rural, heavily forested Kunasaki Peninsula. Iwakuni, the focus on my last blog, was on the large central island of Honshu, but still a small town. But now . . . big cities. First,... Read More
October 11, 2024 —
We have traveled north from the Japanese island of Kyushu to the central island of Honshu. Our first stop was the lovely small town of Iwakuni. Why Iwakuni? It is the ancestral home of some of our dearest friends in Honolulu, members of Church of the Crossroads. It is the church we served in the... Read More
October 9, 2024 —
We’ve concluded the walking pilgrimage portion of our trip and are soon to head, by train, to the Hiroshima area. For part one, we were a group of 12. Six from Australia and six from the U.S. We enjoyed the people in the group and feel a bit sad to have said goodbye to them.... Read More
October 7, 2024 —
Today was the third day of our walking pilgrimage with Walk Japan. We are in the heavily forested and mountainous region of Kyushu Island, known as the Kunasaki Peninsula. It is in the northwest corner of Kyushu. Kunasaki Peninsula has some things in common with our own beloved Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. Like the... Read More
October 3, 2024 —
After a short, but lovely, lay-over with friends in Honolulu, we flew to Osaka, Japan yesterday. From Osaka, we went on to the major regional city in south of Japan, Fukuoka. Fukuoka is a port and industrial city of 1.7 million on Japan’s southern-most island of Kyushu. We are here because it is the nearest... Read More
October 1, 2024 —
For better or worse, so much of it is affect, the telegenic, and — sorry — the vibe. Unfortunately, Tim Walz, who is supposed to be running on “the joy ticket,” mostly looked very, very worried. Some combination of deer-in-the-headlights and terminally furrowed brow, amplified by furious note-taking. Really Tim?’ He needed some Ronald Reagan-esque... Read More
September 29, 2024 —
Some of you have graciously offered to support this publication and sent a contribution or two my way over the years. Others have asked “how can I support ‘What’s Tony Thinking’?” Well, you are supporting it by being a reader! About 750 of you are subscribers. In an average month I have about 4,000 to... Read More
September 27, 2024 —
Here’s a New Yorker cartoon that is just too good to pass up. (Thanks to Cali Yee at MBird.com) Young Men and Church. Ruth Graham who covers religion for the NYT writes about a surprising trend among Gen Z young men: they are going to church. And in greater numbers than their female... Read More
September 24, 2024 —
A friend was in touch the other day to share the draft of a sermon he will be preaching the Sunday before election day. It is a fine pastoral sermon for what will undoubtedly be a very anxious moment. Drawing on the Old Testament lesson for that Sunday from Jeremiah, he spoke of Jeremiah’s prophecy... Read More
September 22, 2024 —
Pierce County, here in Washington state, is about to launch a new approach to homelessness. One that makes sense, at least in part, because it allows people to trade shame for pride. That’s a powerful exchange. According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, Pierce County (which has the state’s largest homeless population after... Read More