I’m a sucker for stories about the liturgical calendar, so my eyes lit up when I saw the headline for Chris Moody’s piece at The Daily Caller:
Putting the fun in funerals
It probably will not surprise you that I’m about to highlight a story about funerals. As the child of a pastor and an active member of my current congregation, I love such stories. I know that funerals are a huge deal in the life of the church. Funerals get covered in the mainstream media fairly frequently. The deceased has to be unbelievably famous in order to get that coverage, but they are covered. But the typical funeral, the typical gathering of family and friends, is less likely to receive coverage — particularly from the perspective of the survivors.
Muslims don't want Sharia in Florida
Did you hear the story from, of course, Florida about a judge ordering the use of sharia in a lawsuit over mosque leadership? The St. Petersburg Times had a write-up with an intriguing lede:
Facing Mecca for Lent?
I’m still here in Israel on an Act For Israel media fellowship. After many days, packed with meetings, yesterday we visited the Golan Heights. On our way from there, we stopped at Yardenit, a site on the Jordan River where, in honor of Jesus’ baptism near there, some are baptized into the Christian faith.
Lenten ghost in Shrove Tuesday
If you are interested in reading a really great news story about pancakes, The Newspaper That Lands In My Yard has just published a really fine one. It has lots of butter and syrup.
On seminaries: Time ignores the obvious
A decade or two ago, in a previous ecclesiastical lifetime, I was asked to speak at a national gathering of Episcopalians who had been ordained as permanent deacons. In other words, most of them assisted priests in churches, or played other roles in parish life, after going to seminary. Seminary is the key.
Anglican baptism lite? Say what?
This is one of those religion stories that, on one level, sounds perfectly logical to one set of readers. At the same time, other people may read the same story and want to laugh to keep from crying or, in a few cases, readers may want to laugh, then cry, then bash their heads into a wall.
Getting cute with Father Cutie
Remember Father Alberto Cutie, a.k.a. “Father Oprah”? He was the, ahem, “hunky” and popular Miami priest and media personality who was caught in some rather compromising tabloid photos gallivanting on a beach with one of his parishioners. It was a big scandal at the time — it even made the New York Times. Well, guess what — he’s back!
A 12 days of Christmas mystery
Let me begin with the obvious: A merry, merry 12th day of Christmas to one and all, if you are among the handful of Western Christians who mark this as the end of the traditional Christmas season (as opposed to the nonsectarian season between the first showing of “Elf” on cable TV and the first day of Christmas, which is Dec. 25).

