Mollie Hemingway

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Obama's confession of faith

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When I attended the National Prayer Breakfast back in February, I was struck by the clear confession of faith President Barack Obama gave. There were many speakers and every single one of them was talking about their faith. But while many speakers were opaque, Obama said things I wouldn’t be surprised to hear in my own church on Sunday morning. I left the country a few hours later so I never saw how the media covered that speech.


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Arrigoni's death and Salafiya's rise

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Last week, Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was abducted by Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad members in Gaza. They posted a video online saying he’d be killed unless their rival Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, released Salafis in prison. Within hours, though, he was dead. The group, sometimes called Tawhid and Jihad, later denied kidnapping and killing Arrigoni, who was originally from Italy.


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A garden variety error

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Yesterday was Palm Sunday, which meant special services for many Christians. My congregation gathered outside with palms for the first reading, then sang the 9th century hymn “All Glory, Laud and Honor” as we all processed into the sanctuary. Our children’s choir, bell choir and horns were all in action. And we also had what I’m sure is the longest Gospel reading of the year, so long that we took six singing breaks. The reading is literally 141 verses long, All of Matthew 26 and all of Matthew 27. I wrangled and threatened my children and somehow we got through it. I’m also happy to report that my 1-year-old has stopped shouting “No!” during the sermon. Mostly.


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Hell isn't for real?

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Some people look at Newsweek‘s precipitous decline as an example of how to destroy a magazine. (Its most recent issue had six ads.) Other people apparently want to emulate it. Or so I’m led to believe by TIME magazine’s decision to have former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham write its cover story celebrating Rob Bell and his views on hell.


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Confirmation on Kate's confirmation?

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Even though I’m the mother of two young girls, I’m not worried about them getting caught up in the whole princess complex. My husband is some kind of anti-royalist so he keeps any princess talk in check. Last time the girls tried to dress up as princesses, my husband gave them a lecture on Constitutional governance.


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Too Catholic for Malta?

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Malta is 98 percent Catholic, making it one of the most Catholic countries in the world. A reader sent along a link to a story about the United States ambassador to Malta getting into trouble with the State Department Inspector General. Here’s how the Associated Press put it:


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A tin ear for religion

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Last month, I highlighted media coverage of campaigns to get worshipers to confession. I needled the Miami Archdiocese a bit for using Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C Major to accompany their television advertisement. Johann Sebastian Bach is my favorite Lutheran composer, in a very crowded field. I was surprised that a couple of commenters didn’t know he was Lutheran, on account of how well regarded he is as a musician, composer and theologian.


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