DO VIOLENT IDEOLOGICAL VALUES LEAD TO GUN VIOLENCE? Here are four quotes that present violent values. Some are personal and some are political in nature. In both ways, I submit they light the matches for violence, and too often gun violence. “You never…

THE BIG PICTURE of gun violence prevention (GVP) reveals many causal images demanding response. It is right to pass respectful gun safety laws because rightly focused laws save lives while respecting one’s legitimate right to purchase a weapon. Yet, we cannot stop with…

Our Zoom conversation focused on WAYS FORWARD for gun violence prevention. Those participating represented Protect Minnesota-Interfaith Alliance for Gun Safety, ENGAGE Public Witness of the SPAS, and some with relationships with Mom’s Demand Action. A friend from Colorado shared his concern. It was…

As a Christian, I am an enhanced patriot. I enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks even though concerned about injuries and accidental fires. Yet the meaning of July 4th resonates. In college I majored in history-political science, learning the courage and reason it…

We have reached a fork in the road. In the words of the poet Robert Frost, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both . . . . I took the one less traveled by. And that…

(Surrounded by COVID-19, 44 million people filing for unemployment, thousands of businesses shut-down, a clamor for structural change amidst racial realities, a demand for police reform, and a rise in gun violence, the United States is swimming in stormy electoral politics. Addressing such…

The physics law I remember most clearly is: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In football, a blocker is always pushed back in order to overpower the initial block and make a tackle. Arguments are a push and push.…

(The following is a guest commentary by Gary Thompson, long time GVP supporter, who works with Minnesota GVP groups like Protect Minnesota and Moms Demand Action. This post is a letter Gary wrote and was published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Thanks,…

The poet, Francis Thompson, wrote an aphorism that has planted an oak in my mind for decades. “Thou canst not stir a flower without troubling a star.” In short, all of life is connected. COVID-19 has rightly sucked up considerable conversation oxygen since…

A major focus of my ministry was with children and youth. The summers of high school found me working at our church’s camp, washing dishes, carrying out garbage, swabbing floors, building campfires, painting cabins and, well, you name it! During college, I was…