April 4 is the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This week is Holy Week. So what do Trayvon Martin, Dr. King and Jesus have in common? No, this question isn't the beginning of a bad joke -- the answer is hopefully apparent....

Several days ago my friend Michelle Alexander, author of the profound 'The New Jim Crow,' asked via her Facebook page, 'Is the life of a black boy worth anything today?' I wept when I read her question, because I knew the answer. This is an edited portion of what I...

Dear Mr. Santorum:

I live in Michigan and write to you as a sister in Christ. I worship the same Christ as you do -- only radically differently. I have been touched by the stories of your daughter with Trisomy 18. When I was pregnant with our daughter we were...

This Christmas season I yearn to hear the good news -- perhaps a little more than most years. Perhaps it is because I grieve the fracture of good will in our American Congress. Perhaps it is because many Christmas trees (if folks can even afford those) will be pretty bare...

Wangari Maathai died Sunday night. Her death diminishes our planet, but her dreams continue. Though most Americans have never heard of her, I invite you to learn why so many of us in the world mourn today.

I met Dr. Maathai in the summer of 2007. My children's school has...

This is a prayerful request for all who are leading or participating in a Remembrance Service this coming Sunday, on 9/11. Please, by God's grace, do not pretend that it's about "us." So often it seems that we in America become fairly egocentric, imagining that we are the center of...