Heartlands

Month: June 2017

  • Newspapers, Food, & Churches: An interview with Ted Shockley, part 2 of 2

    Newspapers, Food, & Churches: An interview with Ted Shockley, part 2 of 2

    In the previous segment of this interview, I talked with Ted Shockley, publisher of Eastern Shore First, our new local paper, about his approach to his work and the way that the community is changing.  Ted has a preference for print (as opposed to online news) and I was particularly impressed with the way he […]

  • Back to the Cross: The Inclusive Vision of Fleming Rutledge

    Back to the Cross: The Inclusive Vision of Fleming Rutledge

      If the theology podcast Crackers & Grape Juice has any redeeming value*, (and Lord knows they have interviewed some questionable characters in their brief existence—primary evidence: their January interview with me!), it is the recurring “Fridays with Fleming” segments that have introduced the Episcopal priest and theologian, Fleming Rutledge, to a wider audience.  With […]

  • The Future is Print: An interview with Ted Shockley, part 1 of 2

    The Future is Print: An interview with Ted Shockley, part 1 of 2

    Last week I got my hands on the second edition of Eastern Shore First, the new, local, free paper in our community.  People will tell you that newspapers are dying, particularly those that rely on old-fashioned print.  But Ted Shockley, the visionary publisher (and writer, editor, photographer, and marketing department, among other things) of ESF […]

  • Why I Took Jacob to a Wedding

    I brought Jacob to a wedding last weekend.  You know, Jacob the biblical heel-grabber, trickster, tent-dwelling, mama’s boy?  Not usually thought of as a model for 21st century marriage ceremonies. Particularly since his own marriage history is so strange: Boy meets Girl.  Boy falls in love with Girl.  Boy talks to her father.  Father agrees […]

  • Grant’s Migraine – Tuesday Poetry

    Grant’s Migraine – Tuesday Poetry

    I know what caused Grant’s Appomattox migraine, not death nor politics or Sheridan’s whereabouts. It was the slant light of April nigh to the equinox. The same light troubling my eyes on this slatted porch. It should fall gentle in this season or so I advise the Crafter but instead it blotches my retina sears […]

  • Guest Blogger – C. Christopher Smith: Stirring the Economic Imaginations of Churches

    Guest Blogger – C. Christopher Smith: Stirring the Economic Imaginations of Churches

      I’ve learned a lot about books from C. Christopher Smith.  Chris is not only the editor of the Englewood Review of Books, to which I occasionally contribute.  His press is also the publisher of my book, A Space for Peace in the Holy Land: Listening to Modern Israel & Palestine.  He’s a great observer and interpreter […]

  • Writing: “A Blessed Unrest” – An interview with Trudy Hale – part 3 of 3

    Writing: “A Blessed Unrest” – An interview with Trudy Hale – part 3 of 3

    Trudy Hale, editor of Streetlight magazine, and owner of The Porches writing retreat, has talked in previous segments of this interview about her love affair with the retreat house and the writing life.  In this segment we continue the conversation about the compulsions of writing and the forms it takes in her life.  And we come […]

  • Fidget Spinners, Coffee Mugs, and the Hope of the Church 

    Fidget Spinners, Coffee Mugs, and the Hope of the Church 

    What the church really needs for revival is to be socially relevant.  No, it all starts with a great music program.  Wait, we need a mission statement that’s clever and quippy.  How about a Bible study that offers applicable principles for everyday living?  Don’t forget the giveaway mugs! There’s no end to prescriptions for turning […]