In March, I signed The Civility Covenant issued by the folks at Sojourners.  Believe it or not, the Civility Covenant wound up being somewhat controversial as critics from both the political right and left attacked the document.  From the left, commenters said that calls for civility are nothing more than tactics to protect white male…

On May 13, Christians celebrate the Feast of the Ascension.  The Episcopal saints calendar marks an additional commemoration on May 13, a day set aside to remember Frances Perkins (1880-1965), the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet, who served as Secretary of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt.  An Episcopal laywoman, Perkins worked tirelessly for…

President Obama has picked Elena Kagan, former dean of Harvard Law School and Solicitor General, to fill the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.  Much will be said of Ms. Kagan over the coming weeks–praise and criticism of all sorts.  But little will be in a form of lament, and that’s what I’d like to…

May 8 is the celebration of Dame Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-1416?) author of the first English-language book written by a woman.  She was a shadowy figure, her real name and the facts of her life largely unknown.  For some reason, she took up the life of an anchoress–a solitary nun–walled into a cell in…

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