Mr. Locke’s Classroom

This is part three in a three-part series on border/immigration issues written for my summer internship work with Pasos De Fe.  For more information, please read the introduction. Previously:  Who Is My Neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37)Previously: The Law and the Lions’ Den (Daniel 3 & 6) Amnesty for Adam Definitions of Amnesty: from Merriam-Webster Online: The [...]

This is part two in a three-part series on border/immigration issues written for my summer internship work with Pasos De Fe.  For more information, please read the introduction.  Previously:  Who Is My Neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37) The Law and the Lions’ Den Some of the most vehement and passionate arguments against immigrants are directed specifically at [...]

This is part one in a three-part series on border/immigration issues written for my summer internship work with Pasos De Fe.  For more information, please read the introduction. Who Is My Neighbor? There is little doubt in my mind that the parable of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus gives in Luke 10:25-37 as an answer [...]

Although I grew up in El Paso and Mexico was (quite literally) a stone’s throw from my house, I never really connected much with Mexican culture or the issues (like immigration) that are an inherent part of living and working in a border community.  So for my internship this summer at 1st Presbyterian Church in [...]

Tomorrow will be the first of three sermons I’ll preach during my internship here at First Presbyterian Church of El Paso, Tx. This one draws from the lectionary passage (Amos 7:7-17) as well as a few scattered reflections from General Assembly 219 and my personal angst over the ongoing “numbers crisis” in the PC(USA). While [...]

(Also posted at Sacred Space in Cyberspace) PREFACE In a time of deep cultural change, the church has both great opportunity and great responsibility.  It is propelled into the future by its mission, while connected to the past by traditions, teachings, and writings stretching back to the beginnings of our faith.  It is often tempting [...]

What follows is my application essay for a PCUSA New Church Development Discernment  Conference this October, answering the simple question “Why do you want to attend this event?”  Since it marks some major changes (or clarification) in my thinking, and tracks some things I’ve been involved with recently, I thought it might be good to [...]