Sarah Northwood is the wife of Father Rob Northwood, who serves as the rector of The Church of Reconciliation (Charismatic Episcopal Church) in Bel Air, Md. She and her husband are the parents of six children. A couple of months ago, Sarah participated in an event in Washington, D.C.

Unlike some events in which clergy wives participate, this event put Sarah in a place where she was exposed, vulnerable, and open to potential ridicule. A woman of courage and commitment, these are her own words: Read More»

I read somewhere once that, by the time we are 19 years old, give or take a couple of years, we are who we are for the rest of our lives. The essence of who we are and who we will be for the rest of our lives is permanently formed. All that is added, from that point on, is experience and, hopefully, maturity.
If this is true, it does explain some of our thoughts and behaviors.

For example, a couple of years ago, our church softball team was in danger of losing a game by forfeit. They needed one other player to be able to field a team and not experience the loss by forfeit. Read More»

According to a report in The Citizen newspaper, Georgia state Representative Virgil Fludd (D-Tyrone) “wants to add a ‘temporary’ 1 percent income tax surcharge on Georgia’s highest earners as a way to raise more than $200 million for the state’s beleaguered budget. Fludd last week filed House Bill 1066 which would apply the temporary 1 percent surcharge for married couples who have a total income of more than $400,000 and single individuals with an income of $200,000. Read More»

When I was a 25-year-old pastor I had better answers to the questions of life than I do now. When I took my first church at 23, I knew I didn’t know anything about almost everything. By the time two years had passed, I had all the answers.

Why do some people suffer? I could tell you. Why do bad things happen to good people? I had the insight. In fact, when a supervisor suggested I read a certain theologian, I declined. I knew what I believed. Read More»

It was 40 years ago, Friday, Feb. 13, 1970, that I arrived at Parris Island, South Carolina at “zero dark-thirty” a.m. I’d like to say that I was motivated to enlist by intense patriotism during a time of war, but the simple truth is less honorable. Read More»

Recently, someone suggested that I was a racist. The charge came, of course, from someone I do not know, who disagreed with something I said in an article, and who sent a comment to the newspaper anonymously. Read More»

A few days ago, I was having lunch with a fellow pastor in another town and we were discussing the terrible situation in Haiti. He was saying that his church was going to be receiving an offering and investigating what they could do to offer assistance.

I had been overloaded with images from that stricken land and I recognized the enormity of the tragedy. Strangely, I was somewhat detached. I think it is because I had never been to Haiti, knew no one in Haiti, and did not know anyone who knew someone in Haiti. I just couldn’t put a face to Haiti. Read More»

I am a self-described independent voter who tends to lean toward conservatism. If this were the 1960s, I would be a John F. Kennedy liberal. JFK promoted civil rights, women’s rights, a hand up for the disadvantaged, educational programs that would improve the lot of motivated youth who yearned for success, inspiration to achieve, and the opportunity to serve one’s country and community — this type of liberalism I could buy. Read More»

It’s my birthday. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I share the same birthday, though not the same year of birth. My cousin John Honeycutt, four years younger than I, also shares the same birth date. On Jan. 15, I hit the big five-nine. I can no longer deceive myself into thinking that I am still a kid. Read More»

When I was in New York during the fall, a few of us from the South were talking Southeastern Conference football. One of the local guys said, “You guys from down South sure talk a lot about college football.” Read More»