Matt Mardis-LeCroy

It's official.

Every single person that I know in Iowa is running for public office.

Like...everybody.

Good luck!

I'm firing the ushers for telling me how few people attended church last Sunday!

If Iowa values religious liberty, it won't push private colleges to ditch DEI | Opinion Should a Catholic college lose students if it declines to dismantle antiracism or social justice initiatives? writes David Carroll Cochran.

Compare & contrast:

Elite universities rolling over for the regime.

vs.

Scrappy little Catholic college in Iowa arguing that DEI initiatives are rooted in the social justice commitments.

Stand for something or fall for the regime. Those are the choices.

www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinio...

The current massive failure of elite universities, media, political parties, corporations etc. to meet this moment just might invite a reconsideration of the mainline Protestant churches.

Maybe?

Call It Grace by Serene Jones: 9780735223653 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books "Theology is a place and a story. Theology is the place and story you think of when you ask yourself about the meaning of your life, of the world, and the possibility of God." So begins Serene Jones'...

Find somebody who looks at you the way @serenejones.bsky.social looks at Calvin...

(Enjoying this so far!)

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/553290...

Not the most important part of the story, I know.

But.

For the love of everything holy can we PLEASE NOT normalize the wearing of baseball caps with academic regalia?

What even is that?

Among the greatest promotional photos of all time are these for the 1990 television movie of IT, where it looks like a prestige legal drama about a firm of hot young lawyers and one associate who likes to dress up like a clown.

"Sadness is like a little bit of an emotional death but not a defeat if you can find a way to laugh about it. Because that laughter keeps you from having fear of it, and fear is the thing that keeps you turning to evil devices to save you from the sadness."

-- Stephen Colbert

What’s a shark’s favourite novel?
A Farewell to Arms

Oh dear...

(1852) Frederick Douglass, "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July" Explore the speech "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July" delivered by Frederick Douglass in 1852, including full text and historical context.

www.blackpast.org/african-amer...

Happy 4th of July, Batman.

Your Tired, Your Poor...

Bill Moyers, Presidential Aide and Veteran of Public TV, Dies at 91

One summer Sunday, some years ago, I preached a sermon that was...not great.

My less than stellar sermon was on a text from Genesis. And (I later learned) Mr. Moyers had been in attendance

He did not stay to shake my hand.

I can not say that I blame him.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/b...

10 years of civil marriage equality!

And these rights are less secure right now than at any moment in the last ten years.

Celebration? Sure.

Complacency? Nope.

Reminds me of a parishioner in my first church -Little Neck, Queens, some 20 years ago- who would vent and grouch to me about all the Koreans "taking over the neighorhood."

He was deeply, proudly incredibly Irish.

The irony was not lost on me.

Not the most important thing, of course, but...has an American President ever said THAT word, deliberately, in front of TV cameras before?

Praying tonight...for the leaders of the nations, for all in harm's way, for those who serve in our armed forces and for those who consider themselves our enemies. Praying for a swift, just and enduring peace. Praying because I don't know what else to do.

Yes, I am still on about this.

If I were to publicly admit that I had been leading a double life, engaging in hypocrisy, etc., you might reasonably expect me to then take the further step of reconsidering my theology, politics, etc.

Betcha all the money in my pockets that does not happen here.

Pray for Minnesota.

Pray for our country.

Just...pray.

The Gospel reading for Morning Prayer is a little on the nose.

May all of us see, welcome and work for the things that make for peace...

Social media algorithms boost L.A. protest misinformation in ‘combustible’ environment | CNN Business Offline, in real-world Los Angeles, most Angelenos are having a perfectly normal day. But online, the fires and riots are still raging.

Thinking about in this in light of Jesus' promise, in this upcoming Sunday's Gospel lection, that the Spirt will guide y'all into all truth...

Hope to have more to say about it on Sunday!

www.cnn.com/2025/06/10/m...

Christian Singer Resumes Career, Relieved of a Secret (Published 2010) In 2004, the singer Ray Boltz faced a personal crisis that caused him to retreat and take stock of who he was.

Fun fact: Ray has since come out of the closet! www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/u...

Christian rock band respond to former member's drug abuse, sexual assault allegations Newsboys respond to troubling news regarding their former lead singer, Michael Tait. " If you are a victim, we urge you to come forward," they said.

Long, long, long ago -when Steve Taylor produced their records- the Newsboys were...kind of good, actually? But they stop collaborating w/Taylor, Tait comes in, they become a bland, boring cog in the CCM machine. With gross politics.

So...this tracks.

www.usatoday.com/story/entert...

Deeply annoyed at the NYT for making me Google "ketamine bladder effects."

Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-2025) - Daily Nous Alasdair MacIntyre, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and Duke University, well-known for his work in moral and political philosophy, has died. Professor MacIntyre wrote...

Rest in Peace and thank you!

dailynous.com/2025/05/22/a...

"I need a fashion opinion, even though you're a middle-aged man." -my daughter, to me, just now.

Name them! Shame them!

"Dah Pope."

Pope Francis could see the humanity of trans people. Why is it hard for so many American Christians?

How do mainline Protestants get outflanked...by the pope?