Essays

“Family Together,” PublicSource

What three students, their coach, and their city taught me about love.

“Go Hard or Go Home,” Prairie Schooner

A town and a team form family through football.

“Welcoming the Stranger,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

A Christian worships with Tree of Life congregants.

“The Cracks,” Hotel Amerika

Photographer Sally Mann, a body farm, and resurrection.

“‘He Wants to Talk to Ms. Betty,’” Pittsburgh Magazine

Unexpected encounter in a garden heals a hungry ghost.

“Re-Seeing the World,” INTER

Students daring to dialogue across divides.

 

“The Conversation: An Appreciation of Paul Kameen,” The Fifth Floor

In praise of a teaching mentor and friend.

 

“Shaping the Spiritual,” Creative Nonfiction

On things that take our breath away.


“Explode,” Gulf Coast

Water, a lost uncle, and those he left behind.

 

“Ritual,” Image

Searching for a free-range God with the Dudes. 

 

“New Country,” Gulf Stream

Risking love in California.

 

“Eschaton,” Arts & Letters

One boy’s passage.

 

“This is My Body,” Explorefaith.org

The Mission, Maundy Thursday, and the washing of feet.

 

“Getting Darker with the Other,” The Witness

Embracing difference amidst polarizing politics.