Words matter… and now that we’re closing the book on a tumultuous 2016 it’s worth taking a look at the ones that hijacked the news cycle at year’s end.

World order. Disruption. Transition. Cyber-Intrusion. Destabilization Post-truth. Twitter.

These highly charged words dominated the cycle and continue to dominate as we move closer to next week’s inauguration of a new President-Elect. I won’t try to parse the dark side of these year-end favorites, or summarize their importance in 140 characters or less, but it’s worth reminding ourselves that words (and actions) do matter, but they matter less in the heat of a Twitter moment than in thoughtful reflection. read more

Fifty-one years ago, this week, I was in East Jerusalem surrounded by the past, confronting the present, and trying to imagine the future, but I was also energized to be in the place where King David reigned, Mohammed walked, and Christ died.

On Christmas Eve, at an Episcopal Mass in Seattle, I had difficulty focusing on the sermon and though the subject matter was mainstream – fake “post-truth” news and the birth of Christ – my mind was in that earlier time and place. As the Bishop spoke I thought about the Holy Land as crucible, how it was 51 years ago, how it is now, and what the differences mean to all of us. read more