On Parting – Never to Meet Again – An Experience of Timelessness

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 12 2013

There are some moments in life when the transcendent is expressed inside the mundane; where the eternal seems to enter the passage of time. They are moments, usually unexpected, …

Scandal in the Roman Catholic Church: The Charade Goes On!

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 18 2013

The Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, is the Most Reverend George Pell. He is a tall, impressive-looking man, whose career in his church has followed the traditional …

On Being Honored by the Jesus Seminar

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 12 2012

In the early spring of this year the Jesus Seminar paid me a special tribute at its meeting held in Salem, Oregon.  First, I was invited to give two …

Meditation on Turning 80 in London

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 25 2011

I marked the 80th anniversary of my birth in Green’s Restaurant, Duke Street in London this summer.  What I thought was to be a quiet, romantic …

The Tragedy in Norway and Its Meaning

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 28 2011

My heart aches for Norway.  I have visited that country where I lectured in a large Lutheran Church in downtown Oslo and admired some of Norway’s most creative clergy.  …

The Lecture Tour of Germany, Part I: Background and Content

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 14 2011

Earlier this summer as part of a European lecture tour, Christine and I went to Germany for three public lectures in three cities and two press interviews.  The invitation …