William Maurice, i.e. Willie Mo, I Baptize You

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on March, 5 2015

It was a strangely emotional moment for me. I was in All Saint’s Church in Austin, Texas, holding in my arms a nine months old baby boy, preparing …

The Emerging Church in Northern Michigan

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 16 2014

Marquette, Michigan, sits on Lake Superior about 300 miles south and slightly east of Thunder Bay, Canada. While we were there, Christine and I were made honorary “Yoopers,” a name …

A Thirty-Day Lecture Tour of Europe

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 28 2013

It was probably the most exciting and fulfilling book tour of my entire career. Over a period of thirty days, I journeyed through Europe delivering sixteen public lectures in …

On Speaking at the Athenaeum in Madrid

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 20 2012

It was a uniquely Spanish event held in the beautifully ornate Athenaeum in downtown Madrid. It followed the format of a carefully orchestrated, intellectual and cultural pattern. The audience …

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 …