America’s Health Care Debate and What it Reveals

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 5 2013

Every nation I visited on my recent European lecture tour has a National Health System, paid for by tax dollars and run for all the people by the government …

SYRIA, POISON GAS, MISSILE STRIKES AND PEACE?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on September, 19 2013

It has been both an emotional and a political roller-coaster. The television newscasters and the print media informed us that a political debate was underway as to whether or …

A Meditation on the State of America on its 237th Birthday

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on July, 11 2013

The United States celebrated its 237th birthday this past week. It seems, therefore, a fitting time for some moments of national reflection. In today’s column I seek to …

Gun Control, Immigration and Senator Hagel: The Manifestations of Cultural Paranoia in our Current Political Debate

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on February, 7 2013

There are times when listening to the political debate in this country that I am absolutely astonished. Many of the participants in the current struggles regarding the proposed limitation …

My Fourth Great Mentor: Edwin Anderson Penick, VI Bishop of North Carolina

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August, 30 2012

All of us are mentored in life by other people.  Sometime this mentoring is done by example, sometimes by words.  An essential aspect of maturity is to recognize those …

The Retirement of Rowan Williams – The Archbishop of Canterbury

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 19 2012

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honorable Dr. Rowan Williams, has recently announced his plans to retire at year’s end. This announcement was greeted with …

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 …

The Health Care Debate: Is It Possible to Reach Conclusions That Are Satisfactory?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on April, 5 2012

The argument before the Supreme Court as to whether the Federal government can mandate health insurance for all citizens represents a fascinating dance around shifting realities.  It is an …

Harrisena Community Church in Lake George New York: A Story Worth Telling

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 15 2011

This church was built in 1866 by John J. Harris to be used as an Episcopal summer chapel serving vacationers in the Lake George, New York area.  In 1869 it was …