Conform or Transform
We are at a moment in history when we can try to maintain life as we knew it before social distancing, self-quarantine, and disruption of our daily regimens, or we can transform into a...
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of those church words that we hear a lot about. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we say, “Forgive us our trespasses/debts as we forgive our debtors/those who trespass against us.”...
Deepened or Cheapened?
There have many calls to prayer during this time of crisis for individuals, our community, our city, our state, our nation, and our world. Turning to God is certainly appropriate all the time. Prayer...
The Seed
The Seed I remember being in a beautiful packet with others who looked like me. Sometimes we wondered what was outside our dark pouch. We’d hear noises. “O-o-o, look at this one! It’s so...
2019 Annual Report
Our Eyes Were Opened, Inc. Annual Report 2019 Areas Where OEWO, Inc, Events Happened: GEOGRAPHIC: Greenville, Easley, Pickens, Anderson, Clemson, Savannah GA. PRISMA HEALTH SYSTEM: Med Ex COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: Furman, Clemson, and Anderson...
Review of The Sacred Year
“I can see this being a comfort to others who have gone through a similar circumstance… Readers connect with that kind of vulnerability, and author has seemingly held nothing back.” Judge, 27th Annual Writer’s...
Conversing With God = Prayer
People of faith pray. Praying is expected. Praying is nurturing. Praying is… fill in the blank based on your experience. Some of us were taught to pray as children. We offered bedtime prayers. “Now...
Prayer
Loving God, Holy One of our lives, we come to you with our heads bowed in shame. We have brothers and sisters who have no place to call home, who walk these very streets....
Christmas Questions
As a person with theological training, I am sometimes asked out of the blue questions about God, Jesus, church, the meaning of life, and other “little things.” Sometimes the questions come from friends whose...
What Does Gentrifying Mean?
As I take people on a tour through Greenville, I use the term gentrifying. I often need to explain what that means. I’m challenged because gentrifying has both good news and bad news about...
Myth Busters
Myth Busters Compiled by Beth Templeton, 3.30.18 Based on Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer, $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, Mariner Books, imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015 Not...
Tribute to a Magnolia Tree
Every morning when I wake up, I open my curtains and crawl back into bed to read, write, or simply let my mind wander. As I do these things, I look at the magnolia...
Our Eyes Were Opened, Inc. 2017
Areas Where OEWO, Inc, Events Happened: GEOGRAPHIC: Greenville, Rock Hill, York, Liberty, Spartanburg, Greensboro, Columbia, Clemson, and Chautauqua County, New York. GREENVILLE HEALTH SYSTEM: pediatric residents, Emergency Department residents, first year medical students, Med...
The Christmas Strawberry is available
I’m excited to announce that my newest book is now available on Amazon and at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC. The Christmas Strawberry and Other Stories is a collection of stories and poems that reflects on...
Is Donald Trump an Abbot?
How timely is this from Thomas Merton’s Journal, October 20, 1962? “People demand that the government ‘interfere’ in nothing, just pour money into the armament industry and provide a strong police for ‘security,’...
Hidden Voices (Part 6 in a six part series)
Hidden Voices (Part 6 of a 6-Part series) One other group of people whose voices are hidden are those who deal with severe mental illness and addiction issues. We’d like for people with mental...
Hidden Voices ( Part 5 in a series)
If we were watching live theater now, we’d see a crowd behind a scrim mumbling softly and then getting louder and louder. In the wings, we would hear the sound of buildings coming down...
Hidden Voices Part 4 in a Series
One way I identify hidden voices is from the comments I receive through my work with Our Eyes Were Opened, Inc. I’ve heard: “He committed a crime. Why should I help him?” Formerly incarcerated...
Hidden Voices Part 3 in a series
One way I identify hidden voices is from the comments I receive through my work with Our Eyes Were Opened, Inc. I’ve been told: If they’d stop having children and were responsible for the...
Hidden Voices (Part 2 of a series)
One way I identify hidden voices is from the comments I receive through my work with Our Eyes Were Opened, Inc. One comment that I hear is: “If they’d just get a job, everything...