A few years ago one of my younger brothers, Sam, in his early 60's, ran the Boston Marathon.  My family came from all over the country to support him and watch the marathon.  We had a great time, getting on and off the crowded Green Line subway trolleys, standing on the side of the road in Newton, following the race into Boston for the finale.  We loved being together in the spring weather, marathon fans and baseball fans, because there was a game that day, out in force celebrating the pure joy of this New England day.  I expect almost every one of us in eastern Massachusetts at one time or another, whether as a runner in the race, or supporter of a friend or family member or spectator, has had the same experience.

Bishop Tom Shaw in this video meets "Lucky" in a coffee shop and shares conversation about who God is and what he gets out of going to church.  (You know how it is in coffee shops, so go ahead and crank up the volume to catch all of it.  Here is a transcript.)  How does being in church fuel you?

Bishop Tom Shaw in this video talks about how Lent is like a valentine.

“Rock solid” is how Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the commitment of the United States to Israel as she arrived in Israel to help broker a ceasefire in Gaza.  That was, you might remember, back in mid-November when Hamas and Israel were lobbing rockets at each other across borders.  Since then, ahead of Israeli elections later in January, Prime Minister Netanyahu has advanced settlement plans around Jerusalem that would be a further obstacle to a two-state solution.