Category: Columns

There are things that Christians do each year that surely seem bizarre to outsiders.

I recently returned to Columbia to kick off the 2021 legislative session. With masks and other precautions in place, we had a productive start to the year. It was great to be back at the Statehouse!

Early this month, I spent two days at the Statehouse, where House members prepared for the 2021 session, beginning Jan. 12.

Just after school resumed this past September and before leaf-watching traffic descended upon the southern Appalachians, an old friend and I rode our loaded bicycles along the length of the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway from Front Royal, Va., to Cherokee, N.C., a trip covering 14 days, 575 miles and 63,000 feet of climbing.

With COVID-19 cases rapidly increasing, it is exciting to receive Moderna’s 94.1 percent efficacy and 100 percent effectiveness against severe COVID-19 news, since I am a volunteer participant in their vaccine clinical trial.

As we enter the holiday season, it is also a great time to focus on helping others.

I think this is almost invariably (note the tiny escape clause) an accurate statement: Lutheran pastors do not tell parishioners how to vote.

I am excited to continue updating you on the results of our two-week legislative special session. The House and Senate returned to Columbia last month to complete some unfinished business after our regular session was unexpectedly cut short in March, (no) thanks to COVID-19.