“We need to talk about the bias against child-free employees.” The headline was intriguing.  I knew it was clickbait, but I clicked anyway.  I was taken to the online version of Fast Company Magazine. Fast Company describes itself as “the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, leadership, and design.”

The gist of the article was that what the author calls “child-free” employees (more on that in a moment) are feeling increasingly resentful of the parents they work with because of various company policies – maternity and paternity leave and child-related time off – which give benefits to parents, but not to the child-free.  The pandemic has exacerbated the situation as employers and employees respond to school and daycare closures.

As the workplace seeks to accommodate new realities, the article says some have wondered “where does that leave those who don’t have children, but do have beloved pets? Or family members or friends for whose care they are responsible? Or nonwork passions?” Continue reading →

For the past few years Becky and I have used the Mobile Passport app on our phones to help us get through immigration and customs when returning from an international flight.  About this time last year, I upgraded to the Plus version in anticipation of returning from a mission trip to Guatemala.  I thought I might use the upgrade more than once in 2020, but even so, it was worth the $14.99 subscription.

A few days ago, I received a notice asking if I wish to renew the subscription for another year.  Another $14.99.  I went for it.  We have no current plans for international travel, and we know that our best-case scenario for a trip somewhere far away any time soon is full of lots of pandemic era ifs. Still, I went for it. A $14.99 bet on the future.

There’s no reason I could not let my Plus subscription lapse and then renew it prior to the if and when of a next foreign trip.  At the very least, my $14.99 would cover a twelve-month period when I might actually use it.

But I wanted to make that $14.99 bet on the future, even if the odds of winning are not particularly good.  I like the symbolism. Continue reading →

We come by our enthusiasm for the Green Bay Packers honestly. From 1993 to 1998 Becky and the kids and I lived on the shore of Green Bay in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula just an hour north of Lambeau field.  As pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Menominee, I learned early to adjust church schedules and programs around Packer games, especially home games.  My cooperation was rewarded with more than a few tickets to games at Lambeau. Yes, sacred ground. Yes, the frozen tundra.

Our time in the Frozen North saw the Packers in two Super Bowls and champions in one. Brett Favre. Reggie White.  Those were the days.  In many ways, though, it wasn’t the Super Bowl win against the Patriots or the disappointing loss to the Broncos that caused the most joy or sorrow in Titletown. We saved our intensity for the Dallas Cowboys who had the audacity to call themselves “America’s Team.”  Counting the regular season and the playoffs, the Packers and the Cowboys would play eight games in our five years in the U.P. Continue reading →

“Now that you are retired, what do you miss most about going to work every day?” “And what do you not miss?”  They are good questions.  And there are lots of good answers.  Near the top of the list of things I miss is the interaction with church staff members.  Over the years, it was my privilege to work with some remarkably wonderful people. You know who you are, and thank you! Going to work was a joy.

It is not on the “don’t miss” list, because it was not normally a part of my working experience, but some of the hardest times in church work also involved being part of a staff. Not the normal experience, but the occasional experience. There were occasions during more than forty years of full-time ministry when staff life was hard, very hard. Only occasions, but several of them in several locations at several different stops along the way. Continue reading →

If false humility is a vice, and I think it is, then to deny any personal virtue is a vice.  There are ways, therefore, that I might describe myself as a virtuous person, but mostly I want to talk about a nasty vice that’s been haunting me recently. Avarice, greed, self-concern; call it what you will, like ice in the slightest seam that cracks a marble slab, this mammon-loving vice of mine does its damage.

Earlier in the week Becky and I received our most recent stimulus check from the government.  We didn’t need the money and have already gotten rid of it.  More on that in a moment, but first a word about the checks themselves.

The pandemic lockdowns have been economically disastrous for the likes of restaurant workers and airport porters. Many of those in the gig economy have been financially devastated.  I’d go fully Bernie Sanders if there were a way to get money to such as those.  As wasteful and inefficient as this one size fits all or most stimulus system is, however, it is probably the best we can do. But it does mean that some of us who don’t need a check get a check.  Continue reading →