Sunday, April 21, 2013
A column by the Rev. Dai Morgan.
By the Rev. Dai Morgan This past week the national media was focused on news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing and the ensuing manhunt for the two young men suspected of carrying out this crime. Tamerlan Tzarnaev (age 26) and his brother Dzhokhar (age 19) were soon identified as suspects. Pursuit of the brothers lasted four days. Tamerlan was killed in a gun battle with police and the wounded Dzhokhar was apprehended later. It began on Monday, April 15, when two homemade bombs were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three individuals were killed outright, including an 8-year-old boy, and 176 people were wounded, many severely. MIT police officer Sean Collier is also believed to have been shot to death by the …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
A column by the Rev. Dai Morgan.
By the Rev. Dai Morgan The 2013 Major League Baseball season is now in its second full week. The Pirates are off to a losing start. But, not to worry, as of this writing their record is better than it was last year at this time. And remember, last year at the All Star break the Pirates were in first place (we’ll just forget the last ten weeks of the season). So, who knows, maybe this will be a happy year at the ballpark? I’ll be there—many times, this season. In fact, on the day that this blog is released, I intend to be at PNC Park, watching the game. At PNC Park, you’ll notice that along the edge of the balcony-level, that arches around the grandstands, are displayed the names and jersey numbers of star players who have had their numbers…
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Some thoughts on how religion unites and divides us.
- OPINION
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Sunday, September 16, 2012
By Rev. Dai Morgan At this time last year, I attended a lecture and panel discussion hosted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at the Heinz History Center. It was advertised as a Town Meeting on Religion in the Public Square. The featured speaker was political scientist David E. Campbell, co-author with Robert Putnam of the book “American Grace: How Religion Unites and Divides Us.” Dr. Campbell’s book was the focus of the town meeting. It is a sociological study exploring the changing American religious landscape. The subtitle of the book, “How Religion Unites and Divides Us,” provides a pretty direct summation of the content. Campbell, a University of Notre Dame professor, observed near the beginning of his talk, “Most people probably think …
Sunday, July 22, 2012
A column by Swissvale United Methodist's pastor.
- OPINION
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Sunday, July 22, 2012
By Dai Morgan of Living Spirit Ministries in Swissvale At this point, everyone knows about the shooting that took place shortly after midnight, Thursday, July 20, in Aurora, Colorado. 24-year-old James Holmes entered a theater where the premiere of the movie “The Dark Knight Rises” was being shown and opened fire on the audience. At the time of this writing, it has been reported that 12 individuals have been killed and 59 wounded. The majority of people attending this eagerly-awaited event appear to have been young adults and children. As soon as the story became public, politicians and public figures began releasing statements of sympathy. They almost all included expressions of prayer. I hope that these claims and promises to pray will …
Sunday, July 15, 2012
More from last week's theme of DIY Religion.
- OPINION
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Sunday, July 15, 2012
By Pastor Dai Morgan of Swissvale United Methodist The “Sunday Reflections” blog that I wrote last week was an observation on a subject that I called “Do-It-Yourself Religion.” It has been suggested that many people these days appear to be defining their religious ideas to fit their own preferences. For whatever reasons, there appears to be a growing tendency for individuals to be satisfied with their own idiosyncratic theologies. George Barna, a researcher of religion in contemporary culture, has observed, “People say, ‘I believe in God. I believe the Bible is a good book. And then I believe whatever I want.’” According to Barna, what Americans believe about God and how they express it is changing. In last week’s piece, I also observed …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Dai Morgan reflects.
- OPINION
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Sunday, July 8, 2012
By Pastor Dai Morgan, Living Spirit Ministries, Swissvale A recent Gallup poll revealed that when the vast majority of Americans are asked the question, “Do you believe in God?” 92 percent answer “yes.” When the question is modified to include belief in God or a “Universal Spirit,” the affirmative response increases to 98 percent. Gallup began measuring Americans’ belief in God in 1944. In that year, 96 percent responded with “yes.” Nearly 75 years later, it doesn’t look like things have changed much. At least, the overall degree of belief in God hasn’t changed appreciably. But, what Americans believe does appear to be changing. George Barna is the founder of the Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in the study of the …
Sunday, June 17, 2012
This week's edition of Sunday Reflections.
- OPINION
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Sunday, June 17, 2012
By Dai Morgan, Pastor of Swissvale United Methodist Church Summer is the time for Vacation Bible School. During the next eight weeks, churches in our region will be offering a variety of Vacation Bible School programs. One source described VBS as "the siren call of summer, the epic event of the season.” Perhaps, this statement is slightly exaggerated. Then again, perhaps not. If the power to elicit fond memories is any indication, VBS has been an “epic” experience for many people. In our culture, the mention of VBS to an adult is likely to bring back happy childhood memories. Vacation Bible Schools have been a long-standing children’s ministry in American churches, especially among Protestants. Most VBS programs consist of a week-long …
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Living Spirit Ministries Pastor Dai Morgan shares his thoughts
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
By Dai Morgan of Swissvale For Roman Catholics and Protestant churches, May 27 is Pentecost Sunday. For those in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Pentecost Sunday occurs on June 3. Pentecost is a special day on the Christian liturgical calendar. It is when the church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. Some folks like to refer to it as the birthday of the church. It represents the moment when the first followers of Jesus Christ turned from fear and uncertainty to become open and bold. From that point forward, they began organizing communities of faith, starting in Jerusalem. In first century Palestine, Pentecost (Shavuot) was a Jewish celebration, also known as the Feast of Weeks. It was the second of three annual pilgrimage festivals…
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Local religious leaders take turns sharing their thoughts on the issues.
- OPINION
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
By Pastor Dai Morgan, Swissvale This piece is the first in a regular series of columns covering the subject of religion. I am the pastor of Living Spirit Ministry—Swissvale United Methodist Church. I have invited other local clergy and religious professionals to contribute to the writing of this feature. It is my hope that we will be able to provide a variety of perspectives on religious thought, practice and experience. Of course, when possible, we will try to include a local angle. My topic for today was inspired by a recent experience, but also, I think, is an appropriate topic to begin this series. The topic is “Ecumenism,” the movement for unityand cooperation among the various traditions and denominations within Christianity. Last …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Living Spirit Ministries is raising money for its local food bank efforts.
Living Spirit Ministries Pastor Dai Morgan announced Wednesday that his church is hosting a fundraiser at 7 p.m., May 26 for its food bank program. Morgan told Swissvale Council members about the event, which will consist of several jazz music performances, at their meeting. "We have several national and international musicians in the jazz field who will perform," Morgan said. Entry into the event is free, but donations will be taken for the local food bank, which Living Spirit Ministries coordinates and runs. Last month, the church fed 160 families. The church's food bank operates as a branch for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and serves residents from Swissvale, Edgewood and Rankin who are in need.
Bob Dove
7:58 pm on Sunday, September 16, 2012
One of your points was recently brought home to me in a personal way. A friend from New Zealand, who I've known for over 10 years, told me that he always assumed I was a Republican because of my devout faith as a Christian. He assumed that most Christians were Republican. I told him that I felt that being Christian almost assured that I was a Democrat, because the Democrats were more concerned … more ›