Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009
“O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…
Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.
And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.
Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN.”
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
The tall, thin man walked into our office suite at the hospital today looking lost. “May I help you?” I said. He looked me over and asked if one of our chaplains was available. “Sure, what can I do for you? I asked.
My stepmom is 81 years old and in a hospital as I write this post with pneumonia, but she is still teaching me how to be present with another.
Hello, my name is Malcolm. I am an addict.
I love my Macbook Pro with its 8 hour battery life and seamless connectivity to the internet. I check Facebook and Twitter regularly.
If we live long enough, we will have the opportunity to help a friend or a family member during times of grief.
We sat in the hospital room uninterrupted in the wee hours of the morning talking about the journey of a love between two persons.
Sometimes we need to have fun and think outside the box when it comes to how we live.

In my journey to live more simply is a desire to be radically generous to the poor or to those in need.
We have been taught all of our lives to tell the truth.
We are busy people rushing through life. And yet recently, a few people chose a simpler, different pace.
This series is about living more simply. But how can we make it easier for our loved ones when our days are numbered?
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.” (Lewis Smedes).
I find it ironic that I am writing about simplifying my life in order to live more meaningfully during these 40 days of Lent.
For those of us who are of the Christian faith,
As I sat in the meeting with a group of fellow co-workers (not my chaplain team), I was caught off guard by the comments of one of the group members. He critiqued a workshop that I had recently led in front of the group, and he told me how disappointed he was that I didn’t talk enough about some things he thought would have been more helpful to the audience.
And so my simplicity journey began. It was a step, a beginning, a stirring, a calling to walk a new pace.
I grew up in a conservative Christian community. And I am thankful for that upbringing.
Jesus said the following about homosexuality, “ .” That’s it, period.
I’ve been wanting to write this letter for a while. I have heard that some of your pastors, priests, rabbis, or imams have unfortunately misled you regarding your son or daughter’s sexual orientation. We have made your burden heavier, not lighter.
I was recently asked to visit a sweet, humble angel who was 96 years old. She knew she was dying, and her family was around her bedside. After talking with the family for awhile, I turned toward the patient and introduced myself. She smiled when I told her I was a chaplain and she whispered softly, “Thank you for coming,” We talked for a few minutes and then I had a prayer. The whole time she was just thanking God quietly.







After going through a family health crisis recently, I’ve been struggling about prayer and its purpose in my life.
Routine: ”an unvarying or habitual method or procedure.”
The call came into our Pastoral Care office and a young nurse was on the phone.
This past Sunday our pastor did something you rarely see in church just before the offering plate was passed.
I decided to take a different path into the hospital where I work in Birmingham, AL recently. I walked through one of the newest sections of the hospital and was still amazed at the gorgeous architecture.
One of the persons who has made each day enjoyable for me in my new job in the hospital has been Minnie.
Sometimes, everything (note the exaggeration) seems hard.
How do you describe yourself to a new friend during your first extended, getting-to-know-you conversation?
The boxes are packed, the office is almost empty. It is amazing how much stuff one can gather after a decade and a half in one office.
When I first began at the clinic in 1994, we had patients dying every single day of the year. It was a very difficult time.
The last week of your 15+ years at The 1917 Clinic is here. Of course, everyone at the 1917 Clinic wishes you the very best on your next journey down the street at the Hospital. We know that those who will have the opportunity to work with you in the future are fortunate more than they can know now. We know that hospital patients and community members will benefit from your compassionate approach and innovative solutions. We know all this because we have already received the gifts from you at the 1917 Clinic.
I had forgotten how stressful “positive transitions” or changes can be in our lives. Even when a change is good, the journey from the familiar to the unknown is unsettling to say the least. My present job has lasted fifteen and a half years and it has been half of my thirty year career. And yet I hesitate even to say that this is transition is difficult.
Since I announced the beginning of my transition from my job as Chaplain at The 1917 (HIV) Clinic to become the Director of Pastoral Care at the hospital beginning October 5th, I am keenly aware of living in two worlds.

I learned early in my Clinical Pastoral Education training that there are only four basic feelings we have in life–Mad, Sad, Glad, and Afraid.
Today, I am remembering what it felt like just before kickoff when I played football many years ago for Clemson University. This metaphor describes what I feel like today on July 24, 2009.
As I turn 54 on July 9, 2009, I am aware I have more questions than I have answers.
My mind and thoughts are rambling today.
I have come to love this house on a bluff overlooking the lake. Its like a tree house in the summertime and each season is unique and amazing. I’ve seen owls, hawks, eagles, red fox, rabbits, deer, and wolves to name just a few of the native wild animals. I smile at the baby calves and foals in the pastures on my way to work. On a clear night on our deck, I see billions of stars that are invisible in the city, and hear tree frogs and whippoorwills instead of car horns.
Recently I was out for an early morning hour walk for exercise in downtown Birmingham, walking from the Southside to the Northside and back again.
I was recently leading a group discussion at The 1917 Clinic around the theme of love with the following two questions:
This may be one of the most boring posts I have written on my blog. Why?
We had our first “
I love to go hiking. The only problem is I get lost almost every time I go.
Before long, we found the swinging bridge and needed to cross to the other side over the creek. It’s a little scary to walk over water when the bridge is moving up and down, side to side, every time you take a step. Add 5 or 6 people walking on it at the same time, and you get the picture.
We continued on the trail and stopped by a cavern with a waterfall that was cool and refreshing. We talked with an experienced Camp McDowell staff member we ran into on the trail, and he explained all of the options we had for various trails ahead of us.
Another fifteen minutes went by and it wasn’t getting any better. Cleveland repeated his question, “Do you think we ought to go back the way we know?“ I was out of ideas.
I experienced Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5:1-12) in a new way at the Alabama Heartsong Retreat last week. I realize now I had been blind, but now I see in a new way. Let me explain.


I have been wanting to say this publicly for most of my adult life, but I have been afraid to admit this to myself, to my loved ones and to my friends. I was afraid what my family would think or say or do. I did not want to hurt them. I’ve always wanted them to be proud of me. I’ve tried hard to be who they wanted me to be. But, I have to be who I am, who I believe God created me to be.


The Alabama Heartsong Retreat is the most meaningful event that I have ever been involved in on an annual basis. This will be my 15th year in a row to participate. In fact, I can’t think of anything I’ve attended for 15 years in a row.
When I was little, I knew there was something different. In 5 year old kindergarten, I remember playing with the girls over in the toy kitchen, more than with the boys over with the rubber balls and such. The teacher would always come over, and with her hands on my shoulders would push me over to where the boys were. She would tell me that I should play with the boys…so without hesitation I looked at one of the boys and said “Hi, my name is Matthew and I’ll be your server this evening, can I start you out with some drinks?” I would take everyone’s order then head back to the kitchen. The girls loved the idea of playing “restaurant”, and the boys could care less….the teacher eventually gave up.
That following summer, I scheduled a meeting with another pastor in my hometown and we talked. His first response was to laugh. I looked puzzled at him. He apologized and then said he had known I was gay ever since I was a little guy. I continued to look puzzled…he affirmed that not all Christians believe it is wrong. He continued to reassure me that everything is fine with me, and that I need to find my own spirituality…his words were “To own my spirituality”. He wanted me to drop everything I had learned…and to re-read the Bible again for the first time. Clear out everything I had been taught…all pre-conceived ideas and to develop my own faith based on my own relationship with God.
Today, I am a member of Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, GA. Every year, our church






















I find myself surprisingly emotional on this Presidential election day, November 4th, 2008.
He was the third 20 year old in as many weeks to sit in my office and share his story of how he tested HIV positive recently.
Being a chaplain and a wireless consultant have more in common than one may think.
I walked into the hospital room to find my friend in the bed too tired and weak to respond with words. All of her life energy was focused on providing each breath and heartbeat for her body. Her mother was weary from sitting next to her daughter’s hospital bed for too long and from grieving the last ten years knowing her only daughter would someday die from AIDS. That time is now very near.