By Norris Burkes July 11, 2021 I once pastored a church where our music minister, Don Smith, often greeted our congregation with a harmonious, “Good morning!” Sadly, our sleepy parishioners often failed to reciprocate his enthusiasm. On those occasions, Smith fired a question to resuscitate the elderly congregants – “How many of you would rather
By Norris Burkes, July 4th 2021 You may recall how last year my wife, Becky, suggested we expand Independence Day celebrations by designating July as “Freedom Month.” Taking inspiration from her idea, I sat down again to write three “Freedom Month” columns. Today’s makes liberal exaggerations of some recent conversations. --------------------------------------------- “Chaplain, I want to
By Norris Burkes, June 13, 2021 Flag Day is this coming Monday, so I encourage you to proudly and properly display our American flag on your front porch, stoop, or driveway. As a retired USAF chaplain, my view of “proper display” may differ from yours. But I do hope you will avoid the boorish examples
By Norris Burkes March 7, 2021 I stood before my brother’s grave this week, holding my mother while my wife held me. “I should have given him more time,” I whispered to my wife. “Pardon,” she said, unable to understand my quivering words. I cleared my throat to rephrase. “I should have
By Norris Burkes, Feb 28, 2021 As a retired Air Force chaplain, I say this without exaggeration – NASA's Mars Perseverance rover made its final descent to the Red Planet last week cushioned by a chaplain’s prayer. I know that because during the opening years of this century, I was privileged to serve as the
By Norris Burkes Jan 31 2021 Working for a small county hospice in rural northern Calif., I’ve been privileged to get my first COVID vaccine. The “Victory Vax,” as I call it, emboldened my wife to send me out for a haircut. “The peach fuzz around your collar is beginning to bear fruit,”
Listen to Chaplain Norris tell the story By Norris Burkes, Jan 10, 2021 If you’re wondering why the stores are out of toilet paper again, it may be because a certain chaplain you know stole at least one package last week. My story starts at the Bank of America, just across the street
BY Norris Burkes Aug 9 2020 There’s something you should know about me. I suffer from OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Please, take my confession with a grain of salt. Or grab the whole shaker in case you need more. Mine is more an imaginary OCD, a mild case with respect to those who suffer the real
Click on link to listen to audio commentary about Verdict By Norris Burkes June 14, 2020 These past weeks, our nation, even our world, was consumed with the tragic news of George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed when ex-policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck during an arrest. As a columnist,
By Norris Burkes April 12 2020 Last week’s column introduced a list of seven words that I live by which all begin with the letter F. I promised to continue the list for Easter, but on this holy weekend, I want to concentrate on only one word – Forgiveness. The word may bring appropriate focus
By Norris Burkes Jan 3 2020 By the time you read this, I’ll be home from New Orleans where – hopefully – I’ve watched my alma mater, Baylor University, beat the stuffing out of the Georgia Bulldogs at the New Year’s Day Sugar Bowl game. But now that the season is over, I have a
By Norris Burkes, May 27 2012 For me, Memorial Day has a face. It is the face of the family members whose loved one made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Since 9/11, I’ve met these faces in at least 30 homes in my community. If I could introduce you to these families, I would.
