Tom Ehrich
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus” and founder of the Church Wellness Project. His website is www.morningwalkmedia.com.
All Stories by Tom Ehrich
COMMENTARY: 10 years later, the failure of terrorism
By Tom Ehrich — August 30, 2011
NEW YORK (RNS) Last weekend, we were all about Hurricane Irene. Before that, it was the earthquake. Now starts the run-up to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Is there a theme here? Well, yes three themes. Fear is one theme, or rather the determination of New Yorkers not to live in fear. Not that folks […]
COMMENTARY: Change or die: evolution is a fact of life.
By Tom Ehrich — August 23, 2011
(RNS) Institutions might think themselves eternal, but evolution is their life — and failure to evolve their death. Don’t believe in evolution? Look at churches. Better yet, look at personal computing. It took one generation — 34 years — to go from the first mass market PC to what is now called “the end of […]
COMMENTARY: Time to leave the nest
By Tom Ehrich — August 16, 2011
SONOMA, Calif. (RNS) Histories flowed like Sonoma Valley wine at our son’s wedding here, as more than 100 people descended on this lovely town in perfect weather. There were parents, aunts and uncles and cousins, some of them recently married. Friends from childhood, friends from college, friends and colleagues from young careers. Histories that began […]
COMMENTARY: Using fear as a weapon violates the gospel
By Tom Ehrich — August 9, 2011
(RNS) On a visit to southern Spain, I came across a centuries-old Roman Catholic church that had a large stone post with iron rings placed beside the church door. It was the whipping post, where targets of the Spanish Inquisition were tortured in public and their blood stains left to frighten others into obedience. Whipping […]
COMMENTARY: Religious extremism fuels the nation’s budget battle
By Tom Ehrich — August 2, 2011
(RNS) Religious extremism has gone from raging against abortion clinics and modern science to shaping American fiscal policy and rewriting the way Washington does politics. Heaven help us. A tragic three-way marriage has occurred. One party is middle-class rage, which Tea Party string-pullers have cleverly directed against immigrants and government, rather than their actual enemy, […]
COMMENTARY: Time to man the defenses in class warfare
By Tom Ehrich — July 26, 2011
(RNS) What does a plutocracy look like? It looks like Washington 2011. Republicans want to do the impossible: balance a budget without raising revenue, specifically without reversing the tax giveaways to the rich that brought about the massive deficit they are struggling to correct. Democrats seem to feel helpless in the face of relentless lobbying […]
COMMENTARY: Someone lost the keys to the asylum
By Tom Ehrich — April 12, 2011
(RNS) The United States has always had its share of nutcases and shady characters in public life. In other words, Donald Trump is nothing new, and his presidential campaign package of absurd claims isn’t without precedent. Neither are bigots who burn, shoot and shout. Hatred is never far below the surface in many people’s lives. […]
COMMENTARY: We could all use a little time in the wilderness
By Tom Ehrich — March 8, 2011
(RNS) Even though I’m behind schedule, I can’t judge more than 10 contest entries at one sitting. For one thing, it’s inherently wearying to read magazines and articles, score them on a four-criteria scale, and make comments on each one. But I was pleased, if surprised, when the Evangelical Press Association asked me to be […]
COMMENTARY: The future is now
By Tom Ehrich — March 1, 2011
HEALDSBURG, Calif. (RNS) Here in the Dry Creek section of the Russian River Valley, where vineyards produce high-end wines from every available field, the 12-month growing cycle is proceeding apace. Grass is green, vines are dormant, and balloons mark the day’s public tastings. All at once, time sprints, marches on and extends beyond sight. Here […]
COMMENTARY: Budget battles disregard the vulnerable
By Tom Ehrich — February 22, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS (RNS) My sister and I stood in the assisted-living apartment set up for our 94-year-old father and realized the moment had passed. He needs to be in the health care unit at his retirement center. Assisted living would be too demanding. He will never again sleep in this bed, knit scarves for the homeless […]
COMMENTARY: Five things we could live without
By Tom Ehrich — February 1, 2011
(RNS) I chuckled at business consultant Tim Berry’s latest blog about the all-time “Stupidest Management Fads,” “Dumbest Management Concepts” and “Dim-witted Leadership Strategies.” I lived through some of them during my years as a business consultant. We in the church have our own issues, of course. Here is my list of “Five Self-Defeating Practices that […]
COMMENTARY: Listening amid the noise
By Tom Ehrich — January 11, 2011
(RNS) Being active on Facebook and Twitter, I find, is like standing in the middle of Times Square and actually hearing what the crowds are saying. Or at least trying to hear. It isn’t exactly voyeuristic — who expects public venues like Facebook and Twitter to be private? — but it certainly means hearing comments, […]
COMMENTARY: I wonder as I wander through Advent
By Tom Ehrich — December 14, 2010
(RNS) This year we bought a small Christmas tree. We couldn’t afford $90 for a larger tree, or maybe we chose not to afford it. I wonder if our family Christmas will be diminished by a small tree. We will be giving fewer and simpler gifts this year, too. Same reasons: can’t, or won’t. I […]
COMMENTARY: Closing doors but not closing down
By Tom Ehrich — November 30, 2010
(RNS) The closing of church doors is under way — long overdue in some cases, a shock in others. Before it goes a step further, however, it is imperative that church leaders be clear about what they are doing: they are closing a building, not a congregation. They are bowing to the unaffordable costs of […]
COMMENTARY: Yearning for a do-over
By Tom Ehrich — November 16, 2010
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio (RNS) I’m sure someone had a good reason for building the handsome Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center on an isolated stretch of U.S. 40, with not a single restaurant or modern motel nearby. In a driving culture, it probably made sense to sprawl onto empty land two miles from the city that provides its […]
