Mockingbird Monday: A visit to the missionary tea – can compassion begin with confession?

Harper Lee’s harshest criticism of Christian church practice can be found in the missionary tea meeting in chapter 24 of To Kill a Mockingbird. It is the candid scene where the town women gather in the Finchhome to discuss the work of a missionary (J. Grimes Everett) and the recent events of the Robinson trial. […]

Mockingbird Monday:Teaching our children accountability

I have a chapter in my book The Mockingbird Parables that looks at the literary character Atticus Finch as a role model for parenting. Not only is he renowned for his courage and moral stands against racism and injustice, but when you take a close look at him in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird […]

Mockingbird Monday: Are Maudie and her flowers really going to hell?

I know it is still February, but the brief onset of warm weather and rain has things budding (maybe prematurely) here in Ohio and it has me thinking of springtime. I am looking forward to warmer temperatures, things turning green again, and being outside. I thought it would be appropriate to talk about Miss Maudie […]