There are 100 articles by G. Scott Morris :
The children at Perea are taught that if they come across a gun, they are to “Stop, don’t touch, turn around, tell an adult.” The sad fact is that many of them can already tell the teacher exactly where the guns in their houses are hidden.
There is never a day a child can’t be made to smile with a small doll after a visit to the doctor at Church Health that may have seemed scary.
‘I suspect most people who read this will think that anti-Semitism is nothing we need to worry about in Memphis, but they are wrong. Wherever white supremacy exists it is led by those who hate Jews.’
Once we have gotten to know the people who have called Memphis home through the good and the bad, we can start to understand this place we inhabit together.
Scott Morris: “The year of COVID-19 taught me that there might not be time for all the fanciful dreams we put on hold.”
Julia will not remember her long days in the ICU, nor our experience this year of COVID-19, nor even the beauty of her baptism. But all who love her will.
We will elect a president, but the fundamental nature of being an American does not depend on a single individual; it depends on our collective nature and the principles we practice.
“When I overhear political conversations with which I disagree, I catch myself with unkind thoughts. I wonder how people can think like that... Then I realize my own thoughts reflect the reality I am condemning.”
I started thinking about the books that have influenced my life most. Each of these books, at one point in my life, altered my thinking or changed my behavior in a meaningful way.
Amid the struggles we are going through, the gist of William Sloane Coffin’s saying is on point. Except for the most disciplined of us all, who is not exhausted by the strain and uncertainty?
At Ora Alexander’s homegoing, only family could gather. But that was OK. Ora had already touched the lives of so many people she’d simply met in passing.
We talk about “the homeless,” “the immigrants,” “the poor.” These are categories that are different from how we see ourselves. It allows us to remain in power.
Physical distancing and wearing masks will not prevent the rising number of people who do not have health insurance.
Hundreds of people in Memphis will tell you that Brooks made life worth living again or saved their marriages. If ever I was in the dark pit, I called Brooks, and he talked me out.
Memphis has always been a religious city. We will rise to the occasion, because we are a city driven by the engine of faith.
Tomorrow when someone takes my temperature and hands me a mask and a paper bag, I’ll remember that everybody I’m about to see is also adjusting to new realities.
A Facebook page will be the home base for this unified faith effort. You can find the page by searching for Memphis Clergy COVID-19 Response. Anyone can access the page and offer to work on a project.
The most common question I’m asked remains, “When can I get back to work?” Without work, no one gets paid, and without paychecks, kids don’t eat.
I believe the solution to most matters of fear is to embrace the opposite of fear: love. This is rarely what people want to hear from the doctor. They are looking for the right medicine or course of treatment.
At 25, Andrea left Venezuela and moved to Memphis, where her uncle is a mechanical engineer. She applied to work as a waitress, in retail and in day care, and each place told her she was over-qualified. Finally, in 2015, she took a job at Church Health.
Waking up with the flu. A power outage. A bad traffic jam. The Tigers getting into a Power 5 conference. These are all gravity issues. Nothing I do affects them.
Norma has worked as a housekeeper for the same family for 40 years. They always paid her in cash, and now, at 75, she doesn’t qualify for Medicare. Thousands who clean houses, care for children and cut grass for cash payments are shut out of the national health insurance program.
Every Friday at The Way, John Kilzer would greet those who were new to recovery, who were afraid and alone, with these words: “We are going to love you, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.”
The global governing body of the United Methodist Church reaffirmed its position on traditional marriage, including prohibition on ordaining LGBTQ+ people as pastors and prohibiting LGBTQ+ people from being married in the church. "This decision has caused much despair among people I love and respect," a pastor writes.