Tom Holmes

1 week ago | forestparkreview.com | Tom Holmes

Can suffering ever be a good thing? Can suffering ever be redemptive? I ask that because today is right in the middle of a holy week for both Jews and Christians, and the stories that are told both have to do with suffering. Jews are observing Passover. The Passover narrative begins with the people of Israel suffering as slaves in Egypt. Slavery produces suffering, which is never redemptive.

3 weeks ago | forestparkreview.com | Tom Holmes

I try to look at both sides of an issue. On one side of the “Altenheim’s backyard”debate, I hear, “Don’t sell any of the 11 acres the village purchased in 2001. Keep it green. I cheered when Forest Park bought the 11 acres, in part to prevent it from being developed into townhouses like the ones across the street. My instinct is to retain as much nature in our urban environment as possible. I therefore have supported the commitment of this community to steward our urban forest.

1 month ago | forestparkreview.com | Tom Holmes

Woke people like me often emphasize that we humans are all basically the same when you look under our skin. In this column I want to focus on how different we are. Exhibit A, Temperament: The guys in my men’s group recently took a version of the Myers Briggs Personality Test called the Kiersy Bates Temperament Assessment. The assessment reveals if you are an extrovert or an introvert, a thinker or a feeler, etc. There are 16 temperament types possible. The test verified what we already knew.

1 month ago | forestparkreview.com | Tom Holmes

Donald Trump likes to call those who oppose him “the enemies within.”For Progressives, the feeling is mutualIn both cases the word “within” means within our country. In contrast, the three religious traditions that trace their origins back to Abraham, each have seasons in which they focus on another enemy within, the enemy within ourselves. Christians are in the middle of Lent. Muslims are keeping Ramadan from Feb.

1 month ago | forestparkreview.com | Tom Holmes

The Proviso Township Ministerial Alliance Network (PTMAN) has never waited for the government to address needs in their west suburban communities. They call on church people to step into the breach and do the work that needs to be done with partners right in the neighborhood. In 2016, PTMAN members noticed that many young people had nothing to do in the summer and had no vision for themselves in terms of becoming entrepreneurs and business owners.