Valerie Schultz

1 week ago | bakersfield.com | Valerie Schultz

The grandmother clock is working again. Finally. I can trace my family's ownership of this particular clock to the early 1970s. The clock ticked through my teenage years, my college years, my new bride years, my young mother years, until my folks invested in a newer, grander, grandfather clock. We called the first clock the grandfather clock, although my dad would remind us that its smaller size made it officially a grandmother.

3 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | Valerie Schultz

My friend’s church has initiated a novel Lenten practice, which is to write a letter every day in Lent and mail it: 40 letters in 40 days. The idea is to write something positive to someone important to you—friend or family, mentor or co-worker, or even someone you admire but have never met. Halfway through Lent, I have written to my children, my siblings, old friends, relatives and some folks I admire. I had to buy more stamps. Old-school letter-writing is up my alley.

3 weeks ago | bakersfield.com | Valerie Schultz

"Pity the nation whose breath is moneyAnd sleeps the sleep of the too well fed."— Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 2007One of the main things about Christianity is that caring for the poor is not optional. If you follow Jesus, this is your Gospel truth: you are called to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the unhoused, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner, and heal the sick.

3 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | Valerie Schultz

A Reflection for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of LentFind today’s readings here. “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” -Isak DinesenI am graced to spend my elder years on the edge of the continent, where northwest Oregon meets the Pacific Ocean. The sight and sound of the waves are ever present, testifying to God’s glorious creation. The beach changes shape with storms and tides, but I feel I know this shore intimately.

1 month ago | bakersfield.com | Valerie Schultz

"What do the simple folk do / To help them escape when they're blue?"— Queen Guenevere to King Arthur in "Camelot"I come from simple folk, as do most Americans. My great-grandparents did not come to the United States because things were going well for them in Ireland and Germany. They were desperate. They fled potato famines and wars. My forerunners found themselves off the boat in New Jersey, and figured out how to make a go of their lives on foreign soil.