Today my pastor chose to speak in honor of Veterans' Day; he attempted to explain the theory of "just war," a prickly topic if ever there was one.

Now, my older son serves in an elite unit, the 82nd Airborne. (He enlisted because, after over 200 resumes in the first George W. recession, the best job he could get was jerking coffee at Borders, and the student loans were breathing down his neck.)

After the sermon, when time came for the Pastoral Prayer and the pastor asked us for "joys and concerns" (it's a Methodist thing), I spoke up.

I don't usually speak up. I don't like having serving persons sing "Happy Birthday" to me in restaurants either.

But I had to speak up.

"The next time my son receives orders to step on an airplane, fly somewhere, and kill people, I want to know he's doing it for the right reasons."

We will be meeting at the Bellefonte Cafe, 804 Brandywine Blvd., Bellefonte, Del.

The election may be over, but the issues are hotter than ever.

I'll be the guy sitting by myself with the fedora on the table. Come keep me company and let's talk about what's happening.

Visit the Chapter website here:

http://livingliberally.org/praying/chapters/de/wilmington

Today, I made the rounds of the local supermarkets to put hangers advertising Thursday's meeting.

Only half of the half-dozen or so stores I visited had community boards. I remember when they were a standard feature at every large food market.

One even had a "no distribution of literature" notice (having suffered through the Hari Krishna years at airports, I can actually understand that impulse).

So I hung notices at several stores and prevailed on some small shopkeepers that I've known for years to do accept some hangers.

One of them told me that, in his capacity of helping the publicize community concerts, he's put flyers up in some locations only to have them taken down because they were not "personal" (that is, they were not advertisements for rooms to rent, landscaping services, "for sale" items, and the like), but rather "community."

We're going to keep organizing, a little bit at a time.

The election may be over, but politics goes on. And, given all the stuff that's happening right now, staying aware and learning about the issues becomes more and more important.

One of my favorite radio shows is Speaking of Faith. It almost always gives me serious stuff to think about.

Right now, it is running a series about religious feelings and the 2008 campaign. Here's the description of part one from the website:

The Religious Right has gotten a fair amount of coverage in recent years, while the political Left has rarely been represented with a religious sensibility. Our guest, a national correspondent for Time magazine is a political liberal and an Evangelical Christian who has been observing the Democratic Party's complex relationship with faith and the little-told story of its response to the rise of the Religious Right.

Here's the description of part two:

The second part of our examination of religious energies below the surface of the 2008 presidential campaign. Conservative columnist Rod Dreher is an outspoken critic of mainstream Republican economic and environmental ideas and the conduct of the Iraq war, but he voted for George W. Bush twice. We explore the little-known story of religiously influenced impulses within the conservative movement that diverge from the Religious Right.

Addendum, Later That Same Day:

I knew there was another fascinating show this week. This segment on Talk of the Nation:

In an effort to reconnect with his Jewish faith, Georgia-native Benyamin Cohen explored the Christianity across the "Bible Belt" of America. He documented his experiences in My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith.

Cohen has served as founder and editor of American Jewish Life magazine and Jewsweek online magazine. He is currently an editor at the Mother Nature Network.

The October meeting is coming up next week.

I've been somewhat preoccupied; my personal website crashed and it was a week and a half before I got it running again, since, along the way, I had to do, like, actual work. Then the family computer decided to give up the ghost and I spend today configuring it the way I like it.

Along the way, I listened to two podcasts that I will recommend to any one who is interested in the interplay between religion and public life.

Fresh Air had an interview with Bill Maher and Larry Charles about their new movie, Religilous. You can see the trailer here (YouTube). From the website:

If you're familiar with the work of political satirist Bill Maher, you probably know that he thinks religion has done way more harm than good in the world.

Maher is best known as the host of the HBO show Real Time With Bill Maher;Charles' credits include Borat (which he directed) and the TV programs Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Follow the link to the website to listen to or download the podcast.

And on Talk of the Nation,

In this installment of the This American Moment series, Eboo Patel, director of the Interfaith Youth Core, discusses his efforts to promote religious pluralism among young people. Patel believes that this type of mutual respect and understanding is the "big idea of our time."

Follow the link to the website to listen to or download the podcast.