When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ~John 8:12   I think there’s probably a law against carrying an open flame in the subway.  I’m not sure.  But...

Just when New York City was beginning to feel a little small, even a bit predictable, a friend invited me to hear a talk at Kehila Kedosha Janina—the only Romaniote synagogue in the entire Western hemisphere. Greek American Dimitra DeFotis gave a riveting account of her travels and research to discover...

Toe-numbing temperature didn’t stop the line from snaking past the Guggenheim and spilling out onto the residential sidewalk of the Upper East Side.  It was Pay What You Wish Saturday.  We’d wait in the frigid January night for that rate.  It would give us the chance to meditate on the work of...

At the local carnival there was always some kid who freaked out and made the wiry man who manned the ride’s controls stop the rickety ride mid-spin.  I was that kid. I was the kid who refused to ride even the carousel because it made me dizzy.  By the time I reached my college years, I’d relegated...

Associations are revealing.  This morning, as I was drinking a cup of horrid office coffee, my brain leapt from the specific brand and flavor of coffee my mom drank when I was growing up to a seemingly unrelated bit of biographical information about a photographer I’d researched while working on a...

Image via http://ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=1123970 As the debate rages on over whether the Muslim community center Park51, better known by the misnomer the “Ground Zero Mosque,” should be allowed to be constructed near the former cite of the World Trade Center, little media...

Pretty much anything that could go wrong with the live Church Hopping event to the Church of St. Anselm in the Bronx went wrong—and then God proved He’s in control of everything.  I figured God only gives you one miracle per day, and I wondered what would happen once we left St. Anselm’s for...

Late afternoon on the day before the second live Church Hopping event, I got an email.  The tour guide who was supposed to lead the architecture talk had suffered a heart attack.  He was alright, but he wouldn’t be able to lead the tour.  The person emailing me asked if I could lead it without...

photo (c) Stephanie Nikolopoulos I imagine that all New Yorkers have at least one story involving St. Patrick’s Cathedral, regardless of whether or not they’re Catholic.  I grew up just over the George Washington Bridge, in New Jersey, and the cathedral looms large in my relationship with, and understanding...

photo (c) Stephanie Nikolopoulos Have you ever stopped to really look around your own city?  Have you ever considered the history behind the buildings you pass every day?  Has a church’s beauty ever stopped you in your tracks? This past Saturday, with the support of our very own Burnside Writers...