Loren Paulsson

The Oklahoma County Courthouse facade,  facing Park Avenue in  Oklahoma City, Okla.  Several  role plays in the  new prison curriculum lacked realism, she said . And she wanted to know how I got a job writing character-training material for prisoners. It was family day  for the faith and character pods at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ Mabel Basset Correctional Center. She had a tear tattooed in the corner of her eye, and I had a feeling her...balogna...meter was finely tuned. The DOC had contracted with my then employer, Character First, to see whether character-based programming could―in connection with anger-management, cognitive behavior change, and other programming―change the culture for long-term prisoners. Apparently it was obvious I didn't have much experience in prison. But her question triggered two questions in my mind. First, on what basis can we talk about ethics? Because we talked about various character qualities―aspects of perso...

The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Spokane, Wash. There were seven or eight other people in the pews at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church for the 10:00 a.m. service.   There were almost the same number in the choir, and nearly everybody shook my hand. Rev. Frances Twiggs' sermon took each of the Baptismal Covenant's last five questions in turn.   “Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?” “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?” “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” Communion was open to all. So I went forward.   I felt welcomed. And conflicted. Most Sundays for the previous year I've been in church somewhere—Luth...