-Read Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It.
A Better Dialogue in a Bitter World (Podcast)
After a long hiatus, the Fairly Spiritual Show is back! Doug Bursch talks about the difference between a reconciling and a partisan dialogue.
Review of The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Production of The Secret Garden: Sleepy Beauty
After watching The 5th Avenue Theatre’s opening night production of The Secret Garden I was reminded of my recent trip to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. While visiting the tulip festival I was at first overwhelmed by the acres of vibrantly colored tulips in full bloom. From a distance, the rows of flowers looked as […]
A Review of Murder for Two: The 5th Avenue Theatre/ACT–A Contemporary Theatre’s Delightful, Comedic, Piano-Centric Farce
Don’t let the rather mundane and boring title fool you, Murder for Two is an innovative, consistently creative, hilarious musical comedy farce. This 5th Avenue Theatre/ACT–A Contemporary Theatre co-production is the Pacific Northwest premiere of what happens when just two gifted actors and one well-tuned grand piano embody the interrogation of a room full of […]
Thematic Bible Reading Plan by Craig DesJardins (2017)
Every year I post an updated thematic Bible reading plan prepared by Craig Desjardins and printed with his permission. This reading plan is a fresh and exciting way to read your way through the Bible. Please feel free to share with your friends and congregation. 2017-single-sheet 2017-bible-reading-calendar
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Mixtape: A Confluence of Genius
Yesterday, Lin-Manuel Miranda once again introduced something thoroughly unique to the world. The full Hamilton Mixtape finally dropped last night and like pretty much everything else Lin-Manuel touches, this Hamilton Musical inspired multiple song release exists in a world all its own. Miranda has done more than gather big named musicians to croon covers from […]
A Review of Disney’s The Little Mermaid Musical (The 5th Avenue Theatre Touring Production)
When I first heard The 5th Avenue Theatre was mounting a production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, I prepared myself to write a somewhat cynical and sarcastic review lamenting the Disneyfication of musical theater. However, after watching The Little Mermaid’s opening night preview, I am reluctantly unable to do much more than just praise the […]
Is The Jim Gaffigan Show Too Mean to Jim Gaffigan?
I’m a big fan of Jim Gaffigan and a faithful viewer of The Jim Gaffigan Show. The show is in its second season on TV LAND during a time slot that is unbeknownst to this avid DVR aficionado. I think it airs sometime on Sundays following reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond while preceding reruns of […]
Carried
[I wrote this poem a couple years ago…rediscovered it today. I still really like it.] Carried by Doug Bursch Today I’ve been feeling sad, heart heavy, soul weary. I presume I could find a reason for the feelings, but it seems to me that the feeling arrived before I could ascribe to it cause. Some […]
Anger and Racial Injustice
A systematically unjust world will produce perpetually angry people. Anger flows from a lack of control, power and value. When we are powerless, devalued and controlled by societal injustices, anger is the appropriate response. In fact, it would be wrong to tell systematically sinned against people to relinquish their anger. Anger is a natural, logical […]