Together, their stories paint a portrait of a religiously and culturally diverse corner of the Middle East disappearing, and the people saving it with their stories. Each voice puts us in front of an essential question: What is the deepest part of ourselves, the one thing that can never be taken from us?

I found in [these letters] stories of men working hard to be countercultural to our training. We wished to leave behind the more arid and shallow masculinity of traditional male friendships.

A congregation in the town next to ours has a new main outdoor sign.  Recently the sign said, “Now open between Easter and Christmas.”  I wondered what they meant by the phrase and why they used it?

I believe we are in another “what we tell our grandchildren” moment with Afghans, Ukrainians, Haitians, Venezuelans, and so many more, fleeing war and violence around the world and seeking protection in the U.S. What will tell our grandchildren when they ask us how we responded?