Tom Adams
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Editor’s Note: Our guest co-author today is Meredith Heneghan, a young St. Paul, MN resident and activist. She is part of our monthly Racial Justice Conversations and shared this report at our March 2026 meeting about the long-term and lingering harm caused by ICE’s...
Today, many in the US and elsewhere pause to honor a Christian saint, St. Patrick. Faith is only part of the robust celebrations. People of all faiths and of none enjoy the parades, the celebrations, and the revelry that go with St. Patrick’s Day, a cultural as well as a religious holiday. My post today reflects on my experience of this special day and how it has helped shape my notions about heroes.
Addictions are America’s most costly and least fully acknowledged health crisis. The direct and indirect costs to the person with the addiction—be it alcohol, drugs, gambling, overeating, technology, or work—and their family are staggering and still not fully quantified in any comprehensive way.
We live in extraordinary times. As Black History Month 2026 comes to a close, I find myself asking: What have I learned? And what commitment do I really have to making the study of Black history a personal priority — and to sharing what I learn, especially with my white friends?
Editor’s Note: The repulsive and abhorrent attack of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michele Obama posted last week on President Trump’s Truth Social account is just one more indication of the overt racism that is overtaking our nation today. The attacks by ICE, the efforts to manipulate the upcoming election and this obnoxious characterization of the Obamas is a national cry for help. Every attack on freedom and justice must be called out and rebutted. Paying attention to Black History and supporting DEI and school curriculums that tell the truth about America’s history are essential to the push back.
How do we respond faithfully to the out-of-control abuse of power and use of violence in Minnesota, our nation, and the world? The urge to turn off the news and ignore everything is strong. Yet history offers endless examples of how that reaction aids and encourages oppressors and perpetrators of injustice. To make it more complicated, many of us have friends and relatives who actually see the current situation and the attack on human rights as good for them—and for America.
This is the eleventh year I have lived in Arizona for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Did you know that Arizona was the last state to start officially commemorating this federal holiday? I didn’t realize that states could decide not to recognize federal holidays, but evidently states’ rights apply here too. Their official reasoning at the time? “Why should the State of Arizona pay employees for a holiday of a non-national leader?”
Most people in Akron know that Alcoholics Anonymous was founded here. What we may not fully appreciate is that Akron also helped launch family recovery—and, with it, the broader addiction recovery movement. That legacy is more relevant than ever, in Akron and around the world.
In December, our monthly Racial Justice Conversation focused on the current, abominable mistreatment of immigrants and refugees in the United States. Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), offered a powerful...
The Sunday before Christmas, my extended family gathered for a holiday meal and gift exchange to celebrate the season together. My sister has hosted this event since my Mom and Dad became physically unable to do so. My Mom and Dad were in their late 80s when they passed and had hosted our family gathering for over 60 years. That is a lot of tradition—and a lot of love—handed down.
Tom Adams writes and speaks on topics vital to the intersection of our personal lives with our community and global lives. He has for decades been engaged in and written about nonprofit leadership and transitions, spirituality and spiritual growth, how we each contribute to a more just and equitable world and recovery from addictions and the Twelve Step recovery movement.