Tag Archives: faith

New Year’s Prayer

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Callen Harty

It seemed like virtually everyone in America was eagerly anticipating bringing in the New Year last night. The bulk of the year was taken up with the worst plague in modern history, More than 1.8 million people died worldwide from … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2020, 2021, America, Black lives matter, Breonna Taylor, commitment, conspiracy theorists, cops, coronavirus, culture, Donald Trump, economic disparity, economy, election fraud, equity, faith, fascism, George Floyd, government, greed, hate, heroes, Homeless, hope, hungry, inauguration, Jacob Blake, loved ones, narcissist, nature, New Year, normal, plague, poor, power, pray, Presidency, protests, quaarantine, racism, understanding, unemployed, vaccine, wish, world citizens | 1 Comment

Paths to Healing Keynote Speech

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Callen Harty

At this year’s Paths to Healing conference on male survivors of child sex assault I was the keynote speaker. This is the text of the speech I delivered today. Good morning. I’d like to start by thanking Chris Taylor, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #MeToo, 9/11, A Single Bluebird, adult survivor, African-American, alcoholism, allies, altar boy, American Family Insurance, angels, anger issues, articles, arts, becoming, black man, blog, books, brotherhood, Canopy Center, casual sex, child sex abuse, child sex assault, childhoiod, Chris Taylor, class, collective spirit, color, come out, compassion, control, courage, creed, Dane County Rape Crisis Center, DEnim Day, depression, disabled, domestic abuse, drug abuse, emotions, empathy, Empty Playground, equality, essays, faith, Family Sexual Abuse Treatment, forgive, forgiveness, Friends of the State Street Family, gay man, gender, gender identity, harassment, Harvey Milk, hatred, healing, heart attack, Henry David Thoreau, Hmong, Ho-Chunk Nation, honest, hope, horror, human, human connection, human spirit, humanity, inner child, innocence, Invisible Boy, Irish-Catholic, Jesus, Journalism, journey, joy, justice, keynote speech, Latino, LGBT, Madison, male survivor, masculinity, memoir, meningitis, minority, monologues, mumps, Native American, neighbors, orientation, OutReach, Paradise, Paths to Healing, peace, perpetrator, person of color, personhood, plays, playwriting, poetry, positive energy, post traumatic stress disorder, power, promiscuity, prostitution, Proud Theater, queer, race, recovering alcoholic, reocvery, rights, scarlet fever, secrets, self-abuse, self-care, self-hatred, sex, sexual abuse, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, sexuality, shame, siblings, silence, social drinking, Solidarity with Child Abuse Victims/Survivors, sorrow, spirituality, State Capitol, straight, suffering, suicidal ideation, teach, therapy, threats, trans, trigger warning, truth, underserved communities, UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, universal truths, Utopia, UW-EauClaire, victims, violence, Voices of Courage, Waylon Pahona, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, writer | Leave a comment

The Gift

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Callen Harty

April 18, 1989. A gay bar in Denver, the Triangle. A can of beer in hand, cigarette in the other. I was there alone, so I wasn’t there to be with friends, I wasn’t there looking for someone for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alcohol, alcoholic, bar, beer, blackouts, childhood, cigarette, Colfax Avenue, Denver, depressed, downward spiral, drink, drugs, drunk, emotions, faith, gay bar, gift, good will, hair of the dog, hangovers, human, human rights, insecure, Irishman, jobs, joy, just laws, life, love, mistakes, mixed drinks, numbness, pain, pleasure, public speaking, rock bottom, sobriety, social drinking, sorrow, stubbornness, suicide, theater, trauma, Triangle, understanding, Wisconsin, worthless, writing | Leave a comment

Forgive the Shooter

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Callen Harty

On Sunday evening in the small Wisconsin town of Menasha a man apparently distraught over a recent breakup and argument with his former fiancée took two guns with him on his bike and went for a ride. On the middle … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "eye for an eye", "hill of death", Adam Bentdahl, bridges, Christian, compassion, empathy, Erin Stoffel, faith, forgive, forgiveness, forgiving, guns, hate, hero, heroism, Jim Campbell, Jonathan Stoffel, life story, Little Lake Butte Des Mortes, love, Menasha, Old Testament, Olivia Stoffel, religion, retribution, selflessness, Sergio Daniel Valencia del Toro, shooter, Trestle Trail Bridge, violence, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

God’s Behind the Door

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Callen Harty

Recently my mother turned 89. It won’t surprise me if she makes it to 90 or 95, although I have already responded to several phone calls over the last couple years that left me in tears thinking that she was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aunt Leona, Catholic, Coleen, doors, existential emptiness, faith, gifts, God, humor, last rites, loneliness, Mom, mother, poet, proud, reality, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Wisconsin State Journal, writer | Leave a comment

On My Mother’s Birthday

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Callen Harty

89. I honestly didn’t think you would make it to 89. In fact I really didn’t think you would make it to 88. In the last couple years you have lost so much weight, you have had hospice coming in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged faith, God, Happy Birthday, hope, Hospice, last rites, lessons, life, love, mother, survivor, unfinished business | 1 Comment

Northern Lights and Smiles

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Callen Harty

Several years ago I was driving back to Madison from my hometown of Shullsburg, Wisconsin in the southwestern corner of the state. It was winter and as I was driving I suddenly noticed incredible colored lights in the sky, shifting … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged death, dementia, faith, laughter, life, Madison, miracles, mother, Northern Lights, sense of humor, Shullsburg, smile, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Through the Darkness Lightly

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Callen Harty

After 24 years of sobriety my days of heavy drinking seem like a distant blur and somewhat unreal in certain ways. I spent about eleven years of my life in a pretty much constant drunken haze, self-medicating, hiding, creating masks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged addictive personality, alcohol, alcoholism, child sex abuse, Child Victims Act, depression, drugs, drunk, empathy, faith, forgiveness, innocence, Jesus, lessons, male survivors, masks, molestation, paranoia, rape, self-medication, self-revelation, sexual abuse, sobriety, suicide, survival, thankfulness | Leave a comment

Something Larger

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Callen Harty

Years ago when I first stood at the rim of the Grand Canyon I could not help but be struck by the realization of my own smallness in the world. The existential and agnostic aspects of my personality could easily take something like … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ahimsa, energy, faith, God, Grand Canyon, greater being, greater power, Michigan, nature, Niagara Falls, Old Faithful, spirit, spirituality, William Blake | 1 Comment

My Mother’s Gifts

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Callen Harty

As we arrive at Mother’s Day, 2012 I think of my mother, Kathleen, and I see her in some kind of in-between place in her life. I have come to realize that she is no longer getting old. She is old. It is her … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Catholic, Doubting Thomas, faith, family, Kathleen Davison, Mom, mother, Mother's Day, Prodigal Son | Leave a comment