>>> COMING UP, OUR NEXT TO LAST EPISODE OF "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY."

WE LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE STORIES WE'VE COVERED, PEOPLE WE'VE MET AND CHANGES WE'VE SEEN.

THIS WEEK, FRED DE SAM LAZARO, TIM O'BRIEN, JUDY VALENTE AND I OFFER OUR REFLECTIONS.

♪♪ RETIREMENT COMPANY.

>>> WELCOME.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US FOR THIS NEXT-TO-LAST PROGRAM IN OUR SERIES THAT BEGAN NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO.

WE ASKED OUR REPORTERS AND PRODUCERS TO RECALL THE STORIES THEY LIKED BEST OVER THE YEARS AND WE CHOSE SEVERAL OF THEM FOR THIS WEEK'S BROADCAST AND NEXT WEEK'S -- OUR FINAL SHOW.

MY OWN FAVORITE HAS BEEN CONVERSATIONS WITH PREACHERS AND SCHOLARS OF MANY TRADITIONS WHO TALKED WITH US ABOUT THEIR DEEPEST RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

ONE OF THEM WAS THE GREAT SOUTH AFRICAN NOBEL PRIZE WINNER, ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU.

HE WAS SPENDING THE YEAR 1998 AT EMORY UNIVERSITY IN ATLANTA, WHERE I TALKED WITH HIM ABOUT MANY THINGS, INCLUDING HIS MORNING PRAYER.

AS HE SPOKE, YOU COULD HEAR A PIN DROP.

>> I HAVE COME TO REALIZE MORE AND MORE THAT PRAYER IS JUST BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE WHO LOVES YOU DEEPLY, WHO LOVES WITH A LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET YOU GO, AND SO WHEN I GET UP IN THE MORNING I TRY TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS I CAN IN THE SENSE OF BEING QUIET IN THE PRESENCE OF THIS LOVE.

IT'S LIKE I'M SITTING IN FRONT OF A WARM FIRE ON A COLD DAY.

I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING.

THE FIRE WARMS ME.

ALL I HAVE TO DO IS BE THERE.

IN FRONT OF THE FIRE.

AND AFTER A WHILE I MAY HAVE THE QUALITIES OF THE FIRE CHANGE ME, SO I HAVE THE WARMTH OF THE FIRE.

I MAY HAVE THE GLOW OF THE FIRE, AND IT IS SO AWESOME WITH ME AND GOD.

I JUST HAVE TO BE THERE, QUIET.

>> THE LATE PHYLLIS TICKLE, A WRITER WHO DIED A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, PRACTICED WHAT SHE CALLED "FIXED HOUR PRAYER."

EVERY THREE HOURS HER ALARM WENT OFF, AND SHE WOULD STOP WHATEVER SHE WAS DOING AND PRAY, USUALLY BY READING OUT LOUD.

BEFORE SHE DIED, PHYLLIS HAD COMPLETED A SERIES OF BOOKS CALLED "THE DIVINE HOURS, WRITTEN PRAYERS FOR EVERY PART OF EVERY DAY."

>> I DO THIS BECAUSE WE'RE TOLD IN CHRISTIANITY THAT THERE MUST BE CONSTANT PRAYER IN OUR LIVES AND ALSO BECAUSE THERE SHOULD BE A CONSTANT CASCADE OF PRAYER.

IT'S NOT PETITIONARY.

UNLIKE MUCH PRAYER IT DOESN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING.

IT SIMPLY GLORIFIES GOD AND ACKNOWLEDGES HIM.

IT'S ALSO A WAY, I THINK, OF REMEMBERING WHO IT IS I'M NOT, AND HOW VERY LITTLE I MATTER.

>> IT'S BEEN A YEAR AND I MUST SAY YOU DON'T LOOK A DAY OLDER.

>> ONE OF THE LEGENDS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS REVEREND GARDNER TAYLOR, WHO BECAME THE SENIOR MINISTER AT THE CONCORD BAPTIST CHURCH IN BROOKLYN AND ONE OF THE MOST ADMIRED PREACHERS IN THE COUNTRY.

KIM LAWTON SPOKE WITH HIM.

>> YOU DO NOT WANT TO STRIVE TO BE KNOWN AS A GREAT PREACHER.

YOU DO WANT TO STRIVE FOR PEOPLE TO FEEL, WHEN YOU HAVE TRIED TO PREACH, WHAT A GREAT GOSPEL IT IS.

>> TAYLOR KEEPS BUSY, BUT IN RECENT YEARS HE SAYS HE'S BEGUN TO PRACTICE WHAT 19th-CENTURY BRITISH PASTOR ALEXANDER McLAREN CALLED "SITTING SILENT BEFORE GOD."

>> THIS IS NOT PRAYING.

IT IS NOT READING.

IT'S JUST OPENING ONESELF.

IT'S A MYSTIC KIND OF THING.

BUT WE DO SO LITTLE OF IT, AND WE WHO PREACH ARE LIKELY TO ENGAGE OURSELVES IN SO MANY THINGS AND TO NEGLECT THAT ASPECT OF BEING OPEN TO WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY.

AND I WISH TO HEAVEN I HAD PRACTICED THIS MORE, EARLY ON IN MY MINISTRY.

>> EUGENE PETERSON IS A RETIRED PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER BEST KNOWN FOR HIS TRANSLATION OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE INTO EVERYDAY AMERICAN ENGLISH.

I WENT TO SEE HIM AND HIS WIFE, JAN, AT THEIR HOME IN THE SPECTACULAR FLATHEAD VALLEY IN MONTANA, AND I ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS THEOLOGY.

I WAS AMAZED BY HIS REPLY.

HE SAID HE HAD LITTLE TIME FOR ANYTHING ABSTRACT.

HE LISTENS FOR THE HOLY, HE SAID, IN PEOPLE AND IN THE QUIET PLACES HE LOVES.

>> HOW DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE UNHEARD, THE UNSEEN?

IN A CLUTTERED, NOISY, DISTRACTED SOCIETY IT'S VERY HARD TO DO IT.

A LOT OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE CHURCH -- WELL, NOT JUST THE CHURCH, IN RELIGION ITSELF -- HAS TO DO WITH TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE TRUTH OF THINGS.

WHAT'S TRUE?

WHAT'S TRUE?

AND I'‘‘M NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN WHAT'S TRUE.

I WANT TO KNOW IF I CAN LIVE IT.

>> LISTENING FOR THE HOLY WAS ALSO IMPORTANT TO FREDERICK BUECHNER.

I TALKED WITH HIM AT HIS HOME IN VERMONT, WHERE HE LIVES IN WHAT HE CALLS "FATHOMLESS OBSCURITY."

HE, TOO, HAS BEEN A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER.

BUT, HE SAYS, HE HAS NEVER HAD A CHURCH AND RARELY ATTENDS ONE.

HIS WRITING, HE SAYS, IS HIS MINISTRY.

>> WHAT MAKES ME A BELIEVER IS THAT FROM TIME TO TIME, GOING BACK ALMOST AS FAR AS MY MEMORY WILL GO BACK, THERE HAVE BEEN GLIMPSES I HAD, SOMETIMES LITERALLY A GLIMPSE, WHICH HAVE MADE ME SUSPECT THE PRESENCE OF SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY AND BEYOND THE REALM OF THE IMMEDIATE.

YOU ENCOUNTER THE HOLY IN VARIOUS FORMS, WHICH UNLESS YOU HAVE YOUR EYES OPEN YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN NOTICE, THEY'RE SO SUBTLE AND SO ELUSIVE.

THE PHRASE "LISTEN TO YOUR LIFE," PAY ATTENTION, OBSERVE.

THAT WONDERFUL PHRASE "RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES" MEANS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, I THINK, JUST WHAT IT SAYS: OBSERVE RELIGIOUSLY.

>> AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT SUFFERING.

>> YOU CAN'T PRETEND IT DOESN'T EXIST.

YOU CAN'T BELIEVE IN AN ALL-POWERFUL, ALL-LOVING GOD AND LOOK AT THE HORRORS.

BUT MY ANSWER TO MYSELF IS, DON'T GIVE UP HOPE.

DON'T GIVE UP HOPE.

GOD IS GREATER THAN ALL THOSE THINGS.

THE HOLY TRANSCENDS ALL THE WRETCHEDNESS.

>> ANOTHER MAN WHO HAS THOUGHT HARD ABOUT SUFFERING IS THE FORMER CHIEF RABBI OF BRITAIN, JONATHAN SACKS.

HE RECENTLY MADE A WORLD TOUR TALKING PRIMARILY WITH YOUNG PEOPLE.

I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HIM IN NEW YORK.

>> NO JEW KNOWING OUR HISTORY CAN BE AN OPTIMIST, BUT NO JEW WORTHY OF THE NAME EVER GAVE UP HOPE.

THE STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE IS THE STORY OF THE VICTORY OF HOPE OVER DESPAIR AND OF THE SPIRIT OVER EVERY KIND OF PHYSICAL POWER.

WE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO NEVER GAVE UP HOPE, AND I WANT TO SAY TO YOU -- YOU NEEDN'T BE AN OPTIMIST, BUT YOU MUST NEVER GIVE UP HOPE, BECAUSE TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A BETTER WORLD.

>> ONE OF THE MOST ELOQUENT OF THOSE WE TALKED WITH WAS THE LATE WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR.

HE HAD BEEN THE CHAPLAIN AT YALE UNIVERSITY.

HE HAD MARCHED WITH MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., AND HE HAD LED MOVEMENTS AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

I TALKED WITH HIM AT HIS HOME IN VERMONT.

TWO STROKES HAD SLURRED HIS SPEECH, BUT HE MANAGED TO EXPRESS HIMSELF WITH LIMITLESS POWER.

>> IT'S CLEAR TO ME, TWO THINGS -- THAT ALMOST EVERY SQUARE INCH OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE IS SOAKED WITH THE TEARS AND BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT.

TWO, IT'S NOT GOD'S DOING, IT'S OUR DOING.

THAT'S HUMAN MALPRACTICE.

DON'T CHALK IT UP TO GOD.

EVERY TIME PEOPLE SAY, WHEN THEY SEE THE INNOCENT SUFFERING, EVERY TIME THEY LIFT THEIR EYES TO HEAVEN AND SAY, "GOD, HOW COULD YOU LET IT HAPPEN?"

IT IS WELL TO REMEMBER THAT AT THAT EXACT MOMENT GOD IS ASKING THE SAME QUESTION OF US -- HOW COULD YOU LET IT HAPPEN?

WHEN YOU GET OLDER, NATURE GETS MORE INTERESTING THE NEARER YOU GET TO JOINING IT, AND ALSO MORE BEAUTIFUL.

I MEAN, I CAN SIT ON THE FRONT PORCH HERE AND JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH THE SUN COMING IN THROUGH THE MAPLE LEAVES, YOU KNOW.

GOD IS GOOD.

>> ONE OF THE MANY PRIVILEGES OF DOING THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN MEETING AND TALKING WITH MEN AND WOMEN SUCH AS THESE.

THEY WERE ALL GOOD COMPANY.

I THINK OFTEN OF BILL COFFIN QUOTING THE CHURCH FATHER IRENAEUS, "THE GLORY OF GOD IS A HUMAN BEING FULLY ALIVE."

>>> OVER THE YEARS, SUPREME COURT DECISIONS HAVE HAD GREAT IMPACT ON AMERICAN SOCIETY.

TIM O'BRIEN LOOKS AT SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS AND HOW THE COURT HAS CHANGED.

>> THE SUPREME COURT HAS BEEN EMPHATIC ABOUT THE NEED FOR THE LAW TO BE CLEAR AND CONSISTENT.

BUT GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUES IT IS CALLED ON TO DECIDE AND CHANGING PERSONNEL ON THE COURT.

>> CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO THE COURT.

>> IT FREQUENTLY IS NEITHER.

FOR EXAMPLE, IN 1985 THE COURT PROHIBITED ANY TAX DOLLARS GOING TO PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS.

"EXCESSIVE GOVERNMENT ENTANGLEMENT WITH RELIGION," THE COURT SAID.

TWELVE YEARS LATER, FOLLOWING THE APPOINTMENT OF MORE CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES, THE COURT FLIPPED ON THAT, EVEN ALLOWING PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS TO TEACH IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS.

THE APPOINTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY AFTER THE BRUISING CONFIRMATION FIGHT OVER ROBERT BORK IN 1987 SHOWS HOW A SINGLE APPOINTMENT CAN CHANGE OUR WORLD.

KENNEDY WROTE THE 5-4 DECISION AGAINST BENEDICTIONS AT HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES.

BORK HAS WRITTEN CRITICALLY OF THE DECISION, WHICH PRESUMABLY WOULD HAVE GONE THE OTHER WAY HAD HE BEEN CONFIRMED, AND OTHERS, LIKE ABORTION.

IN 1992, KENNEDY PROVIDED THE FIFTH VOTE TO REAFFIRM ROE v. WADE, THE LANDMARK ABORTION DECISION, INSTEAD OF OVERRULING IT AS THE PRESIDENT WHO APPOINTED HIM HAD HOPED.

IT IS UNUSUAL FOR THE COURT TO FLATLY OVERRULE ITSELF, BUT IT HAS HAPPENED IN SEVERAL HOT BUTTON CASES, AND AGAIN ONE JUSTICE, OFTEN ANTHONY KENNEDY, PLAYED THE PIVOTAL ROLE.

KENNEDY HAS BECOME A CHAMPION FOR GAY RIGHTS.

IN 2003, HE WROTE THE LANDMARK DECISION THROWING OUT TEXAS'S SODOMY LAW, OVERRULING A 1986 DECISION ALLOWING STATES TO CRIMINALIZE HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR.

TWO YEARS AGO, HE WROTE ANOTHER GROUNDBREAKING DECISION EFFECTIVELY LEGALIZING SAME SEX MARRIAGE NATIONWIDE.

AND THE DEATH PENALTY.

IN 1989, THE COURT UPHELD THE DEATH PENALTY FOR OFFENDERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 AND FOR THOSE FOUND TO BE MILDLY RETARDED.

BOTH DECISIONS WERE SUBSEQUENTLY OVERRULED ON 5-4 VOTES WITH KENNEDY AGAIN FIGURING PROMINENTLY IN THE OUTCOME.

ANOTHER POTENTIALLY SEISMIC CHANGE OCCURRED WHEN JUSTICE SANDRA O'CONNOR, A MODERATE, RETIRED IN 2006, TO BE REPLACED BY THE MORE CONSERVATIVE SAMUEL ALITO.

THAT SWAP HAS LEFT THE COURT LESS RECEPTIVE TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, BUT MORE AMENABLE TO GOVERNMENT ACCOMMODATION OF RELIGION.

>> LET US PRAY.

>> FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS WELL-ESTABLISHED THAT GOVERNMENT BODIES MAY BEGIN THEIR SESSIONS WITH A SHORT PRAYER, BUT THREE YEARS AGO THE COURT ALLOWED GREECE, NEW YORK, TO BEGIN ITS TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS WITH A CEREMONY THAT RESEMBLED A CATHOLIC MASS.

>> JESUS CHRIST, WHO TAKETH AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD.

>> JUSTICE ALITO PROVIDED THE NEEDED FIFTH VOTE.

JUSTICE O'CONNOR WOULD LIKELY HAVE STEERED THE COURT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.

THE COURT HAS HAD A DELICATE IDEOLOGICAL BALANCE OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS WITH JUSTICE KENNEDY OFTEN FINDING HIMSELF IN THE MIDDLE -- THE SO-CALLED "SWING" JUSTICE.

PRESIDENT TRUMP'S CHOICE OF NEIL GORSUCH TO REPLACE ANTONIN SCALIA, IF CONFIRMED, WOULD PROBABLY NOT AFFECT THAT BALANCE AS GORSUCH IS BELIEVED TO SHARE SCALIA'S CONSERVATIVE VIEWS.

GORSUCH IS ALL BUT CERTAIN TO BE ASKED AT HIS CONFIRMATION HEARINGS ABOUT HIS VIEW, LIKE SCALIA'S, THAT THE CONSTITUTION MUST BE INTERPRETED AS IT WAS WRITTEN WHEN ADOPTED IN 1789.

HISTORY TEACHES OTHERWISE.

IN THE LAST 20 YEARS, WE'VE SEEN FIVE VACANCIES ON THE COURT AND CHANGING SOCIAL ATTITUDES ON A WIDE RANGE OF SOCIAL ISSUES, LIKE GAY RIGHTS AND SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.

TIMES DO CHANGE, AND SO DO THE JUSTICES.

FOR BETTER OR WORSE, WHAT THE CONSTITUTION REALLY MEANS WOULD SEEM TO HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM.

FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," I'M TIM O'BRIEN IN WASHINGTON.

>>> SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL STORIES WE HAVE RUN ON THIS PROGRAM WERE DISCOVERED AND TOLD BY FRED DE SAM LAZARO.

HE TRAVELED TO MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD TO BRING BACK THE WRENCHING ACCOUNTS OF THE VERY POOR, AND THOSE TRYING TO HELP THEM.

>> IT FEELS SOMEHOW APPROPRIATE THAT THE VERY LAST STORY I FILED FOR THE PROGRAM WAS FROM KOLKATA, LAST WEEK ABOUT THE LEGACY OF MOTHER TERESA.

IT WAS FROM THIS CITY, AND ON THE SAME SUBJECT THAT I DID MY VERY FIRST STORY FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY."

IN NEARLY TWO DECADES, IN HUNDREDS OF REPORTS, GREY, LIKE MY OWN SCALP, BECAME A DOMINANT COLOR.

FEW ISSUES CAN BE SEEN IN ABSOLUTELY BLACK AND WHITE TERMS.

THEY ARE FRAUGHT WITH COMPLEXITY AND OFTEN UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES.

TAKE SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD -- A BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY IN INDIA IN WHICH POOR WOMAN WERE HIRED TO CARRY THE FETUSES OF FOREIGN BIOLOGICAL PARENTS.

>> COMING HERE TO INDIA, THESE WOMEN, THEY DON'T WANT MY CHILD.

IT'S VERY CUT AND DRY.

THEY DO NOT WANT MY CHILD.

THEY WANT MY MONEY, AND THAT IS JUST FINE WITH ME.

>> IT'S NOT FINE WITH EVERYONE.

>> THE CONTRACTS USUALLY ARE WRITTEN, TO BE BLUNT, TO PROTECT THE WEALTHY PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMISSIONING THE BABY.

IN 2016 INDIA BANNED TRANSITIONAL SURROGACY.

THEN THERE'S THE WRENCHING ISSUE OF ABORTION, WHICH IS NOW BANNED IN THE PREDOMINANTLY CATHOLIC NATION OF EL SALVADOR.

SINCE 1997, ABORTION HAS BEEN ILLEGAL IN EL SALVADOR WITH NO EXCEPTIONS, WHICH HAD ONCE EXISTED FOR CASES SUCH AS RAPE, INCEST, OR THREAT TO THE MOTHER'S LIFE.

DOZENS OF WOMEN HAVE BEEN PROSECUTED FOR ILLEGAL ABORTIONS, IN SOME CASES FOR AGGRAVATED HOMICIDE.

IN INDIA ON THE OTHER HAND, ABORTION ON DEMAND IS LEGAL.

BUT IT IS USED WIDELY TO TERMINATE FEMALE PREGNANCIES IN A LAND WHERE BOYS ARE PREFERRED.

SEX SELECTION IS ILLEGAL, BUT THE LAW IS HARD TO ENFORCE, AS WE FOUND IN THIS CANDID EXCHANGE WITH A MUMBAI OBSTETRICIAN.

>> I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF IT.

>> BUT DO YOU DO IT OCCASIONALLY WHEN REQUESTED TO?

>> YA, YA, I DO.

I CANNOT DENY THAT.

>> TERMINATIONS ARE THE CHIEF SOURCE OF YOUR INCOME?

>> VERY MUCH SO.

>> MUCH MORE THAN DELIVERING BABIES.

>> VERY MUCH, VERY MUCH.

>> THE SOBERING CONTENT NOTWITHSTANDING, CANDID INTERVIEW ARE A KIND OF JOURNALISTIC HOLY GRAIL, SINCE THEY HELP POWERFULLY DELIVER A STORY.

MANY OF MY STORIES HAVE CONCERNED HUMAN SUFFERING AND ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO TELL THESE IS THROUGH THE WORK OF SOCIAL INNOVATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS, MANY DRIVEN BY DEEP FAITH.

LIKE SISTER CYRIL MOONEY, THAT OTHER NUN FROM CALCUTTA WHOSE PIONEERING WORK IN EDUCATING POOR HAS WON WORLDWIDE ACCLAIM.

>> OUR APPROACH IS TO EDUCATE THE CHILD, PUT THE CHILD STANDING ON THEIR FEET, GIVE THEM A GOOD JOB, AND THEN THEY'RE SETTLED FOR LIFE.

>> DR. CATHERINE HAMLIN, TREATING WOMEN WITH FISTULAS IN ETHIOPIA.

SUNITHA KRISHNAN, PROVIDING REFUGE AND TRAINING FOR TRAFFICKED YOUNG WOMEN IN INDIA.

ENTREPRENEUR CHID LIBERTY, STARTING A GARMENT INDUSTRY IN HIS NATIVE LIBERIA DESPITE EBOLA.

LIKE THIS ONE, MOST POVERTY ALLEVIATION IDEAS PLACE AN EMPHASIS ON IMPROVING THE LIVES OF WOMEN.

THE PAYOFF HIGHER, EXPERTS SAY, BECAUSE WOMEN FOCUS THEIR ENERGY ON THEIR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES, MEN, FOCUS ON THEMSELVES.

AT THE BAREFOOT COLLEGE, WHICH TRAINS RURAL WOMEN TO BECOME SOLAR TECHNICIANS, BUNKER ROY PUT IT THIS WAY.

>> WE'VE COME TO THE SAD CONCLUSION MEN ARE UNTRAINABLE.

THEY'RE RESTLESS.

>> HUMOR IS ALWAYS A POWERFUL STORYTELLING TOOL.

AND FINALLY THANK BOB ABERNETHY AND THE TEAM AT "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY."

IT'S BEEN A MILLION-MILE JOURNEY, LITERALLY MAKING THE FOREIGN LESS FOREIGN.

I COULD NOT HAVE DREAMED IT WOULD TAKE ME TO KALAMAZOO AND TIMBUKTU.

YOU SAW IT HERE.

FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," THIS IS FRED DE SAM LAZARO.

>>> OUR CORRESPONDENT JUDY VALENTE HAS REPORTED STORIES OVER THE YEARS ABOUT INDIVIDUALS COMMITTED TO IMPROVING THE WORLD AND THE MANY WAYS PEOPLE SEEK THE TRANSCENDENT.

SHE HERSELF IS AN ACCOMPLISHED POET.

>> IN MY YEARS REPORTING FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS," I INTERVIEWED MANY PEOPLE WHO NOT ONLY HAD COMPELLING STORIES TO TELL, BUT ENDED UP DEEPLY TOUCHING MY OWN LIFE.

ONE OF THOSE UNFORGETTABLE PEOPLE LIVED IN TINY PINE APPLE, ALABAMA, A PLACE SO POOR MANY RESIDENTS STILL GET THEIR WATER FROM OUTDOOR SPIGOTS.

DR. ROSEANNE COOK CARED FOR THE POOREST OF PINE APPLE'S POOR.

NOT KNOWN TO MOST OF HER PATIENTS, SHE ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A SISTER OF ST. JOSEPH, A CATHOLIC NUN.

SHE TOLD ONE STORY I WILL NEVER FORGET, ABOUT BEING ROBBED ON A SECLUDED ROAD.

>> THREW ME IN THE TRUNK HERE AND SAID, "YOU'RE DEAD," AND STARTED SHOOTING.

>> AND AMAZINGLY THEY ALL MISSED YOU.

>> I TAKE THAT AS AN ACT OF GOD THAT I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT.

>> A STORY ABOUT THE EFFORTS BY CHURCHES TO ADDRESS THE SPREAD OF AIDS AMONG YOUNG AFRICAN AMERICANS BROUGHT ME TO THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, WHERE I MET ANOTHER COURAGEOUS DOCTOR FROM AFRICA WHO WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS COUNTRY.

>> THE EXCHANGE OF SEX IS OFTEN THE ONLY ESSENTIAL THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, SOME YOUNGER WOMEN ARE LEFT WITH IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO OBTAIN SOME MONEY FOR, YOU KNOW, THE DAILY ESSENTIALS OF LIVING.

>> SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER OUR BROADCAST I LEARNED THAT DR. BRIMAH COMMITTED SUICIDE, THE RESULT, HIS FRIENDS SAID, OF THE EMOTIONAL TOLL HE FACED CONFRONTING DAILY DEVASTATING POVERTY, SUFFERING, AND DEATH IN THE DELTA.

THERE WERE MANY UPLIFTING STORIES, TOO.

IN 2003, I GOT TO SIT NEXT TO THE PIANO AT THE HOME OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE COMPOSERS, JERRY HERMAN.

♪ YOU GIVE THAT OLD MINT JULEP A KICK, MAME ♪ THE CHARACTERS I CHOOSE TO WRITE ABOUT ARE ALL OPTIMISTIC, LIFE-AFFIRMING PEOPLE.

>> A FEW YEARS LATER, I PROFILED ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY MUSICIAN, SINGER-SONGWRITER CARRIE NEWCOMER, WHOSE QUAKER BELIEFS INFUSE HER HUMANITARIAN WORK AROUND THE WORLD, AS WELL AS THE OFTEN SPIRITUAL LYRICS OF HER FOLK SONGS.

>> I DO USE SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE SOMETIMES IN MY WORK, BUT I DO IT VERY CAREFULLY.

IN A LOT OF CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC YOU GET EIGHT CRAYONS TO PAINT WITH.

THAT'S ALL YOU GET.

BUT I'M KIND OF LIKE A 48-CRAYON KIND OF GAL THEOLOGICALLY.

>> PERHAPS THE MOST MEMORABLE PERSON I INTERVIEWED WAS THE INSOUCIANT TRAPPIST MONK, BROTHER PAUL QUENON FROM THE ABBEY OF GETHSEMANI IN KENTUCKY.

>> I THINK THE PURPOSE OF THE MONASTIC LIFE IN THE MODERN WORLD IS TO SHOW THAT WE DON'T NEED A PURPOSE.

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS LIFE, AND YOU ARE TO BE JUST TO BE.

EVERYBODY MEASURES THEIR IMPORTANCE BY HOW USEFUL THEY ARE.

THAT'S NOT IT.

THAT'S NOT WHAT LIFE IS.

>> THE FAMOUS MONK AND WRITER THOMAS MERTON ENCOURAGED BROTHER PAUL TO WRITE POETRY.

BROTHER PAUL WAS AT WORK ON HIS FOURTH POETRY COLLECTION WHEN WE MET.

HE TOLD US HE WRITES A THREE-LINE POEM, A JAPANESE HAIKU, EVERY DAY AS PART OF HIS MEDITATION PRACTICE.

AFTER THAT INTERVIEW, BROTHER PAUL AND I BEGAN EXCHANGING A HAIKU A DAY.

WE DID THIS FOR TWO YEARS.

>> "ABOVE DIM SNOW FIELDS LONE LIGHT OF VENUS LONE WAIL OF GOOSE PLEADING FOR SPRING" >> HE AND I EVENTUALLY COLLECTED OUR HAIKU AND SEVERAL SHORT REFLECTIONS WE WROTE TO GO WITH THEM INTO A BOOK CALLED "THE ART OF PAUSING: MEDITATIONS FOR THE OVERWORKED AND OVERWHELMED."

I REMEMBER HIM AND SO MANY OF THE OTHERS I'VE INTERVIEWED WITH GREAT FONDNESS.

I'M JUDY VALENTE.

>>> THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

PLEASE JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK BACK IN OUR FINAL PROGRAM.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

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IS ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪