Features
Anchored in Christ: Beyond the scripture-tradition divide
Sacramental time means that
past, present and future can coincide. People from
different historical eras can participate or share in the same event.
Water in worship: The ecology of baptism
The Christian heritage of praying next to water is older than Christianity itself, being deeply influenced by our Jewish heritage. One of our stunning water-prayer treasures is Psalm 104.
Voice lessons: Learning to preach
King George was terrified to be in front of a microphone. That's nothing compared to going
head to head with the average North American congregation with nothing but three points and a poem.
Rabbit Hole: Directed by John Cameron Mitchell
This film about a couple struggling to cope with the death of
their little boy has a limited imaginative reach. But the familiar can
wield considerable power when the writing is honest and specific.
Naming the shadows: Truth-telling at funerals
The eulogies go on and on, the bereaved helping to anoint the saint.
But then the eulogizers go home, leaving the bereaved to mourn someone whose life contained shadows as well
as sunshine.
Unplanned ministry: Being Jackson’s pastor
It is a huge irony that I ended up as pastor to so many recovering alcoholics. But recovering is the key word here.
Books
A Review of Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life
The Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century was fascinating because it pondered the deepest questions of how a social order can be structured to maximize human welfare....
A Review of How to Be Perfect
Dissatisfied with his aloof relationship to the Old Testament, Harrell, then minister at Park Street Church in Boston, decided to investigate Leviticus....
A Review of A Worker Justice Reader
This very timely book appears when over 27 percent of the U.S....
Science without wonder
Marilynne Robinson's first nonfiction volume since The Death of Adam is demanding and elegant. Readers expecting a defense of
theism against the new atheist fundamentalism, however, will be
disappointed.
A Review of Stones into Schools
A sequel to the best-selling Three Cups of Tea, this book continues Mortenson's inspirational narrative about building schools in conservative Muslim countries to educate girls a...
Departments
Mysteries of February
This month could be consecrated to all hidden preparations, to children in the womb and to those who long to conceive. In February all is potency, awaiting God's redeeming act.
Tapestry with Lord’s Prayer
In Lent we meet Jesus through stories about his teaching, his radical inclusion of the oppressed and marginalized and his acts of healing. We also meet Jesus in solitude and at prayer....
Permission not to pray
Just as an injured athlete needs to take a break, my friends needed to take some time to rest. And like the paralytic at Capernaum, they could depend on others' faith and not just their own.
Gun fantasies
In the face of yet another gun massacre, Americans seem to think that there is only one answer: more guns.
News
Obama evokes Niebuhr, black church
Expecting a speech, Americans instead heard a sermon. Drawing on
scripture, theology and the rising rhythms of black preaching, President
Obama was more pastor than politician at a memorial service in Tucson...
Clergy urge Congress to come together for civility
A coalition of more than 50 mainline and evangelical Protestant,
Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leaders have sent an open letter to Congress
urging a "time of soul searching" and national dialogue about "violent...
Palin use of ‘blood libel’ unsettling to Jews
Four days after an assassination attempt critically wounded a Jewish
congresswoman and killed six others, Sarah Palin on January 12 accused
"journalists and pundits" of manufacturing a "blood libel" that seeks to...
Aiming to counter trend, UCC seminary will train military chaplains
A military chaplain serves as both a religious leader and a
listener—ideally one who can assist military personnel of all faiths. A
frequent refrain among chaplains is that one is a "chaplain to all,...
Senator ends probe of ministries, calls for ‘self-reform’
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, having concluded a three-year probe
into alleged lavish spending at six major broadcast ministries, has
asked a prominent evangelical group to study ways to spur "self-reform"...
Army faces queries on ‘spiritual fitness’ test
The army is facing questions over a "spiritual fitness" portion of a
mandatory questionnaire, with some atheists calling it "invidious and
not inclusive" of soldiers who are nonbelievers....
Congress’s religious profile unaltered
An influx of Republicans has colored the House of Representatives
red, but the midterm elections did little to alter the religious
composition of Capitol Hill....
‘Radicalization’ hearings worry U.S. Muslims
Mass protests against planned mosques in New York City and
Tennessee. An Oklahoma referendum to ban Islamic law. A media circus
around a Florida pastor's threat to burn Qur'ans. An upsurge in...
Lectionary
Sunday, February 20, 2011: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23; Matthew 5:38-48
Here are texts that say to the church: "You are holy."
Sunday, February 13, 2011: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Somewhere along the line, choosing to worship the God met in Jesus became a matter of life and death for me.