Features
Showing up for racial reconciliation
As a young white pastor, I learned the value of working with black organizations—and not trying to be in charge.
Biblical, evangelical—and progressive
In the United Church of Canada, a liberal congregation is growing. Here's how.
The meeting in the sanctuary and the meeting in the basement
In opioid country, churches get to know their recovery communities.
How a Christian bloc helped oust Brazil's president
Evangelical politicians were among the most vocal opponents of Dilma Rouseff and her party's social programs.
Books
Uniting the new working class
Today's laborers are more likely cleaning toilets than mining coal. But there's still a need to organize.
Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down, by Anne Valente
As the Iraq war rages and President Bush continues a fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction, a brutal school shooting in a suburb of St. Louis leaves four teenagers traumatized....
The work that begins at retirement
Life's later decades present distinctive virtues—and vices.
When pro-lifers were progressives
Most of us only know the pro-life movement after Roe v. Wade. But there's a fuller history—with surprising turns.
From generation to generation
Yaa Gyasi's novel reveals the freedoms and captivities we all inherit.
Merciful within limits
Pope Francis's theology of mercy has political implications.
Intersectionality, by Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge
How we define ourselves and others is complex because we hold multiple identities simultaneously....
Departments
What waiting reveals about our true selves
An insight I gleaned from Ernest Hemingway rings true for the mainline church today.
Addiction teaches us the truth about lies
Small deceptions work like a narcotic, making us feel nicely respectable. Especially in church.
Taking risks to heal hurt
It's a church—and a yoga studio, psychotherapist's office, and Reiki healing space.
The Night Of and the nights after
On HBO's new series, a young Muslim is accused of murder. But whether he's guilty isn't the point.
Crucifixion, by Giovanni Stradano (1523–1605)
Giovanni Stradano, a Flemish artist who moved to Florence to study Italian art and culture, followed the style of Mannerism taught by Giorgio Vasari....
News
Methodist agency leaves NYC as other institutions face rising property costs
When Betty Thompson arrived in New York City in 1950, she soon got a job with the Methodist Board of Missions on Fifth Avenue in a stretch she called “Protestant Rome.”...
Margaret Ahmed creates jobs, hope in Nigeria
When Margaret Ahmed walks around her hometown of Jos, Nigeria, observing seeds on the ground or plastic bags littering the streets, she sees potential merchandise....
Amid tensions, Doris Smith is pastor and police
She’s a plainclothes cop, but on Sunday mornings she wears a uniform: her clergy robe and stole....
Yisrael Kristal, world's oldest man, finally gets a bar mitzvah
Yisrael Kristal, 113, considered by Guinness World Records to be the world’s oldest man, celebrated his bar mitzvah 100 years after Jewish boys traditionally mark this rite of passage....
More Chibok girls released after two years held captive
(The Christian Science Monitor) Families reunited with 21 of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram after they were released in mid-October t...
Landmark Luther exhibits explore his technological and theological legacy
Three interconnected U.S. shows, taken together, represent the most extensive display of Martin Luther–related materials ever collected outside of Germany....
Survey: Americans accept contraception, divide over LGBT rights
When it comes to contraception, a clear majority of Americans say employers should be required to cover it in their health-care plans, even if they have religious objections....
More priests killed in Mexico as drug violence spirals
Even in a community that has grown accustomed to the news of brutal killings, the abduction and murder of a popular Catholic priest in rural Mexico created shock and outrage....
Few pastors asked to perform marriages for same-sex couples
A survey shows that since gay marriage was made legal in 2015, Protestant pastors have rarely been asked to officiate at such ceremonies....
Lectionary
December 4, Second Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12
The Bible uses the word fear both for fright and awe. This week's texts reveal the difference.
November 27, First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44
While we're preparing for Jesus' birth, these texts talk about getting ready for the Second Coming.