Forced Ecclesiastical Assimilation? by Antonio ‘Tony’ Aja I am an immigrant and a former refugee. I came from Cuba to the U.S. via Spain in the late ’60s. I belong to that group of people from the “Global South’’ who began to migrate to this country by the millions after the liberalization of the… Read more »
January 16, 2018
Writing in the Margins
Forced Ecclesiastical Assimilation? by Antonio ‘Tony’ Aja I am an immigrant and a former refugee. I came from Cuba to the U.S. via Spain in the late ’60s. I belong to that group of people from the “Global South’’ who began to migrate to this country by the millions after the liberalization of the… Read more »
Mystery Box Outsiders wonder what’s inside church by Richard Hong I used to live near a business that had an innocuous name – I forget what it was. There would usually be just a few cars parked outside. The windows had blinds covering them. I never figured out what it was. Was it a… 
The Great Epiphany Challenge Joining the Magi in seeing Christ among us by Donna Frischknecht Jackson It’s January 5, and I know I should take my Christmas tree down. The needles are falling at an alarming rate and each morning as I sip my coffee in the kitchen I can hear the clunk of… 
Someday is now Seeing the God dreams right in front of us by Donna Frischknecht Jackson The Christmas tree is losing its needles and the cutout Santa cookies are beyond stale. Christmas 2017 is fast-becoming a memory. All eyes are now on 2018. That means our eyes are on the goals and dreams we… 
A wonderful time of year Time to decide what’s really important by Rebecca Lister It’s that time of year — “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” It’s a time that the “Marthas” of the world relish — a time of baking, shopping, wrapping, cooking and constantly doing. I am referring to Martha, sister… 
A different kind of Christmas card Who is waiting to hear from you? by Donna Frischknecht Jackson On my desk sits an index card with the initial “R” written on it in blue marker. I have thrown this index card into the garbage at least three times so far and, so far,… 
A Declaration of God-Dependence How are rights and love different? By N. Graham Standish A Thought: We live in a nation of inalienable rights, but God calls us to live lives of inalienable love. Rights lead to rules, but love leads to life. Choose life! A Reflection: The Fourth of July fireworks are over,… 
We all stand together Lessons in unity from a military base By Glenn Hink The white trucks and buses stopped on the road. The platoon of Marines stopped their jogging. The man on the lawn mower stopped mowing. The people coming out of the Commissary stopped in the parking lot, and set down their bags… 
Long Illusions God’s miracles are all around us By Sarah Robbins Sometimes it takes too long to be able to see what’s going on. I am an impatient person. Having something block my vision or distort what is really going on always feels like a big waste of time to me. I get annoyed…. 
Beer fast for Lent? An unusual spiritual request By Ken Rummer The proposition took me by surprise. “Would you be my spiritual advisor?” J. Wilson, the editor of our weekly newspaper in Iowa had just been describing the medieval practice of certain monks who only drank beer during Lent, and how he, a home-brewer and self-described beer…