Posts Categorized: Congregations

The Church for Today

Not Yet Do you have a ‘growth mindset’? by Richard Hong     I’m seeing a lot of decisions made at all levels of the denomination, as we struggle with negative overall trends. What distresses me about the decisions are that so many of them seem to presume that continued decline is inevitable. I don’t… Read more »

Living in Between

Let’s talk about sex Are you in the conversation? by Abby King-Kaiser   The first time I got catcalled in the street, I had parked my car and was walking to a twice a week volunteer gig as at a local community developer, where I wrote thank you notes to donors, organized closets and answered… Read more »

justleros: more than nonsense / más que disparates

Like a hired hand A Revised Common Lectionary resource for April 22 by Magdalena I. García ‘The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away — and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.’ – John 10:12 Read the… Read more »

The Church for Today

It’s SOCIAL Media… not an electronic bulletin board by Richard Hong    You’ve felt the pressure. The church needs a Facebook page. Should we be on Instagram? But while many churches are trying to have a presence on social media, most are being ineffective. And the primary reason they are failing is they are forgetting… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

Ashes and violence and teen’s question: Why?   by Donna Frischknecht Jackson   The sanctuary was mostly quiet. Every now and then a hum, rattle and swoosh from the ancient heating system would interrupt the stillness. It was a welcomed noise as I was trying hard to keep the cavernous room at a toasty 60… Read more »

The B-Flat Christian

And the Walls Came a Tumblin’ Down What ‘walls’ do we need God to tear down in our lives?  by Rebecca Lister  And the walls came a tumblin’ down. These words came to me the other morning as I was listening to an interview by the author of a book entitled The Line Becomes a… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

Finding God in the Junk Drawer A much-needed reminder to ‘watch for God’ by Donna Frischknecht Jackson    God spoke to me the other day. I wasn’t standing on some mountaintop. Nor was I lying prostrate on the floor. I wasn’t even kneeling in the quiet of the old sanctuary of the little rural church… Read more »

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 »

The Church for Today

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… Read more »

Barn Boots and Blessings

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… Read more »