This Christmas Eve, linger a bit A little rural church basks in Christ’s light by Donna Frischknecht Jackson We had just finished singing Silent Night. The Christmas Eve service was soon to be over and I felt like a child who had just opened the last of her Christmas presents. I was still overjoyed,… Read more »
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… Read more »
The mathematics of forgiveness A Revised Common Lectionary resource for September 17 by Magdalena I. García Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’ – Matthew 18:22 Read the full lectionary passages here The apostle Peter, it seems, was quite fond of mathematics, so he spent a great deal of… Read more »
Whose fault is it? Blame has no place in the Kingdom of God By Susan Rothenberg Whose fault is it? When a congregation reaches the end of its life, whose fault is it? A pastor who kept putting off retirement, and as he lost energy, so did the congregation? A music director who refused to play… Read more »
Biological Redemption Sensitivity, Not Perfection is The Aim By Elizabeth Jeffries I discovered my life’s calling at the seasoned age of 4. My personal epiphany came during during preschool, in my phase of incessant inquiry. When I asked my Mom a string of questions about the stars in the sky, she explained to me… Read more »
Unofficial pastoral exchange program My time as a Lutheran leader By Mary Robin Craig It wasn’t exactly an exchange program—there was no trade involved. But for the past fourteen months, I served an ELCA congregation as its interim pastor. It was an unexpected adventure in my call as a teaching elder in the PC(USA)…. Read more »
Friday of the Third Week in Lent Read Matthew 15:21–28 My daughter was at death’s door, and I was at my wits’ end. Nothing could bring my child back to health. I’d heard rumblings of a Jew working miracles over in Israel. But he moved around a lot, so nobody knew quite where he’d be. I… Read more »
Third Sunday in Lent Read Mark 5:1–20 Today’s been quite a day. First of all, that crazy man down by the tombs was at it again last night — cutting himself, throwing himself on the ground, howling so loud we could hear it from town. How could we be expected to sleep through a racket… Read more »
Lectionary passages and local politics Writing with a not-so-colonized mind By Antonio “Tony” Aja Theologian Karl Barth is quoted as saying that preachers need to have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Of course, the reason is that we need to be attentive to what is happening in our communities and… Read more »
Child’s question leads to thoughtful Facebook discussion By Robyn Davis Sekula As we made our 30-minute commute, my 10-year-old daughter Anna asked me a stunner of a question. “Do people believe in God more or less as they get older?” Anna is prone to deep questions. She is my quietest child, usually tucked away… Read more »
