Shame, Healing, Love, and Acceptance
We burden one another we shame each day. Shame makes us feel unworthy and rejected. Love welcomes us home in God’s embrace.
Role of Women in the History of the Church
Women had leadership roles in the early church, but then that power was taken away. Reformer John Knox railed against women’s leadership, as did men at a General Assembly meeting in America in 1811.
Tea & Cookies with Protestors: Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu was still trying to bring down Apartheid in the mid-eighties. The powers that be hired protestors to try to smear Tutu, but he ended up sharing a tea party with them.
The Stories We Tell about our Enemies
A West African proverb: until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. Hearing the stories, the understandings, the circumstances of those we disagree with is the path to peace along the way of Christ.
Adam & Eve Wonder: Is the Night Endless?
In the far north, they have days of all night and all day. Maybe Adam & Eve were afraid the first time they saw the sun go down. Would it ever return?
Christmas without Advent? A Bride who Won’t Stop Wearing her Dress
Trying to celebrate Christmas every day of Advent is like a bride who’s so excited about her wedding that she wears her dress every day for weeks before the ceremony.
Looking for Christ in Christian Nationalism
Christian Nationalism means one group’s notion of Christianity holds power regardless of what the majority want. It can even mean a dictatorship.
Finding Peace and Befriending Bears: Seraphim of Sarov
In the late 18th-early 19th centuries, Seraphim of Sarov fasted, prayed, and meditated for decades. He became a miracle worker, a source of peace, and a friend of bears.
To Be a Dog Waiting Faithfully
My childhood dog would perch on the couch in front of the window to watch and wait for my Mom to come home. Such faithfulness can inspire us at Advent.
Christmas Folklore in Iceland: The Yule Lads
An Icelandic child in the Middle Ages learned about mischievous trolls who arrive as Christmas draws near. However scary things get, you know that Christ is returning and all shall be well.