Dear faith leaders, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death... Read more
This winter I’ll have been ordained fifteen years. Way back in the day, before children, a move to Arkansas, and the advent of social media (though not before blogging) I knelt near the altar (that no longer exists) of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa (the church in which I was raised). Many bishops and clergy laid hands on my head that day (the weight of those hands still startles me in the remembering). The words: teach and preach... Read more
An Invitation to the Season Salvation extends far beyond the human. Although we humans are attracted to the salvation peculiarly offered through that human being Jesus Christ, we realize that salvation is more than just a promise of eternal life for humans. Salvation is bigger: it is all of creation restored, made whole, healed and at peace. And this is in part because we are a part of, and not separate from, creation itself.As a preacher, I probably make the mistake of... Read more
As a Christian pastor, I have some recent experience with the interplay of regionalism as it engages new media forms and informs our civic and religious imagination. That’s the story I wish to tell here. As a Gen Xer raised on a farm in rural Iowa, my move to Fayetteville, Arkansas constituted a transition from one significant regional culture in the United States to another–from the Midwest to the South. I am regularly discovering that... Read more
The American Psychology Association just published their Stress in America™ survey. It’s not good. More than half of Americans (59 percent) said they consider this the lowest point in U.S. history that they can remember — a figure spanning every generation, including those who lived through World War II and Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. So. Just think about Sept. 11th. Churches across the country created the space we all needed to process our... Read more
Today is Día de los Muertos. One of our social justice partners, NWA Worker Justice Center, is hosting an event this evening honoring immigrants & fighting back for the dignity of the living. This is very much in the spirit of Day of the Dead observances, because it is more than anything else a reaffirmation of indigenous life. So, if you are hearing about Day of the Dead for the first time, or if you are thinking about it in... Read more
Certain books written in this season are especially well-suited to survival. They’re the proper mix of readable, inspiring, and strategic. These days, it’s essential to see things as they are, and discover the tools necessary to overcome the anxiety born of responsibility stripped of agency. My favorite by far is Al Franken’s Giant of the Senate. Not only is it sidesplittingly hilarious, it also will teach you more about political strategy than any serious tome. Learn about “the pivot,” political... Read more
***EMERGENCY UPDATE*** Dear Clint, I just spoke with a colleague about the desperate situation in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, and things still aren’t looking good. Families remain in crisis throughout the island with little access to food, water and electricity. Unfortunately, this situation is not unfolding in isolation. At the same time: More than 1,000 people have died from flooding in Nepal and India, which has also washed away crops many poor families depend on to survive. Several nations in Africa... Read more
Clint Schnekloth
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