MLK Day Sermon: Paul and Martin’s Dream of Reconciliation through Nonviolent Direct Action

Last updated on: January 19, 2015 at 12:02 pm By Mark Longhurst

Both the civil rights movement and Paul’s ministry to the Corinthians were catalyzed by a dream of reconciliation, forged through the tactics of nonviolent direct action. The Reverend Dr. Martin King Jr. spoke of “beloved community” as a way of evoking that ancient metaphor from Jesus: “the kingdom of God.” As King said, following a Supreme Court verdict that desegregated Montgomery buses: “The end is reconciliation. The end is redemption. The end is the creation of the Beloved Community.” The... Read more

Let’s Talk About Race

Last updated on: January 18, 2015 at 1:08 pm By rileyobrienpowell

This week at my church, Solomon’s Porch, while our usual master of ceremonies, Doug Pagitt, is out of town for the Christianity 21 Conference, I will be hosting the sermon time conversation. Actually I will be co-hosting the conversation with my friend Victor, who is one of the only black men in our community. And we’re going to talk about race. Church continues to be one of the most segregated spaces in our culture. And my church is no exception.... Read more

Growing as Agents of Peace and Healing

Last updated on: January 17, 2015 at 7:56 am By Jamie Osborne

Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come. For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone. Flowers are appearing on the earth. The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree is forming its first figs and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance. Come, then, my beloved, my lovely one, come. (Song of Songs 2:10-13 NJB) Throughout the Christian tradition, Christians have experienced a relationship... Read more

Ableist Metaphors In Worship: Why It Matters

Last updated on: January 15, 2015 at 2:32 pm By Theresa Soto

Guide my feet while I run this race, Except I don’t run. My feet don’t work all that well. Where is my part in this? In the past few weeks, out of my regular routine, I have encountered ableism in worship in a way that I usually don’t. Songs that lift up as exemplars of things that I will never do and casual uses of the words of disability to mark ways that people have problems or limitations weighed on... Read more

The Path to the Dark Side is Fear

Last updated on: January 14, 2015 at 3:48 pm By Janel Apps Ramsey

So much fear and worry. I see it’s mark all over the church of today. Fear of what might happen if we love unconditionally, lay down our arms, and embrace people that are different than us. Fear that names itself as a boundary or righteousness. Fear that our loved ones won’t make it into the good version of eternity if they have different views than us. There are so many instances, in both the Old and New Testaments, where we... Read more

I Am Tired: A Poem About Race

Last updated on: January 13, 2015 at 8:56 pm By Ahnnalise Stevens Jennings

To all the people who are tired of talking about race. I want you to know that I am tired too. I am tired of white people touching my hair like I am a sheep in a petting zoo. I am tired of being followed around stores by employees I am tired of never being able to find foundation or pantyhose I am tired of the looks I get from people when I walk down the street with my husband... Read more

The Wall of Love at the Gay Christian Network Conference

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 2:15 pm By Marg Herder

For the last few days I’ve been in Portland, Oregon attending the Gay Christian Network Conference. I took a small shuttle bus from my hotel to the convention center Saturday morning. I’d been walking those few blocks every day; but it was raining, and the driver was standing right there when I came outside. “Hey, wanna ride over there this morning?” he asked. Four of us climbed in. Said hello to each other as we pulled away. It was only... Read more

Becoming UNenlightened

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 9:27 am By Eric English

My birthday This October I celebrated my 20th anniversary of being a Christian. Well…to be honest, I didn’t really celebrate – there was no cake, decorations, princesses, or a donkey-horse hanging precariously from a tree branch. It was more like, changing diapers, chasing children, and pretending to be a donkey-horse for my five year old. So…I guess in that sense there was a donkey-horse. This has been a difficult spiritual year for me as I have struggled to reconcile the... Read more

On Sleeping Early and Laundry in the Middle of the Night

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 5:47 am By Mihee Kim-Kort

“The ordinary activities I find most compatible with contemplation are walking, baking bread, and doing laundry.” – Kathleen Norris, The Quotidian Mysteries A delicious rain fell off and on all day yesterday and and again, last night starting a little before the children’s bedtime. The kind of rain that gives everything a grayish, warm glow, and begs for blankets, books, and sleep. The twins, even little Oz went down so easily – another rare gift when they almost tuck themselves in and only... Read more

Could it be so easy to digest?

Last updated on: January 10, 2015 at 10:56 pm By Cristina Mejia

I always wondered what people meant when they said they are spiritual but not religious. Sixteen years as a fundamentalist missionary then another ten years questioning my faith and now here I am… a wandering christian. I went from a strict diet (thinking I was in the light and holding an absolute truth yet suppressing my intuition) to an exuberant buffet of various foods (a place where I only have my intuition to follow as to when to stop and... Read more