For Christians, December is an expectant month. We’ve set our clocks back, noticed our emotions darken a bit with the abrupt change to early evening darkness and in many places, a downward trudge into increasingly cold weather. As we move into the depths of winter toward the lights of Christmas, we would like to reflect on the things that give us hope in the darkness and in this time of waiting – waiting for justice, waiting for healing. What sustains us in this... Read more
A long time ago, there was a broad and beautiful land bounded by two rivers. This land was inhabited by a tribe of wise wolves who hunted and governed the land fairly. Though they sometimes disagreed, they always resolved their conflicts with tests of strength or cunning and never resorted to killing each other. One day a wolf named Sugmanitu was patrolling the eastern riverbank and found a pair of rabbits, bedraggled, exhausted, their lungs half filled with water. They... Read more
God, put an end to white supremacy; Avenging God, show up! Insurrecting God, unravel the venomous cords of racism from the core of our democracy. How long, Lord, will the racially unconscious remain comfortable in their blindness? The domination system pours out arrogant words and policies barren of empathy; The domination system crushes the unheard; The system only rewards obedience; It punishes self-reliance and a protesting spirit; Come Lord Jesus! Read more
November saw the mid-term elections in the US and the Rochester by-election here in the UK. in both cases the subject of Christian voting has surfaced. This is no surprise in the US, the Christian vote has been a factor for a while and this has been highly organised when it comes to a right wing agenda through groups like the moral majority or more recently the Tea Party movement. So analysis by organisations like Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/27/us-usa-elections-evangelicals-idUSKBN0IG0RI20141027 and the Pew Forum... Read more
Nothing I try to type seems right today. I already preached a Twitter sermon this morning on white fear and don’t have the energy to rehash it. I posted a reflection to Facebook about the phenomenon of Dr. King worship, while viewing the protests of the last 109 days with scorn, disgust or confusion and it became a blog post: This All Happened Before. Of course people also tried to whitesplain me there too. My mother-in-law, concerned for my safety.... Read more
In 2005 I read Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution and fell in love with the idea of intentional community. Five intentional communities later, I know now that living in community is tough stuff. In fact, Shane says it himself: “The simple way is not the easy way. No one ever promised us that community or Christian discipleship would be easy… This love is not sentimental but heart wrenching, the most difficult and the most beautiful thing in the world.” I must... Read more
Thursday Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving. Many of us in true, opulent American fashion. We’ll cook three times as much food as we need and then we’ll rush off to participate in Black Friday…on a Thursday night. “God, thanks for all this awesome stuff. Sorry to run, but we need to buy some more shit to be thankful for!” I’d love to tell you that I’m better than that. I wish I could say that version of the holiday season repulses... Read more
I get what it means to feel connected to the land. My great great grandfather, Carl Schroeder, came from Germany to America. He built a farm atop a hill outside of a small town in rural Wisconsin. He had a son named Carl, who grew up and built his farm at the bottom of that hill. This Carl had a son named Carl, my grand father, who grew up and built his farm through the woods from his father’s farm.... Read more
Part 1 of 6 in a series on prayer Religious folks all too often relate to God through divided categories: sacred/secular, church/world, body/soul, matter/spirit, purity/impurity. This comes from a religious vision in which encountering God can only take place for certain people in certain places under certain conditions. The word “holy,” for example, has often designated beliefs or practices that are divided or “set-apart.” Take the ancient Judaism of Jesus’ day. In those times, the entire Jewish religious system oriented... Read more
To continue the new arc we embarked upon last year at the 2014 gathering, Transform Network is partnering with Wesley Theological Seminary to offer a weekend of diving deep into urban ministry. (more…) Read more
Emergent Village
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In