As the calendar turns to November we have found ourselves wading once again into the time that is the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. This is that special time of year where we will gather with loved ones, share in a good meal, and make preparations for the coming of Advent and Christmas. During the next several weeks we can look forward to food, football, fellowship, good-will, and, of course, the predictable protests of those who feel that some how, some... Read more
If you’re one of those pastors (or parishioners!) who dreads the “Children’s Moment” during worship, artist and Rev. Adam Walker Cleaveland has just made your Sunday morning a whole lot better. His brand new Illustrated Children’s Moments, a series of illustrations based on the lectionary for use in church, Sunday school and all week long, will help you to “tell the story” with your children in an engaging and memorable way. I caught up with Adam this week to ask him about... Read more
“I think we should take the word ‘evangelical’ back. The word’s been hijacked and it’s wrong, and we need to take it back.” That’s former megachurch pastor Rob Bell, schooling us on the real meaning of the word “evangelical” while making a passionate plea for reclaiming the word and it’s original meaning for us today. The word evangelical, he reminds us, is Greek for “good news” and 2,000 years ago, it meant good news for everybody: “a better kind of world, not through... Read more
by Janis Rosheuvel, Pastor Lilian Amaya and Lissette Castillo Vizcarra The crisis of incarceration this nation now faces demands people of faith act with swift and fierce moral authority to transform, not just reform, an irreparably broken system. It demands that all of us—clergy, seminarians, teachers, and people in pews, mosques and temples— provoke a revolution of values that strikes at the heart of mass incarceration. Without exception, we believers are required to realize a just world. This is our... Read more
Fall sunlight streamed through stained glass, warming the faces and the souls of the people who filled the simple old white-steepled sanctuary. This past Sunday afternoon, we gathered at Soquel Congregational Church near Santa Cruz, CA, for the memorial service of our mother, Barbara Lee Deemy Burklo, who died over a month ago, peacefully, at the age of 88. My mom’s relatives, friends, fellow parishioners, and friends of her children gathered in the church, founded in 1868 and built of... Read more
When I bought eyeglasses for the first time, I suddenly and dramatically discovered the clarity I had been missing. But I also had to be careful walking down stairs as I had a hard time judging depth. I got headaches from the intensity of my newfound vision. I had to adjust to a new way of seeing. Recently, I invited Albert Rizzi to co-present a shared sermon with me. He had unexpectedly lost his sight in 2006 at the age... Read more
On the night of the last supper of Christ, a weary group of disciples gathered at the table. The gospel writers go out of their way to describe just how inept and clueless they were. No one there had fasted or confessed their sins or had orthodox Christology. They were troubled and filled more with doubt than faith. Their leader, Peter, was about to turn apostate. Judas had already sold Jesus out. I think it’s safe to say that they... Read more
“The secure rhythms of nature that are the foundation of our home.” — Rachel, Illinois “Clean air and water for my grandchildren.” — Cheryl, Utah “We are losing nothing short of life itself.” — Susan, Faiths for Safe Water “Love, family, life.” — Great-grandmother Mary Lyons, Ojibwe Elder, Member of The Grandmothers Circle What do you love and hope to never lose to climate chaos? That was the question, and these were some of the responses written on over 1,200... Read more
Ever wonder how your faith community can help end the plague of gun violence in our country? A new and growing coalition of 30-plus faith communities in Colorado — Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence (CFCU) — has bridged the divide of faith traditions and polarizing beliefs on firearms to have an impact on this troubling issue. Here are seven steps you and your congregation can take to have an impact in your community as well: 1. Find your... Read more
Does anyone employed at this Sunshine State gun manufacturer actually believe Jesus was crying out from the Cross, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do,” only because he didn’t have an AR-15 handy to go on a killing rampage instead? Read more
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