Good and gracious God, Our words fail… they fail to adequately describe the events in Japan. They fail to express the depth of our sympathy. They fail to encapsulate the immensity of the tragedy. They fail to contain the breadth of our emotions. They fail to convey the commiseration in our souls. Yet, we fling these deficient vessels toward you. Because we must. We fling our words of concern, of care, of compassion towards you, even though they, at times,... Read more

A prayer submitted by Kimberly J. Edwards: God, I find myself heartbroken by the hatred I see all around me. So I ask that I may never forget : That behind every brown, yellow, red, black or white face, there is a family like mine, and souls trying to live in a world that often tells them they are less than or unworthy, aliens that are not wanted. May I never lose sight of the soul behind each face, the... Read more

Part 2 – Christian ‘Heritage’ and American Exceptionalism It is not unusual to find that those who have incorrectly begun treating Christianity as a heritage also cling tightly to a modern, warped conceptualization of American exceptionalism.  In the US, many people have conflated their religion and their patriotism in a way that makes it is hard to tell where one begins and where the other ends.  For the Church, the body of Christ, this has created a very volatile and... Read more

With each generation in the United States, it becomes more and more difficult for some people to identify with their heritage.  Some of this is because the cultural pieces of their heritage have not been practiced and passed along from generation to generation, and some because as families marry they bring in other heritages and the resulting generation sometimes have a more difficult time understanding exactly what their heritage is. It occurs to me that a very interesting phenomenon has... Read more

“I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work.” — MLK, Letter from a Birmingham Jail It is no great secret that mainline, Protestant churches... Read more

Good and gracious God, Allow the tragedy in Tucson yesterday to open our eyes to the tragedy around the world everyday. Help us be made aware in a way that does not lessen the severity of yesterday’s tragic events, but rather, in a way that amplifies the tragedy found in the loss of human life for any reason. We pray now for Christina the 9 year old girl who lost her life in the cross-fire of hate. We pray for... Read more

Good and gracious God, 2010 was not the year we hoped it to be. Before we begin this new year remind us that we should never be satisfied with any year. Remind us that the pursuit of heaven on earth should always be our goal. Remind us that while that goal always seems to be just beyond our reach, we are called to reach for it none-the-less. Remind us that when our arms seem to be about to fall out... Read more

  As Christmas quickly approaches, it gets harder and harder to not get caught up in the consumerism that has come to define the season.  Amidst all of this season’s consumption, groups like adventconspiracy.org are advocating a change – a change from consumption to compassion.  What if this Christmas season, instead of giving presents to our family and friends, we put the same time and effort we spend shopping for and thinking about those presents into spending time with them... Read more

The Tea Partier and a member of The Christian Left have a discussion about “The War on Christmas.” Read more

Good and gracious God, This time of year, despite all of the presents we give, it is sometimes too easy to get caught up in ourselves. In the ‘joy‘ of shopping, the ‘love‘ of all the seasons’ festivities, the ‘peace‘ of settling in by a fire while the Christmas Tree helps light the room, the ‘hope‘ of what we might receive. Change our hearts O God. Not in a way that devalues those things, but in a way that puts... Read more