Vince introduces our theme for this year's Advent (Economic Justice and the Bible's two Christmas Stories) and how to participate.
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The Bible is everywhere in Western culture, in all of its beauty, and in all of its problematic imagery. Vince suggests some options for feeding life-giving applications of the Bible, and starving terrorizing applications of the Bible.
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Hayley and Vince continue this month's discussion of the modern experience of constant, nagging guilt, and in particular how healthy spirituality and community might help us address guilt in our relationships.
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In the wake of continued tragedies, judgment and shame around our own responses and the responses of others can arise. What if, instead, we allowed compassion to re-align our vision? Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan offers wisdom here...
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To believe in the God Jesus shows — who joins those who suffer in solidarity, and whose mission is to bend the world toward justice — DOESN’T require you to feel optimistic.
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This is Vince's last Sunday on the mic for a month. He offers some pastoral comments for the moment.
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You are not alone if you find it inconsistent, problematic, or shaming the way Jesus’ crucifixion is presented as “substitution” in the vast majority of American churches (as though God needs someone to be punished, and Jesus “substitutes” himself for us, who really deserve the punishment). As we begin Holy Week this Lent, we offer some ways to shift your consideration of Jesus’ crucifixion away from “substitution” and toward two other things: “solidarity”, and “breaking cycles of revenge”.
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How can anyone believe in a loving and powerful God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world? If the common religious response that "it's all a part of God's plan" is not satisfying to you (or has hurt you personally), you are not alone. For week 1 of Lent, we experiment with an alternative way to believe in a loving and powerful God -- that doesn't bypass people's pain, that is consistent with Jesus' picture of God, and that invites intellectual curiosity rather than shuts it down.
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On the weekend our country remembers Dr. King, we do a book report on Howard Thurman's "Jesus and the Disinherited" -- reportedly the book Dr. King kept in his pocket during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Thurman is one of the most important theologians in American history, but unfortunately not as well known as he ought to be. (Photo: Book jacket for "Jesus and the Disinherited" by Howard Thurman)
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Hayley Larson reflects for us after our annual take on the traditional Anglican Christmas Carols Service.
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