by Kamila Gutierrez My earliest memories of God are of imagining God as a teddy bear in the sky, with large black button eyes and a little red bow tie. The diminutive of God in Spanish is Diosito, which sounds like the word for teddy bear: osito.I have always thought of God as my best […]
In her famous book on creativity, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron writes, “Creativity is a spiritual endeavor. This does not mean we have to subscribe to someone else’s view of God and the order of things … we will flourish more as we honor the spiritual side of our own beings.” Honoring “the spiritual side […]
by the Rev. Celeste Kennel-Shank Genesis 1: 11–13, 29–30 Plants are a gift from God. Most of us aren’t accustomed to thinking of them that way. But it’s there in Genesis. God creates plants of various kinds and calls them good. After creating animals and other creatures with the breath of life in them, God […]
by the Rev. Celeste Kennel-Shank Gardening as a spiritual practice, caring for particular pieces of earth and all that grows on them, connects me with creation. It opens up the agricultural world of scripture to me in a way that would otherwise be impossible for a lifelong city dweller. Though my gardens are at the […]
by: Rev. Dr. Ralen M. Robinson She rises not because the world made it easy but because her spirit was fed and nurtured by women who guided and equipped her for life’s trials and tribulations. She speaks because generations of women urged her not to stay quiet. Grandmothers prayed over her, so she had the […]
by Rev. Dr. Ralen M. Robinson “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) My heels echo off the floor, creating a click-clack orchestra, paving the way to the pulpit. I step onto the staircase leading up to […]
by Wanda Frenchman I am an Indigenous woman living and working in the United States. I am Oglala Lakota and Lenape. I am proud that my DNA carries the ancestral blood of many generations of Indigenous people; however, because of this ancestral blood, I am 2.5 x more likely to experience violent crimes and 2 […]
by Prairie Rose Seminole The red dress has become a powerful symbol of remembrance, resilience, and justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR). Across North America, Indigenous communities and allies gather to wear red, hang red dresses in public spaces, and speak the names of those who have been taken. This act of remembrance […]
by Andrea L Walker Lately, many of us have been feeling the weight of the world. I pastor a congregation in Washington, D.C. Many of my members work for non-profits or for the federal government. I find myself standing on a Sunday, my heart being torn apart because I can see the fear and disappointment […]
by Andrea L Walker As a new pastor, I was often questioned and challenged about who I was, where I came from, or whether I knew what I was doing. It was a constant struggle in a congregation that never had a woman pastor before. Of course, I had done my time in seminary and […]