by Angela T. Khabeb A new calendar year often brings a fresh perspective with promises of a clean slate. We remember the past year and take inventory of successes and failures. We also look ahead with hope and anticipation of what will be. New Year’s resolutions abound. Our promises create a lovely tapestry. We vow […]
by Amanda Llewellyn A young woman, probably in her early 20s, looked deep into my eyes. “I can have communion? I wasn’t confirmed . . . my pastor wouldn’t confirm me.” “Yes. You can have communion here.” Moments like this make the hard work of serving as an ally incredibly powerful and humbling and so […]
by Amy Waelchli When I think about the state of the environment–all the facts, figures, predictions, and failures–I’m completely immobilized with fear. Scientists have been issuing warnings and admonitions to get our acts together for a while now, and we’ve ignored these modern-day prophets. What can one little person do to make a difference? I […]
by Karris Golden A well-lived life includes difficult times. Each of us could make lists of horrible things we have endured. But I’m mad at myself when I give in to self-pity. Even in the worst times, I still have a lot of reasons to be happy. And I have learned that nothing productive comes […]
by Valora K Starr Everything. That’s what The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have told us today as we honor his life and reflect on his message. Growing up, I witnessed my parents, whose eyes were glued to watching television (black and white then), read newspaper articles and attend community rallies during the […]
by Susan Schneider “But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people’. . . . The gifts he gave were. . . to equip the saints for the work […]
by Susan Schneider When my friend Robin was getting divorced she found herself drawn (pun intended) to sketching a Depression-era photograph of a man with a plow. She said there was something about working with that photo by Dorthea Lange that comforted her—something about the farmer’s strength in pushing forward into the future despite bleak […]
by Collette Broady Grund This past February was not the first time I’ve needed and tried to draw boundaries in my life, to carve out time for all the things that are important to me, to keep my personal and professional lives in balance. But this time was different, because of a book I read, […]
by Collette Broady Grund Do you ever have those moments when you reflect on your life and think, “This is not where I thought I’d be!” I’ve been having a lot of those moments lately, and I have to say, God has been in them all. Earlier this year I was (I thought) a happily […]
by Jeanette Bidne “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever […]