by Ralen M. Robinson “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.” (John 20:11) Easter lilies adorn the sanctuary, the paraments are white, the eggs are dyed and hidden, and the baskets are ready. At Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. But this year, […]
by Becca Ehrlich In my article in this month’s issue, we looked at what it means to live in liminal space, that in-between, transitional time when waiting and uncertainty are the norm. We also looked at Joseph’s story in Genesis and how he experienced liminal space. We can learn a lot from Joseph’s story and […]
Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where […]
by Elyssa J. Salinas-Lazarski I’m a planner. I like to look at my month, my week, my day in color-coded control. I have stickers to help me see my to-do lists and multiple pens to keep my thoughts organized. I even have more than one planner to help me keep everything in an orderly fashion. […]
(CW: This essay was first written in 2020. But while the names in the headlines differ, the message remains the same. We need to believe in and support survivors, and tell our stories. Our stories matter.) by Sara Olson-Smith Our memories are strange things. When we think we’ve got things filed nicely away in the […]
by Emily K. Hartner Do you remember how this year began? At the turn of the decade, we looked to the new year with “2020 vision”—a play on the year 2020 that I thought was clever at the time. In March, the future looked more unclear. What was clear was that a global pandemic […]
by Jordan Miller-Stubbendick Many years ago, I visited a monastery for a few days and was intrigued by the rhythm of the day. It began well before dawn, as the monks awoke for their first of seven set prayer times throughout the day and night. For the monks, each day was well ordered. There were […]
by Angela Khabeb A few weeks ago, the gospel text for the third Sunday of Easter was the familiar story of The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35). I’ve heard this story throughout my life and preached it many times. But encountering this familiar story through a COVID-19 lens is a game-changer. Walking on the […]
by SommerAnn McCullough During the season of Lent, I started a Bible Study group at my church. I was excited to create this space for anyone who wanted to learn more about the lectionary we hear each Sunday in worship. I wanted to build community, dig deeper into the weekly Scripture, and ask each other […]
by Kristen Glass Perez The word lament can be used as a verb (to express sorrow, mourning, or regret) or a noun (wailing, crying out in grief). In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Lamentations is made up of five poems that express grief over the destruction of Jerusalem and exile of the people in […]