Latest Articles
The Till family’s agony
Carolyn Bryant changed her story. Does this change the meaning of Emmett Till’s death?
Brian Doyle’s ferocious attention
Doyle’s exuberant writing praised particular things in rich detail. It cut to the pulsing heart of life.
June 25, Ordinary 12A (Matthew 10:24–39)
We have value because we are creatures, like sparrows.
An oracle of the word of the Lord?
In the late 70s, two friends of mine housesat for the poet James Merrill—and got out his Ouija board.
God's care for the grieving (1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11)
At the airport, waiting to put her on the plane, we cast our shared anxiety on God.
Surprise: Essays by readers
We gave our readers a one-word writing prompt: “surprise.”
The Century invites reader submissions
The Century invites readers to submit first-person narratives on the topics door and indulgence.
Refugee, poet, father
Kao Kalia Yang’s memoir of her family’s flight from Laos is devastating and lyrical.
Sermon writing and other slow rituals
It'd be easy to rush though my preparation time. I start by making coffee in a French press to set an unhurried pace.
Episcopal Divinity School to join Union seminary in New York
EDS students will earn Union degrees, and EDS appointed Kelly Brown Douglas as dean.
Ministry is out of control
Being a pastor is like jumping into a river. You have to let the current take you.
A novel about the evils of capitalism
There’s nothing subtle about Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Marxist critique of life in postcolonial Kenya.
Who is Jesus for Muslims?
“According to Islam, Jesus always speaks the truth. The question is how we understand it.”
Prayer hearts (Acts 1:1–11; Psalm 47)
Will we be a people who wait for the promises of God with open hearts?
A health care bill that takes away people’s health care
Caring for the sick means keeping them in our risk pool.
An executive order churches didn't need
Trump says pastors are bullied and silenced. That comes as a surprise to me.
The problem with idols
Like the Athenians Paul speaks to in Acts 17, we create substitutes for the Creator.