Lessons from the group chat
What makes these friendships so special—and the distance so hard—is the deep sense that we are called to be witnesses to each other’s lives.
Sermons without church
For someone who doesn’t call herself a Christian, I listen to a lot of sermons. They’re providing some much-needed sustenance these days.
Irrevocable harm and irrevocable good
A favorable immigration ruling in Chicago was overturned. The growth of our bond fund was not.
Practicing patience in difficult times
I want to be able to take my days and transform them into beauty. This fall in Chicago, it has felt like time is running out.
My summer of acedia
I encountered Kathleen Norris’s Acedia and Me at a time when just about everything felt like more trouble than it was worth.
Dark fantasy novels that scream theology
I didn’t expect so much sacramental imagination in Tamsyn Muir’s series about lesbian necromancers in space.
Longing for faith with Marilynne Robinson
Her essays present a Christianity that sits comfortably with mystery, that reaches out to neighbors as well as up toward God.
The call of a remnant prairie
I’ve seen artists enchanted and haunted by the prairie, their work changed by spending time in the grasses.
Defending dignity at the National Cathedral
“We’re constantly saying what we’re against,” says Martin Dickinson, a lay leader at the cathedral’s sanctuary ministry, “and that’s necessary. But what are we for? Migration with Dignity gives us a framework.”
My word for 2024 was monasticism
One highlight of the year was a busy week in a cabin with three friends and a dog.
Vegetables that are fearfully and wonderfully made
My friend left me his CSA share for two weeks. It changed the way I look at labor.
Feeling God in a modernist cathedral-in-progress
While other churches have filled me with wonder, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia brought tears to my eyes.
Movement of the soul
Justin Peck’s choreography takes the language of ballet and turns it into something more.
