Church
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.
One day in April
Martin Luther King Jr. was killed exactly a year after he delivered his “Beyond Vietnam” sermon. The tension between these two events is still with us.
April 3, Good Friday (John 18:1–19:42)
Jesus is crucified while the world goes on as usual.
April 2, Maundy Thursday (Exodus 12:1–14; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 13:1-17, 31b–35)
Overcoming the reluctance to be served requires something that looks and feels a lot like faith.
Easter in a brutal world
How can we proclaim any sort of hope right now? We aren’t the first Christians to wrestle with this question.
Hope arrives in the present tense
Living in the liturgical present makes salvation a story about us, not just the past.
The UFW march and the writing of Catholic history
On March 17, 1966, farmworkers marched to Sacramento in a procession replete with Stations of the Cross. Jeannine Hill Fletcher seeks to foreground them and others whose land, labor, and lives were effectively stolen in the name of Christ.
Why I don’t like the label “progressive Christianity”
I’ve come to approach it with suspicion—for pastoral, political, and theological reasons.
It’s not about the building
A pastor’s call is to follow Jesus beyond budgets, roofs, and steeples.
Four things mainline churches should know about exvangelicals
An Episcopal congregation served as my gateway out of evangelicalism—but I did experience some culture shock.
Reconstructing in the pews
Some exvangelicals are looking for a new church home. Will they find it in a mainline congregation?
Giving silence a seat at the virtual table
It’s one aspect of Christian life that can translate well to digital space.
When ecumenism foments hate
Udi Greenberg’s history of the ecumenical movement locates the errors—such as colonialism—that underlaid the project from the start.
Blot out our offenses
Ash Wednesday offers a counterpoint to every tendency that aims to hide facets of our life from God.
A procession against authoritarianism
“We honor people’s dignity,” says Todd Lippert, a lead organizer of the Palm Sunday Path. “That’s what we do; it’s who we are.”
Feeling our way through climate change
A yearlong conversation between scientists and clergy has helped me rethink the promise of MDiv education.
Luther Seminary’s death mask
The school’s replica mold of Martin Luther’s face reminds me that I’m readying the plaster for the tradition that bears his name.
When priests are sexual tourists
Kevin O’Neill uses the case study of a predatory Catholic priest shuffled to Guatemala to discuss provocative ideas about abuse and justice.
Learning in pieces
Theological education may be fracturing, but there’s wisdom and beauty in the fragments.
