The words of Amanda Gorman, Poet Laureate, from her moving poem during the inauguration of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice-President of the United States of America.
read moreDoes God have to heal all the people who ask me to pray for them?
read moreA prayer without desire in it, a prayer without sincerity in it, a prayer without soul in it, a prayer without Spirit in it is a fruitless prayer. – Charles and Cora Fillmore, Teach Us to …
read moreHuman child of human mother,
see the Christ has come to birth,
demonstrating now in living
every person’s human worth.
“God works with the world as it is in order to bring it to where it can be. Prayer changes the way the world is, and therefore changes what the world can be. Prayer opens the world to its own transformation.”
read moreI would be interested to learn if you think people will return to church and prayer – in a time of chaos and crisis? Do you think people need something to “cling to?”
read morePreeminent German hymn writer Philipp Nicolai was a Lutheran pastor whose small town, Unna, was devastated by the plague during the winter of 1597-8 with over 1300 deaths. He officiated at many funerals, as many as 30 a day.
read moreSwedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold, the United Nations Secretary-General, was awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. After his death, many were surprised at the content of Markings, a kind of personal diary and notebook now recognized as a twentieth century classic of Christian spirituality.
read moreDina Datsko de Sánchez wrote this new poem for the re-imagined Homecoming Sunday at First Congregational Church, Long Beach.
read moreIt is yet another Monday of what will most likely be a difficult week. There are many issues of concern, much to be worried about with both the pandemic and politics. In recent days, however, I’ve found myself less anxious than in the past, as I’ve leaned on these words from the late Marcus Borg’s final book, “Convictions”
read moreAnnually, for several years, I visited the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a beautiful compound north of downtown Tucson. I was amazed at the physical, mental, and spiritual liveliness of these mostly older women, and the level of their engagement with the world despite their mostly cloistered way of life.
read more“Leaning In: A Prayer of Intention” is a sung prayer of intercession that aims to break down the distinction between the typical “us” and “them:” of such prayers. It also shifts away from petition (asking …
read more“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (St Paul, Romans 8: 26) I …
read moreThe lectionary-based TEENTEXT HIGH SCHOOL resource helps older youth connect the text on the page with events in their daily lives. These resources guide students into the text, and through a series of open-ended, text-related questions, they begin to see the Bible as a vital, dynamic relevant resource–one that can inform them throughout their lives. These resources enable any interested and committed adult to facilitate the discussions, since the leaders aren’t expected to have THE answer, or to be Biblical scholars or theologians. They simply need to be good listeners and open to their own spiritual growth. This process also allows the students to share leadership.
read moreSon. Father. Uncle. Friend. Human being. Child of God. What blindness could keep anyone from seeing the sacred life in this man? Bystanders saw it. And cried out that his precious life be spared. Only …
read moreHere are some of our resources about racism and the global protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death while being restrained by police in Minneapolis on May 25. We hope that you find them helpful. …
read moreFor many of us, social distancing, has created a wall between us and separated us from our lives. Bumping up against this wall over and over again, our noses can almost smell the fear filled mortar which oozes from the newly laid brickwork.
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