We have to really think like human beings. And, just accept the reality of now.
Dr. Martin Luther King, whose Feast Day we celebrate today, had his criticism of church and religion.
Old Saint Nick is in need of an eco-friendly makeover.
Santa must evolve. He has to become more meaningful, more relevant, more present. Santa’s way of being in the world, as the children’s greatest gift-giver, needs bringing up to speed. What we need is a Santa children will want to emulate, and who can help them learn to serve the Earth as a long-term thank you for the miracle of life.
A little Episcopal church on Martha's Vineyard flipped the anti-immigrant scripts of Governor Abbott and Governor DeSantis by embracing, with open doors
Although we don’t often think about it, the Lord’s Prayer is a takedown of Roman economics and politics. Jesus teaches his followers to leave behind the whole system of indebtedness that obligates people to Caesar.
It was the faith-based community that ended slavery. It took a long time, but they did it. I believe it is the faith-based community that could transform our present penal system.
Burklo’s book refocuses Christianity away from doctrine and belief to knowing God through mindful practice and the compassionate action that follows from an enlarged perspective.
is a humble reminder that we all belong to one human race.
“We all strive for purpose and understanding, to hear and to be heard, to see and to be seen, to leave this world a better place than we found it.” – Jon Linton
How Faith Communities Can Get Involved
Religious communities have a rich opportunity to contribute to a global goal of restoring forest ecosystems as part of the current UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
I have come to realize how different Jesus was and that his life before his baptism was the foundation for what became Christianity. Although his mission began suddenly when he was about 30, his previous experience must have provided the motivation for what he said and did.
Even as we consider all the facts, the basic story that emerges is quite simple. The disciples were re-born while they lived with Jesus, and his death neither deterred nor discouraged them. Instead, they turned to one another and embraced, fully aware in their hearts that he was not only still with them, but also that the newness he embodied embraced the universe. This was the bedrock of their faith and forms the foundation for the day we call Easter.
How poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, lifted America
The inaugural poem of Amanda Gorman - at 22, the youngest inaugural poet laureate in U.S. history - lifted our spirits as it dazzled our imagination. Indeed, as her lofty words filled the air at our nation's capitol, hope was given a new face.
Don’t be distracted my friends. Take a deep breath and remember your inherent goodness.
Out of the mouths of babes comes either curiosity and wonder or doubt and defiance. On either extreme the truth that emerges is always a question: “Why?”
"When someone tells me that they believe the Bible is the literal and inerrant word of God, I always ask, "Have you ever read it?" ~ Bishop John Shelby Spong
Everybody wants to be happy. It is a fundamental right. What if I tell you that the more you value your happiness the less likely you are to feel happy? This is what two studies from the University of Denver have evidenced. Feeling happy seems not to be in relation to your own happiness, but to others’ happiness. What a catch-22!
In Remembrance: Growing up the son of an Alabama sharecropper, John Lewis practiced preaching to the chickens; from whence he clearly developed his oratorical style. He matured and went on to devote a lifetime of service as the “conscience” of the Congress; often preaching, as it were, to a flock of chickens of another sort. But this time with a calmer, constant, steady and unwavering voice.
On April 16, 1963, while sitting inside a jail cell after being arrested for protesting and demonstrating peacefully in Birmingham Alabama, King wrote a response to eight white Alabama clergymen. The eight clergymen wrote a letter criticizing his presence in Birmingham and the aggressive approach to securing civil rights for black people in the state of Alabama.
Now we are physically separated from one another in a time of a pandemic crisis, and now more than we knew at the time we must grow together even more closely to meet our current crises. The rapid global spread of COVID–19 forces us to recognize how interconnected we are in the physical world. It invokes in us the need to find new ways to bring comfort to one another, to cooperate with one another, and to overcome the ravages of disease and death.
In an article I posted to Facebook shortly after reading, that tells us the oceans are heating up at a rate equal to five Hiroshima bombs being dropped into them every second. No. I did not want to learn that this week, but I did.
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For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Paul, Ephesians 6:12, NRSV)
These are crucial times for the planet we call home. The toxic and institutionalized systems of racism, tribalism, colonialism, culture appropriation, sexism, and the general oppression of marginalized people have been thrust to the surface of our society. While this is scary and disturbing, it is also a necessary step toward the eradication of white privilege, white fragility, and an empiric worldview.
We have a very difficult time admitting it. But in order to be healthy and whole and to become the people we want to be (and think we are), it is necessary to come to terms with this. The truth will set us free.
Autumn Peltier is promoting the protection of sacred waters across the world.
Autumn Peltier already has years of advocacy behind her. She’s met the prime minister, she’s attended the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly and she’s marched on the highway in the name of water protection. At just 13 years old, Peltier is now a nominee for the International Children’s Peace Prize.
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you’ve probably gone through the struggle of whether or not you should commit yourself to a life of ministry. Everyone goes through the question sooner or later. Should you quit your day job and become a pastor? What about a full-time missionary? Perhaps closing yourself in your room to pray from morning to night is the answer.
Planting Compassion: Tree by Tree by Tree
When I Am Among the Trees When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the
Dorian Gray was above it all, privileged and pampered and proud, without good promise or purpose. Wilde’s implication is that conscience is necessary for the soul to survive.“What does it profit a person if, in gaining the whole world, loses the soul?”