How to ‘be there’ for the people who need you most.

If you haven’t heard, or if you need confirming that it wasn’t all a terrible dream, Rachel Held Evans—beloved author, truth-teller, and icon for a generous Christianity—passed away yesterday morning, after a brief and unexpected storm of health complications. She was only 37—two years younger than me.

Rachel Held Evans came of age in the Bible Belt.   A budding journalist and blogger, her writing began to reflect her doubts about the version of Christianity in which she was raised. 

Rachel Held Evans has died. She was a bestselling author on matters of faith and an advocate for a number of progressive issues. She’d been hospitalized for the flu but suffered an allergic reaction to antibiotics. After her death yesterday, her husband Dan wrote, Rachel’s presence in this world was a gift to us all, and her work will long survive her. She was 37.

Thesis #12: In its most elemental form, all cultural narratives (mythologies) serve in some way to assure us that, individually and collectively, we are valuable actors in a worthy pageant of transcending and cosmic significance. This answers our strong desire for life to have eternal meaning and purpose (and so to symbolically assert that “death is conquered, death is not the final word.”)

It is my deepest desire to return light and sound to our cosmos for the benefit of all humanity. I know that in my heart of hearts, this intention of singing and speaking clearly my desire to uplift humanity at this particular time on the earth plane is what I came here for and I hope it is for my Highest Good for all concerned. 

Featuring eco-theologian, author, and TEDx speaker, Rev. Michael Dowd, ProFuture Faith is a dynamic eight-session DVD and internet-based course that bridges the gap between head and heart, science and faith. The basic format for each 1 – 1-1/2 hour session includes conversation around the readings, a 20-minute video presentation and guided discussion.

As Americans, our individualist society can often disconnect us from those who need our help — especially the elderly. While many other cultures have extended families living in one home together, Americans typically branch off on their own. While this independence can be enjoyable, it also can put vulnerable populations at risk.

The psychologist and genius Otto Rank, author of the classic work Art and Artist, said that if you want to know the soul of a nation go to its architecture first.  Notre Dame de Paris and the entire gothic revolution of the 12th century Renaissance that it encapsules (along with Chartres Cathedral 30 miles beyond Paris), tells us much about the soul of France.  And our own souls.

“I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-lief. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life.  That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.” 

  Progressive Christian Spiritual Curriculum Compassionate, Intelligent, Inter-Spiritual, Non-Dogmatic   Group Curriculum with Teacher’s Handbook and 3 DVDs   Are you searching for a way to connect children with an authentic spiritual experience that is inter-spiritual, creative and …

  Progressive Christian Spiritual Curriculum Compassionate, Intelligent, Inter-Spiritual, Non-Dogmatic   Group Curriculum with Teacher’s Handbook and 2 DVDs   Are you searching for a way to connect children with an authentic spiritual experience that is inter-spiritual, creative and …

Thesis #11: Generally speaking, cultural narratives (narrative mythologies) are on one level fictional, since they promise something (immortality) which they cannot demonstrably deliver; however, when taken on faith, they are also potentially true in that each provides some functional easing of anxiety in the face of actual and symbolic threats. Human individual and social life without such cultural narratives would be unbearable and impossible.

Hear these free episodes of the Humankind on Public Radio Podcast

Revolutionizing Dementia Care reveals how people living with dementia can still live a full and meaningful life based on their abilities, not their disabilities. Innovative approaches in memory care communities have shown improvements in the well-being of residents as they’re included, engaged and supported in social gatherings, clubs and everyday activities. A revolution is here where people living with dementia get the individual heart-felt care they need.

From diagnosis to saying the long goodbye, caregivers share their diverse experiences of caring for loved ones in the world of dementia. Alzheimer’s is more than memory loss; it affects many generations and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Teepa Snow, Loretta Veney, Bob Schaefer and many more explain how they creatively navigate the frustrations, sorrows and complications of caring for a loved one who can no longer function safely on their own.

y name is Heather, I was born into a family that, at the time, was a MO Synod Lutheran (my father was an ordained minister and my mother was a K-5th grade teacher and was also very active with the church; whose father was a minister that also was a missionary in Brazil, was in a concentration camp for two years. We, as a family dealt with a lot of issues behind the scenes. A LOT BEHIND THE SCENES!!!

Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate caregiving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points to a radical path to transformation.