An Advent Love-Poem to Holy Darkness
Column by Rev. Matthew Syrdal on December, 15 2022Advent is a season especially attuned to the Darkness, and it’s rhythms—not primarily the light. For the Darkness has a strange luminosity all its own, but our eyes must readjust.
World AIDS Day 2022
Column by Rev. Irene Monroe on December, 8 2022African Americans are still disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. And the epidemic is heavily concentrated in urban enclaves like Boston, Detroit, New York, Newark, Washington, D.C., and the Deep South.
Holy Envy
Column by Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers on December, 1 2022For the last six weeks, my congregation in Norman, Oklahoma, has been reading Barbara Brown Taylor’s wonderful book, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others.
In Praise of Thanks
Column by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on November, 24 2022Thanksgiving 2022. There is much to be grateful for; and much to be concerned about.
Losing My Place in the Winner’s Inner Circle
Column by Brian McLaren on November, 17 2022Mainline Protestants were part of America’s most successful form of Christianity until the tide began to turn in the late sixties and early seventies, and now, they are no longer the successful majority.
The Birth and Death of the Church in the First Century – Part 1
Column by Dr. Carl Krieg on November, 10 2022The history of the church in the first century is both well-hidden and well-studied, and no narrative is guaranteed to be true. The period demands our attention because what really happened then is absolutely crucial to our understanding of both Jesus and the subsequent 2000-plus years of those who would follow him.
Time To Take A Stand
Column by Rev. Jim Burklo on November, 3 2022The Big Lie has settled the question of whether or not politics belongs in the pulpits of progressive churches in America. We’ve got no choice but to speak out and take a stand for the Democrats because the Republican Party has devolved into a cabal that is undermining the institutions upon which our religious freedom depends.
Creating Community from the Stuff of Ecclesial Practices?
Column by Rev. Gretta Vosper on October, 27 2022As I write this, 2022 is in its final quarter providing an opportunity to reflect on the tenth anniversary of the worst year of my life. And one of the best. Reviewing our lives is always complicated, isn’t it? Let me share with you.
The Reconciliations of Autumn
Column by Rev. Lauren Van Ham on October, 20 2022In the Northern hemisphere, we are in the season of Fall and harvest. It is also the time when a number of cultures and traditions encourage communion with our benevolent ancestors, saints, and spiritual teachers.
It’s Time for Christianity to Ditch Diet Culture
Column by Rev. Fran Pratt on October, 13 2022I no longer practice in the field of nutrition. The farther I went with it, the more deeply I realized that the field is rife with Diet Culture and toxic beauty standards, as well as ableism and health-shaming.
The Jig Is Up
Column by Rev. Roger Wolsey on October, 6 2022What such people meant by this is that they feared that the era of privilege and power for straight, white, wealthy, capitalist men might soon pass unless it becomes vigorously defended.
President Trump the 2nd Christ?
Column by Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin on September, 29 2022“President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man – The Christ.” That’s the title of a book that is pictured in a meme making its way around social media. While it might sound like some kind of satirical production, it is not.
Christ Heart: Awakening As Holy Mystery – Part 3
Column by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. on September, 22 2022Living with Holy Mystery is the spiritual schooling of the soul. The method of the schooling is the spiritual practices that teach us how to become embodiments of the Source: meditation; spiritual exploration; breath, body, and movement; and liturgy.
When The Storm Hits
Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on September, 15 2022I realized I was suffering, creating my own internal storm because of what I feared would come to be, or more accurately, how I would feel when this possibility came to be. It felt like the storm was all around me but really it was within me.
The Great Reversion
Column by Rev. Brandan Robertson on September, 8 2022You’ve heard it said again and again- “We’re living in unprecedented times”. There’s extreme polarization, increased bigotry, emboldened racists, and virtual mobs seeking to cancel those who don’t align perfectly with the new orthodoxies of whichever side of the aisle you identify with
“OK, Guru-boy. If There’s No Original Sin and Hell, Why Be a Christian?”
Column by Rev. David M. Felten on September, 1 2022Earlier this summer, I was called out as a heretic and accused of “sitting on Satan’s lap” courtesy of the Institute for Religion and Democracy (the fundamentalist think tank behind the schisms of many of our mainline denominations).
Preaching a Partisan Gospel
Column by Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers on August, 25 2022I very much appreciated Brian McLaren’s recent column, Thanks Presiding Bishop Curry, and his thoughtful exploration of the bishop’s advice to find a voice that is non-partisan, and why this is easier said than done.
Before & Beyond the Nicene Creed, a 1st and 21st Century Credo
Column by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on August, 18 2022What might a Creed that represented Jesus’ teachings more, and Constantine’s less, look like?
Thanks, Presiding Bishop Curry
Column by Brian McLaren on August, 11 2022In his speech, Bishop Curry twice emphasized the need to find a voice that is non-partisan (“this is not partisan,” “not a partisan voice”). We all know why he needed to say this.
Diversion, Dictatorship and the Concentration of Wealth
Column by Dr. Carl Krieg on August, 4 2022It has been shown that wealth actually changes the structure of a person’s brain, destroying a sense of empathy for others while at the same time creating a sense of entitlement.
Christ Heart: Living With Holy Mystery – Part 2
Column by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. on July, 28 2022We are becoming aware of what we are: Boundless love is the Source of life and the longing of the soul. As we live from the Source, we become more curious about life, which means we question, ceaselessly.
When Progressive Christianity Runs Wet
Column by Rev. Jim Burklo on July, 21 2022Now, more than ever, is the time to express our faith forthrightly, publicly, and invitationally.
What the hell?
Column by Rev. Gretta Vosper on July, 14 2022While at theological college, a challenge seized with an eager ferocity, was the imperative attributed to theologian Karl Barth that we preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
Lectio Writ LARGE!
Column by Rev. Roger Wolsey on July, 7 2022I write this essay in the wake of a slate of recent rulings by the US Supreme Court that many progressive Christians, and progressive persons in general, find most troubling.
A Different Kind of Optimism
Column by Rev. Lauren Van Ham on June, 30 2022Recently, I was in consultation with a colleague who is First Nation Cree. Throughout the conversation, there was a steady stream of confidence, curiosity, and hope. Really smiling at one point, my colleague said, “I’m an eternal optimist who comes from a history of despair.”