You can have PRIDE too!

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on June, 22 2023

Systemic racism and oppression of marginalized folk’s experience is ingrained in all of us and in every system. Even if every person became anti-racist and radically inclusive, our systems would still be a huge barrier to the liberation and equality of all.

When The Storm Hits

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on September, 15 2022

I 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.

Transitions

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on June, 16 2022

The Mystery of Life only allows us to move forward. No matter how much we cling to what was or how much we resist, change is inevitable.

Hope For The Future

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on February, 17 2022

“We belong to each other,” as indigenous teachers have said. So, how do we create a bigger table with every voice in mind and make sure every one is there when we start to wrestle with solutions?

He Calls us to the Task of Loving

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on October, 21 2021

Jack experienced God as the source of all life. There is no duality within God, there is only sacred oneness. And so he reminded us that if God is the source of all life, then the best way to worship God is to live fully.

It is Time for Compassionate Nuanced Conversations, Part 1

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on August, 26 2021

In reality, the world around us is an infinite rainbow of nuance, complexity, and brilliance! Unlike other animals and living creatures, people are as unique as there are infinite shades of colors in this world. More so, even. We come with these spirits full of experiences and lessons, we come with unique fingerprints, DNA, personalities, likes and dislikes, smells and textures, skin tones, sexualities, body types, talents, and ideas.

Divine Mother Letting Go

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on May, 13 2021

I think about Mother Mary and her pride alongside her anguish as her son became more and more himself. A self that threatened the powers that be. A self that would hang for being who he was.  What must she have felt when he told her, I must go out into the world and share these teachings. I must share with the world this great love I have experienced. 

Time to be Radical

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on October, 1 2020

Often when we think of radicals today, we think of religious extremists or we associate a negative connotation with it. But the word radical actually means far-reaching fundamental transformation. And fundamental transformation is exactly what we need today, individually and collectively.

May Our Sins be Washed Away: Why we must continue to remove judgment and dogma from progressive Christian theology.

Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on April, 30 2020

To be a progressive, one must have the ability to think for oneself, to examine what they have been told and what they read. To be a progressive Christian means we find the courage to both question and to find our own authentic answer. And that takes bravery.  Let’s celebrate our bravery together!