A Letter to my Community of Readers

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 24 2014

Dear Friends:

As the calendar in the year 2014 dictates this column should arrive at your email address at about 2:00 o’clock A.M. Eastern Standard Time on December 25th. …

Insights from Behind the Iron Curtain

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December, 4 2014

I made my second trip in the last two years behind what was once known as the Iron Curtain recently. There I saw the impact of communism that had …

Do Our Seminaries Prepare Clergy for Today’s World?

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 27 2014

Writing about the Theological School at Drew University this past week caused me to think about theological education in general and my own theological education in particular. I loved …

On Visiting a Nazi Concentration Camp

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 13 2014

In early October of this year, Christine and I had the opportunity to visit a concentration camp at a place called Theresienstadt in what is now the Czech Republic. …

Part XXXIV Matthew – The Transfiguration of Jesus, Part III

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on November, 6 2014

A Dedication-Hanukkah Story

How many of you have ever connected the story of Jesus’ transfiguration with the Jewish celebration of Dedication/Hanukkah? We may well have imagined …

Part XXXIII Matthew – Watching the Traditions of “Dedication/Hanukkah” Develop

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 30 2014

Last week we traced the origins of the Jewish festival known as “Dedication,” but in our day popularly called “Hanukkah.”. It celebrated the moment when a guerilla army of …

Part XXXII Matthew – Dedication and Transfiguration, Part I

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 23 2014

Matthew, having provided Jesus stories for the Sabbaths between Sukkoth and the final major Jewish festival of the liturgical year, is now ready to relate Jesus to this last …

The Emerging Church in Northern Michigan

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 16 2014

Marquette, Michigan, sits on Lake Superior about 300 miles south and slightly east of Thunder Bay, Canada. While we were there, Christine and I were made honorary “Yoopers,” a name …

Part XXXI Matthew – Peter: A Symbol – The Wobbling Rock at Caesarea Philippi

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on October, 9 2014

In this episode Jesus asks: “Can one read the signs correctly? Does a clear sunset today anticipate fair weather tomorrow? Do dark clouds announce the presence of a storm? …