Resisting the Single Story: What Advent Teaches About Power
By Laurie Nichols
Every powerful system has a way of telling its own story.
It tells us who matters, who gets to speak, and who should stay quiet. It rewards certainty and punishes nuance.
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By Laurie Nichols
Every powerful system has a way of telling its own story.
It tells us who matters, who gets to speak, and who should stay quiet. It rewards certainty and punishes nuance.
By St. Francis of Assisi
Canticle of the Sun
by St. Francis of Assisi
Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!
All praise is Yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.
By Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
American Christians in the Obama years half hoped we’d moved beyond race. Yes, the Civil Rights Movement was a moral cause, we told ourselves. But we have moved beyond that now. We took down the Whites Only signs, integrated the schools, and saw a black man rise to this nation’s highest office.
By Cami Sigler
A friend recently asked me about my thoughts on the kingdom of God here in Sierra Leone.
“Uh, what?” I thought, drawing a blank and fumbling. So much for all that Bible school training.
By Krish Kandiah
Once I received a card from a friend who miswrote a Bible reference. Instead of finding the encouragement that God is merciful to me as one of his own (1 Peter 2:10), I came face-to-face with the uncomfortable declaration that God will punish those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh (2 Peter 2:10).
By Annika Evans
In an interview with Seventeen magazine, Storm Reid, who plays Meg in the recent film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, gives some advice to her fans. She says, “Be around people who empower you and lift you up and make you feel better about yourself.
By Bryant Myers
One sometimes hears Christians, tired with the news of poverty and exploitation around the world, try to deflect the news by reminding us that Jesus said, “The poor will always be with you.” This is offered as a way to stop the conversation.
By Sarah Shin
Michael, a twenty-four-year-old black man, was sharing with his small group about some hurtful experiences with racism that he had endured in the past year. An elderly white woman tried to respond to his sharing with grandmotherly kindness.
By Sara Burback
As a Palestinian Christian and citizen of Israel, Shadia Qubti has embodied many identities as she has grown from the role of student to advocate and peacemaker. Originally from Nazareth, one of the largest cities in Israel with a Palestinian population, Shadia grew up in the Baptist church, with her faith always playing a large role in her identity.
By Katelyn Durst
Perseverance is the song of an exiled believer
One who clenches onto hope
When everything else has been swept away
By Christie Purifoy
I thought it would be hard to fit Good Friday into Spring Break. I thought it would be difficult to clear space for the cross in a week devoted to beach, pool, and mother-daughter shopping.
By Micky ScottBey Jones
As we exited Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, the sun was setting and the valley was covered in pink and orange light. It was so crowded that I quickly snapped a photo and stepped back, feeling uneasy about the question posed to us by our guide: “What will you do to make sure this never happens again?”
As I traveled throughout Israel and Palestine, I kept thinking about Rachel weeping in the wilderness, which we hear about both from sacred texts and from several traditions.
By Allison Duncan
The week before Easter, I go to confession with a whole two pages’ worth of sins I’ve been collecting throughout Lent. Pastor Beverly welcomes me into her office, and together we open the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer to the brief service of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
By Sarah Withrow King
For many Christians, this is Holy Week, a week of the year that we set aside to consider the death and burial of Jesus Christ. We know that the tomb will be empty on Easter morning, but the people who walked with Jesus did not share our advantage of hindsight.
By Skot Welch, Rick Wilson, and Andi Cumbo-Floyd
When talking about race, have you ever heard—or made—any of these claims? Let’s examine these statements carefully.
By Sarah Withrow King
In early February, I had the pleasure of joining a few CSA colleagues to meet with a group of people who have spent many years living and/or working in North Korea.
By Molly Lorden
During the season of Lent, Churches for Middle East Peace is focusing on Jerusalem as a city shared by three faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This week, we look closer at the deep meaning Jerusalem holds for the Muslim community.