Voices and Perspectives
Relational Language and the Trinity: God Beyond Ritual
The God of our Scriptures and our Christian tradition is a God who cannot be relegated to traditional rituals and invoked in only civic rituals.... Read More>
The Hidden Power of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives
The outpouring of the Spirit in Acts is the birthday of the church, proclaiming by its symbols and history the triumphant effects of Christ’s resurrection. ... Read More>
A Non-Traditional Blessing for Our Times
Only by persevering can we bring hope from despair and light from darkness. In a few short months, we will have an opportunity to demonstrate what we value when we vote in the mid-term elections.... Read More>
Staying With Christ After Easter: Prayer, Suffering, and the Father’s Gift
Coming to the end of the Easter Season with its accounts of the Resurrected Lord in the midst of a revitalized community, we are aware of Christ's imminent departure and how we can be with him in a new and "ordinary" way. ... Read More>
The Rule of Law and the Common Good
My diagnosis is that as a nation, we have contracted a very debilitating case of Rule of Law Dysphoria, with the result that the common good is withering away under the rapidly metastasizing cancer cells of division, polarization, cruelty, insult, intolerance, demonization, and deception.... Read More>
Signs, Reason, and the Spirit of Truth
Acts of the Apostles describes Philip (a different Philip than one of the Twelve) as one of the "Seven" appointed to care for the Hellenist widows and a missionary. Crowds in Samaria "paid attention" when they saw the signs he was doing.... Read More>
Revoking Birthright Citizenship is Immoral
The Western tradition of birthright citizenship stems from the Roman law of jus soli, or citizenship by place of birth. As early as 1608, courts of England declared that birth in a territory was sufficient to establish citizenship therein...... Read More>
When God Makes All Things New
Like other apocalyptic works, Revelation assumes that God has decreed in heaven that the reign or kingdom of God will ultimately triumph over all forms of evil on earth.... Read More>
Volunteer Spotlight: Sam Stover
One of Sam’s most meaningful experiences came through a Lenten clothing drive organized by his young adult ministry to support AFTDJ’s Grab and Go program. At first, he was unsure how it would go. Would people show up? Would they donate? ... Read More>
Conscience or Power: A Nation’s Choice This Week
Being a “conscience to the powerful” is a challenge people of goodwill and good faith face this week in a special way. It is also a prophetic tradition of all faiths that constantly endures.... Read More>
Guided by the Good Shepherd
It is often true that resistance to new ways of doing things is more likely to come from the center of a congregation than from its fringes. Open minds allow God to do something new. ... Read More>
Volunteer Spotlight: Mary Kate Egan, ESOL Volunteer
For Mary Kate, volunteering has been a lifelong commitment. From working with an Irish aid agency in Uganda to serving with the United Nations Volunteer program in Tanzania, she has long been drawn to supporting others.... Read More>
When protest becomes prayer: Faith as a language of resistance
Because when the stomach is empty, when the fare barely covers the fuel, when the day’s boundary dissolves into debt — what else is left but to pray? And when prayer is no longer heard in halls of power, it inevitably finds its way to the streets.... Read More>
Volunteer Spotlight: Susan Bennett
When Susan retired after more than 50 years as a primary care physician, the pace, purpose, and connection that had defined her life were suddenly gone. She found herself facing an unexpected question: Who am I without my work?... Read More>
Learning Courage from Peter
The last several years have seen three wars, all with huge civilian suffering, with no peace in sight. Against this international background, domestic realities play out, which are far from reassuring. It’s no wonder that a sober and introspective mood is increasingly dominant in our culture.... Read More>
Reading This Past Week’s Signs of the Times in the Light of Faith
We are long past the stage where people of faith and goodwill can bury their heads and claim later that they didn’t notice. That has been tried many times, history teaches, each time resulting in only more evil and everlasting shame and regret.... Read More>
The Breath of Jesus and the Birth of the Church
The Old Testament shows us the meaning of God’s breathing on people. It brings them to life (the first man) and brings a community into being (exiled Israel). This is the meaning of Jesus breathing on his disciples in the Gospel of John.... Read More>
Volunteer Spotlight: Rodrigo Chandia, ESOL Teacher
English is Rodrigo Chandia’s second language , so when he first heard about the opportunity to help others learn English, it brought him right back to his own experience of navigating a new language and all the challenges that come with it. ... Read More>
When Charity Replaces Justice
We are asking for charity, not demanding justice. We are treating refugees as objects of pity who might deserve our help, rather than as political subjects — bearers of the divine image — who possess inalienable rights that no state created and no state may revoke.... Read More>
Matthew’s Easter Vision
Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”... Read More>