By Molly T. Marshall As governing structures lurch from one fiscal crisis to another, it is not easy to move beyond self-protective responses. Whether made “redundant” by a job lay-off, deemed “expendable” by a curtailed health-care provision, plunged “underwater” because…
Renewing compassion
By Molly T. Marshall As governing structures lurch from one fiscal crisis to another, it is not easy to move beyond self-protective responses. Whether made “redundant” by a job lay-off, deemed “expendable” by a curtailed health-care provision, plunged “underwater” because…
Rejecting an ‘unexamined’ faith
By Molly T. Marshall I regularly read The Chronicle of Higher Education, which for over 40 years has offered news and commentary on issues that shape the varied practices of colleges and universities. It is sort of a form of…
Preparing for Lent
By Molly T. Marshall How quickly the days have passed since the celebration of Christ’s nativity! We have marveled at the visitation of the magi, encountered Simeon and Anna as Jesus was presented in the temple, wondered with the disciples…
So help me God?
By Molly T. Marshall The afterglow of the great national celebration of our democracy lingers. Inauguration ceremonies offered a vision of who we are becoming as a people and called us to craft a future more progressive, more inclusive and…
Sowing virtue
By Molly T. Marshall I am spending a week with our seminary students at a Benedictine monastery in northwest Missouri. Not only do we participate in prayer with the monks five times a day, we also study the ancient Rule…
Welcoming the child
By Molly T. Marshall I don’t know about you, but if there is a baby in the room, I want to hold it. I want to feel those little fingers curl around mine, and I love the compact weight of…
Making room for joy
By Molly T. Marshall I have always been an avid reader of Dr. Seuss. Long before I became a theologian, I knew that his whimsical rhyming contained great wisdom and ethical insight. He was well ahead of his contemporaries on…
Keeping watch
By Molly T. Marshall I recently heard a child grumble: “Do we really have to celebrate Jesus’ birth every year? Isn’t once enough?” Some of us may echo this sentiment more than we dare to say publicly, especially as we…