By Alan Rudnick It seems every year retailers are pushing holiday seasons earlier and earlier. I walked through the home improvement giant, Lowe’s the day after Halloween and saw Christmas decorations, holiday goodies and Christmas lights already on sale. Was…
Paying our dues
By Roger Lovette On this Thanksgiving week I remember that old couple who were members of the rural church I served. Once a month, without fail, they would hobble in and hand me a check. They always said the same…
Two for the price of one
By Elizabeth Evans Hagan Growing up in a male-centric church culture, it was not uncommon for me to hear the phrase growing up in relation to pastors and their wives: “Oh, wow, isn’t is great that the preacher’s wife is…
Between heaven and hell
By Leroy Seat Americans remember Nov. 22, 1963, as the date of the assassination of President Kennedy. And the public media has widely publicized today’s 50th anniversary of that tragic event. Some Christians will remember that Nov. 22, 1963, was…
Missing the beach chair in the Bahamas
By David Burroughs Ending a sabbatical with a visit to the Bahamas seemed just right. Dreams of loads of time for personal reflection while lounging on a beach chair filled my mind. The reality turned out to be a bit…
Loving our neighbor
By Claire Kermitz I always knew I was white, but it took packing up my car for a two-month-long mission immersion in Overtown in Miami for me to begin to realize that being white carries privileges beyond my control. I…
Dimensionality of the military chaplaincy
By Paul Dodd Perhaps this is a word which might describe, acutely and accurately, the present tendency of the military chaplaincy to avoid the so-called “curse of dimensionality,” whereby the multi-dimensional makeup of the chaplaincy becomes increasingly complex and challenging….
Leaving Samaria for the suburbs
By Trey Lyon I recall my college New Testament professor explaining the words of John 4, “now Jesus had to go through Samaria,” as the author’s way of saying that Jesus went there on purpose, and that going through Samaria…
Theological reflections on a bulldog
By Julie Pennington-Russell Our dear English Bulldog, Willie Boy, died last week. Hearts are still at half-mast around here. Back in December of 2005, in a moment of temporary insanity, Tim and I decided to grant our daughter Lucy’s persistent…