“This Is Halloween” is the opening song to Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. The movie is set in Halloween Town, a city where the community focuses on Halloween, under the leadership of the Pumpkin King,…
In Central Texas, the Naomi House makes me proud to be a Baptist again
I never imagined I would utter, much less think, these words: “I am proud to be a Baptist.” But it happened. I don’t need to recount the long laundry list of problems with our denomination or with the church in…
Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief
I’ve known two fundamental truths about myself since I was little: I am adopted, and I am Latina. A birth heritage of Mexican descent always has felt like an important piece of who I am. I was adopted at birth…
Seeking the blessing of those who welcome us to the land
Edith and I travel a lot and have done so for years. We spent four years where we just traveled around from reservation to reservation across the United States and Canada and mentored a number of people. We also did…
What would Dolly do?
I went to Dollywood for the first time this summer, a pilgrimage of sorts. After all, Dolly Parton is a larger-than-life icon, and Dollywood is so much more than just an amusement park. Dolly grew up in poverty in Sevierville,…
The U.S. Postal Service is near bankruptcy: why Christians should care
The parable of “The Friend at Midnight” offers insight into the importance of a postal service now under threat. People of faith should weigh in on this important political and moral issue.
Trans 101 for churches: ways to make a difference for transgender persons
In this moment of such visible and harmful aggression against transgender people, the church has an important role to play as a loving, welcoming, inclusive and engaged community.
Holy Week and ‘Game of Thrones’: hospitality and welcome when our ‘winters’ inevitably come
How ironic that the final season of “Game of Thrones” debuted on Palm Sunday, when Christians remember how people welcomed Jesus and hailed him as the Messiah, though all the while, winter was coming.
How to help immigrants in detention
Some of the ways that individuals and congregations can help are to learn about the issues of immigration and advocate for humane, compassionate, and sensible public policies and laws which impact the immigrant community.