Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration for Pentecost Sunday: Prophet
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Day of Pentecost. Here is this week’s reading from Numbers 11:24-29...
Church Anew: Abandoned! A Pastoral Word from Walter Brueggemann
In this Church Anew post, Dr. Walter Brueggemann offers wisdom on how we move forward in faith amid despair through disciplines of faith.
Jim Keat: Real Ministry in a Digital World
Church in person and church online. Connecting real life and real ministry. Jim Keat discusses how it works best in a digital world in the latest Church Anew post.
Susan Sparks: Stop! In the Name of Love
Here’s my question: Why is it that some people are having such a hissy fit over social distancing? And why is it that some of those people are PASTORS?
Angela Denker: Coronavirus in America: Politics and Survival
Masks. A sign of saying who we are and how we live personally and publicly. Read Angela Denker's Church Anew post here.
David Crumm: David Finnegan-Hovey Invites Congregations to Help with a Major Health-Care Concern for Millions
David Finnegan-Hosey’s new book, Grace Is a Pre-Existing Condition—Faith, Systems, and Mental Healthcare—should be in the hands of clergy and small-group leaders in congregations nationwide, right now. There is not a more timely—and uniquely focused—book for congregations this spring.
Bishop Michael Curry: If You’re Wondering What Day It Is Today, You Are Not Alone
In this latest post from Church Anew, Bishop Michael Curry shares a “Habits of Grace” message about time and life during this pandemic.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Anxiety
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading, 1 Peter 5:7...
Walter Brueggemann: How Long? Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Prophets in a Pandemic
A personal commentary on the old question of faith amid suffering, “How long?” A question asked by prophets, Martin Luther King, Jr., and all of us during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Raushenbush: The Virus and My Apocalyptic Son
In this Church Anew post, Paul Raushenbush shares with Elaine Pagels his young son’s stories about his world, our world, destruction, and a rainbow.
Benjamin Pratt: In These Seasons of Life and Death
We enjoyed naming her—Patience, was the final selection. We considered other names: Unfluffable, Purrsisstent, Queen for the Month, Constance, Perseverant. Patience seemed the most accurate, stable, defining name for our Mallard Mama in these restless, unstable times....
Mihee Kim-Kort: Church? An answer with inspiration from Rachel Held Evans
A plain and simple question during quarantine stirs poignant memories of church and dreaming beyond. Mihee Kim-Kort writes for Church Anew in this latest post.
Margaret Marcuson: Tips for Dealing with Change
In the depths of my hard drive (from 2011), I found the following tips I wrote back then to help leaders deal with change at church. They all still apply as we walk through these days when so much has changed.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: To Suffer in Love
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading from 1 Peter 3:13-17...
Martin Davis: Thanking Our Mothers and Grandmothers for their Legacy of Love
REMEMBERING OUR MOTHERS & GRANDMOTHERS: ”Her home was a palace!” writes Martin Davis, describing, from a little boy’s perspective, the wonders of his grandmother Martha’s house that still stands, but now seems surprisingly small.
Walter Brueggemann: Quarantine Fatigue or Sabbath Rest: A Reflection on Psalm 31
In his Church Anew article, Walter Brueggemann says the Psalm text for the 5th Sunday of Easter serves as a theological lens for looking at time: Promethean and Covenantal.
Ulysses Burley III: The Road to Re-open
In this Church Anew post, Dr. Ulysses Burley III explores what the Road to Emmaus teaches us about the road to re-opening our church buildings.
Susan Sparks: In the Shelter of Your Wings
During this COVID-19 crisis, I’m drawing inspiration from an unexpected source. It isn’t quiet meditation, connecting with loved ones via Zoom, or even large quantities of Lipton’s French onion soup dip with Ruffles (my go-to emotional balm). Nope. My greatest sense of calm is found—every day—at Dollywood.
Diana Butler Bass: On Hoarding Eucharist in a Hungry World - Church Anew
In this time of COVID-19 lockdowns and churches moving to virtual communion, Diana Butler Bass reflects on a conversation she had with Phyllis Tickle.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: What It Means to Be a Christian
In our blog post every Monday we select a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday, and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Here is this week’s reading from John 14:6...