Russell Levenson Jr: "Peace, Be Still": What to Do When the Coronavirus Comes Knocking
In a special message in these times of fear over the Coronavirus, the Rev. Dr. Russell Levenson, Jr., offers hope and calls us to prayer-filled faith.
Susan Sparks: Coronavirus and Kindness are Contagious
The Bible says to love your neighbor. Alternatively, some people on this earth apparently believe that the Bible says love your neighbor unless you are in a pandemic and shopping for groceries.
Duncan Newcomer: What Would Abraham Lincoln Do … about facing the fears of epidemic?
Two horrific health crises ravaged Abraham Lincoln’s early life. A disorder known in his day as Milk Sick quickly took Lincoln’s mother and two other adults in his seven-person cabin, then the typhoid epidemic took the life of Ann Rutledge, who many scholars now credit as being Lincoln’s first true love. Wide-spread suffering and intense personal suffering are the polarities of Lincoln’s life as president. His frontier early life taught him so.
Benjamin Pratt: Faith in a Pandemic: ‘Now thank we all our God …’
"Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things hath done, In whom this world rejoices; who from our mothers’ arms, hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today." Those words of this well-known hymn are particularly meaningful in our world right now, when the coronavirus has become a pandemic. Ironically, they were penned in 1636-1637, during an outbreak of yet another terrible plague.
Margaret Marcuson: Do You Have Leaders Who Are Burned Out?
Most clergy are overfunctioners, with a tendency to take responsibility in relationships and in leadership. Of course, they are not alone. Many church leaders are as well, and they can get to the edge of burnout. What do you do when you’ve got a volunteer who is exhausted or resentful?
Paul Raushenbush: What happens when a virus forces faith communities to go virtual
When two or three are gathered on Facebook, is Christ there? When 10 Jews meet on a Zoom call, is it a minyan? Over the past few days, as states have asked houses of worship to suspend services, synagogues have held muted Purim celebrations and other religious meetings and services have been canceled, people have already begun mourning the loss of community.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry on the Coronavirus Crisis
In this time when we are all affected by the coronavirus, whether directly or indirectly, whether physically, biologically, psychologically, spiritually, and for many economically, it may be helpful to remember that we're in this together.
Duncan Newcomer: Abraham Lincoln - "Boys, Now I've Got You!" - Book Excerpt
“Boys, now I’ve got you” doesn’t sound too spiritual, does it? Yet Lincoln gleefully surprised his young friends in southern Indiana one day with these very words—words not found etched on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial. But who were these boys Lincoln had gotten? Enjoy this excerpt from Duncan Newcomer's book of meditations...
Susan Sparks: Sarah's Purse
I always knew it would be a great day when Sarah Goodson walked through the door of our church carrying her big purse. Raised during the Depression on a share-cropper’s farm in the South Carolina low country, Sarah loved two things in this life more than anything: her family and taking care of others. She shaped her life around making those two things a priority, including what she carried in her purse.
Frederick Buechner: Ash Wednesday: Denouncer of Piety
For special days in the Christian calendar, we post an additional reading from the Revised Common Lectionary and pair it with a Frederick Buechner reading on the same topic. Today we mark Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent with a reading from Matthew 6:1-5...
David Crumm: ‘Another Way’: Ancient wisdom for rethinking leadership in our congregations and communities
The most important thing you need to know about *Another Way: Living & Leading Change on Purpose,* and the book’s three authors, is that you will find their book dramatically different than many of the other leadership books on your shelf. Unlike most authors on leadership, this trio of ministers, activists and scholars is preaching a revolutionary message. That’s revolutionary as in turning popular assumptions upside down.
Bishop Michael Curry: Lent 2020: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Repentance Leading to Action
As the season of Lent approaches on Ash Wednesday, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites Episcopalians and all people of faith to turn and pray on behalf of our nation.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration - First Sunday in Lent: Eve
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 First Sunday in Lent. Here is this week's reading from Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7...
Susan Sparks: We're in the Same Boat, Brother!
I love a good blues tune. Part of my affection is driven by the melodies, but it’s the lyrics that get me. Somehow, those haunting, mournful songs manage to capture the immense span of the human condition in tiny, concise sound bites....
ReadtheSpirit.com: Celebrating 30 years of Edward McNulty’s Faith & Film writing in Visual Parables
This week, we are celebrating Edward McNulty’s 30th anniversary of his Visual Parables Journal by publishing Ed’s personal reflections on his decades of moving between movie theaters, his role as an online journalist and his ongoing work with congregations and conferences.
Susan Sparks: The Magic of Chicken Poop
Have you ever made a mistake? No? Then please stop reading immediately and take your perfect self somewhere far away from us other human beings who have made a slip or two in this life. Here's a message for all the REST of us. Three things are sure in this life: death, taxes, and mistakes.
Margaret Marcuson: When Should a Pastor Duck?
There’s a time to take a stand--but there’s also a time to get out of the way. When should you duck? Here are three times to duck...
Will Willimon: Which One of You? Excerpt from Stories by Willimon
Will Willimon is known and read throughout the world for his riveting, edgy, witty, and provocative stories or parables. Here's an excerpt from his new collection of stories, published by Abingdon Press.
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: The Salt of the Earth
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 after Epiphany. Here is this week’s reading from Matthew 5:13-14...
Frederick Buechner Sermon Illustration: Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)
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 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. Here is this week’s reading from Matthew 5:1-12...