Author: Dwight J. Friesen

Flourishing Requires More Than One Kind of Courage

I have been learning so much about Dolly Parton since her death. The more I have learned, the more taken I have become by a life invested in something I can only describe as a beautifully holistic vision of flourishing—the

Dwight J. Friesen September 6, 2026September 6, 2026

Better Together

Today we began another academic year at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Not with syllabi. Not with enrollment numbers. Not with strategic plans or learning outcomes. We began by gathering. Each year, before our new and returning students

Dwight J. Friesen September 2, 2026September 3, 2026

Honoring Wendell Berry

Yesterday, Wendell Berry died. He was 92 years old, at home in Port Royal, Kentucky—the place to which he had given so much of his life, attention, labor, and love. There seems something fitting about that. Wendell Berry spent a

Dwight J. Friesen September 1, 2026September 1, 2026

“Topsy-Turvy” . A Poem

Topsy-Turvy by Dwight J. Friesen Something has gone topsy-turvy.We have put our shoes on our hands,our hats on our feet,and somehow are surprisedthat walking has become difficult.We have begun loving things that cannot love us back—flags, borders, institutions,the carefully guarded

Dwight J. Friesen August 13, 2026August 15, 2026

Beyond the Ruins . Building Communities Without Rebuilding the Walls

Beyond the Ruins: Building Communities Without Rebuilding the Walls Why the future of faith requires more than reconstruction—it requires practices of re-membering One of the unexpected gifts of publishing my recent long-form essay, “After Deconstruction,” has been the conversations it

Dwight J. Friesen August 12, 2026August 12, 2026

Thirty Years in Seattle

Thirty Years in Seattle On immigration, belonging, faithful presence, & the slow education of beauty. In the first days of August, thirty years will have passed since Lynette and I loaded everything we owned into a moving truck, hitched our

Dwight J. Friesen August 3, 2026August 3, 2026

Beyond the Blue Angels

Every August, something remarkable happens over Seattle. The shores of Lake Washington fill with families. Boats gather in anticipation. Conversations pause. Children cover their ears while simultaneously looking skyward. Then, with a deafening roar, six blue-and-gold fighter jets streak overhead,

Dwight J. Friesen August 1, 2026August 1, 2026

After Deconstruction: Re-membering an Ecology of Shalom

After Deconstruction: Re-membering an Ecology of Shalom Introduction… “I think I’m Deconstructing” She knew the stories before she learned to read. Noah’s ark hung above her crib. Bible verses adorned the hallway. Sundays meant polished shoes, potlucks after church, and

Dwight J. Friesen July 30, 2026August 1, 2026

Beyond Reconstruction

A few weeks ago, I hung up the phone after a difficult conversation with my mother. It wasn’t our first. It probably won’t be our last. Nothing particularly dramatic happened. No shouting. No final rupture. Just that familiar feeling of

Dwight J. Friesen July 29, 2026July 30, 2026

Remembering Tom Sine

Yesterday morning, July 23, 2026, Christ’s church—and so many of us who loved him—lost one of its great prophetic imaginations. Tom Sine died at the age of ninety. Author, Christian futurist, mentor, practitioner, and faithful friend, Tom spent a lifetime

Dwight J. Friesen July 24, 2026July 24, 2026

Review of Dr. Woodley’s New Book

The churches of North America stand at a theological crossroads. Whether they possess the courage to choose a different path may depend, in part, on whether they are willing to receive books like Randy Woodley’s How Western Christianity Got It

Dwight J. Friesen July 21, 2026July 21, 2026

“Raising Little Dwights”

Raising Dwights by Dwight J. Friesen When fear comes,it is rarely alone.A little boy arrivesalready scanning the roomfor danger.A teenager pulls out his résumé,certain he can earn our belongingif given enough work.Another reaches for humor.Another for theology.Another quietly packs a

Dwight J. Friesen July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

“Grandma Loeppky”

Grandma Loeppky by Dwight J. Friesen There are still momentswhen I measure loveby the way your face openedbefore a single word was spoken.As though delightcould arrive ahead of me,already setting another placeat the table.You welcomed methe way morning welcomes windows—not

Dwight J. Friesen July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

Toward a Shalomic Imagination in the Age of AI

Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas represents one of the most significant contributions to Christian social thought since Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti. More than an encyclical about artificial intelligence, it is an exercise in theological discernment that asks a more

Dwight J. Friesen July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

Trouble Naming my Substack

Every piece of marketing advice I’ve encountered begins with the same commandment: Find your niche. Choose a lane. Become known for one thing. Make it immediately obvious why someone should subscribe. Build a recognizable story brand.  Then, stay in your

Dwight J. Friesen July 15, 2026July 15, 2026

My Review of Thomas Jay Oord’s New Book

My Review of “A Systematic Theology of Love, vol. 1” Thomas Jay Oord. A Systematic Theology of Love: God and Creation. Volume 1. Collector’s Edition. Grasmere, ID: SacraSage Press, 2026. This review was first published on Tom Oord’s Substack. Peace,

Dwight J. Friesen July 14, 2026July 14, 2026

The Suburban Fall of Icarus

There are few activities more suburban than climbing onto your roof with a leaf blower. Somewhere, I imagine, the American Dream has this scene framed on a wall: tidy house, clean gutters, well-maintained yard, a Saturday productively spent. Responsible. Respectable.

Dwight J. Friesen July 12, 2026July 12, 2026

A Mary Oliver Kind of Day

Some days seem to know exactly what they are. Friday was one of those days. My partner and I went to see the new Mary Oliver documentary at SIFF near Seattle Center. Before the film, we stopped by KEXP, where

Dwight J. Friesen July 11, 2026July 12, 2026

“The Quilt We Make Together”

The Quilt We Make Together by Dwight J. Friesen No single squareever calls itself the quilt.It arrives offering what only it canits own beautiful history—a worn sleeve,a child’s Sunday dress,a farmer’s shirt softenedby seasons of weather and work.On their ownthey

Dwight J. Friesen July 7, 2026July 7, 2026

Seattle… So Proud of Us

As the final FIFA World Cup crowds begin to drift home, I find myself feeling unexpectedly grateful. Not because Seattle was perfect. It wasn’t… we weren’t. Not because we solved homelessness, transportation, affordability, or the thousand complexities that come with

Dwight J. Friesen July 6, 2026July 7, 2026

“Harmony”

Harmony by Dwight J. Friesen The world keeps asking for a single note.One flag lifted above every other.One story told loud enoughto drown out the rest.One certainty.One tribe.One voice.Yet every spring, the forest declines.The cedar does not become fern.The river

Dwight J. Friesen July 1, 2026June 29, 2026

Thank You, Albany

There are some weekends that leave you tired. And there are weekends that leave you grateful. This was one of the latter. My sincere thanks to the beautiful people of Albany, OR and the community of Albany Mennonite Church for

Dwight J. Friesen June 29, 2026June 29, 2026

Pride, Presence, & the Kin-dom of God

Today many people around the world celebrate Pride. For some, Pride is a parade, a festival, a public affirmation of identity and belonging. For others, it is a remembrance—a recognition of the long struggle for dignity, safety, visibility, and equal

Dwight J. Friesen June 28, 2026June 27, 2026

Faith, Love, & Hope in the Futures Triangle

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” — 1 Corinthians 13:13 As I continue to engage conversations about cities, communities, leadership, ecological flourishing, and the future of faith, I find myself

Dwight J. Friesen June 23, 2026June 27, 2026

Soul of the City

One of the most compelling descriptions of Christian identity outside the New Testament comes from an anonymous second-century letter known as The Epistle to Diognetus. Written sometime in the second century, the letter seeks to answer a simple question: Who

Dwight J. Friesen June 22, 2026June 27, 2026

The Courage to Welcome

Today is World Refugee Day. A day set aside to remember more than 120 million people around the globe who have been displaced by war, violence, persecution, climate disruption, and political instability. Yet if we are not careful, the scale

Dwight J. Friesen June 20, 2026June 27, 2026

“Breathwork”

Breathwork by Dwight J. Friesen Before you learned the names of things,before you called anything sacredor ordinary,you were breathing.The first sermonwas not spoken,it entered your lungs.Each inhale:receiving what you did not create.Each exhale:returning what was never yours to keep.The trees

Dwight J. Friesen June 17, 2026June 17, 2026

Gathering with West Coast Anabaptists

Next week, I’ll have the privilege of joining the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference Annual Meeting. As someone formed by the Mennonite tradition—while also finding a home among Lutherans, Episcopalians, emergents, evangelicals, urban practitioners, and ecumenical communities—these gatherings always feel a

Dwight J. Friesen June 16, 2026June 17, 2026

Ecological Vision of Human Flourishing

Seeing the Forest, Not Just the Tree Many of us were taught to think about human development as something that happens inside an individual. When a child struggles in school, we ask what is wrong with the child. When a

Dwight J. Friesen June 15, 2026June 15, 2026

Fun with Colleagues

Every so often I get to be part of a conversation that doesn’t offer easy answers, but instead opens new questions worth living into. This webinar was one of those gifts. Together with Joel Kiekintveld and psychologist Paul Hoard, we

Dwight J. Friesen June 4, 2026July 9, 2026