Author: Dwight J. Friesen

The Bible Intentionally Mistranslated

1946 is a feature documentary following the story of tireless researchers who trace the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in 1946. The film chronicles the discovery of never-before-seen archives at Yale

Dwight J. Friesen January 23, 2024January 22, 2024

Trevor Powers . Youth Lagoon

Prizefighter by Youth Lagoon (aka Trevor Powers) Hope you filled the sky at nighttime Diamond in the ring don’t feed your mind Maybe I never pictured bad times Brother in drugstore falls behind He’s got knuckles that no longer fit

Dwight J. Friesen January 22, 2024January 21, 2024

Mennonites Singing for Cease-Fire

Earlier this week – Tuesday, I think – a couple of hundred Anabaptists convened in the House of Representatives’ Cannon House Office Building, in Washington DC, to call for a permanent cease-fire in Palestine. The Mennonites sang songs of peace

Dwight J. Friesen January 21, 2024January 21, 2024

SDGs & Religion . Free eBook

On the Significance of Religion for the SDGs: An Introduction, by Dr Christine Schliesser, is part of Routledge’s “Religion Matters” series. And it is available for free as an eBook on Amazon. I’m not sure whether this is permanently free

Dwight J. Friesen January 20, 2024January 20, 2024

Spirituality & Polycrisis

Some of the people of faith I’ve been collaborating with to activate our respective traditions to engage the SDGs for a more sustainable urban future for all everything alongside UN-Habitat and the World Economic Forum have just published a new

Dwight J. Friesen January 19, 2024January 19, 2024

Grenz Lecture 2024 . Tonight

This lecture series is offered in honor of the great Stanley J. Grenz; former Professor at The Seattle School, (then known as Mars Hill Graduate School). Stan was a prolific Christian scholar with a pastoral heart and deep intellectual presence.

Dwight J. Friesen January 12, 2024January 10, 2024

Guest Preaching this Sunday

I am delighted to be invited back to St Luke’s in North Bellevue to preside and preach this weekend. It’s going to be so wonderful to be with this community again. This is the faith community with whom I served

Dwight J. Friesen January 10, 2024January 9, 2024

New Urban Agenda . Best Practices

This 2022 UN-Habitat report highlights of the numerous ways real people, governing bodies, and organizations are acting on the New Urban Agenda. As you may know, the New Urban Agenda is an audacious and beautiful activation of a better urban

Dwight J. Friesen January 9, 2024January 9, 2024

Emerged… an oral history begins

So excited to share the launch of a new podcast co-hosted by Tripp Fuller & Tony Jones, and produced by Josh Gilbert. It’s titled, “Emerged: an oral history of the emerging church movement.” The podcast launched on January 1st, 2024

Dwight J. Friesen January 5, 2024January 8, 2024

“What Was I Made For?”

Last night Billie Eilish performed on Saturday Night Live and I thought it was simply beautiful. What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish & Finneas Baird O’Connell I used to float, now I just fall down I used to

Dwight J. Friesen December 17, 2023January 21, 2024

Dwight’s Top Ten Books of 2023

Here’s my top ten list of books from 2023. At the end of each year I reflect on books that I engaged this year that sparked imagination… this is my 24th such list. In some way, each of these books

Dwight J. Friesen December 9, 2023December 13, 2023

Save the Date… WUF12

UN-Habitat, World Urban Forum 12 (WUF12), will be assembling around this time next year… November 4-8, 2024. Mark your calendar and begin making plans. I am hoping to convene – or co-convene – two gatherings in Cairo, Egypt to coincide

Dwight J. Friesen November 1, 2023November 1, 2023

Urban October 2023

For a number of years now, UN-Habitat has been earmarking the month of October as “Urban October.” Our goal is to draw humanity’s attention our cities in order foster conversation, engagement, and movement toward a better urban future for all

Dwight J. Friesen October 1, 2023October 14, 2023

Dying for Change: Two Loops Model

Systems thinkers, organizational innovators, and localists Deborah Frieze and Margaret Wheatley, with the Berkana Institute, have developed a very helpful model for better understanding the complex process of systems change. Their model – among other things – thoughtfully attends to

Dwight J. Friesen September 13, 2023September 13, 2023

Wowie, Wow, Wow!

Well, Sunday was my final Sunday serving at St Luke’s. And today was my final staff meeting. As challenging as transitions can be in the life of any community, this one was so beautiful and warm. It was filled with

Dwight J. Friesen August 29, 2023September 5, 2023

Helpful Reports

Here are links to three very helpful UN-Habitat reports reflecting back on 2022. My apologies for not posting these sooner, but here they are: Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen August 27, 2023October 14, 2023

My Time @ St Luke’s Coming to a Close

If you’re a regular to my site you might recall that I have had the privilege of serving as the “substitute pastor” for an ELCA (Lutheran) community here in Bellevue since January 2022. Even though I am not ordained Lutheran

Dwight J. Friesen August 25, 2023August 25, 2023

“Fake Plastic Trees” . Covers

There are few songs that have met me, held me, and helped me get through and keep going when I was in a thin place, quite like Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” I love this song. Thank you Thom Yorke! I

Dwight J. Friesen July 31, 2023April 16, 2024

C-TEN Interview

podcast interview “Church after Mars Hill” In this episode, I am hosted and interviewed by Dr Joel Kiekintveld.

Dwight J. Friesen July 18, 2023August 18, 2023

“Like a Prayer” Cover

Yesterday afternoon, I turned on the radio (KEXP, of course) DJ Eva Walker was in covering for Kevin, I wasn’t there for the beginning of it all, but a most unusual – dare I say sacred – thing was unfolding.

Dwight J. Friesen June 30, 2023June 30, 2023

Surgeon General on Loneliness

Last month The U.S. Surgeon General released an important report outlining the nation’s loneliness epidemic. Among other things the report demonstrates that loneliness has a equivalent impact on one’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes’ a day. The report provides some

Dwight J. Friesen June 25, 2023January 9, 2024

“Father, Son”

“Farther, Son” by Peter Gabriel Father, son Locked as one In this empty room Spine against spine Yours against mine Till the warmth comes through Remember the breakwaters down by the waves I first found my courage Knowing daddy could

Dwight J. Friesen June 16, 2023June 15, 2023

Art Battle . Seattle

Saturday night Lynette and I participated in Seattle’s Art Battle. Our first time. It was amazing. It’s painting competition. Two rounds of six artists in a circle, painting for twenty minutes. After each round the crowd votes for the painting

Dwight J. Friesen June 13, 2023June 14, 2023

The SDGs in their Rightful Place

UN-Habitat goes Local… putting SDGs in their rightful Place “Part of loving loving neighbor as oneself involves loving and serving one’s place, its peoples, & systems sustaining shared life.” – dwight j. friesen “My Neighbourhood” ‘MY Neighbourhood’ provides an extensive

Dwight J. Friesen June 8, 2023June 8, 2023

“…it feels good to be known so well”

True Blue by boygenius You said you wanted to feel alive So we went to the beach You were born in July, ’95 In a deadly heat You say you’re a winter bitch But summer’s in your blood You can’t

Dwight J. Friesen May 27, 2023May 28, 2023

Mother’s Day Newsletter?

Every week during my tenure serving at St Luke’s church I have the opportunity to write a newsletter article. I love this writing process, and think of it as a vital aspect of pastoral care. For me, writing is a

Dwight J. Friesen May 14, 2023June 9, 2023

“Love on a Night Like This”

Love on a Night Like This by Josephine Abbot Outside, air is balancing itself. We can hear branches in motion, some twigs breaking, wires like violin strings, trees breathy as bass flutes. The acoustics of friction. The science of equilibrium

Dwight J. Friesen May 12, 2023April 27, 2023

Thank you, Wilmington

I just returned from a great weekend Delaware. While it was a bit of a whirlwind, it was a rich time of imagining deeply with some very thoughtful leaders from St Barnabas’ Episcopal Church. The leadership retreat was held at

Dwight J. Friesen May 8, 2023May 8, 2023

Leadership Retreat Facilitation

Later this week I am heading out to Wilmington, Delaware… never been to Delaware before! I have been invited to guide the leadership of St Barnabas’ Episcopal Church into a conversation to exploring some of the many changes impacting and

Dwight J. Friesen May 1, 2023May 3, 2023

Celebrating 25 Years

They grow up so fast! The Seattle School is celebrating twenty-five years of training people to be competent in the study of text, soul, and culture in order to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships. And last night the

Dwight J. Friesen April 22, 2023April 27, 2023