Compassion constitutes a radical form of criticism, for it announces that the hurt is to be taken seriously, that the hurt is not to be accepted as normal and natural, but is an abnormal and unacceptable condition for humanness. WALTER
I was saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis earlier today. He was 88 years old. Yet, I am grateful that he was able to participate in yesterday’s Easter service. Pope Francis was born in Argentina as Jorge
“God weeps with us so that we may one day laugh with him.” Jürgen Moltmann I am grieving the death of Dr. Jürgen Moltmann. Dr. Moltmann died yesterday, June 3rd, 2024. He was 98 years old. My heart is so
Speechless and grieved upon learning of the death of one the the truly beautiful people on this planet… Brian Bajari died Tuesday, February 20, 2024; this year Brian would have been 53. If you were blessed to have encountered Brian
This week author, Rev. Leanne Friesen – former pastor and current Executive Minister of the Canadian Baptists of Ontario & Quebec in Canada – saw her first book officially released… I am also very grateful to be her brother-in-law. Leanne
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.
Saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was 96 years old. In coming days we will learn much more, we will be aided in remembering her 70+ year reign, and will be aided in
We see that it is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of
Saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Ronald J. Sider, on July 27, 2022, Dr. Sider was 82 years old. “God’s Word teaches a very hard, disturbing truth. Those who neglect the poor and the oppressed are really not
What do you do with the feelings inside you in moments of overwhelming tragedy like Tuesday’s murderous shooting at Robb Elementary School? O Lord in your broken-heartedness, hear our cries for the families crushed with sorrow by the loss of
As the details of Saturday’s horrific mass shooting in Buffalo continue to emerge it is painfully clear, yet again, that the evils of assumed white body supremacy and black body racism persist. Racial hatred ought to have no place in
“Genuine love is rarely an emotional space where needs are instantly gratified. To know love we have to invest time and commitment…’dreaming that love will save us, solve all our problems or provide a steady state of bliss or security
Today was a very sad day. We had to put our beloved Jack down. One-eyed Jack. We think he was part Havanese and part Shih Tzu… but we’re sure he was all love. Not sure how he lost his eye
“The practice of justice is at the center of God’s purpose for human life. It is so closely related to the worship of the living God as the only true God that no act of worship is acceptable to [God]
…every human being – without distinction of sex, age, race, skin color, language, religion, political view, or national or social origin – possesses an inalienable and untouchable dignity. Dr. Hans Küng Sadden to learn of the death of the great
Quantum theory also tells us that the world is not simply objective; somehow it’s something more subtle than that. In some sense it is veiled from us, but it has a structure that we can understand. John Polkinghorne I’m grieving
If I can speak candidly for a moment, I’ve never understood why we call Good Friday “good.” Don’t get me wrong, I understand the historical and theological rationales, and yet… I hate Good Friday, and I see nothing about it
What makes the Gospel offensive isn’t who it keeps out, but who it lets in. Rachel Held Evans Rachel Held Evans died on May 4th, 2019. Many of us had been praying for her after learning she was placed in
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” Mary Oliver Mary Oliver, the great poet of presence died on January 17, 2019, she was 83
Africans sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies. After
“Do the work your soul must have.” Katie Geneva Cannon I was saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon. She died August 8, 2018, she was 68 years old. Rev. Dr. Cannon was a trailblazing
“In other words, it is not in craving after ready-made, complete and finished things that love finds its meaning ― but in the urge to participate in the becoming of such things. Love is akin to transcendence; it is but
“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” Elie Wiesel Yesterday, July 2, 2016, Elie Wiesel died. He was 87 years old. Elie Wiesel received the Nobel Peace
Pearl by Ted Kooser Elkader, Iowa, a morning in March, the Turkey River running brown and wrinkly from a late spring snow in Minnesota, a white two-story house on Mulberry Street, windows flashing with sun, and I had come a
So sad to learn of the death of Phyllis Tickle earlier this week, on September 22, 2015, Dr. Tickle was 81. Dr. Tickle was a teacher, professor, academic dean, and editor, and a tsar in the Christian publishing world. She
The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live. Wolfhart
You cannot have unity in the absence of diversity. Unity is only possible if diversity exists. RICHARD TWISS February 9, 2013 Tayoate Ob Najin (He Stands with His People) died. Richard Leo Twiss was a truly great man. A husband,
“Tomorrow, & Tomorrow, & Tomorrow” By William Shakespeare (from Macbeth, spoken by Macbeth) Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,To the last syllable of recorded time;And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to
One may be “outside” the church, but one can never be “outside” of God’s love. Clark H. Pinnock Christian Theologian Dr. Clark Pinnock passed away yesterday, August 15th, 2010. Dr. Pinnock was a strong, and at times conversational voice in
