Faithful Presence

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

Missionary Church After Christendom

This week I got to serve as the theologian in residence for the Episcopal Gathering of Leaders clergy event just outside of Portland, Oregon. What a great group of church leaders. It was so inspiring to be with other folks

Dwight J. Friesen October 20, 2022October 21, 2022

Nationalism & Resurrection?

For weeks and weeks now, Putin’s attack on Ukraine has dominated the news cycle and has captured many of our hearts. We are rightly concerned. Then this week in the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (son of former dictator) won that

Dwight J. Friesen May 13, 2022June 7, 2022

Five Signs of the Parish Movement

The parish movement has been growing and spreading all over the world. The parish movement is not an academic movement nor is it driven by any one culture, tradition, Christian denomination, etc. Rather this is grassroots followers of the Jesus

Dwight J. Friesen April 26, 2022December 19, 2022

“Listening” by William Stafford

Listening by William Stafford My father could hear a little animal step, or a moth in the dark against the screen, and every far sound called the listening out into places where the rest of us had never been. More

Dwight J. Friesen September 29, 2021December 14, 2021

Now Welcoming New Directees

“When I heard about spiritual direction, I felt as if I was seeing an old friend I had never met. Spiritual direction (this new old friend) led me deeper into the love of God. Spiritual direction helped me experience more

Dwight J. Friesen September 3, 2021November 4, 2021

From Ally to Co-Conspiratorship

Last night Lynette introduced me the following excerpt from a conversation between Dr. Bettina Love, author of We Want to do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom and Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, award winning Associate Professor

Dwight J. Friesen August 27, 2021November 7, 2021

Interview on the Earthkeepers Podcast

The good folks over at Circlewood released interviewed me for their Earthkeepers Podcast. Its Episode 36, “For a Greener Future.” Their site says: In this episode, Forrest talks to the authors of a book called 2020s Foresight: Three Vital Practices for

Dwight J. Friesen August 17, 2021January 6, 2023

Flipping the Script on Church Owned Property

Flipping the Script on Stewardship: COVID-19 & the Shift from Church Property to Kingdom Building For more than a year, your church’s building has been unused. Yet, not having access to it didn’t stop your faith community from being a

Dwight J. Friesen August 2, 2021November 8, 2021

Walking Sacred Ground… Montgomery, Selma, & Birmingham

During our first trip to visit my sister and her family since they made the seismic move from Calgary, Alberta to Birmingham, Alabama – which happened to be our first flight anywhere since the beginning of the pandemic – they

Dwight J. Friesen July 25, 2021November 17, 2021

“Lost”

Lost by David Wagoner Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known.

Dwight J. Friesen July 8, 2021November 8, 2021

“The Guest House” by Rumi

The Guest House by Rumi This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are

Dwight J. Friesen April 23, 2021November 20, 2021

Earth Day 2021

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein Happy Earth Day! You and I live somewhere. Faithful presence invites us to discover a way of living in harmony with all of life… people, animals, ourselves, and the earth. The acceleration

Dwight J. Friesen April 22, 2021September 26, 2022

Start Close In

Start Close In by David Whyte Start close in, don’t take the second step or the third, start with the first thing close in, the step you don’t want to take. Start with the ground you know, the pale ground

Dwight J. Friesen April 2, 2021November 21, 2021

Mr. Rogers & Jeff Erlanger

How sad it is that we give up on people who are just like us. Fred Rogers Growing up in Canada when I did, I watched and loved the Mr. Dressup show. I’ve come to learn that Mr. Dressup was

Dwight J. Friesen March 31, 2021November 21, 2021

Faithful Presence in Bend Oregon

“The Spirit teaches us how to participate with God in the restoration of all things; maybe the more common term for this would be mission…[I]t’s a mission which connects our unique desires to the work of the Spirit to keep

Dwight J. Friesen March 5, 2021November 22, 2021

Doing Practical Theology

I received an email from a dear friend who is an executive director of a Latin American mission collective. As I responded to the email I thought I’d take some of what I offered, modify it slightly, and post it

Dwight J. Friesen January 22, 2021November 8, 2021

Which Americans’ Thanksgiving?

Unlike Canada’s Thanksgiving practice, which is more of a harvest celebration, the American observation is couched in a subjugating narrative. Wisdom is invited of you as you navigate this holiday. The particularity of your bodied, cultured, and located self will

Dwight J. Friesen November 26, 2020November 24, 2021

A Prayer For Putting on a Mask

The Right Reverend Richard Bott is the current Moderator of the United Church of Canada. He composed this beautiful prayer for when we put our masks on, and has given permission for it to be shared (asking only that we attribute it

Dwight J. Friesen November 23, 2020November 24, 2021

THEOS… a UK think tank needed here

My friend, Tim Soerens of Parish Collective recently introduced me to the remarkable UK think-tank, THEOS, (follow THEOS on facebook). THEOS stimulates the debate about the place of religion in society, challenging and changing ideas through research, commentary and events.

Dwight J. Friesen November 12, 2020November 14, 2022

10 Personal Parish Practices & Postures During 2020

In this pandemic era many of us find ourselves walking our neighborhoods more than ever. Many are also experiencing limitations in terms of gathering together with others. So doing things with your group or your church may not be available.

Dwight J. Friesen October 12, 2020November 2, 2022

Five Signs of New Parish Expressions

Immediately following the release of The New Parish, Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens, myself, and a number of artists who joined us for legs of the tour hit the road. Our travels – which were a purposeful blending of on the

Dwight J. Friesen October 5, 2020January 13, 2021

Papal Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”

Pope Francis released his sixth his encyclical letter today after visiting the Umbrian town of Assisi. In fact, he officially signed the letter at the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi after celebrating Mass at the tomb of the poverello

Dwight J. Friesen October 4, 2020November 2, 2022

Is it Hard for a White Person to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Today my school posted a short blog post I wrote as part of a summer long conversation amongst our core faculty regarding race, systemic and personal black-body racism, and white privilege. The post can be found Here. I titled the

Dwight J. Friesen August 31, 2020November 8, 2022

The Ground Beneath Your Feet

Recently watched The World Before Your Feet, it’s a documentary film directed by Jeremy Workman and executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg . The film follows Matthew Green on his quest to walk every street, park, and beach in the five

Dwight J. Friesen June 27, 2020November 8, 2022

You are Here!

You are here! Actually your are there; I am here. This is amazing! This is real. Like no time in modern history – or least not since the inventions of the steam ship, the locative, the automobile, and the airplane

Dwight J. Friesen May 5, 2020September 26, 2022

Spirituality of Listening Amidst COVID19

I’m actively facilitating the online course “Toward a Spirituality of Contextual Listening Amidst COVID19” that I’m teaching through The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Part of loving our neighbors is anticipating the changes that may affect them tomorrow. While we

Dwight J. Friesen May 5, 2020January 14, 2021

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