Ecclesio.com

As a Christian concerned about issues of migration, dislocation, sanctuary status, and political asylum, I was glad to see the

The dictionary defines “boondoggle” as “work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value.”

This essay is a follow-up to “A Pastor In The Portland Uprising” I look at the book, Baptized in Tear

There’s one in every crowd. You know the one. The one who sometimes stands behind the most important person in

I’ve journeyed with WomanPreach! for over 10 years.  I’ve spent a lot of that time appreciating and advocating for its

Three months into my first pastoral appointment, I learned WomanPreach! Inc. was coming to town. My former homiletics professor (as

when we come together o let us come together / share hugs in no uncertain words /come one / come

WomanPreach! Inc. was organized in 2009 and held its first preaching event in August 2010. That, of course, is not

Part III of a 3-part series   If you’ve been reading the posts this week (for Tuesday or for Wednesday

Part II of a 3-part series In the summer of 2019, my family and I moved from the U.S. to

Part I of a Three-part series   PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. If you are already well-acquainted with

The IPCC released their latest report calling some of the effects of climate change inevitable and irreversible, which does not

EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week, in a ruling like those being contemplated in many US states and counties, the Florida Board

Three days after the last time I was tear-gassed my eyeballs still feel sandy sometimes when I blink. My nostrils

I write you from one of the hundreds of cities across the nation whose life has featured protests for more

In the face of the Covid-19 global pandemic, many are searching for the meaning of life in the faith we

Passing Things A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. Ecclesiastes 1:4   The sun rises against

For at least the last six weeks, people around the United States have been sheltering in place. And for longer,

Editor’s Note: Karen Georgia A. Thompson shares a personal poem and a narrative about her family’s experience with Covid-19. Among

History is replete with novels, journals, and memoirs written during times of pandemic, from the Renaissance humanist Giovanni Boccaccio’s The

One of the most troubling themes of Trump presidency has, strangely enough, not been the president’s persistent racism.  Oh, certainly,

For 11 years and 11 months, I journeyed with a people who mostly identify as United Methodist. As a self-identified

Within a given social, political, and/or religious context, the practice of identifying minorities and minority groups is essentially the same

Race has always been an “issue” in these United States. From Frederick Douglass’s Fourth of July address (1852), where he

Like most settler colonial movements, the Zionist movement was supremely interested in the issue of land.  Yet, as we compare

On June 1, 2009, then United States Ambassador to Peru, Michael McKinley, dictated the following cable from his locale in

The advice came slowly at first. There were the reassuring hugs, the endless array of casseroles that appeared on my

Most of us have heard about the list of the most stressful events in a person’s life, and most of

“Toxic masculinity” is a tricky term, often used within women’s studies classrooms, that appears to be everywhere these days. It

Photo caption above: Two Dalit women from the village of Suri celebrate their graduation from the community and human development

Last December, I made my way to my ophthalmologist’s office for my annual eye examination.  Moments after the doctor presided

As I begin this reflection, I am coming from a meeting with religious leaders and the Director of the North

marching on rays of sunshine imperial theologies of grace Empire plotting to kill a man a story sanctified a context

Mark 11:12-24 Tuesday night. He listened while they yammered about the fig tree, the money changers and the animal sellers.

Mark 11:12-14 Monday On a normal day a fig tree is just a fig tree. Middle Eastern Ficus carica grows

I recently read a smart article by a law professor at Columbia Tim Wu, The Oppression of the Supermajority. He

Romans 1:18-32 The desire to use the Bible as a weapon against LGBTQ people gets especially toxic with this passage.

Following is a snip from a recent NPR interview between Lulu Garcia-Navarro, the host of Weekend Edition Sunday, and Kathryn

I received the blessings of a good education, at the public school, university, and graduate levels. I often think of

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will

(based on Luke 2:5-7 and Matthew 2:13-23) We all know some iteration of this story: a pregnant Mary and a

A voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. Every valley will

Advent approaches once again. The human death toll from the California Camp Fire continues to climb, 10,000 structures have been

Last summer, I went to North Carolina to work with a group of students as they discern their next thing.

In our first foray in international mission service we moved to Madagascar in 1998 with our young family. I had

I wake in pain, roll out and don slippers. Saying a quiet “keep going”, I walk toward the goal. I

The Young Adults in Global Mission program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) sets out to participate in

“I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved

The struggle is real. We might say in jest to reference the often superficial and even ridiculous. But it is.

Renee. 23. Millenial. Black. Bi. Recent Vegetarian. Christian. Religion is complicated. It is multi-faceted and stupid and amazing and unnecessary

I could say that poetry saves me, and daily.* I remember the first time I read a poem that moved

I work with young adults through the program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) known as Young Adults

            “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress,    

Our nation’s widespread disinvestment in public education over the last forty years demands an urgent response.  The impact of poverty

I was at a faculty meeting recently at which the topic of Jesus’ relation to patriarchy came up. I had

Rays of the morning sun and crisp cool air stream through the cracked window in the dining room of this

“Companies’ third-quarter results should be very good. That doesn’t mean they will be good enough for investors.” “Actual earnings growth

playing with fire (A poem written in response to White supremacy on display in Charlottesville, VA on August 11, 2017,

I live in Findlay, Ohio, a micropolitan area just below Toledo in northwest Ohio.  Findlay has a population of roughly

My dear reader, before we begin, a brief preface: While we do not select the times, still each of us

Faith in Trump’s America.  The possible meanings of the phrase multiply the longer one considers it.  Is it the possession

Take a deep, life-sustaining breath.  Some of the circumstances of our recent days haven’t allowed many. Breathe in the breath

The intent was good. The idea was to wait and it made sense. If the task was to write a

The clash of dueling religious liberty perspectives made its way to Arkansas in August of this year. The seeds of

It is not often that Supreme Court cases make their way into the social and cultural consciousness.[1] This year, it

Like much of the nation, I followed the confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the United States Supreme Court

Swirling around the atmosphere as I write this is the furor over the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”[i]  This year marks the 70th anniversary of the

#MeToo is back in the news, courtesy of a story shared about Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Coverage of the story brings

My father and I left Cuba for Spain when I was 14 years old. The situation in communist Cuba at

Back in 2010 I wrote this opening line in a Horizons magazine article: “When I came to the United States

Han eena lion mout; tek time draw i’ out! (When you are in a position of vulnerability; be very careful

Shortly after arriving in this country, someone – probably my parents – gave me my first doll. She was Chatty

When ecclesio.com asked me to curate this week on “women in ministry,” I originally thought, “this will be easy.” It

I nearly dropped the crisp white envelope when I glanced in the upper left corner and read the return address.

I am a fifth-generation pastor and third-generation Pentecostal woman who lives and works at the intersection of faith and politics. 

The Great Commandment, as formulated in the gospel of Luke, states, “You shall love the Lord your God with all

A few months ago, I attended a local gathering of clergy on the topic of faith leadership and racial healing.

If someone had told me in my teens or early twenties that I was going to be a Methodist pastor,

In the debates and dialogues in the RCA there are three words that have become a flashpoint. “…unity, purity, and

In the debates and dialogues in the RCA there are three words that have become a flashpoint. “…unity, purity, and

Introduction In the Reformed Church in America (RCA – the communion to which I belong), we find ourselves in a

The Reformed Church in America, like so many other Christian denominations in the United States, is in a season of

It’s the rainy season in Tanzania. We live in the northern part of the country where Mount Meru forces rain

The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ~ Jesus, according to Matthew 26:11 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ~ Jesus, according to Mark