Ecclesio.com

According to a Kaiser Health News article dated January 16, 2013, re-printed by AARP, approximately 1.65 million Americans utilize hospice

In 2007, my late husband was diagnosed at the University of Michigan Cancer Center with an ultra- rare form of

We left what purported to be a road and drove for another three-quarters of an hour through scrubland, dodging the

Coming out of the notorious Kibera Slum in Nairobi a few weeks ago, my Kenyan host, who grew up there,

Since January of 2011, people throughout the world have witnessed Egyptians protesting in the hundreds of thousands, two Egyptian presidents

Director’s Note:  This week, we hear from people serving around the world and sharing insights they have gained.  It is

  In recent weeks, many migrants have lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea.  Today, Francis Rivers, Executive Director of

At a shelter in Northern Kentucky, there was a child, a very little boy, who hit me. He hit everyone. His slight underfed arms could not make much of an impact, however hard he tried.

I am the woman who has seen painful days and nights who has cried alone many tears begging God to relieve her of her pain yet seeing no light, no sign of change, no freedom in sight

She made her rounds today.
My mother.
She cares for them as she did for many years, a resident alien
nursing in a nursing home

  I have been thinking a lot about love in recent weeks and wondering where we see and experience love

Director’s Note: This week, our conversation is about Bruce Reyes-Chow’s 2013 book But I Don’t See You as Asian: Curating

Director’s Note: This week, our conversation is about Bruce Reyes-Chow’s 2013 book But I Don’t See You as Asian: Curating

Bruce Reyes-Chow has done a great service and contributed an important work to the conversation about race and power. Reyes-Chow’s

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the

You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify

You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify

I am new to the world of theological study and had little interactions with the confessions outside of liturgical use

Editor’s Note: I am grateful to serve on the General Assembly Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar. The Committee

Editor’s Note: I am grateful to serve on the General Assembly Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar. The Committee

Editor’s Note: I am grateful to serve on the General Assembly Special Committee on the Confession of Belhar. The Committee

Many colleges and communities around the country hold annual Take Back The Night (TBTN) events.  These events are aimed at

As I ended my third year of college in Decorah, Iowa in May of 2008, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The last week of July was a wild one at my church. At our church, which used to be pretty

The ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’[1] continues in our day.  It was seen this past month when hundreds

Read Eva Schulte’s Essay, “The Modern Civil Rights Movement” Read Donna Simon’s Essay, “McJustice” Read Emily Ewing’s Essay, “Immigration and

Editor’s Note:  This week, we discuss Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s 2013 book Colonialism, Han, and the Transformative Spirit.  Here, Dr. Kim

Editor’s Note:  This week, we discuss Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s 2013 book Colonialism, Han, and the Transformative Spirit.  Here, Dr. Kim

Excerpt adapted from Colonialism, Han and the Transformative Spirit (Palgrave, 2013) The gap between the rich and the poor One

Read the second post, an excerpt from Colonialism, Han, and the Transformative Spirit Read the third post, a series of

When one hears about the farm bill, images of idyllic farm land, tractors, red barns, and silos likely come to

Read Christine Meléndez Ashley’s Essay, “The Anti-Hunger Bill” Anyone who worked on the last Farm Bill, or the one before

I have been a campus minister for roughly nine months—one academic year. My first day on campus was also the

I have never felt called to go: I mean, I’ve never felt like God has said “Pack up, move across

I’ve been doing this campus ministry gig now for nine years. While I know nine years is no record, I

Read Abby King-Kaiser’s Essay, “Enjoying the Privilege” Read Seth Thomas’ Essay, “Mission of a Campus Minister” Read Kally Elliot’s Essay,

Acutely conscious of Palestinian Christians’ cry to us and to churches around the world for liberation for all Palestinians, Canadian

“This is the Kairos, the moment of grace and opportunity, the favorable time in which God issues a challenge to

Read Mark Braverman’s Essay, “Kairos Time” Read Susanne Hoder’s Essay, “An Awakening” Read Katherine Cunningham’s Essay, “Response to Kairos Palestine”

An excerpt (pre-final edit) from Bruce’s upcoming book, “But I don’t see you as Asian”: Curating Conversations About Race. Any

Not generally a big fan of the Top Ten List, I do understand that, taken as whole, many of these

Read Bruce’s other essays, “Ten to Read, Hear and See About Race” and “I don’t mean to be racist, but…“

“Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam. And wove, twue

As a single person, adulthood revealed the problem people like me posed for the church. Without the anchoring presence of

Through a powerful Vote No campaign thousands of people organized and raised their voices, and a constitutional amendment limiting marriage

Read Elena Larssen’s Essay, “An Amazing Year for Marriage” Read Kaji Spellman’s Essay, “Losing the Gift of Singlehood?” Read Douglas

This post, which concludes this week’s conversation, could be entitled “Because I learned…I plan to…”.  I have learned a ton

When I started to think about directing a website, many parts of what would become ecclesio were unclear.  One thing

Read “Diversity as Central” Read “Thoughts Toward the Future” First, a little bit about the journey. In the summer of

As a Caribbean national, in particular a tried and true Jamaican, I have always been familiar with the expression –

I expected a normal pregnancy with no thoughts or focus on disability, having no family history or experience of disability. 

Prologue Alzheimer’s was something I knew nothing about when it ‘popped’ into my life. It started with a ‘bang’, then

Preface I wish to start by declaring that I am not living with cancer!  However, I have lived through the

Read Michelle Ashwood-Stewart’s Essay, “Living in Christ: Living not with, but THROUGH Cancer” Read Carole Rowe’s Essay, “Living in Christ,

The fish are bitin’, wild onions are ready to be picked, dogwood trees are blooming, new clothes are bought, and

4 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable:5‘A

Read Gradye Parsons’ Essay, “On Becoming Rich Soil” Read Buddy Monahan’s Essay, “What is Holy Week to me?” As Holy

Movements are not lofty things we only learn about in history books or from PBS programs. Movements are built by

Read Pedro’s Essay, “How God and Deferred Action Hastened Hope for One Undocumented Immigrant” Read Sung Yeon Choi-Morrow’s Essay, “Faithful

I chose this title as a deliberate and admiring reference to America and Its Guns: A Theological Exposé, by James

Read Mark Rich’s Essay, “America and its Violence as Creation and Salvation” James Atwood, Presbyterian Church  (USA) pastor, activist, and

During a break at a New Church Development Conference, I had this conversation with an elder from a new church

Freshly back from NEXT Church 2013 in Charlotte, ideas are still churning. One excellent presentation led by Bill Golderer and

Read “Who Would Have Thought?” Read “A Risky Invitation” In 2007, the congregation I served nested a new church for

Have you ever been asked sincere, deep, sometimes maybe even strange questions about your life of faith or your discipleship?

Teaching womanism is a revolutionary act. Informed by the theological approaches, and religious questions posed by African and African American

The poet Lucille Clifton was a homegrown, African American mystic whose understanding of God was often best translated as “Light”

If you’re a Christian who believes justice is an important part of your relationship to the divine, then you’d probably

Read Jennifer Harvey’s Essay, “Wrestling with the ‘White’ Part…A Life-Giving Feminist Challenge” Read Rachel Harding’s Essay, “On Poetry and Mothering”

The fiscal cliff ended with a deal that raises about $620 billion in new tax revenue over the next decade.

If you have been paying even a slight bit of attention to what’s happening in the country, then you know

This morning, as I do every workday, I rode my bike through downtown Washington, DC, past the White House and

Read John Hill’s Essay, “Challenging the False Notion of Scarcity” Read Edith Rasell’s Essay, “The Federal Budget Deficit” Read Amelia

Call me discouraged. Call me disillusioned. Call me frustrated. You can even call me unfaithful here, but don’t call me

I’m horrible at math, but if the Board of Pensions’ current plan is approved then I’ll have about a 13%

I believe in The Call. I still believe that the Holy Spirit leads pastors and congregations to find each other

Read the essay by Jan Edmiston, “Another Voice on the 2014 Board of Pension Proposal” Read the essay by Rob

Cher didn’t sing. Liza didn’t dance. No one jumped half-clad out of a cake.  But twenty-five mostly middle-aged and fabulous

In the past year, I’ve come to know something about discipline. But the experience has helped me see that disciplines

This essay has been excerpted from an October 27, 2012 address and edited for ecclesio.com. The issue of gay marriage

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, the District of Columbia, New York, Washington, Maine, Maryland.  According to the Human Rights

Read the essay by Tricia Dykers Koenig, “A Pastoral Emergency” Read the essay by Dr. Mark Achtemeier, “The Plan B

par•a•ble [par-uh-buh l] noun 1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

We can walk the talk, but do we talk the walk? Yes, you read this right. Do we—mainline Protestant types—know

Read Catherine Devins’ Essay, “Faith Talk” Read Shasta Bode Brown’s Essay, “Film: Modern Day Parables” In Christ we who are

All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.  All things are lawful, but not all things build up.

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he

Most of you probably have a memory of participating in a Christmas play as one of three kings or camels

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon,

In seminary, one can study for a Masters in Divinity. This degree is comprised of biblical training and education to

Check out the entire Unbound issue, “Hope for Eco-Activists: Discovering an Environmental Faith,” and watch as new articles are published

Check out the entire Unbound issue, “Hope for Eco-Activists: Discovering an Environmental Faith,” and watch as new articles are published

Read Neddy Astudillo’s Essay, “Eco-Justice is Creation Care” Read Shantha Ready Alonso’s Essay, “What I Crave: To Know Where I

You just got back from the Philippines. What were you doing there? I actually just walked off the airplane from