Lent 2021 is the perfect time to relearn confession, penance, and ‘costly grace’
Lent comes around every year in the Christian calendar as a time of reflection, self-denial, and confession. It has traditionally been a time of some kind of fasting or abstaining from certain things. If there’s ever a year to rediscover Isaiah’s words about ‘the fast God has chosen,’ it’s this year: “...to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6 NIV). In particular, maybe this Lenten season is the time to get serious about loosening our chains of racism.
The everyday and the wondrous—A prayer on the occasion of receiving the coronavirus vaccine
As two members of my congregation recently let me know that they had received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, I decided to write a prayer to be recited upon receiving the coronavirus vaccine for members of my congregation and for the wider world.
The bridge of love to healing: “Bridgerton” and our current national moment
Like the Duke and Duchess of Hastings in the Netflix series “Bridgerton,” we have forgotten how to love. We have forgotten the joy of being together and hearing one another’s thoughts and perspectives. However, we cannot blame the pandemic on our separation. We have allowed social media to be the divider, allowing it to separate us into polarized camps. But if we could remember, we could heal. It is a choice, but it is one we need to make.
Faith-based investors urge companies to rethink political spending after attack on Capitol, caution against return to “business as usual”
The January 6 attack on the Capitol revealed the fragility of our democracy. When it comes to corporate political spending, ICCR investors believe a return to “business as usual” is something we can longer afford.
Welcome to the Choir (1 Corinthians 14:6-19)
Those of us who love the life of the mind are often reminded quite simply to rejoice, and those of us who love all kinds of melody are reminded that sometimes the words we speak and sing mean something, too.