A Holy Calm: Part 1 of 2
by Norman Allen, June 18, 2025

A Holy Calm: Part 1 of 2

By Norman AllenJune 18, 2025“Now on land and sea descending,brings the night its peace profound;let our vesper hymn be blendingwith the holy calm around.”—“Now on Land and Sea Descending,” by Samuel LongfellowI’m forever grateful for the quiet gifts of Rev. Samuel Longfellow, who introduced the prac

Be the Bird in Flight
by Jolie Rocke, June 11, 2025

Be the Bird in Flight

By Jolie RockeJune 11, 2025“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” —Rabindranath TagoreEvery Sunday as I enter the sanctuary, I welcome another opportunity to greet congregants with an eclectic tapestry of sound: a blend of piano melodies, choir harmonies, and the strum

Noting Grace
by Sarah Dutton, June 4, 2025

Noting Grace

By Sarah DuttonJune 4, 2025“...the wren from Carolina buzzedthrough the neighbor’s hedgea line of grace notes I couldn’t even write downmuch less sing.”—Mary Oliver, “The Wren from Carolina”The first time I encountered a grace note was a Johann Strauss waltz in my John W. Schaum piano book. Grace no

Queerly Beloved
by Karishma Gottfried, May 28, 2025

Queerly Beloved

By Karishma GottfriedMay 28, 2025“Queer... not as being about who you're having sex with (that can be a dimension of it), but queer as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and has to invent it and create and find a place to speak and to thrive and to live.”—bell hooks, 2014

Resistance through Assistance
by Zeb Green, May 21, 2025

Resistance through Assistance

By Zeb GreenMay 21, 2025“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”–Gospel of Matthew 25:35When I lived in Texas between 2018 and 2023, I frequently went into Mexico to help people who had been deported from the U.S. I

Learning in Community
by Takiyah Nur Amin, May 14, 2025

Learning in Community

By Takiyah Nur AminMay 14, 2025“Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends…”–The BeatlesSo many people I know want to do better, be different, quit smoking, what have you. I always wonder what kind of community they have to help them. For example, maybe you want to be a different mama than the

The Blaze of the Wing
by Cara Stultz Costello, May 7, 2025

The Blaze of the Wing

By Cara Stultz CostelloMay 7, 2025“For we are what God has made us, created... for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”—Ephesians 2:10 (NRSV) Edit Media Paragraph (112158)In stillness, the red-winged blackbird looks like any other common creature: coal-dark, small, shape

Fear and Love in a Red State
by Manish Mishra-Marzetti, April 30, 2025

Fear and Love in a Red State

By Manish Mishra-MarzettiApril 30, 2025“Love is stronger than fear, but only if we participate in love.”—Amy Julia BeckerSpring Break. I’m with my family in Orlando and my child needs to go to urgent care. As an Asian-American in a gay marriage, with adopted kids who are Black, I had booked this Flo

Punk Chaplaincy
by James Clarke, April 23, 2025

Punk Chaplaincy

By James ClarkeApril 23, 2025“We’re innocent, but the weight of the world is on our shoulders We’re innocent, but the battles left for us are far from over…”—The Offspring, from the song “Not the One” (YouTube)I first heard The Offspring’s Smash album when I was fourteen, and it blew me away. As a c

Can’t No Grave Hold My Body Down
by Verdis Robinson, April 16, 2025

Can’t No Grave Hold My Body Down

By Verdis RobinsonApril 16, 2025“Can't no grave hold my body downCan't no grave hold my body downWhen that first trumpet sound,I’m gonna get up out of the groundCan't no grave hold my body down...."When I was growing up as a Holiness Pentecostal preacher’s kid, I always looked forward to Easter time