by Robert K. Martin
A decisive moment in my shift to understanding church as a verb, as enacted, as an incarnational reality, occurred as we were tromping through the wilderness. Literally. In the middle of a North Carolina forest near Ashville, I had taken a group of divinity students on a wilderness adventure in which a […]
by Susan Andrews
The Season of Passion has always been the most significant rhythm of the year for me as a spiritual pilgrim. One of my earliest memories of the church is sitting in the three hour Good Friday service – my Dad preaching one of the “seven last words” – and my mother singing, in […]
by Gordon McClellan
Editor’s Note: This is the transcript of a sermon preached on June 17, 2007. We have decided to publish it now, on the QTL blog, because of the on-going need for religion in America to allow itself to be defined by grace more than by hostility; by including rather than excluding; by humility […]
by Roy Howard
Just for a day
let peace abide.
Just for a day,
let the ancient land called holy
soaked in blood, be quiet.
Just for a day
let peace abide.
Bring them away
from Bethlehem and Jerusalem,
from Nazareth and Nablus,
from Damascus, Riyadh and Amman.
Just for a day
let peace abide.
Bring them away from violence
slouching toward Annapolis;
unclench fists, open hardened hearts,
shatter foolish pride,
encourage risk […]
by Jim Burklo
It was a cube consisting of many separate pieces of charred wood, each piece dangling from a thin black wire, hanging from the ceiling of the De Young Museum in San Francisco. This artwork by Cornelia Parker was entitled “Anti-Mass”. It was a compelling sight. It reminded me of the way blackened embers […]
by Matt Fitzgerald
In a passage from Marilynne Robinson’s novel Gilead, Reverend John Ames reflects on how “commonplace” our sins are. Speaking of his parishioners he says, “So often people tell me about some wickedness they’ve been up to, or they’ve suffered from, and I think ‘Oh, that again!’” I imagine that, enthroned in heaven, God’s […]
Rev. Susan Andrews
Lately, I have been hearing – deep inside my heart and my head – fragments of old hymns – those songs of the faith that formed me as a child. Cherub Choir. Church Camp. Vacation Bible School. I’m not sure why these melodies are haunting me – except that this is the archetypal […]