To believe in the God Jesus shows — who joins those who suffer in solidarity, and whose mission is to bend the world toward justice — DOESN’T require you to feel optimistic.
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This is Vince's last Sunday on the mic for a month. He offers some pastoral comments for the moment.
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You are not alone if you find it inconsistent, problematic, or shaming the way Jesus’ crucifixion is presented as “substitution” in the vast majority of American churches (as though God needs someone to be punished, and Jesus “substitutes” himself for us, who really deserve the punishment). As we begin Holy Week this Lent, we offer some ways to shift your consideration of Jesus’ crucifixion away from “substitution” and toward two other things: “solidarity”, and “breaking cycles of revenge”.
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How can anyone believe in a loving and powerful God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world? If the common religious response that "it's all a part of God's plan" is not satisfying to you (or has hurt you personally), you are not alone. For week 1 of Lent, we experiment with an alternative way to believe in a loving and powerful God -- that doesn't bypass people's pain, that is consistent with Jesus' picture of God, and that invites intellectual curiosity rather than shuts it down.
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On the weekend our country remembers Dr. King, we do a book report on Howard Thurman's "Jesus and the Disinherited" -- reportedly the book Dr. King kept in his pocket during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Thurman is one of the most important theologians in American history, but unfortunately not as well known as he ought to be. (Photo: Book jacket for "Jesus and the Disinherited" by Howard Thurman)
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Hayley Larson reflects for us after our annual take on the traditional Anglican Christmas Carols Service.
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The season of Advent in the church calendar encourages us to annually come back to the theme of "waiting", suggesting how core it is to learn to "wait well" in order to "live well". Hayley and Vince unpack some helpful and some harmful spiritual perspectives on waiting they've encountered (and perhaps you have too?)
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We ring in the first Sunday of Advent 2021 with our first visit of the year to some of our favorite Carols, and a look at the song of Mary from Luke 1, according to the First Nations Version of the English New Testament.
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Vince passes on a reflection on prayer as partnership from writer and pastor Libby Tedder Hugus, jumping off of Jesus' teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.
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Vince interviews special guest and friend of BLC Natasha Huang about being a chaplain, and the ways we all can learn from chaplains for the benefit of our relationships and interactions and community.
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