What does it mean to belong to ourselves and belong to one another? On the weekend of Juneteenth and Father's Day, we look to the words of writer Cole Arthur Riley as Hayley shares thoughts around being personally and communally well. (Image: cover art for “This Here Flesh” by Cole Arthur Riley)
Read MoreFor week 2 of our reflections on community, Vince feels like the default shape of community in modern American life leaves him missing a lot. He wonders what is different about a Jesus-shaped experience of community...
Read MoreVince reflects on feeling cared for by community over the last month, and on 10 years of seeing a variety of different ways people experience healthy community, to encourage us toward a spacious model of community that is never one-size-fits-all.
Read MoreIn the wake of continued tragedies, judgment and shame around our own responses and the responses of others can arise. What if, instead, we allowed compassion to re-align our vision? Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan offers wisdom here...
Read MoreTo 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.
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made? (Psalm 139) From a lens of judgment, scriptures like this are a weapon for controlling marginalized bodies. From a lens of love, they speak to God's companionship in the complexity of our embodied experiences.
Read MoreFormed by things like reality tv, religious legalism, and even a little too much self help, we can often automatically take on a lens of judgment when looking at ourselves and those around us. Instead of falling into the trap of comparison, can we adjust our vision to see more clearly through a lens of compassion?
Read MoreThis is Vince's last Sunday on the mic for a month. He offers some pastoral comments for the moment.
Read MoreFor our Easter reflection this year, Hayley is struck by the opening line from the Gospel of John's telling of Mary Magdalene's visit to Jesus' tomb on Easter morning: "While it was still dark..." (Art: "42. Resurrection" by He Qi)
Read MoreAny uncomfortable feelings and thoughts you may be carrying are NOT distractions from you observing Good Friday; they are the reasons to observe it. We hope this brief reflection and prayer in consideration of Jesus on the Cross helps you to experience the Cross as “solidarity” and “breaking cycles of blame and revenge” (rather than as “substitution” or “punishment”).
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