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A pastor wonders whether the tending that happens in death and burial offers a new vision for church -- a space for the reception of those who are in moments of profound need, no strings attached.
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Her experience with serious illness convinced a theologian that the virtual body of Christ can make a real difference in a hurting world.
Photo courtesy of Life Around The Table
A North Carolina program for clergy, congregations and communities called Life Around the Table focuses on eating well as a way to nurture healthy Christian communities. The key, as its founder says in this interview, is developing a eucharistic imagination.
The Rev. Chip Webb, far right, drinks coffee at McDonald's most mornings to connect with people outside his congregation. He says the practice helps him remember that he is a member of a broader community. Photo by Lauren Olinger
A new study of United Methodist clergy in North Carolina has found that certain conditions correspond to both a lower likelihood of depression and anxiety and to higher levels of positive mental health. By promoting these, churches can help their clergy thrive.
The Rev. Starsky Wilson, center, wearing stole, links arms with scholar and activist Cornel West as they participate in a direct action at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Court Building in downtown St. Louis on Aug. 10, 2015. Photo by Wiley Price/The St. Louis American
Part of the difficult witness for the privileged within the church is to renounce a bit of that privilege and work on behalf of the marginalized, says the co-chair of the Ferguson Commission.
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In Holy Week, a favorite gospel song reminds the author that God loves even those who cannot cry out in praise, those whom depression has left as silent as stones.
In 1519, in the Yucatan peninsula, Hernan Cortes burned his ships, eliminating the possibility of retreat. Likewise, there was no turning back for Ken Evers-Hood when he sought help from a physician. Bigstock/juanaunion
A Presbyterian pastor writes that he had to face the distance between the person he knows he’s called to be and who he is.
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If it's February, it's probably Lent. And that doesn't always mean giving up something, writes an Episcopal priest. Sometimes, dealing with the season's built-in emotional challenges is enough.
Finding time for solitude with God is a cornerstone to a healthier year in ministry.
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Two strategies -- seeking solitude with God and companionship in stewarding one’s vision -- will help good intentions become realities in the new year, writes a spiritual director.
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Coming from an era of deep family ties and mutual obligations of care, the writer’s Aunt Marge and Mother Curry could have told the Synod on the Family the cure for an epidemic of loneliness among us: we are to bear one another’s burdens.