Madonna and Child by Fra Angelico
This Christmas, what are we as church leaders painting, praying, preaching, proclaiming or prophesying that will endure for another 500 years? Are we conveying the hope of the Christ child that keeps us alive despite the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us?
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After years of looking for his one true vocation, a seminary professor of Christian spirituality considers an alternative picture of vocation. What if it’s not a single star we should follow but a constellation?
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As Advent begins, we stand once again amid the destruction left by devastating storms. In the darkness, we yearn for light, a UMC bishop writes.
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Despite their reputation, rats -- at least the domesticated variety -- are warm, empathetic companions who challenge the lines we draw between “lovable” and “unworthy,” says an Episcopal priest. Remember them and other unpopular pets this St. Francis Day.
The UNC Tar Heels celebrate their NCAA national championship victory after defeating Gonzaga 71-65 on April 3, 2017. Daily Tar Heel photograph by Nathan Klima
The UNC Tar Heels wanted to redeem their devastating 2016 NCAA men’s basketball championship loss. In winning this year, they accomplished their goal, but they did not change history, writes a managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
The traditional elements of a Turkish bath include a bath bowl, soap and peshtamal. Bigstock / Uwphotographer
Footwashing makes us feel vulnerable, as vulnerable as an Episcopal priest felt on a visit to a ‘hamam’ in Istanbul. But maybe that’s the point, she writes -- vulnerability is the paradoxical source of Christians’ strength.
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This worship service is based on Puerto Rican Christmas traditions, which include joyful gatherings of friends and family, music, and a soup called asopao.
Visitors to the spontaneous Puerto Rican Christmas-season parties called parrandas often play the güiro, the instrument pictured here. Creative Commons / le Guiro
A pastor shares the traditions of her native island, where big parties with steaming bowls of delicious soup called asopao symbolize abundance, hope and resistance.
Detail from a mosaic of the Three Magi in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy. Creative Commons / Wikipedia
Even in a fearful, divided and dark world, the Magi gracefully and joyfully sought the Christ child by seeing hope in a tiny point of light, writes a managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
This Chrismons ornament is called "Pelican in Her Piety." It's part of a series representing the seasons of Christmas and Lent called the "Christian Year Series," designed by Frances Spencer, who created the first Chrismon tree in 1957. Photos by Jessamyn Rubio
Chrismons -- white and gold ornaments representing the story of Christ -- are part of the identity of the Lutheran congregation in Virginia where they originated six decades ago.