What can a white spiritual mutt learn from the Black church in a time of neofascist ethnic cleansing? (Advent 2 of __?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMG2IsXMskw 'I've Got Oil in my Vessel,' traditional gospel blues, NC fiddler Joe Thompson, 1997. Editor's (admin's) note. Second of ___ (I'm shooting for four) Advent meditations, prompted by a parish workshop exercise in which we were asked to craft a personal mission statement. My spiritual director suggested I operationalize it by asking myself: Who, … Continue reading What can a white spiritual mutt learn from the Black church in a time of neofascist ethnic cleansing? (Advent 2 of __?)

What happens when you read a gospel as poetry? or with a grain of salt? John, ‘the Jews’ and the man who was born blind

Jesus healing man born blind, El Greco, 1567 (Wikimedia Commons). John 9 (NRSVue)): 28 Then they reviled [the man who had been born blind], saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man … Continue reading What happens when you read a gospel as poetry? or with a grain of salt? John, ‘the Jews’ and the man who was born blind

In the beginning was the metaphor, and it was good: Reading John and Genesis together in a Christmas candlelight service

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMafneugQAs&t=4145s Candle lighting ceremony, with reading from Genesis and John, begins at 1:06:24. Sometimes the moment and the liturgy come together so perfectly, I feel like there's nothing I can say that would add to it or subtract from it. The last two or three years, I've had one of those moments during the Christmas … Continue reading In the beginning was the metaphor, and it was good: Reading John and Genesis together in a Christmas candlelight service

Finding hope in an evangelical mission’s party during the dark days of aparthied in South Africa (Sundays@6 journal 7)

Mandela Family Museum, Soweto, Johannesburg (Wikimedia Commons). Coming up Sunday is the seventh and final session in the current series of the online adult faith formation group Debi and I co-facilitate for our parish church. It wraps up our discussion of a book on healing the divisions caused by political discord, and it couldn't come … Continue reading Finding hope in an evangelical mission’s party during the dark days of aparthied in South Africa (Sundays@6 journal 7)

Jonah, he’s my man: A reflection on politics, polarization and Ninevah, that great city whose people don’t know their right hand from their left (Sundays@6 journal 6)

Jona onder de wonderboom, Amsterdam, 1643 (Wikimedia Commons). Welp, it looks like this is my lucky week. I've struggled at times with a book we've been reading for Sundays@6, the adult faith formation that that Debi and I facilitate for our Lutheran parish church. But this week we're reading a chapter that invokes my favorite … Continue reading Jonah, he’s my man: A reflection on politics, polarization and Ninevah, that great city whose people don’t know their right hand from their left (Sundays@6 journal 6)

Of politics, algorithms, Krazy Kat, social media brickbats and the hope of redemption (Sundays@6 journal 5)

Krazy Kat1 (CC-BY-SA. Public Domain Super Heroes). As we get deeper into The After Party by Gordon Chang and Nancy French2 for Sundays@6, our autumn parish book study, I'm beginning to see how some of the main concepts fit together. Either their curriculum -- for evangelical Protestant congregations split by political hot-button issues -- is … Continue reading Of politics, algorithms, Krazy Kat, social media brickbats and the hope of redemption (Sundays@6 journal 5)

Can remembering a hasty, angry, partisan vote help me find concord in pre-election snitstorms? (Sundays@6 journal 4)

Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R) and President Bush, 2006 (Wikimedia Commons). Among the reflection questions in The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics by Curtis Chang and Nancy French is this: "Identify a story in your life when you finally discovered you were wrong about something important. The story doesn't have to be about something … Continue reading Can remembering a hasty, angry, partisan vote help me find concord in pre-election snitstorms? (Sundays@6 journal 4)

An exhasted, cynical wannabe ‘disciple’ finds hope (and marching orders?) in Jesus, Micah and Rabbi Tarfon of 1st-century Yavneh (Sundays@6, journal 3)

Headlines in Times of Israel, Oct. 2, 2024, 6:16am (CDT). The morning headlines couldn't have been much worse. The Middle East is sliding into all-out war, and it looks the US is about to be dragged into it by a president too old and stubborn to realize his policy toward Israel has failed. In the … Continue reading An exhasted, cynical wannabe ‘disciple’ finds hope (and marching orders?) in Jesus, Micah and Rabbi Tarfon of 1st-century Yavneh (Sundays@6, journal 3)

Building community at an imaginary dinner party: Jesus’ disciples, partisan politics and the kingdom of God (Sundays@6 ‘After Party’ journal 2)

Jacopo Bassano, Last Supper, 1542, Galleria Borghese, Rome (Wikimedia Commons). Next week's session of Sundays@6, an online parish book study group Debi and I facilitate, will take up the first chapter of The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics, by Curtis Chang and Nancy French; it's an interactive group study curriculum for mostly evangelical Protestant … Continue reading Building community at an imaginary dinner party: Jesus’ disciples, partisan politics and the kingdom of God (Sundays@6 ‘After Party’ journal 2)

‘The After Party’: Can hope and humility bridge the gaps created in a toxic election year? (journaling exercise for Sundays@6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T00t5aGe4FA Overview of 'After Party.' Curtis Chang pictured. (Redeeming Babel). Correction (Oct. 2). In the process of getting ready for our third session, on Oct. 6, I reviewed the Hope/Humility Conversation Starter mentioned below. I was right when I suspected I'd added up my scores incorrectly and I didn't really belong in the "Disciples" category. … Continue reading ‘The After Party’: Can hope and humility bridge the gaps created in a toxic election year? (journaling exercise for Sundays@6)

‘Nones and nuns’: Walking (the talk) with the Dominican sisters on racism and social justice (discernment journal 4 of 4)

Dominican associates, Sacred Heart Convent, Springfield, May 1, 2022. Background mosaic shows Sts. Dominic Guzman, Catherine of Siena, Thomas Aquinas and other Dominicans. Lasr of four journals based on my answers raised by "discernment questions" sent to Dominican Associates in advance of an Aug. 24 retreat at the motherhouse in Springfield, Today's concern Associate Life, … Continue reading ‘Nones and nuns’: Walking (the talk) with the Dominican sisters on racism and social justice (discernment journal 4 of 4)

Sumud, accompaniment and Palestinian resistance — definitions and background for Sundays@6

Wall art, Sumud Story House, Bethlehem (Wikimedia Commons). Editor's (admin's) note. Copy of a handout I put together for Sundays@6, the adult faith formation book study group Debi and I co-facilitate at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. I composed it in WordPress so I could easily create hypertext links as I drafted it. In October … Continue reading Sumud, accompaniment and Palestinian resistance — definitions and background for Sundays@6

‘From the river to the sea / we all need therapy’: Notes for a parish book study and spiritual direction, June 2024

Screen shot of newsletter blurb previewing our class. Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director today in advance of our session for June. I’ve been writing these for several years now, primarily in order to help me focus my mind before we talk. It’s not a record or an agenda of … Continue reading ‘From the river to the sea / we all need therapy’: Notes for a parish book study and spiritual direction, June 2024

Notes & quotes — ELCA’s Sumud (Arabic for ‘steadfastness’) initiative

d r a f t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy9cjJcpNiA&t=250s Intro posted April 8 to YouTube. See ELCA website at https://www.elca.org/sumud. Have you heard of Sumud (formerly Peace Not Walls)? Share about this new initiative from the ELCA for justice in Palestine and Israel. Stay connected by LIKING and FOLLOWING us on Facebook (ELCA Sumud) and Instagram (@ELCASumud). xxx … Continue reading Notes & quotes — ELCA’s Sumud (Arabic for ‘steadfastness’) initiative

A blast email on white supremacy, anti-Semitism and a prize-winning editorial in Atlanta — ‘it’s complicated’ (Sundays@6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euT1j7FUeHY A blast email Debi and I wrote for Sundays@6, our online adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield, for the seventh session of a book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism” by Jemar Tisby. In it I quoted a 1958 editorial by Ralph McGill, … Continue reading A blast email on white supremacy, anti-Semitism and a prize-winning editorial in Atlanta — ‘it’s complicated’ (Sundays@6)

Sundays@6: Lutheran missions in Jim Crow days and on the rez, ‘marked by parsimony and limited to acts of mercy’

Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1918 (Wikimedia Commons). In chapter 6 of The Color of Color of Compromise, titled "Reconstructing White Supremacy in the Jim Crow Era," Jemar Tisby continues to develop his theme that racism is infinitely adaptable to changing historical trends. Not only did the Southern white planter class cling to the "Lost Cause" … Continue reading Sundays@6: Lutheran missions in Jim Crow days and on the rez, ‘marked by parsimony and limited to acts of mercy’

Sundays@6: Lutherans in the Civil War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzSFgOSeqxs Satirical song about Germans commanded by Union Gen. Franz Sigel of St. Louis. Two things stand out in Jemar Tisby's treatment of the Civil War in The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism. The first, and most obvious: It was always about slavery, and that fact "has not … Continue reading Sundays@6: Lutherans in the Civil War

Sundays@6: How the Lutherans’ first African American pastor in Philly got shafted by the church he loyally served

Link HERE to order Jehu Jones icon by Mary Button. Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to participants in Sundays@6, our online adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield, for the fourth session in a book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American … Continue reading Sundays@6: How the Lutherans’ first African American pastor in Philly got shafted by the church he loyally served

How white churches (including most Lutherans) split on slavery and self-segregated as the Black church grew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWqkk4Ha70 Black History in Two Minutes (or so), narrated by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out today to participants in Sundays@6, our online adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield. Sunday will be the third session in a book study on “The Color … Continue reading How white churches (including most Lutherans) split on slavery and self-segregated as the Black church grew

Sundays@6: How did a 1493 papal bull influence white Americans’ relations with African and indigenous people?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gF7ULVrl4&t=14s Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) elder explains lasting effects of 1493 papal bull. Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out today to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, for the second meeting of our online adult faith formation book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the … Continue reading Sundays@6: How did a 1493 papal bull influence white Americans’ relations with African and indigenous people?

‘We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden’: Stray thoughts on original sin, medieval and Reformation theology

Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens, Fall of Adam and Eve (Wikipedia) God is not a noun, that demands to be defined, God is a verb that invites us to live, to love and to be. -- The Right Rev. John Shelby Spong, Twitter, April 20, 2015 (qtd. Wikipedia) Maybe it's dumb luck, … Continue reading ‘We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden’: Stray thoughts on original sin, medieval and Reformation theology

Sundays@6: New parish book study on American churches’ history of complicity in systemic racism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNmm9cvmxmY&t=21s Trailer for video series on same content (Zondervan) Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I are sending out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the first meeting an adult faith formation book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's … Continue reading Sundays@6: New parish book study on American churches’ history of complicity in systemic racism

How a straight white cisgender male learned to stop worrying and wrap his head around intersectionality

"Intersectionality," Milliann Kang et al., (CC-by-4.0 UMass Amherst). Within intersectional frameworks, race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability, and other aspects of identity are considered mutually constitutive; that is, people experience these multiple aspects of identity simultaneously and the meanings of different aspects of identity are shaped by one another. -- Milliann Kang et al., Introduction … Continue reading How a straight white cisgender male learned to stop worrying and wrap his head around intersectionality

Sundays@6 — Of ‘Caste,’ race, anti-Semitism, a German memorial at Bergen-Belsen and the (white) church’s complicity in American racism (week 7)

Mass grave at Bergen-Belsen camp. Inscription says, "Here rest 1,000 dead, April 1945."Memorial stones are placed on monument in observance of Jewish tradition (note Israeli flag). Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the seventh meeting an … Continue reading Sundays@6 — Of ‘Caste,’ race, anti-Semitism, a German memorial at Bergen-Belsen and the (white) church’s complicity in American racism (week 7)

Sundays@6: Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste,’ avoiding fake news and the consequences of our racial pecking orders (week 6)

Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the sixth meeting an adult faith formation book study, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets over Zoom Sunday evenings … Continue reading Sundays@6: Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste,’ avoiding fake news and the consequences of our racial pecking orders (week 6)

Sundays@6: ‘Caste,’ apartheid, Jim Crow and military occupation, in the US and the Occupied Territories (week 5)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa6igKc1M9s Christmas Lutheran Church, where Debi and I attended services (al-Jazeera). Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the fifth meeting an adult faith formation book study, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Caste,’ apartheid, Jim Crow and military occupation, in the US and the Occupied Territories (week 5)

Sundays@6, week 4: Of ‘Caste,’ alpha wolves, underdogs and intersectionality

Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the fourth meeting an adult faith formation discussion of the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets over Zoom … Continue reading Sundays@6, week 4: Of ‘Caste,’ alpha wolves, underdogs and intersectionality

Sundays@6, week 3: ‘Caste,’ Faulkner’s dictum, Florida’s K-12 learning standards and the lessons of history

Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out last month to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the third meeting an adult faith formation discussion of the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets … Continue reading Sundays@6, week 3: ‘Caste,’ Faulkner’s dictum, Florida’s K-12 learning standards and the lessons of history

How do traffic stops in Illinois confirm Isabel Wilkerson’s thesis in ‘Caste’? (2nd week, Sundays@6)

Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out last week to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, promoting the second meeting an adult faith formation discussion of the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets over Zoom … Continue reading How do traffic stops in Illinois confirm Isabel Wilkerson’s thesis in ‘Caste’? (2nd week, Sundays@6)

Sundays@6: Email for discussion of ‘Caste’ (week 1)

Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out last week to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, who expressed an interest -- or who we thought might be interested! -- in an adult faith formation discussion of the book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson … Continue reading Sundays@6: Email for discussion of ‘Caste’ (week 1)

‘Caste’: Promo for Sundays@6 faith formation book study group

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR3rEp_KiC4&t=230s Editor's (admin's) note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent to prospective members of the online Sundays@6 adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. (The group meets via Zoom Sundays at -- when else? -- 6 p.m. First meeting is at the end of September, and this message previews … Continue reading ‘Caste’: Promo for Sundays@6 faith formation book study group

Citing Luther’s Small Catechism, Missouri Synod president condems white Christian nationalism as ‘evil’

#MAGA Hat Jesus, Jan. 6, 2021 (photo Tyler Merbler, Flickr/Creative Commons) Edited copy of a blast email I sent to participants in "Sundays@6," an online adult faith formation group that Debi and I facilitate for our ELCA Lutheran parish church about the Missouri Synod's official statement on white Christian nationalism as contrary to Christian doctrine … Continue reading Citing Luther’s Small Catechism, Missouri Synod president condems white Christian nationalism as ‘evil’

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton: If there is a hell, ‘I think it’s empty’

Feb. 18, 2024. This post was written a year ago, and for some reason I never got around to uplinking it until today, when I came across it while researching another post on the general subject of hell. Since that time, the link to the summary quoted below of the original podcast on the Sun-Times … Continue reading ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton: If there is a hell, ‘I think it’s empty’

Sundays@6: ‘Holy envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog

Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Harvard Divinity School dean (and Swedish … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Holy envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog

Sundays@6: Notes for online parish book study session on Buddhism, ‘Holy Envy’ by Barbara Brown Taylor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxq-RiLb-6M Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Harvard Divinity School dean (and … Continue reading Sundays@6: Notes for online parish book study session on Buddhism, ‘Holy Envy’ by Barbara Brown Taylor

Sundays@6: Barbara Brown Taylor visits a Hindu temple in Atlanta with her college religious studies students

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EICcU9oN-s Lightly edited copy of a blast email sent out to participants in an online book discussion group Debi and I facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) We are discussing “Holy Envy” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Her title comes from Swedish bishop Krister Stendahl’s … Continue reading Sundays@6: Barbara Brown Taylor visits a Hindu temple in Atlanta with her college religious studies students

Sundays@6: ‘Holy Envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog for a parish book study group

Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to prospective members of an online book discussion group we facilitate for our parish, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, Ill. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. — hence the name.) As we begin "Holy Envy" by Barbara Brown Taylor, it explores where her … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Holy Envy’ and Krister Stendahl’s rules for interfaith dialog for a parish book study group

Sundays@6: Methodists ‘of the extreme center’ and a look ahead at Barbara Brown Taylor’s book on holy envy

Editor's note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent out to participants in an online adult faith formation/book study discussion group that Debi and I co-facilitate for members and friends of our Lutheran parish. Our sessions have taken an interfaith turn this year. We started with "Reclaiming the E-Word [evangelism]" and "Reclaiming the … Continue reading Sundays@6: Methodists ‘of the extreme center’ and a look ahead at Barbara Brown Taylor’s book on holy envy

My soul doth magnify my Anglican/ Lutheran heritage: Growing up with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BNYxujthUA Festival of Lessons and Carols, St. John's Episcopal Church, Ithaca N.Y., Dec. 23, 2018 Maybe it's serendipity. Or maybe it's because God has a wry sense of humor. But I've spent the past week reconnecting with the Anglican tradition in which I grew up. Not because of any discernment or intention on my part, … Continue reading My soul doth magnify my Anglican/ Lutheran heritage: Growing up with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams

Sundays@6: Tiptoeing through the TULIPs as a parish book study group reads up on 16th- and 17th-century Calvinism

Editor’s (admin’s) Note. Copy of a blast email I sent out to members of an online adult faith formation/book study group that Debi and I co-facilitate. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m. -- hence the name.) Archived here for what it says about interfaith relations, since we're studying a book by a United Methodist minister who … Continue reading Sundays@6: Tiptoeing through the TULIPs as a parish book study group reads up on 16th- and 17th-century Calvinism

An interfaith ‘aha! moment’: Reading John Wesley’s journal on the love of God and Luther’s theology of justification by grace

O wad some Power the giftie gie usTo see oursels as ithers see us!-- Robert Burns ("To a Louse") Some people have spiritual "aha! moments" at retreats or in the presence of God at the seashore or on a mountaintop. And some of us, I guess, are fated to have our moments of clarity while … Continue reading An interfaith ‘aha! moment’: Reading John Wesley’s journal on the love of God and Luther’s theology of justification by grace

Spiritual journal, September 2022

Lightly edited copy of an email I send monthly to my spiritual director to: (a) give her a heads-up on my where my spiritual journey has taken me since our last meeting, and (b) help me focus for our meeting. Which may or may not go off in unexpected directions. They read like a Reader's … Continue reading Spiritual journal, September 2022

‘Sundays@6’: New book on Christian traditions for parish book study, plus a lovely quote on 4th-century heresies

Flier [w/ edits] prepared for parish newsletter. Editor's (admin's) Note. Copy of a blast email I sent out to members of an online adult faith formation/book study group that Debi and I co-facilitate. (It meets Sundays at 6 p.m., as you might guess.) Lightly edited to remove a couple of obvious illiteracies and set off … Continue reading ‘Sundays@6’: New book on Christian traditions for parish book study, plus a lovely quote on 4th-century heresies

A trail of breadcrumbs in Roger Williams’ garden — short takes on theological hair-splitting, mix-and-match spirituality and an ongoing research project

Cartoon by Man Martin (rpt. Winnipeg Free Press, March 16, 2019) Short takes on a general theme that didn't start to jell until I'd been thinking about it for the better part of a month. It's still not completely jelled -- can we think of it as a Jell-O fruit salad? -- but I think … Continue reading A trail of breadcrumbs in Roger Williams’ garden — short takes on theological hair-splitting, mix-and-match spirituality and an ongoing research project

Sundays@6: ‘Reclaiming L-Word’ (i.e. ‘Lutheran’) book study; Dwelling in the Word discernment practice

Editor's (admin's) note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent to members of a parish book study group I co-facilitate with Debi. Saved here for future reference, since our current book, Reclaiming the ''L'' Word: Renewing the Church from Its Lutheran Core by Kelly Fryer, takes kind of a Lutheranism 101 approach. The … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Reclaiming L-Word’ (i.e. ‘Lutheran’) book study; Dwelling in the Word discernment practice

Promo for a parish book study — what things matter most in a time of declining mainline church membership?

Editor's (admin's) note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent out promoting a new book study that my wife and I are co-facilitating for an adult faith formation group in our ELCA Lutheran parish. While the book is about "renewing the church from its Lutheran core," and it quotes Martin Luther extensively, its … Continue reading Promo for a parish book study — what things matter most in a time of declining mainline church membership?

Proclaiming the ‘E Word’ on the Z App — walking the talk as the SARS-CoV-2 variants shape an uneasy new normal

Debi and I recently finished co-facilitating a six-week book study on evangelism for our parish church -- over Zoom no less -- and it was a pleasant surprise. The book, Reclaiming the 'E' Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity, is by Kelly Fryer, an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who … Continue reading Proclaiming the ‘E Word’ on the Z App — walking the talk as the SARS-CoV-2 variants shape an uneasy new normal