Home » Archive by Category

Articles in Theological Reflections

“Do Not Be Afraid”
October 17, 2020 – 9:41 pm | Comments Off on “Do Not Be Afraid”

A little boy who held a sign that read “I MATTER” stood among a throng of protestors who were streaming down the highway, chanting “No Justice! No Peace!” This scene has played again and again …

American Dream: Christian Nightmare
October 17, 2020 – 9:35 pm | Comments Off on American Dream: Christian Nightmare

The American dream is a big house in the suburbs, a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and an SUV in the driveway. The American dream is to make it all by yourself and owe nothing …

Dreams and Visions: The Holy Mountain Ahead
October 17, 2020 – 9:34 pm | Comments Off on Dreams and Visions: The Holy Mountain Ahead

In mid-March, as news of the pandemic began sweeping our country, our congregation closed the doors of our building and began meeting online. Each week, I recorded three short videos to encourage our relatively aged …

On Dreams and Visions of Social Justice
October 17, 2020 – 9:33 pm | Comments Off on On Dreams and Visions of Social Justice

In the early 1920s, something powerful was happening in Harlem, New York. In a period later esteemed the Harlem Renaissance, Harlem became a cultural mecca for African American literature, music, art, and intellectual thought.[i]Disillusioned by the failed promises of economic reconstruction and continued …

Go! Just Go!! (Isaiah 6:1-13)
February 17, 2020 – 9:14 am | Comments Off on Go! Just Go!! (Isaiah 6:1-13)

by Susan Converse

The telephone rings, piercing the silence of the night.  You jump out of bed. Your heart is racing, and you pick up the phone.  The voice on the other end tells you that …

The Courage to Love: Lessons on Leadership from 1 Corinthians 13
February 16, 2020 – 9:39 pm | Comments Off on The Courage to Love: Lessons on Leadership from 1 Corinthians 13

by Jimmy Arthur Atkins

The Holy Bible offers a treasure chest of case studies and examples of leadership—good and bad. While there are many secular definitions of leadership, I distinguish …

Courage – Medieval Lessons for Us Today
February 15, 2020 – 6:25 pm | Comments Off on Courage – Medieval Lessons for Us Today

by Albrecht Classen

I would like to be courageous, but I am timid. I would like to be strong, but I am weak. I would like to be virtuous, but there are too many shortcomings and …

A Difficult Simplicity
February 11, 2020 – 1:26 pm | Comments Off on A Difficult Simplicity

by Jerry Reisig

As the terms “organic” and “natural,” have become increasingly watered down and Buddhist meditation has become a corporate means to increase worker productivity, simplicity—the deepening of spiritual connection while letting go of …

Simplicity—A Nostalgic Dream and a Philosophical Reflection
February 11, 2020 – 6:02 am | Comments Off on Simplicity—A Nostalgic Dream and a Philosophical Reflection

by Albrecht Classen

We Westerners live in a world that is swamped with stuff. We almost drown in things that surround us, whether it is in the pantry, the fridge, the closet, the garage, or the …

Invited to the Feast
August 1, 2019 – 2:18 pm | Comments Off on Invited to the Feast

by Mark S. Giacobbe

I never did find out why he didn’t show up. I had invited Ahmad, my first local friend, over for dinner at the guesthouse I called home that summer. It was hot, …

Christian Worship: What Do We Gather For?
July 31, 2019 – 2:00 pm | Comments Off on Christian Worship: What Do We Gather For?

by Nelson Rivera

Let us begin with some questions. When we gather for worship, what do we think we are doing? In other words, what is our gathering for? Just thinking of the ways that diverse …

How Can Our Table Be Big Enough for All?: The Feast of Christ’s People and the Church Potluck
July 30, 2019 – 1:51 pm | Comments Off on How Can Our Table Be Big Enough for All?: The Feast of Christ’s People and the Church Potluck

by Patty Christiena Willis

I remember sitting with a vegetarian friend at a Japanese restaurant.  When she ate a bit of shrimp that had been fried in batter, she spit it out, right there, and said, …