By Efrem Smith This column has been slightly edited from its original posting on the blog of Efrem Smith. I saw the movie “Straight Outta Compton” recently. The late 1980s and early ’90s rap group NWA is said by many […]
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Voices: A Part Yet Apart – Moses a Model for Second-Generation Chinese-American Christians
By Melissa Lee Emerson This column has been slightly edited from the new website, Forum: Dialoging with the Covenant Quarterly. The journal is now available online. KANSAS CITY, MO (September 3, 2015) — At first glance, Moses and second-generation Chinese […]
Hearts of Mercy
Hearts of Mercy Four Oakland physicians continue the Covenant's legacy of medical outreach to immigrant communities Photography by Benjamin Chan, Story by Russell Yee September 2015 Non-English-speaking immigrants from overseas arrive in America and find themselves in need of health care. [...]
As Seen on TV: Tragedy of European Immigrants Shows Up at Door
By Rhonda Egging Sösdala, Sweden (August 28, 2015) — Gentle breezes ruffle through the lush flower displays of Swedish summer. Big puffy clouds enhance the ultramarine blue sky. Plump, red, juicy strawberries sold by a myriad of local farmers pop […]
Top 10 Spiritual Practices for Older Adults
By Nancy Gordon Our spirituality is the core of who we are and our way of being in the world. The following is a list of suggested spiritual practices that can deepen our awareness of the essential spiritual nature of […]
Sound Picks: Songs of Searching
Reviewed by John Potter Sometimes songs that weren’t written to be sung in church are the ones that connect us to God most deeply. Here are six albums released in the last decade that you won’t find in the “Christian […]
North Park Helped Shape Irving’s ‘Prophetic Voice’
CHICAGO (August 21, 2015) — It was three days before Sharon Irving was to audition for the TV series America’s Got Talent. Mere hours before her rendition of “Take Me to Church” by Hozier would bring the crowd and judges […]
The Poetry of Grief
By Elise Steel My faith journey started when I was seventeen years old. I thought God had complete control of the world—so much control that once someone became a Christian, bad things no longer happened to him or her. Life […]
Voices: A “Stronger, Smaller, and Stranger” Church Is in Your Future
By T. David Beck SACRAMENTO, CA (August 10, 2015) — The number of self-professing Christians in America is continuing to decline. The number of “nones” (people who are affiliated with no particular religion) is on the rise. Should Christians be alarmed?
Why the Church Needs Twitter
By Hauna Ondrey In 1929 Olga Lindborg, assistant Sunday-school secretary for the Covenant, suggested that the new media of film “carries the future in its bosom” and so should be “sanctified” for use in the church, rather than condemned in […]
Broken
By Dana Bowman Depending on how you look at it, my son Henry is either very brave or very reckless. It is five o’clock in the afternoon. I have no idea what to prepare for dinner, and we’re all dying […]
Voices: We Are family! Giving Students Bigger Vision of Their Faith, Church
By Ben Kerns SAN RAFAEL, CA (July 20, 2015) — Ben Kerns is pastor of youth and children at Marin Covenant Church in San Rafael, California. This slightly edited article first appeared on his blog, Average Youth Ministry. Last week I […]