In the gospels there are particular times when Jesus watches a person and then stops everything, stops all of the proceedings, and says to those around him: “Hey everyone—did you see what that person just did? Now that is what […]
Columnists
Keeping Nature in Mind: Green Picnics
My idea of a picnic is lingering over a delicious gourmet meal under the spreading branches of a tree at my favorite park, in the company of adult friends who understand the art of conversation. However, the picnics I usually […]
The Alaska Story
This is the season for regional annual meetings. The Covenant, though one church, has eleven regions within the United States and Canada known as conferences. Each year delegates from churches within those areas gather to celebrate what God is doing […]
Where Do All My Recyclables Go?
The town I live in recently started single-stream recycling. Instead of sorting our recyclables into separate piles, we toss them all in one big bin for collection. I have to admit that it felt strange at first to throw everything […]
What Might Happen
You just never know what you are setting in motion through a simple act of faithfulness. A single unassuming, unpretentious, inconspicuous deed can be the precise moment God begins a movement that results in something that is, as the Apostle […]
Downsizing My Wardrobe
Lugging the huge dresser up the stairs to our bedroom was no picnic, but I was thrilled to inherit the beautiful old piece. I thought my mother had emptied it, but when I opened the top drawer, I found a […]
Low Carbon Living
When I was living in the suburbs, it was easy to forget that my household hooked up to the grid, since the power cables were tidily buried under green lawns. Now that I live in town, I can glance out […]
Feeding the Hungry from Our Own Backyard
How a Minnesota congregation filled bare shelves at local pantries by tithing the produce from their gardens. At Karmel Covenant Church in Princeton, Minnesota, we began praying and contemplating what it would mean for our rural congregation to “contextualize” its […]
Found Faithful
Nancy and I were newly married we had little time and little money. One Saturday afternoon in the fall she was going to be gone for a few hours and made a very reasonable request of things for me to […]
Greens on the Windowsill
I love homegrown vegetables. If I haven’t eaten something fresh and green for a day or two, I really miss it—amazing for someone who grew up on frozen peas, canned corn, and that perennial favorite, green bean casserole. As I […]
Making a Difference Together
Our family went to the Muppet movie together, if only because the main characters are two brothers named Gary and Walter. It was a rousing, toe-tapping, smiley extravaganza. See it. Not to turn the plot of the Muppet movie into […]
Moving Beyond Transaction
We live in a decidedly transaction-driven culture. I do this, you do that, we go on our way. You have a transactional relationship with your employer. You invest your energies in the responsibilities you were engaged to accomplish; your place […]