The numbers of people who have been forced to leave their homes throughout the world are staggering and growing—imagine the entire population of the United Kingdom or half the population of Mexico having to leave their homeland. How do we begin to understand what that means? […]
Features
It’s Not You, Church. It’s Me.
There are times when I am just a teensy bit jealous of my twenty-year-old […]
Torn from Home
According to the most recent statistics, more than 65 million people-close to the population of France-are forcibly displaced from their homes and communities worldwide. […]
Tali’s Song
Tali Johnson grew up in a strongly religious, conservative Muslim family in Kermanshah, Iran. Just as all the women in her family did, she married at age fifteen. […]
Culture of Adoration
Tim Lowly’s large-scale triptych “Culture of Adoration,” disorients first-time observers […]
Cruel Companion
When doctors couldn’t heal my searing headaches, I learned to accept my pain as an integral part of my identity—and then it left. […]
Cat on a Drawbridge
With zeal, I write: Resolution #1: My body is a temple. I will no longer steal my children’s marshmallow Santas. […]
The Dark Night
When I was a little boy I was afraid of the dark. We had a scary basement with only a single light bulb hanging over the washer and dryer, leaving everything else in shadows. […]
Expressions: The Crown of Christmas
Rough lines outline a humble stable scene where the birth of Christ is celebrated by lowly oxen and sheep. […]
Big Q: When did you first feel at home in the church?
I was four years old and went to the evening service (remember those?) with my mom and dad. In those days they had time for testimonies during the service, and as testimony time came to a close, the pastor asked if anyone else would like to share. […]
Five Minutes with Abby Conger (Open Door Immigration Services)
Open Door Immigration Services is a new nonprofit ministry of Highrock Northshore, a Covenant congregation in Salem, Massachusetts. With a grant from Love Mercy Do Justice, the 501(c)3 held its grand opening in September. We asked executive director Abby Conger about their work. […]
Fleeing to Bethlehem
For many, the season of Advent represents a journey that culminates in the joyful celebration of Jesus’s birth, full of spiritual meaning and significance but also bolstered by the excitement of impending family gatherings, the promise of gifts given and received, and the idealistic hope of peace on earth for at least one day of the year. […]