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Most merciful God
–by Jennifer Phelps Ollikainen Whenever I realize that I’ve done something wrong, particularly something that impacted someone I know and love, I feel the weight of it. My body feels heavy, and I usually can’t think of anything else until I make it right in some...
New eyes for worship
– by Leila Ortiz Growing up in the Pentecostal church, I learned that prayer was my true connection to the Divine. I learned this in community. Every Tuesday evening the church lights would dim. As musicians played softly in the background, my friends and I would...
The unit that prays together…
–by Linda Post Bushkofsky As this month's issue makes clear, though prayer has been around as long as people have been on the earth, we have yet to run out of ways to discuss it, practice it and learn about it. Eight summers ago this magazine published a three-part...
The power of our combined lights, our combined prayers
by Betty E. Landis — The practice of contemplative prayer may be a simple way to bond with neighbors who may not be connected to a faith community but, like us, hunger for authenticity and human connectivity.
Still listening
–by Sara Zarr When I was a child, I prayed like a child. I chattered to God while walking to and from school, in the hours alone as a latchkey kid and when going to sleep at night. Often these prayers sprang from joy, or at least the kind of good mood one seems to...
Pray for the spiders
—by Susan Sparks People can usually be divided into simple categories: beach people vs. mountain people, salt lovers vs. sugar cravers, those who believe Sasquatch exists vs. those who don’t, and the most common division (certainly the most personal to me): those who...
Am I doing this right?
—by Laurie A. Jungling Several months ago, some members of my congregation gave me a T-shirt that read, “Prays well with others.” I love the T-shirt, but every time I read that phrase, I wonder: Do I pray well with others? Do I pray well alone? What does it mean to...
Ready for a change
–by Sarah Carson Gather readers, I have some exciting news for you: This issue of Gather could change your life. I know, I know. You’re used to seeing these kinds of claims on the covers of magazines at the supermarket check-out. You’re skeptical. You’re asking...
Free bonus: Gather’s “Prayer” mini-issue
For summer 2018, Gather presents a three-session series on prayer called "Let us pray" by Anna Madsen. This series is both featured in the June and July/August 2018 issues of the magazine and available as a free download for non-subscribers who would like to try it...
It’s like Jesus knew that a leather sectional would bring the pang of an unrequited love…
—by Denise RectorIn keeping with my half-hearted resolution to be healthier, I was on my way to get something good for me—smoothie mix. I came around the corner, and it was right in the middle of the aisle: a curved leather sectional, situated perfectly...
After the storm
—by Cindy Novak Kim Rathjen's mountain-high experience usually takes place on the last day of Camp Noah when children and volunteers come together to celebrate and praise God during the closing ceremony. “To see the kids singing their hearts out brings tears to my...
My father’s pajamas
—by Karen G. Bockelman My favorite photo of my father was taken more than 20 years ago. There he is, staring straight at the camera, his nearly bald head rising above a fringe of faintly visible hair. His round, German face beams. His eyes sparkle behind gold-rimmed...
God knows what we need
—by Elizabeth Hunter The questions and demands for quantification from my youngest son can be so numerous they overlap and tangle. His persistence can tire me out, yet I appreciate it. I’m grateful for opportunities to communicate everything from the fact that...
Finding the rhythm of love
By the Rev. Jordan Miller-Stubbendick Each week I take my 2-year-old son, Julian, to a music class for young children. In socks or bare feet, we gather in a yoga studio in the basement of a Lutheran church, welcomed by the instructor, who is strumming a guitar. We...
Listening to God’s beloved daughters
—by Christa von Zychlin Who’s ever heard of the strong, strangely-named Zelophehad sisters: Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah (see Numbers 27:1-8)? Who could possibly wring laughter and empowerment from Tamar’s story (2 Samuel 13:1-22), along with deep, visceral...
My tenants, my teachers
—Anne E. Basye “God comes to you disguised as your life,” says a scrap of paper on my office wall—a quote from the writer Paula D’Arcy. In my life, God can show up as a tenant. Behind my home is a room and half bath that I rent to others, a lovely, light-filled space...
I don’t like fences
—Adrainne Gray I don’t like gates, enclosures, pens, fences, walls. I never have. It’s part of the reason I felt more suited to the call of deacon or the office of Word and Service, positions that call one to go outside the walls of the church, mostly. The feeling of...
Prodigal Singing
—by Betty E. Landis As we rounded the curve of the concourse, a child’s cries ricocheted off the tiled bathroom walls, into the carpeted gate area. It was early morning, and the howling was getting louder. Women and children spilled out of the bathroom with...