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My body is not a prayer request.
Don’t conflate disability with suffering. by Amy Kenny I AM CERTAINLY NOT THE FIRST PERSON to think of God as disabled. Nancy Eiesland, who pioneered disability theology, imagined God in a sip-and puff wheelchair. After a friend declared that her disability would be...
Set free
God’s law connects us to the lives and needs of others. by Katie Hines-Shah IT WASN’T SO LONG AGO that they were slaves. It’s important to remember this, as we read about God’s gift of the Ten Commandments and the people who received them. For generations, the Hebrew...
Light in the darkness
by Lisa A. Smith WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I thought the Ten Commandments weren’t for me. I considered myself a responsible and rule-keeping kid, and these rules seemed so easy. Since I hadn’t murdered anyone, stolen anything, worshiped Babylonian gods or coveted anyone’s...
Already Worthy
Jesus placed her need at the center by LeeAnn Pomrenke SHE DOESN’T SPEAK UP FOR HERSELF. Maybe she did at one point, but it was too exhausting and demoralizing to be told or shown how little she mattered to the other “faithful.” So, she stopped. It’s true: It would...
Winter 2023 “The Ten Commandments” Bible study video supplement Session 4
Guardrails for love of God and neighbor In this fourth and final session, we will consider sayings from Proverbs and other biblical wisdom related to minding our tongues, integrity in the marketplace, and practical ways to serve our neighbors.
Summer 2023 Bible study: Salvation Now by the Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen
Session One: Promised Salvation Now—Jesus Brings Wellness Of all the gospel writers, John is uniquely concerned about the effectiveness of Jesus’ immediate presence. One clue is his regular use of the word “now,” a tiny but powerful word which appears more here than...
Our holy longing
Making my peace with death and life By Elise Seyfried MANY YEARS AGO, on an elementary school field trip to a local nature center with my daughter Julie, I volunteered to put my hand under an electron microscope for observation by the class. What on earth was I...
Our liberator
by Catherine Malotky OH, GOD, IT WAS YOU WHO BROUGHT US OUT of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You are my source and my liberator. I need your law because being true to you is illusive and hard, a daily commitment, and a path I so easily reframe in my...
God’s gift list
A LIST IS A HUMBLE THING, more dull than not, the basic workhorse of our everyday plans and aspirations. Lists help us navigate everything from “to do’s” to groceries. Living on scraps of paper, tucked within purses and pockets, they earn their keep but aren’t the...
Winter 2023: “The Ten Commandments” Bible study video supplement Session 3
Sanctity of life and love In our third session, we will review some of the major murders of the Bible. We’ll also delve into the scriptural witness to the spirituality of sex and the covenant of marriage.
A memory you can eat
How food helps me remember by Cara Strickland WHAT DOES MEMORY TASTE LIKE? For me, it’s an artichoke leaf dipped in butter, a glimmer of what is to come when I get to the center—the heart my mom would always prepare for me, cutting off all the green fuzz. It’s a fish...
Wonky hearts
We should not internalize lies about our value and worth. by Kristina Diaz WHEN I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, I liked to paint and draw. Even in kindergarten, when asked to dress up for Career Day, artist was it for me. In third grade, my love for art was still going strong. So,...
Winter 2023 “The Ten Commandments” Bible study video supplement Session 2
Rhythms and respect Some might say the Old Testament commands Remember the Sabbath and Honor Your Folks seem outdated and quaint. After all, didn’t Jesus routinely break the Sabbath? Didn’t Jesus (on occasion) talk back to his mother? Yet these commandments are far...
A recipe for welcome
She escaped Saigon, found a home in Ohio and today teaches Sunday school in Texas. by Kathryn Haueisen HOURS BEFORE SAIGON FELL in April 1975, Eva Nguyen’s family crowded into the last C-130 cargo plane to airlift people out as the North Vietnamese approached the...
A hand when we’re falling
by Elise Seyfried We can all be guardrails. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you fell out of bed? For a toddler just graduating from the confines of a crib, the answer might be, “Yesterday!” However, for us slightly older folks, sleeping without rolling off the side of the...
Winter 2023 “The Ten Commandments” Bible study video supplement Session 1
Dancing the Decalogue Psalm 19 claims, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Joy and romance may not be the first images that come to mind when we think of the Ten Commandments. However, a close reading of the first several commandments opens us to a...
What makes us worthy?
by Karris Golden The fact that we are all children of God. THERE ARE THINGS I BELIEVE, based on information, feelings and experiences, that make sense to me. I can define and describe these beliefs, even if I cannot fully or adequately explain my reasons. Likewise,...
Warming up to Leviticus
Learning why this book matters by Jennifer Ginn WHO LOVES THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS? Given the challenge to study an Old Testament book, most people of faith would skip Leviticus every time. It’s legalistic, full of the blood of sacrificed animals being spattered on...