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Kara K. Root: The true wisdom
Underneath and behind and inside everything is a deeper wisdom and reality, the heartbeat that keeps the whole world alive: We belong to God; we belong to each other. Let it pulse through you. Let it bring you back to life, says a Minnesota pastor in this sermon.
Former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama pray at the memorial service for five police officers killed in Dallas on July 7, 2016. Photo by The White House, via Wikimedia Commons
Jason Byassee: On not knowing what to say
Christian leaders who are obligated to speak out on current events don’t have to join the media noise. Silence says more than punditry, writes a seminary professor.
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Alaina Kleinbeck: Know your people
Knowing your people entails developing a robust vocabulary and historical understanding of race, gender and other identity markers -- and these resources will help, writes the director of the Duke Youth Academy.
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Melissa Florer-Bixler: The grace in grief
A pastor wonders whether the tending that happens in death and burial offers a new vision for church -- a space for the reception of those who are in moments of profound need, no strings attached.
Congregants and community members made prayer flags and enjoyed the shade of this temporary shelter, which was constructed as a public art project in front of First Church in Wenham, Massachusetts. Photo courtesy of Christine Hribar
Christine Hribar: An art installation provides space for ministry
Creating a public work of art on the front lawn of her small-town church was a powerful experience in community ministry for a New England pastor.
Drew G.I. Hart: Changing the way the church views racism
Christians need to adopt a deeper, more complex understanding of how race shapes our lives and communities, says the author and theologian in this interview. And to resist racism, we need to ‘recover’ Jesus, taking Christ and Scripture seriously.
The Rev. Dr. Michael Bell looks out the window of the Wilson Renaissance Complex, a downtown building that has been renovated by the nonprofit arm of Bell's congregation, St. John AME Zion Church. Photo by Alex Maness
A renovation project brings income to a church nonprofit and vitality to a former tobacco town
An enterprising leader of St. John AME Zion Church pushed his congregation to revive its dormant nonprofit and undertake an ambitious plan to buy and improve seven properties in a historically African-American area of Wilson, North Carolina.