Episode 1: Amy Butler on her role as the first woman to lead Riverside Church
In the premiere episode of “Can These Bones,” co-host Bill Lamar talks with Amy Butler, the senior minister of The Riverside Church in the City of New York, about her experience in that historic pulpit.
Gerardo Marti: Church and the challenge of pluralism
The challenge facing much of the church in the U.S. is the challenge of pluralism, says a sociologist who studies race and religion. Can the church equip itself to engage with an increasingly diverse society?
Robert Saler: 'Why don't I get a vacation, too?' How to talk about clergy sabbaticals
Reframing the pastoral sabbatical as a journey for the entire congregation can diminish resentment and help make regular periods of renewal a part of the Christian life, writes the director of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs.
Allen T. Stanton: Why I hate Wendell Berry
It’s not the renowned writer himself that’s the problem, writes a pastor who grew up in and serves rural communities. But his writing projects an idealized vision of rural life that ignores current realities.
Victoria Atkinson White: We need each other
In today’s world, we tend to choose friendships with like-minded people rather than investing in a broad community of “familiar but not intimate” relationships. That narrowing of casual relationships is killing our communities and driving us away from God’s work in the world, writes the managing director of grants for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
Jessica Brown: Does beauty matter for moral stances?
Beauty isn’t just ornamentation or sentimentality; it provides the life-giving force of warm, appealing graciousness, says a writer.

The Rev. Jes Kast leads worship at A Taste of Heaven at West End Collegiate Church. Photos by Whitney Kidder
Soup kitchen-turned-worship service, A Taste of Heaven is a model of ministry 'with' rather than 'to'
On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a church-run soup kitchen has become ‘A Taste of Heaven,’ with its own innovative worship service and a celebratory meal. It’s what outreach can be when the church listens to those it is trying to reach.







