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Cecil Williams kept his ear to the ground
The longtime pastor of Glide Memorial Church was involved in nearly every major social justice movement in the Bay Area for 60 years.
The Obama campaign, fictionalized
Vinson Cunningham’s debut novel focuses on a campaign staffer’s indeterminate views, using them to shed light on the rise of a political star.
Historical 'twin pillars' of US Black communities partner to boost vote
Soon after Vice President Kamala Harris shifted from vice presidential candidate to presidential nominee, 44,000 of her supporters dialed into a call dubbed Win With Black Women that quickly became...
Episcopal Church presiding bishop Sean Rowe takes office, proclaims 'one church in Christ' for a changing world
Sean Rowe began his nine-year term as the 28th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church with an intimate but festive investiture service on No...
November 10, Ordinary 32B (Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17)
Naomi is a climate refugee, displaced from her homeland by a natural disaster that results in widespread famine.
Gutiérrez's liberation theology still inspires young Latin American theologians
The death of Gustavo Gutiérrez, called the “father of liberation theology,” at age 96 on October 22 has set off a reconsideration of the theological and pastoral movement spawned by the publication...
Steadfast love for sorrowful people (Ruth 1:1-18)
Ruth offers a striking contrast to the chaos and moral ambiguity of the judges era.
Mourning prayer
The church’s old cork board reminded me that our heartbroken cries go directly to God.
Conspiracies of goodness
When I fear a dystopian future, I hold on to stories of everyday resistance.
True crime at the div school
In 1991, religion scholar Ioan Petru Culianu was murdered at the University of Chicago. Was this killing related to his controversial mentor, Mircea Eliade?
“Do you believe this?” (Isaiah 25:6-9; John 11:32-44)
Jesus’ question to Martha extends to all believers.
The gift of interfaith difference
At the Muslim community center, I felt the tension of our divergence. But I also sensed gratitude.
When the doctrine of discovery became law
Steven Schwartzberg shows how the 19th-century arguments for Native American expulsion went against the intentions of the framers of the Constitution—and how they remain with us today.
In Vatican summit's final document, delegates call for more lay and female church leaders
After three years of discussions at every level of the Catholic Church, a summit of Catholic bishops and lay people at the Vatican ended Saturday, with the publication of a document laying out a vi...
November 3, Ordinary 31B (Mark 12:28–34)
The scribe’s question to Jesus is not merely an academic exercise.
Bone chapels and their strange art
In catacombs, crypts, and ossuaries, I’ve seen the ugliness of death transformed into something beautiful.
Creating a disruption (Mark 10:46-52)
There is a tearing at the social fabric when Bartimaeus cries to Jesus.
November 1, All Saints B (Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 21:1-6a)
God swallowing up death indicates the ultimate defeat of sorrow and chaos.
Healing from the ground up
In her memoir, Lore Ferguson Wilbert draws connections between her life and the forest‘s understory.
Historic society launches app for self-guided tours of Pennsylvania's oldest graveyard
Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Episcopal Church in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood is both Pennsylvania’s oldest surviving brick building and oldest ch...