Latest Articles
Seminary, private college form Desmond Tutu center
(RNS) Two schools hope to bring the message of reconciliation retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu preached in South Africa to a new center based in Indianapolis....
On being religious
Some time ago, I had a conversation with a woman from my congregation in which she revealed that she might not attend worship the next Sunday, but that her husband and her daughter would probably g...
Friday digest
New today from the Century: The editors on Syria, Sam Wells on a surprise gift for a deceased love one, more.
Other people saying things
"There was a man there Ben had only read about: a man said to run death squads in El Salvador. That made Ben’s decision easier....
Feeding and being fed: A feast for those at the edges
Each Tuesday in San Rafael, we experience what it looks like to stop fighting over scraps and instead offer one another something substantial.
In Baby Veronica case, some evangelicals side with adoptive parents
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Seminaries expand online options
It’s tough enough for aspiring clergy to take on a student loan to finance three years of M.Div. studies at a seminary....
Rise of religious diversity may sharpen conflicts
The American workplace, like the rest of U.S....
Pope taps diplomat as new ‘prime minister’
Ahead of a major diplomatic push to prevent a U.S.-led attack on Syria, Pope Francis has named a veteran Vatican diplomat as his secretary of state, the first major appointment of his six-month-old...
A toast for Robert Farrar Capon
Robert Farrar Capon died last week, at the age of 88. Capon was an Episcopal priest and the author of 20 books, ranging from marriage manuals to novels.
The first time I heard Capon’s words, I saw visions.
What's your Facebook profile religious view? Why?
We had an interesting discussion in my Faith and Leadership class this week....
Thursday digest
New today from the Century: Denise Frame Harlan remembers Robert Farrar Capon, Paul Gaffney on a feast for those at the edges, more.
Earth-Honoring Faith, by Larry L. Rasmussen
We live in a strange new world. Climate is rapidly changing, ecosystems are being destroyed, and species are disappearing at alarming rates....
Unnoticed ministries: Why churches need to tell their stories
I associate with a lot of liberals who are not people of faith. Few of them have any idea what churches are doing to serve their communities.
Exceptionalism, with humility
President Obama's speech last night was a strange one. The administration's strategy of speaking out of both sides of its mouth on Syria continues. (This is a narrow, punitive mission...motivated by broad, humanitarian concerns such a mission won't really address.)
Stranger still was the fact that Obama gave the speech at all.
Silver Linings Jesus
If you look closely, Jesus makes an important cameo appearance in the American Film Institute’s best movie of 2012, Silver Linings Playbook. Most of our attention goes to the bipolar Pat (dreamy Bradley Cooper) and the grieving Tiffany (sultry Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence). They jog, bicker, fanatically root for the Eagles, and dance in the most eyebrow-raising of ways.
But one constant amid the family chaos is a framed image of Jesus.
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: George Mitrovich on why churches need to tell their stories, Lillian Daniel reviews Helen Simonson and Courtney Sullivan, more.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, by Helen Simonson, and Maine, by J. Courtney Sullivan
Both Helen Simonson and Courtney Sullivan write tales of generational misunderstanding in which the elder's voice has the last, not very pretty word.