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If Americans of a certain age know anything about Puritanism, it is probably because they read something by the (atheist) historian Edmund S. Morgan, the great Yale scholar who died July 8. His book The Puritan Dilemma—which used the life of John Winthrop to describe the Puritans’ religious and political project in America—was widely assigned in high schools and colleges.  I had the good fortune decades ago to take a graduate class from Morgan on American colonial history.

New today from the Century: Amy Frykholm on African Americans and hospice, Joanna Harader on Operation Streamline, more.

In this world of constant change, one thing remains predictable: the WSJ will never miss an opportunity to bash mainline churches.

Deo gratias. That’s what the sign in my office says. It’s not fancy, just two words laser-printed on office paper and tacked up over the computer monitor so I can read it dozens of times a day.  The phrase—which means “Thanks be to God”—is the traditional Benedictine greeting that monks offer visitors.

There is a running joke among preachers that if the lessons seem too tough to tackle, you can always “preach the collect” or, in the absolute worst case scenario, “preach the Lord’s Prayer.” I’ve preached the collect a time or two, but never have I been so bold as to preach the Lord’s Prayer.

New today from the Century: Bashing the mainline, preaching the Lord's Prayer, more.

When Rachel Marie Stone offers homilies of food redemption rather than damnation, it may feel like a lovely if disorienting kind of grace.

It has been a season of losses. I've been reminded of the importance of knowing how to respond, and how not to.

 I wished that Hosea and Philemon were not in the lectionary. My reasoning? I don't like that the books uphold the notions of people being bought and sold as property.

Greg Sargent reports on how those GOP House members who want to pass comprehensive immigration reform intend to get enough of their caucus on board to do it. He includes their re-exploration of this doozy: keep the rough outline of the Senate’s path to citizenship, but require people to admit their guilt—and instead of calling the middle category “legal status,” call it “probation.” Problem solved: we’re still Tough on Crime!

New today from the Century: John Buchanan on grief, Carol Howard Merritt on bad biblical metaphors, more.

At 52 I was lead pastor of a large, vibrant church. Then I was diagnosed with ALS, and I began to call on my faith community in a new way.

The verdict in the Trayvon Martin case shows that a trial can be fair as far as the law goes, while the nation falls far short of offering justice to all.