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Since the years of Reagan and Thatcher, we have heard a steady drumbeat about the limitations of government. But what about the limitations of the free market?

I often feel that my whole time in ministry has been one when the word of the Lord is rare and visions not widespread.

I probably shouldn’t tamper with the wording of a song for the title of this post. Cee Lo Green has sparked a lot of controversy with his New Year’s Eve rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” in which he changed “no religion, too” to “all religion’s true.”

The Old Testament and gospel readings for Epiphany function as point and counterpoint. Isaiah offers a word of great comfort to those who have been so long in darkness. Impoverished as the hearers have been, honor and fortune are on their way. It's a message of rejoicing: the light that has dawned will make all who see it radiant.

New today (and yesterday) from the Century.

When clergy meet regularly in a "community of practice," they find that trust develops, anxieties diminish, and challenges turn into occasions for learning.

Impulsively, I e-mailed three other clergywomen and invited them to participate in a writing group. Their responses came quickly and enthusiastically: Yes. I'm in. I need this.

These seven books offer help in thinking about the structure and content of clergy peer groups.

I have never found the New Year very interesting. While I enjoy the celebration of Christmas, the New Year is basically a time to hang a different calendar on the wall and to spend the first month trying to remember to write 2012 instead of 2011.

One of the most disquieting aspects of our secularized society is the way some of faith's most treasured traditions have become devalued, trivialized and usurped.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog. Here are the ten posts people read the most this year.

Paul Farmer has a keen sense of the tendency to portray Haitians as helpless victims. This is well evident in his poignant chronicle of the year that began with the January 2010 earthquake.

Each week my church includes a prayer for the families of American soldiers who have died. As the names are read, I try to hold them in prayer. But I have wrestled with these prayers.

Every year, people gather in my hometown for an almost unthinkable challenge. During the Leadville Trail 100, athletes run 100 miles. The race is metaphorically fascinating.