Amy Frykholm
First Posadas
About a decade ago, the rector of our small Episcopal church began to incorporate Spanish into the liturgy. She didn’t do this because we had Spanish-speaking members. We didn’t. She did it, she said, to remind us that the liturgy doesn’t belong to us alone.
Families of faith: Sociologist Vern Bengtson
"Religiosity is a driving force more salient than belief. Agreement with specific beliefs is the least likely religious trait to be passed on."
Cavaliers, Borderers and immigration reform
Last week, House Speaker John Boehner announced that he has no intention of movi...
Questions for Carlene Bauer
"The big struggle for me as a young person was how to be someone who was interested in creativity and art and not losing one's faith to do it."
Faith as a romance
Carlene Bauer's characters create each other as pieces of their imaginations. They do the same thing with God.
What I'd like to say to the young Flannery O'Connor
The New Yorker recently published excerpts from Flannery O’Connor’s youthful ...
Pulled home
While Gravity doesn't pass the Bechdel test, it does feature a female lead in a story that isn't about romance or sex. But is it her story or Everyman's?
Out of Syria: Archbishop Cyril Karim
"On my first visit to the United States, someone asked when I converted to Christianity. I told him 2,000 years ago."
Insured in Colorado
I don’t have a sob story. My family is healthy; we’ve never been denied coverage. We are simply self-employed and want to stay that way. And paying for private, individual health insurance is an ongoing dilemma.
The Obamacare exchanges and me
I opened a letter from my medical insurance company the other day that informed me that as of October 1, my plan will no longer exist....
Russian & Lutheran: An interview with Dietrich Brauer
"Lutheran churches in Russia have an opportunity to be a church not of priests and charismatic leaders who know all the answers, but of a living people, seeing God's righteousness amidst all the unrighteous kingdoms."
Liberal arts for Muslims: Scott Korb on Zaytuna College
"The school believes that there is no way for Islam to grow in this country unless Muslims build institutions that approach the culture with openness."
How should the State Department engage religion?
This week, the State Department announced that Christian ethicist Shaun Casey will lead its new office for “religious engagement.” Within the network of the State Department’s various offices, this one stands out as potentially divisive and potentially useful. Under Hillary Clinton, the State Department turned its attention to nontraditional diplomatic partners—and she intentionally engaged, among others, religious partners. That focus has continued under John Kerry, resulting in the official announcement of this office.
But the U.S. government continues to face the issue of how exactly to engage religion.
Investing in boom-town infrastructure
Just how long will the North Dakota oil boom last? Some say that there’s decades of oil in the ground....
Dying in community: The black church and hospice care
The American hospice movement is thriving. But its growth has tended to neglect African Americans.
Ministry with the Overnighters
One key challenge for churches in the North Dakota oil boom is how to respond to the needs of many new resid...
Old-timers and newcomers
When I was in Williston, ND, reporting for the Century about churches in the oil boom, I found that l...
Landless in North Dakota
When I went to Williston, North Dakota to report for the Century on churches in the oil boom, I had d...