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February 10, 2021

Volume 138, Issue #3
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Features

How My Mind Has Changed

The surprising gift of knowing my vocation

How I became the kind of person who wants to do the work to which she’s called.

by Ellen F. Davis

First Person

Naming my African American ancestors to keep them alive

Their presence brings strength to those still fighting and grieving.

by Yolanda Pierce

A jail visit and a promise to a mother

This was Deputy Kiosha’s house, and I was in it.

by E. Carson Brisson

Beloved Everybody, an ability-inclusive church that embodies the beloved community

At this church, people with and without disabilities both worship and lead.

by Andrea Perrett

Interviews

Rebuilding refugee resettlement to make it better than it was under Trump—or Obama

“The last four years were incredibly hard. But we also know that the system was not perfect four years ago.”

Amy Frykholm interviews Krish O’Mara Vignarajah

Books

Is preaching “all Jesus” or “all me”?

Jerusha Matsen Neal writes for preachers who stand in the messy middle.

by L. Roger Owens

What do fertility rates have to do with secularization?

A lot, says Philip Jenkins—but it’s not as simple as cause and effect.

by Alexandra Greenwald
image of book cover

The view from Rebekah Taussig’s wheelchair

Sitting Pretty showed me how much I have to learn about ableism.

by Elizabeth Felicetti
image of book cover

Faith and work have long been torn apart

How can we stitch them together?

by Amar D. Peterman

Departments

Faith Matters

Considering the trees on Ash Wednesday

Each tree in my neighborhood is the tree of life.

by Isaac S. Villegas

On Art

Untitled, by Kreg Yingst

Kreg Yingst’s diverse contemporary and historical interests converge in his work with block printing. Each of his affecting pieces includes an amalgam of quotes, portraiture, symbolism, and story—and each has a radiant musical quality....

art selection and comment by Lil Copan

Machanic Manyeruke and the gospel music scene in Africa

James Ault’s new documentary offers a window into a vast and exciting musical world.

by Philip Jenkins

From the Editors

The federal death penalty and the Trump administration’s last-minute killing spree

The first federal execution in 17 years took place last summer. Twelve more followed.
First Words

The crumbling myth of American exceptionalism

To believe that moral values and virtuous leadership are self-enforcing is to fool ourselves.

by Peter W. Marty

News

Capitol violence brewed from nationalism, conspiracies, and Jesus

Moments before the assault on the US Capitol began on January 6, a mass of Trump supporters gathered at a northwest entrance....

Jack Jenkins

Heathens condemn storming of Capitol after Norse religious symbols appear amid mob

The flags emblazoned with “Jesus 2020” and the cross, the most easily recognizable symbol of Christianity, were hard to miss amid the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6....

by Emily McFarlan Miller

Israeli plan to vaccinate all Holocaust survivors draws praise, skepticism

An Israeli government initiative to help vaccinate Holocaust survivors worldwide against COVID-19 is drawing praise for its intentions but also skepticism....

by Michele Chabin

Senate race thrusts ‘Black America’s church’ into spotlight

For decades, the redbrick Gothic Revival church where Martin Luther King Jr. once preached has been a monument to the history of Black Americans’ fight for civil rights and the legacy of an activist icon....

by Aaron L. Morrison

Methodists in Oklahoma form lay monastic order

For some, the term monasticism may bring up images of chanting monks or helpful nuns. For Matt Scraper, monasticism is an important part of his life and faith as an elder in the Oklahoma Con­ference of the United Methodist Church....

by Meagan Ewton

People

Megachurch pastor Kirbyjon H. Caldwell sentenced to prison

Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, a Texas mega­church pastor and former spiritual adviser to two US presidents, has been sentenced to six years in prison for bilking investors out of millions of dollars....

by Juan A. Lozano

People

Dina González-Piña named head of West Coast Mennonite Central Committee

Dina González-Piña has been named executive director of  Mennonite Central Committee’s West Coast regional office. Previously, she served as the ethnicity and gender equity specialist for MCC’s US national office....
People

Catholic activist Patrick O’Neill reports to prison, takes up new cause

On January 14, Patrick O’Neill reported to the Federal Cor­rectional Institution near Elkton, Ohio, to serve a 14-month sentence for breaking into a nuclear submarine base as part of a symbolic nuclear disarmament action he took with six other Cat...

by Yonat Shimron

Lectionary

February 28, Lent 2B (Mark 8:31–38)

Peter has guts. He reproaches the very one he identifies as anointed.

by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

February 21, Lent 1B (Mark 1:9–15)

Jesus is attended to by angels—and wild beasts.

by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

February 17, Ash Wednesday (Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21)

The distinctions between how we love God, neighbor, and self are not terribly thick.

by MaryAnn McKibben Dana

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