Guest Post
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: sustainable congregations, elder care, more.
Ashes for wanderers
A comment on my recent rush-hour-communion post mentioned the Episcopal Church's recent practice of Ashes to Go, a form of "liturgical evangelism" that has brought congregations out into streets, bus stations, train stations and subway stations to dispense ashes on Ash Wednesday.
When I started to read about Ashes to Go, I had many of the same questions that I brought to early-morning communion. At first I thought, ashes to go? Whatever happened to liturgy and community? Aren't we just feeding into our culture's unwillingness to stop for anything at anytime? Can ashes really be offered like a fast food item at a take out window?
But once again, in the midst of these restless and protesting thoughts, another reality has stepped in.
Tuesday digest
New today (and yesterday) from the Century: ashes for wanderers, Santorum and poverty, more.
The Taiwanese Tebow?
A certain ritual of public
witness--thanking Jesus in the postgame interview, praising God for victory,
pointing heavenward after a score--has become routine behavior for devout
Christian athletes. Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is the most prominent
current example.
Another,
perhaps different approach--or perhaps not so different--may be emerging with
basketball player Jeremy Lin, who in recent weeks burst out of nowhere to
become a fan favorite on the New York Knicks.
He led captivity captive
Among Gospel epitomes I
especially love the Jesus prayer, the Agnus Dei and "When he ascended on high,
he led captivity captive"--the good news as I first heard it from Paul
(Ephesians 4:8) and Christ's Jubilee proclamation (Luke 4:18).
Friday digest
New today from the Century: Lauren Winner on fasting from anxiety, Carol Zaleski summarizes the gospel in four words, more.
Thursday digest
New today from the Century: Philip Jenkins on Muslims and Barnabas, Sarah Rossiter poem, Transfiguration and church buildings, more.
Bishops shift ground
In
a response to complaints from Catholic leaders, last week the Obama
administration revised its rule requiring some religious institutions to
include birth control in health insurance. The new stance was welcomed by some
Catholic organizations, including the
Catholic Health Association but was firmly
rejected by the Catholic bishops--who in doing so shifted the ground
of their own argument.
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: new entry in the "Ministry in the 21st century series," review of Kathryn Lofton's Oprah book, the bishops changing arguments, more.
College students on dating
In January, the Century published my interview with Kerry Cronin, who teaches at Boston College and gives
students an unusual assignment: go out on a date. Since then we've asked some
college students to respond to Cronin. Do they find her
dating advice off-putting? Valuable? Impractical? Strange?
Tuesday digest
New today from the Century: John Buchanan on vocation, college students on dating, more.
Monday digest
New from the Century: inmates and seminarians, Jesus and contraception, family and faith formation, more.
Thursday digest
New today from the Century: pretending the Bible, occupying our faith, more.
Wednesday digest
New today from the Century: Amazon, sales tax and the Century website; a review of the film Carnage; more.
God gets the last word
To be
sure, the second-to-last word, which can be very powerful, can be given to
something else.
Tuesday digest
New today from the Century: the memory of God, Martin Copenhaver's seven-word gospel, more.
Monday digest
New today from the Century: the editors on the contraception mandate, a stay-at-home dad on male privilege, more.
Friday digest
New today (and yesterday) from the Century.
The morning communion rush
When John Wesley sent missionaries to America, he said
simply, "Offer them Christ." That's what the Chicago Temple sees itself doing,
no questions asked.
Love your neighbor as yourself
This always seemed like hard moral advice that very few of us were really able to follow. But in recent times its meaning seems clearer.