Life of Faith
A desert gospel in San Francisco
In Mark’s wilderness and in my city, life emerges in unexpected ways.
All we may become
We’re constantly in the process of growing into something more than we are today.
What the border wall does
I went to Tijuana with a group of US Christians to confront the theology embodied by a steel barrier three stories tall.
Citizenship by fiat
Political belonging isn’t naturally grounded in land, ancestry, or anything else. It is based on decisions that governments make and continually revise.
A feast day for the whole church
“The Feast of Creation in Christ names our need to celebrate God’s saving work in creation,” says liturgical theologian Kimberly Belcher, “and to do so together.”
My dying best friend’s wedding
She collapsed on the sidewalk the night of my wedding. Eighteen months later, I stood by her hospital bed and offered to plan hers.
The future of dying?
Physician-assisted suicide is morally complex. For Christians, it requires wrestling theologically with concepts like suffering, autonomy, and dignity.
Black holes and supernovas
One kind of pastor collapses everything into themself. The other expands until they forget where they started.
The social failure behind assisted suicide
Why are people in pain? Why are their illnesses incurable? Neither advocates nor opponents of PAS tend to ask these questions.
Thirteen seasons
Daniel Cooperrider trades the four seasons for the less familiar lunar calendar, stepping into the rhythm of creation.
Holy impatience
I’m tired of waiting for justice. But I am learning to face a world coming to an end with the gift of God who is World Without End.
Rhythms of life
An awareness of rhythm is central to our existence—biologically, socially, and spiritually.
Hope is mandatory
Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s son Hersh was held captive in Gaza for 332 days before Hamas killed him. Her memoir of grief is also about the faith that has helped her endure it.
Strangers no more
The compassion of Iraqi and Syrian migrants I’ve met has transformed me—and challenged my vocabulary.
Asking “Who am I?” with Bonhoeffer
As I face unexpected early retirement, I tell myself that the answer is not yet known.
Self-possession is justice work
Austin Channing Brown writes with honesty and tenderness about exhaustion, community, and the struggle to remain whole.
Dorothy Day never spoke of her abortion
A century later, I refuse to stay quiet about mine—despite the Catholic Worker movement’s tradition of silence.
Augustine gave me a language for staying alive
The Korean concept of hwa-yang-yeon-hwa has helped me embody the theologian’s idea of the beata vita.
Does it matter what happened?
After years of listening to people tell their stories, I’ve begun to think that healing depends less on facts than on meaning.