by Chuck Poole | May 17, 2023 | Feature|Opinion
While it is rarely possible to say with certainty exactly when and where a word or phrase was first imagined or spoken, the now familiar phrase “social gospel” appears to have entered the lexicon of the church sometime in the late 19th century. “Social gospel” names a...
by Ron Rolheiser | May 17, 2023 | Feature|Opinion
There’s a saying attributed to Attila the Hun, a fifth century ruler infamous for his cruelty, which reads this way: “For me to be happy, it’s not just important that I succeed; it’s also important that everyone else fails.” I suspect that Atilla the Hun was not the...
by John D. Pierce | May 16, 2023 | Feature|Opinion
Snow and ice made for a slippery walk from the airport gate to the portable stairs of a prop plane that would take my family from one Norwegian town to another over the Christmas holidays. The plane’s interior was small — with just four seats per row, divided by a...
by Amy Butler | May 16, 2023 | Feature|Opinion
I’ve always been of the opinion that storytelling is the most powerful tool in a preacher’s toolkit. This is largely because I learned how to preach from one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met, Jim Somerville, who can spin a yarn like no other person I know. But...
by Starlette Thomas | May 15, 2023 | Feature|Opinion
It’s been one year since the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 dead and three wounded. Fueled by that toxic combination of hate and ignorance, I wonder what we, as a society, are missing. I do know who we have missed out on. Ten...
by Monty Self | May 15, 2023 | Feature|Opinion
California lawmakers voted on May 4 to loan $150 million to at-risk hospitals throughout the state in order to help prevent closures. This is partially in response to the Madera Community Hospital’s closure in December 2022, which left the county’s 160,000 residents...
