by Fran Pratt | Feb 24, 2021 | Opinion
I’m a firm believer that Lent, practiced consciously, is a guardrail against spiritual bypassing. The regular observance of seasons of austerity, lament and penance, which we Christians get in Lent and Advent, guide us to enter into aspects of the human experience...
by Ray P. Miller | Jul 27, 2020 | Opinion
“Pastor, this has been overwhelming for my family.” “I feel like I’m stuck in grief because we did not get to mourn with our friends and family.” “I miss singing with my friends at church.” “I have not seen anybody in four months except the nurses who come to check on...
by Dale K. Edmondson | Jun 4, 2020 | Opinion
My date book showed I was to attend a performance of Brahms’ Requiem one afternoon at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. The hall, of course, is closed; there was no performance. Yet can the Requiem somehow still lift my spirits? Donning the Bose headphones my...
by Mary Elizabeth Hanchey | Apr 9, 2020 | Opinion
To say that “being the church” is a topic of debate is generous. There are as many streams of thoughts – raging rapids, in fact, on the topic, as there are about parenting or healthy eating or what makes good barbecue. Certainty abounds among those who proclaim what...
by Alan Rudnick | Oct 30, 2019 | Opinion
Expressions of grief, support and lament over two very public deaths filled my Facebook feed recently. Both people were active in bringing a focus on mental health issues in communities. One was a professor of counseling, and the other was a well-known West Coast...