The Rev. Kim Jackson is a street minister and vicar of The Church of the Common Ground and is a State Senator in Georgia’s District 41.
Ever since my freshman year, I have toted around the same dog-eared, taped up, Revised Standard Version Bible that I bought in a college book store. It is an old friend, and I am deeply grateful to the American Bible Society for introducing us. Now when I see it, there is a pang of hurt and heartbreak.
I have a hunch that your favorite hymn is not only your favorite because it makes you tap your toes but that there is something about that hymn that is pointing you to how you enter into your relationship with God. Something about that hymn stirs something in you, pulls you, and takes you beyond yourself.
Remembering our friend and companion Ann Fontaine.
A private Episcopal school in Texas is being sued by a former students and his parents claiming that the student was bullied because of his race. The school, after giving one-day suspensions to the admitted bullies, is claiming that that it cannot open their records on this matter because it is a religious school.
One must tread carefully on Ash Wednesday, because what is called up on this day most centered on penance is at once deeply personal and very core to our being and identity. We are acknowledging that we can’t go it alone. We recognize our limitedness. Together we will stare into our mortality. We will face the fact that we are broken. Ash Wednesday is all about sin.
The Cafe’s longest serving contributor, Andrew Gerns, is signing off after ten years.
“I will do all I can to rebuild relationships, but that will be done from the position our Church has now reached in accordance with its synodical processes and in the belief that Love means Love.” – Bishop Mark Strange, Scottish Episcopal Church
If you went to the movies last week, you may have seen a preview for a movie about a small Episcopal congregation brought to life when a community of refugees join the parish. As they say, it’s based on a true story.
What I’ve found is a lot of kids who grew up in charismatic and evangelical churches were finding more relevance to their faith with things that were rooted and grounded in tradition, from Anglican to anything that had a liturgical, historical grounding to it.