More than 46 million Americans — one in seven of us — gets help from the federal government to feed ourselves and our families. If you’re surprised at how many Americans receive help in buying food, you may be even more surprised who they are. As it turns out, millions of Americans with jobs also need the help.
Last night I asked on Twitter whether anyone was working on the essay about the theological significance of the red carpet coverage of the Academy
Have we focused upon church as a place to get fed – where possible with a wide variety of gourmet food? Hours are spent preparing the Sunday feast – a well crafted sermon, creative and well produced worship, beautiful prayers. And then the food critics kick in and argue about sermon styles, song choices or the professionalism of the event. Is this a healthy diet?
The Rt. Rev. Robinson Cavalcanti, bishop of the breakaway Diocese of Recife, and his wife Miriam have been murdered, according to media reports from Brazil. Police suspect the couple’s son Eduardo, whom they said attempted suicide after the murders.
What happened to your “religious participation”–however you might define that term–during your college years? What do those of you in college or in campus ministry find happening either within yourselves, or in the lives of those around you?
What I have noticed lately is a movement to what I call “home churching.” Parents who want their children to have faith and moral guidance and meaning for life, are teaching their children at home rather than sending them to Sunday school or taking them to church services.
Perhaps this is the hidden story of Emily Malbone Morgan–that she is a lesson in how our hearts and minds can change under the influence of God’s mercy and grace…which brings us back to why she has a spot on our calendar, her absolute devotion to intercessory prayer. The more we are connected to the rest of humanity, I believe, the less we feel different from the nebulous “other”–whoever “the other” might be.
Reading the biography of John Roberts, who we commemorate today, the thing that reached out and grabbed me was how different he was from probably almost every other white person the Arapaho and Shoshone people had ever seen or met. He treated them with respect, encouraging them to maintain their tribal languages, customs and traditions.
Just as the storm passed over us, in the final downpour with the wind still raging, he’d driven out to the beach. At first he just sat in the car, staring as the raindrops pounding on his windshield blurred the huge waves crashing against the beach. He wondered why he was doing this, or even whether he really would. Then he got out of the car, walked down close enough that he could feel waves shaking the land and he started to pace back and forth, shouting the psalm.
The hidden meaning of every discipline–and I’d be the last to underestimate their importance–is the softening and the opening of the heart for communion with God.