By Amanda Hines The summer after my freshman year of college, I served as a camp counselor in Glorieta, New Mexico. All summer staff was asked to report to the camp weeks before the first groups arrived in order to go through all the necessary training. Those first...
By Scott Spreier The evening before our president’s threatened annihilation of Iran, I, like many, experienced a level of fear and anger I’d seldom felt before. It brought back my childhood Cold War fears of fiery nuclear annihilation on earth, then burning...
By Timothy Peoples In middle school, we had to run a mile every month in gym class. If you know me, you know sweating is not something I enjoy. Our school sat in the middle of cornfields, and our coach would stand in the road with a timer in one hand and a whistle in...
By Katie Murray Happy Easter, church! Yes, that greeting is still appropriate for the next six weeks. Today we find ourselves in the liturgical season called Eastertide, a season marked by our continued celebration of the resurrection, with special attention paid to...
By Heather Mustain Through word and song today we proclaim that resurrection is not only something that happened to Jesus long ago — it is something still unfolding among us. In our tradition we understand resurrection not as an escape from the world, but as God’s...
By Ariel Merivil I was recently asked, “What is your favorite church season to plan music for?” As a musician who has spent most of my working life leading worship, you’d think that would be an easy question. It wasn’t. And honestly, I’m still not sure I have an...
By Al Stewart Air fascinates me. It surrounds us completely and we hardly notice. We involuntarily breathe it. Only when breathing becomes difficult do our survival senses awaken. We then acutely recognize a desperate need depends on something elemental and invisible....
By Kelly Akins Lent is a time of waiting, but it is also a time of preparation. We must get ready. Seeds are growing, and plants are peeking out from underground. Are you listening? Can you hear God speaking in the stillness and the quiet? I wonder what God is trying...
By Abbey Adcox Sometimes our arrival in worship is gradual. Our bodies may be present, but our attention lags behind. Slowly, our minds settle into stillness, grounding us where we are. In today’s choral anthem we will hear these words from Psalm 46: “Be still and...
By Ariel Merivil When I started high school, the dress code required uniforms: khakis and a polo every day but Friday. By my junior year, the rules relaxed, and students could wear whatever they wanted, within reason. The first time my brother and I tried to leave...