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Just before Christmas, our four-year-old daughter donned a green sequin costume with the rest of her ballet class and performed a dance routine for a packed auditorium of proud, swooning parents. The day before we had rushed in late to the dress rehearsal from an afternoon of last-minute shopping, having forgotten Sam’s costume. When we…

The Christmas story is about subversive beginnings, transformations that if you’re not attentive you’ll miss, but that mean a whole world of difference. A subtext runs through this story of a homeless couple’s journey ending in search of a place to give birth. They go where they expect to be taken in and are disappointed;…

Whiny children with grubby hands lining up to grab at the hem of Your clothes in the bread and the wine. Pretty please. Only an indulgent parent would begrudge the presumption with which we take the bite-size pieces or the desultory thank yous to Christ’s body and blood shed for you— maybe because You know…

Today concludes our Advent series “Holy Space.” Over the last few weeks as we have vicariously traveled to The Holy Land, thanks to travel photojournalist Katie Archibald-Woodward, I hope you, too, have had a chance to reflect a bit on what holy space has looked like—and looks like now—in your own life. What does it…

If you’re just tuning in, we’re finishing up an Advent series of meditations on “holy space” with the help of travel photojournalist Katie Archibald-Woodward on assignment in The Holy Land. The series, which has been running Tuesdays and Thursdays, concludes this Thursday. Here is Katie: Some Surprising Facts about Jerusalem: Jerusalem is actually the second…

Some Facts About the West Bank: CITIZENSHIP: Palestinians in the West Bank are not citizens of any country.  Technically.  By most they are considered an occupied territory, and occasionally recognized as a full-fledged state.  However, since the Palestinian Authority is not recognized as a government, at least according to U.S. State Department, then the land…

TIME magazine’s pronouncement of Pope Francis as “Person of the Year,” coming as it does after yesterday’s memorial service for Nelson Mandela, has sparked some thoughts on the making of these two great persons.  What unites them? A surprising number of things, maybe, but one quality in particular stands out. Humility, in a willingness to…

If you’re tuning in for the first time at this intersection between faith and God for anyone converted, unconverted or under conversion…we’re in the middle of an Advent series exploring “holy space.” You’re invited to share your own experiences of the Holy, and I’ll republish your reflections at the end of the week. In the…

The Avett Brothers’ album Magpie and the Dandelion has been accompanying me throughout the week, and the song “Souls Like The Wheels” has stuck with me. Here is lead singer Seth Avett performing the tune for all restless souls on the journey of learning to live and forgive through life’s hurts and obstacles:

I wish I’d had more experiences, well, any experiences, talking with Jewish Israelis about the occupation while visiting the Holy Land these two times.  My goal this recent visit was to learn more about the occupation overall.  I wanted to hear personal stories from Israelis and Palestinians: Christians, Muslims and Jews. For more see Katie’s…
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