Successful Earth Day at Solomon Center

Tell me a story, she begs. And I don’t think it’s just because she’s trying to postpone bedtime. At least, that’s not the complete reason. As I weave a story, part fantasy, part recollection, my sweet daughter curls into me. Tell me a story, he asks....(View this...

The image of the refining fire of God is a popular one in scripture, appearing several times in both the Old and New Testaments. God serves as refiner, burning away our impurities, burnishing us into a fine luster. Of all the precious metals, why does the psalmist—and...

A family friend made his fortune and retired early. He bought and renovated a large cattle ranch, turning one of the dwellings into a Christian retreat center. At the entrance was the sign: “Welcome to Narrowgate.” Across the driveway stretched a cattle ....(View this...

Maybe you’ve heard it this way: “When you point at someone else, three fingers point back at you.” In other words, when you cast blame on someone else, you should also take stock of your own culpability. There’s usually plenty of blame to go around. ....(View this...

From the Archives: December 3, 1942None of us believes that God wills war: it is contrary to the whole spirt of Christ, and we seek to banish it from the earth. But we do believe that God sometimes works in war, through bravery, sacrifice, a....(View this reading and...

Although I am not a biblical literalist, I wonder if this is one passage we are meant to take quite literally. I’ve been reading about the Art of Neighboring, an initiative that asks neighbors to move beyond platitude to authentic relationship. The program....(View...

In the same way Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, we pray the Lord’s Prayer at most worship services. For me, the prayer is sometimes rote, flowing from my mouth as automatically as a blessing after someone sneezes. But at other times, the prayer is potent and...

On my birthday, I hoped the lectionary would give me some sweet passage, the kind that turned easily into a Hallmark card or inspirational meme. Instead, we start with atonement sacrifices in Leviticus and end with this stern warning against swagger and preening in...

Greta Thunberg doesn’t seem like a likely prophet. Yet at sixteen years old, she shamed the United Nations’ General Assembly for their unwillingness to take substantive and swift action to combat climate change, and she inspired millions of people to join the...

It’s a lot to handle, this world. Angry, determined people stand firm and unwavering on all sides of every issue. In the United States, we are rocked to and fro by a vicious election season in which it feels like the only possible outcome is absolute victory or...