On the Way

by Kayla McClurg “The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real.” – Marge Piercy When the doctor calmly told me, in that sudden crazy phone call, that my heart had an urgent problem and I needed to get to the nearest emergency room immediately, I went. But not before walking up, then back down, a flight of 15 steps to get a book. I actually risked death to keep … Read More

by N. Gordon Cosby Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:23). From that moment they were in the stream of inexhaustible life. One receives the Holy Spirit by surrendering the ego to Jesus, who is then discovered deep within. He who surrenders that narrow ego, who loses his life, is the one who will find it. Creativity is a function of the inner imagination, not of the ego. The … Read More

by Andrea Burgard When it comes to church and the spiritual life, we tend to think it has to be more complicated than Jesus said. For 2,000 years people have thought up complications and followed them religiously, but too often they miss out on the abundant life, the peace that passes understanding, and the joy that knows no bounds. The reality is, life in Christ is simple, so simple that a child—or a destitute person … Read More

by Tom Howarth If a person existed on a steady diet of hamburgers and was suddenly switched to a diet of only fish, the chances are pretty good that he or she would not like it very much. Fish, like other things, can be an acquired taste. Similarly, churches, by and large, are not providing us with a diet of true Christianity but one homogenized with the values of our culture so as to be … Read More

by Gayle Boss Advent 1 The day is bright and warm for December 1, but the logs in the marsh pond are bare. Spring to summer into early fall they served, on sunny days, as spa to a dozen or so painted turtles. Basking, splay-legged, they would stretch their leathery necks out full length, avid for every luscious atom of sun-light and sun-warmth. Out of sight now, they’ve not escaped the harsher cold that’s coming. The … Read More

by Kate Lasso Traditionally, the Advent season begins with a period of penitence and fasting. Liturgically the use of purple during the weeks leading up to Christmas creates a visual connection between Advent and Lent, the two periods of preparation for Jesus’ birth and death. For early Christians, these four weeks were inextricably linked to the knowledge that Christ came as the “Word made flesh” to live among us and reveal God’s truth to the … Read More

by Kayla McClurg “I didn’t know what was so near, or that it was mine. This perfect sweetness blossoming in the depths of my heart.” – Tagore In community we begin to discover a desire for what we didn’t know was so near, or that it was ours. Traveling into the depths proves to be a lifelong journey, and happens best in community. One of the benefits of being in a church that strives to be on … Read More

by Dixcy Bosley-Smith About a year ago I had a spiritual crisis. A wilderness experience right in the middle of the GOP debate on religion and reproductive rights. It was related to a very special invitation to accompany an elderly friend to an event honoring him. Strangely enough, this great privilege thrust me into a place where I felt very alone. As a helplessly pathetic extrovert, I don’t do loneliness well. Don had been my spiritual director and sponsor for entering membership … Read More