Jeremiah 18:1-6 Art in Me is a song written by Dan Haseltine, Steve Mason, Matt Odmark, and Charlie Lowell–otherwise known as the band “Jars of Clay.” They are three-time Grammy award winners who recently released their 11th album [Inland]—this time under a new label. Jars of Clay, in 2007, left the contemporary Christian label […]
Luke 13:10-17 Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Clip to Watch… Les Miserables, the 10th Anniversary performance of the musical adapted from the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. Jean Valjean, a person from a poor family who gets arrested for stealing a loaf of bread. He spends the next 19 years in prison doing […]
Luke 7:1-10 Two weeks ago I was asked to be a part of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Disparities in Health Care Symposium. My role was to find members of particular religious traditions who had medical experience to participate in a panel. The symposium’s purpose was to educate medical students about minority health disparities in cancer […]
Acts 9:36-43 Psalm 23 I had prepared to say something different, but Monday came and Boston became a focus for many, and as the week went on, things changed. I am not ever sure that words are adequate in this kind of situation. But when I feel compelled to respond, that means I should. As […]
John 20:19-31 Some of you know that from March 16-23 I decided to participate in a program of the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia and the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire’s Better Together initiative. The program was called Interfaith Encounters Alternative Spring Break. There were 44 students from the school from around the world, hailing […]
Hello, Friends! Starting Saturday, March 16th until Saturday, March 23rd, I will be participating in the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia’s Interfaith Encounters Alternative Break program with the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire. We will be visiting 8-9 different faith communities in order to learn about and experience their faith practices, and to reflect on […]
Luke 21:25-36: The Fantasy of Hope The first Sunday of Advent is known as the first day of a new church year. Christian Churches [Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox] around the world start with the stories of the prophets and the gospels in late November/early December and then walk through the stories together, leading up to […]
Ruth 3:1-18 Fear, Anger, and Sadness: Who Walks with Us? No matter what age we are, or where we are on our journey—I think all of us know what it’s like to be scared, angry, or sad. When I was a kid, I moved a lot. I remember my first day of middle school in […]
Genesis 6:5-22 Right?! Yes, that is the famous comedian, Bill Cosby, doing one of his earliest and most well-known routines, Noah. That was part one of his routine which portrays the Genesis story in a more honest way. And for those of you who did not get the Candid Camera reference [very old school], just […]
John 6:35-51 NYE Reflection #4: Imitating Bread VIDEO/STORY: JR Martinez: you have a voice: you want to make a change? JR Martinez’s story is inspiring. In the blink of an eye he went from a confident nineteen-year-old in Iraq cruising in the desert in a Humvee to a helpless, burning soul trapped inside a […]