The Front Page
Our new form of the old Sacramentarian controversy must not become divisive. If our polity can accommodate Presbyterian bishops, lay moderators, deaconesses and erstwhile catechists, we should acknowledge the need to appoint suitable laity to celebrate the sacraments...
"Articulating Belief" by Stephen Hayes
"Living with Living Faith" by Laurence DeWolfe
"Ancient Faith" by Duncan Cameron
Your generous contributions provided more than $130,000 for your magazine’s work.
by Pamela McCarroll
I made my way onto the subway one cold December morning. I found myself squished amidst the crowds, tense about the fellow who was yelling out at the world words I couldn’t understand but I could feel with a jagged intensity; irritated by the teenager who played her music loud and sang along unaware of all of us around her; judgmental of the woman who was desperately trying to keep her child from leaping out of her hands.
by William Craig
It is not possible to be “in the Spirit” without recognizing the cross and sacrifice of Christ in an act of surrender and contrition. I know that I fall short of God’s glory. No one other than Christ has lived a day without sin. I meditate on these matters every day and review in my mind’s eye how I see Christ on the cross. As I draw close to him with a humble and contrite heart, I thank him.
by Agnes Duke
Hands: Agnes, haven’t you gone overboard in this? Hands are hands, doing what hands are made for … cooking, eating with, sewing, knitting, troweling, planting, bathing, dressing, and combing, washing dishes, bread baking, and whatever else you find for us to do.
"The Light of our Life", by Jennifer O'Farrell.
The headline in one of my community newspapers said it all: Low Murder Rate [an] Anomaly: Cops. It was a classic case of not letting facts get in the way of a good story.
My local police chief wanted to assure us that just because we’ve only had three murders since 2008, it’s bound to get worse. And so the deployment of some homicide officers to the traffic division is, he promised, only temporary.
Since James Cameron’s Hollywood blockbuster Avatar became the highest grossing film in the world only a few weeks into its release, you have to think it’s saying something that speaks to people everywhere. Wikipedia says this about the theme of the film: “Avatar is an action-adventure journey of self-discovery in the context of imperialism and bio-diversity.” Put simply, it is a story about what makes us all one and, on the other hand, what tears us apart.
It was quite a night of television in mid-January with two Haiti fundraisers. The second of these was from the States, featuring international — mostly American — artists. Bruce Springsteen sang We Shall Overcome, Stevie Wonder did Bridge Over Troubled Waters; Jennifer Hudson Let It Be; Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and Keith Urban combined on Lean On Me; Justin Timberlake brought Hallelujah. I began to feel as if I was at some camp sing-song.
by Laurence DeWolfe
Maybe it’s a function of my crochety personality. I’m drawn to gospel stories where Jesus goes out of his way to offend religious people. Like the stories in the 15th chapter of Luke.
Forget all those church windows with handsome, muscular shepherds carrying sheep on their broad shoulders. Forget the Sunday school pantomimes.
by David Webber
“I am off bear huntin’, hun,” I whispered into the dark at a rumpled hump of goose down.
“Where are you going?” asked a sleepy muffled voice from the rumpled hump.
“Same place as always; two miles south of the power line at 12 mile on the Maze Lake Forest Road.”
