Sitting Inside Loneliness
By B.J. Funk The Beatles released a song in 1966 that spoke of loneliness: Ah, look at all the lonely people/ Where do they all come from?/ All the lonely people/ Where do they all belong? Are you plagued with periods of loneliness? Do you feel sometimes that you...
Judicial Council eliminates another disaffiliation route
By Thomas Lambrecht In a newly released decision, the Judicial Council states, “the process in Par. 2548.2 may not be used as a pathway for local churches to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church.” This decision responds to a May request from the...
My Joshua Tree
By Steve Beard- Thirty years ago, I drove 500 miles with college buddies to see U2’s “Joshua Tree” tour stop in Houston. “I can’t change the world / But I can change the world in me,” Bono had sung on a previous album. Young and idealistic, I believed it then....
Learning to be beloved
By Tish Harrison Warren- I wake slowly. Even when the day demands I rally quickly – when my kids leap on top of me with sharp elbows or my alarm blares – I lie still for the first few seconds of the day, stunned, orienting, thoughts dulled. Then comes, slowly, the...
Are Your Prayers Big Enough?
By Scott McDermott- Are your prayers really big enough? And just in case you are wondering, I am not referring to prayers that are motivated by pride or greed. I am referring to the type of big prayer that has one agenda and one agenda only - advancing God’s work in...
Rooted in christ: Women Being the Church
By Katy Kiser- What should be the business of the church? For the women of the Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta Georgia, it is providing women with the opportunity to become Rooted in Christ. Their women’s ministry places equal emphasis on the spiritual...
Re-Imagining and the trivialization of doctrine
By James V. Heidinger II- The Re-Imagining Conference was billed as “A Global Theological Conference by Women, for Men and Women.” Held in Minneapolis on November 4–7, 1993, Re-Imagining was an ecumenical gathering associated with the World Council of Churches for...
A Woman’s voice for renewal
By Katy Kiser- As Dixie Brewster, spokeswoman for the Local Church Committee of the 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church, came to the stage to present legislation prepared by the Renew Network to amend Paragraph 256 of the Book of Discipline, women...
