Churches across the globe, Protestant but also Roman Catholic, will mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation later this month. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and theology professor, nailed 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The church door served as the community bulletin board and […]
Becoming like Little Children
August 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
When Jesus told his disciples one day that unless they became like children they would not qualify for entrance to the Kingdom he surely didn’t mean childishness. They had just asked a very adult question, a typically human question about status and privilege: “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?” His response – “become like […]
The Bread of Life
September 17, 2014 by 5 Comments
Living life as a Christian is, at least in part, a matter of practices, doing Christian things, developing habits of faith: praying, worshipping, singing, sharing, giving. Augustine wrote about cultivating the habit of Christian virtue in terms of four specific forms of love. When scholars take up the topic they are inclined to use the […]
A Sense of Common Ministry
June 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Father Andrew Greeley’s death last week set me to thinking about the changing relationships between Catholics and Protestants and the unique relationship between Catholic and Protestant clergy. Greeley suffered a tragic accident and brain injury five years ago and has been in ill health ever since. He died in his home on May 29th. He […]
Hold to the Good 
The Unconscious Revolutionary
It was Confirmation day at our church last Sunday. Twenty-two 8th graders sat in the front pews, stood up and answered some questions about their faith and promised to be faithful members of the congregation and of the church wherever they go in the future, and knelt as the minister and Elders laid hands on […]