By Eric Metaxas, Religion News Service… A new film about Jackie Robinson, titled 42—the number he wore during his historic career—tells the triumphant story of how the civil rights icon [...]
Read More...Faith is balm for ‘collective grief’ after tragedy
May 8, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Julie Yarbrough, Special Contributor… “We know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4, CEB) When an entire community is stunned and shocked by large-scale loss, most recently the explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, a kind of collective grief envelops everyone touched by the tragedy. Usually this grief is exponentially more intense in small communities where there are far fewer than six degrees of separation between neighbors, friends and family. People know each other personally and intimately, many related by birth [...]
Read More...Case ‘is’ a horror, but no reason to leave RCRC
May 6, 2013 Posted by 2 Comments
By Steve Copley, Special Contributor… The Kermit Gosnell case is as horrible as you think it is. And it illustrates precisely why it should not be used to argue for [...]
Read More...How will United Methodists respond to Gosnell horror?
May 6, 2013 Posted by 9 Comments
By Matt O’Reilly, Special Contributor… United Methodists have an impressive record for faithfully responding to tragedy. In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, Methodist congregations responded with an outpouring of [...]
Read More...Commentary: Faith the size of an indie filmmaker
April 30, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Kenny Dickson, Special Contributor… I recently attended the Dallas International Film Festival. This was my fifth year to attend, and again I was inspired by the filmmakers who submitted [...]
Read More...Photo challenge gives us ‘companions on the journey’
April 30, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Sophia Agtarap, Special Contributor… I have served since last September as minister of online engagement for the UMC’s Rethink Church campaign. My task? Reaching out, engaging in and encouraging conversation on social media with 18- to 34-year-olds who feel disconnected from the church—as well as those who have chosen to stay—about the intersections of faith, spirituality and culture, and what the church is and could be. As a 30-something young adult who spends much of her life immersed in social media, I see over and over the ways the church [...]
Read More...Consider the consequences of a UMC breakup
April 25, 2013 Posted by 1 Comment
By Ted Campbell, Special Contributor… The possibility of dividing the United Methodist Church as a way out of persistent conflicts over homosexuality has been raised enough times in recent years to warrant serious reflection on what it would entail. The fact that Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Lutherans have all seen either formal divisions or significant withdrawals of congregations from their denominations over these issues does not bode well for the UMC. But as tempting as the idea might be as a way out of our conflicts, we would have to think [...]
Read More...Ten reasons why UM bishops shouldn’t meet in private – from a retired bishop
April 24, 2013 Posted by 3 Comments
By Joe E. Pennel Jr., Special Contributor… As one of the retired bishops I join those who are concerned about the active bishops meeting as a closed “forum,” as they are scheduled to do in San Diego from May 5-8. The word “forum” is a public word. Its derivation comes from the open space or market place in an ancient Roman city. It is also used by organizations that hold public meetings for reflections and discussions around themes of common interest. It should be noted that the active bishops are [...]
Read More...Commentary: Reaction to Mumford reveals trouble with labels
April 23, 2013 Posted by 2 Comments
By Cathleen Falsani, Religion News Service… Labels can be helpful when, for instance, applied to cans of soup or barrels of toxic waste. But they are less so when affixed [...]
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Lambrecht: Don’t ignore Scripture in weighing UM position on homosexuality
By Thomas A. Lambrecht, Special Contributor… I appreciate the opportunity to engage the views of the Rev. Thomas Ogletree, who currently stands charged with performing a same-sex marriage in conscious [...]
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