Hospital shoeshine who earns just $10,000 a year has donated astonishing $200,000 from tips to sick children over 30 years  Albert Lexie has been shining shoes in lobby of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh since 1982 Drives 90 minutes to reach hospital and earns only around $10,000 per year Has been donating all tips to the […]

2011–2012 Horizons Bible Study. Illustrations by Ann Kim Confessing the Beatitudes by Margaret Aymer http://horizons.pcusa.org/biblestudies/1112beatitudes/beatitudes.htm The Beatitudes are some of the most beloved teachings of Jesus, yet they may well be some of the most pointed. We may miss their point, however, if we do not study them within their literary, historical, and cultural contexts. […]

Why is there disability? – Mike Duggan It has been asserted that religion offers no relevant answers to the query, “Why is there disability?” Answers are numerous and include the ideas that disability is: (a) a punishment; (b) a test of faith; (c) the sins of the fathers visited upon the children; (d) an act […]

Bismillah: Christian Muslim Ramadan Reflections Dave Andrews, Mosaic Press, 2012 It is not surprising that Dave Andrew’s love for Jesus moves him to observe Ramadan with his Muslim friends. This is no impulsive career change. Dave has always been motivated by his passion for living lovingly with an eye for social justice for the poor […]

Also you can check out this cool free app which send text messages to people over the easter period about what would have been happening in real time, from an eye witness to the events of Jesus death and resurrection. It works kind of like a liturgy over the 4 days. www.easterpassionapp.com

Here is a pretty cool little youtube clip that you might be able to distribute to your networks to help them in putting together their Easter gatherings this year. http://www.yesheis.com/en/v/follow

by Joan Acocella 2013 For the Church, Francis was too revered not to claim, too radical not to neutralize. “Why you?” a man asked Francesco di Bernardone, known to us now as St. Francis of Assisi. Francis (1181/2-1226) was scrawny and plain-looking. He wore a filthy tunic, with a piece of rope as a belt, and no […]

Ted Grimsrud I first read J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy in January 1977 when I was working swing shift in a plywood mill in Eugene, Oregon. For two months I had a job that allowed me to have my “lunch” hour by myself. So, I got a lot of reading done. Not only […]

David Prieb A few years back I sent out an update letter about the “What the Hell” Bible studies that I had been helping to facilitate while treeplanting in Canada.  About a year later I got an email from my friend Carl, who was writing a book about unique ways of sharing Jesus with those […]

Hugh Jackman, 44, who plays Jean Valjean, says he owes so much to his father. ‘Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Without him, I wouldn’t have had an inspiration for my role in Les Miserables. Dad underwent the same kind of life-changing experience that my character undergoes in the film. ‘Valjean steals […]

Posted: 01/03/2013 5:34 pm Morgan Guyton Associate Pastor, Burke United Methodist Church After watching “Les Miserables” in the theater, I wanted to stand up at the end and shout, “This is what Christianity really is!” kind of like what Peter Enns wrote on his blog. But there are two Christianities represented in “Les Mis” — by […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=luGRdGB2T3s#! Dave speaks about Jesus’ Beatitudes as the Blessed Revolution www.youtube.com