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

  The Importance Of Learning To Be Unimportant (While Still Knowing You Are) Great holiday reading everyone. Putting FUN back into being dysFUNctional! Ok here it is! The book, hot off the press an hour ago (well the binders). You can read it, order it or download the ebook at http://aaronnebauer.com/the_importance Um, thank you and happy […]

November 29th, 2012 – by Ken Butigan By Ken Butigan Reprinted with permission from wagingnonviolence.org   I raise my hand in peace I never bow to the laws of the thought police I take a holy vow To never kill again
 To never kill again. –Neil Young, “Living with War” How can we tell the story of […]

ADMISSIONS —http://www.admissionsfilm.com/ — in 21 minutes paints a magnificent picture of what divides us and what can heal our relationships. Paths to hell and to heaven on Earth — each person’s choice — are made crystal-clear with powerful cinematic genius that goes straight to the heart and intelligence. Academy Award nominee James Cromwell stars with an […]

The Beatitudes sung by Aradhana in Hindi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UI25sayXk“ Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy Those who are poor in this world Blessed are they, blessed are they For the kingdom of heaven is theirs Blessed are they, blessed are they They who mourn in this world, will have peace The meek […]