Jesus Christ is Risen!
Billy Funk
In the desert of desolation, Resurrection sweeps us up in a roaring rain of life. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
The Art of Resurrection: From Certainty to Openness
Mark Schloneger
On Friday, Good Friday, many of us gathered in this very space. Together, we said: Look and see the shadow of sin. Look and see the weight of the world. Look and see the suffering of our savior. Look and see the sorrow of Jesus Christ. We sang hymns. We prayed to our forgiving, reconciling, […]
Practicing Resurrection
Dan Schrock
I In the last four weeks, I’ve been talking with Christians across the United States, from Virginia in the east, to California in the west; and from Minnesota in the north, to Florida in the south. I’ve listened to pastors, conference ministers, therapists, and spiritual directors. All of them are asking the same underlying question: […]
Out of the Dust
Mark Schloneger
All this pain, I wonder if I’ll ever find my way, I wonder if life could life could really change, at all. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That’s what we say at burials, isn’t it? “Seeing that the earthly life of our brother has come to an end, we commit his […]
Last at the Cross, First at the Tomb
Joanne Gallardo
I like to think I’m pretty familiar with the women of the Bible. From Ruth, to Deborah, to Tamar, and even Shiphrah and Puah, I’ve read these stories. I know these stories. I’ve thought a lot about these stories. I like to think that I reference them often. And I know that the Black church […]
Remembering . . . and Encountering
Dan Schrock
About 25 years ago, my mother died. Her death affected me so much that for several months afterward, I was disoriented. I had trouble mentally focusing on things and spent more time than usual staring out the window, daydreaming, thinking about her, trying to imagine what life would be like without her. I also had […]
A Table Full of Love
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
There is a lot of mystery that surrounds the resurrection. No one knows how it happened—there were no witnesses to the actual resurrection. It took place in the dark of a tomb. And in this last chapter of John, the mystery of resurrection, love and forgiveness continues. There is mystery too, that surrounds this last […]
Easter
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
The challenge of Easter is that we have heard this story so many times, we stop listening to it because we know what happens. We know how it ends. Jesus died, and rose again. End of story. Now what’s for dinner? That’s the challenge for all of us, preacher and listener alike. We know this […]
Who are These
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark…” The Easter account begins in the darkness. The pain and grief of Good Friday linger still as Mary Magdalene approaches the tomb of Jesus. Most of us prefer the joy of Easter to the grief of Good Friday. We prefer the grief […]
With Christ in our Eyes
Dan Schrock
One day many years ago in Columbus, Ohio, I was down on my hands and knees in the entryway of our church building, installing ceramic tiles. I was dressed in old, tattered clothes. My hands and blue jeans were smeared with grey mortar. Around mid‐morning, Moises walked into the building. Moises was a Colombian man […]
