International Jewish-Christian Bible Week

Way back in 1941, then-U.S.-President Franklin D. Roosevelt began a National Bible Week, which was traditionally observed during the week of Thanksgiving. Ever since my earliest years of pastoring (well after 1941), I enjoyed celebrating it, and invited church members to read for devotions or study during that week in particular, to remind us of…

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Henri Nouwen

November first is All Saints Day: a perfect time to think about Henri Nouwen, Dutch Catholic priest, writer, & theologian. He taught for nearly twenty years at the University of Notre Dame, and at both Yale & Harvard Divinity Schools. Then he was pastor for ten years at L’Arche Daybreak, a community of people with…

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Poet Amanda Gorman

Did you hear that incredible young-adult poet recite her poem at President Biden’s presidential inauguration a few years ago? I was awestruck by her passion and love of country, calling us to band together as a nation and pull ourselves out of a dark place. —October 17 is Black Poetry Day, and you might not…

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Leslie Weatherhead “Awaiting Further Light”

October 14th was Leslie Weatherhead’s birthday. (He lived from 1893 to 1976). Weatherhead was an English Christian theologian (Methodist), and part of the liberal Protestant tradition in his thinking. He served as pastor of the huge City Temple in London from 1936 to 1960. Many traditional church folks considered him controversial because of his beliefs.…

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