It might surprise you to know (like it did me!) that the Christian summer solstice connection is to a Biblical character.
It might surprise you to know (like it did me!) that the Christian summer solstice connection is to a Biblical character.
There are many ways Christians in Indonesia celebrate Pentecost, the 50th day of the Easter season which marks the moment of the Holy Spirit’s descent, one of which is the unduh-unduh ritual. Unduh-unduh is a traditional Javanese Christian thanksgiving celebration for the harvest and good fortune.
In these trying times, I am encountering more people who are having difficulty with the institution of church. There are still ways to connect with your spirituality.
Hospitality is a very important characteristic among Kurds. If you knock on Kurds’ doors at any time of day, they will invite you in without hesitation and will be happy to share their food with you.
Last week, I stepped out of the classroom with twenty of my Wiyata Wacana seminary students from Pati, Java. We left our books behind and embarked on a pilgrimage — by motorcycle — along the north coast of Java, from Pati to Jepara. Why a pilgrimage? Because history learned through the soles of your feet feels different.
As the war with Iran unravels, it is as if a bulldozer is scraping together memories of my time in Iran and is dumping them out chunk by chunk for me to contemplate.
As Alisha and I have been sharing about our call to ministry in Scotland, it’s not surprising how quickly some people dismiss the very idea as invalid. Most of the time, we find it has less to do with the work we are called to and more with the narrow framework many people carry as to what cross-cultural ministry (or missions) looks like.
April is recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I would encourage you to stop and consider what actions you might take personally, as a faith community or in your local community to protect children and support survivors.
Life in First Nations reserves can be tough. Yet not all is grim on the reserve. In fact, spending a few weeks in a couple of these communities has been renewing and refreshing.
How did Holy Week – a time when Jesus rode a donkey, flipped the tables, and washed feet – become a time when we’re confronted with the sin of the quintessential false idol of the 1990s: THE BUNNY? (Any VeggieTales fans out there?)