After working for the last six years on a means to provide mutual recognition of baptism with several Reformed Protestant denominations, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted in favor of the measure at their annual Fall General Assembly. While similar agreements have been reached in other countries, this is the first of its kind in the United States. According to Religion News Service, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, chairman of the ecumenical and Read More …
Review of Changing the Script (#0188)
Daniel Schultz. Changing the Script: Authentically Faithful and Authentically Progressive Political Theology for the 21st Century. Ig Publishing: 2010. ISBN: 9781935439141. Meet the Author Daniel Schultz is pastor of Salem United Church of Christ in Wayne, Wisconsin. He is also the co-founder and contributor to Street Prophets, which is an offspring of Daily Kos that seeks to mobilize "progressive people of faith to name, discuss and take action on Read More …
Lessons I am Learning (#0187)
For those in liturgical congregations, this Sunday’s celebration of the reign of Christ will mark the end of the church year. Next Sunday, November 28, we will begin a new year with the season of Advent. As we near the end of this year, I have been reflecting on my journey of faith over the past twelve months. Three experiences have played critical roles in informing and continually reforming my faith: Exploring Experience: After serving five congregations in lay or Read More …
Reign of Christ / Christ the King (#0186)
From Christ the King to Reign of Christ to . . . This Sunday is the final Sunday of the liturgical year: Christ the King. Carey Gardner Mack provides a brief history of this new addition to the church year: Christ the King Sunday is a relatively new development. It does not bear the history of many long-held church traditions such as All Saints or Christmas or Easter and does not possess the deep and traditional biblical backing of these celebrations. Pope Pius XI brought Christ the Read More …
Churches Embracing Social Media (#0185)
Catholics and Protestants are uniting around the importance of social media. Earlier this week at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops annual Fall General Assembly, Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana, a member of the Communications Committee, gave a speech in which he said: Although social media has been around for less than 10 years, it doesn’t have the makings of a fad. We’re being told that it is causing as fundamental a shift in communication patterns and behavior as Read More …
Review of Whose Gospel? (#0184)
James A. Forbes, Jr. Whose Gospel? A Concise Guide to Progressive Protestantism. The New Press, 2010. ISBN: 9781595583970. Meet the Author James A. Forbes Jr. is a leading voice in the progressive Protestant movement. In 1989 he became the first African American to serve as Senior Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City: a congregation well known for its promotion of progressive causes and self-described as interdenominational (American Baptist Read More …
Review of Jesus Died for This? (#0182)
Garrison, Becky. Jesus Died for This: A Satirist's Search for the Risen Christ. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 9780310292890. Meet the Author Becky Garrison is a contributing editor for Sojourners and has also written for Killing the Buddha, Religion Dispatches, The Revealer, Geez Magazine, The High Calling and the now defunct Wittenburg Door. Additionally, she has written several books in recent years including: Starting From Zero with $0: Read More …
Preparing Visitors for Communion (#0181)
Preparing Visitors for Communion/Eucharist/Lord’s Supper Most congregations celebrate Communion/Eucharist/Lord’s Supper in their corporate worship services on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, once a quarter, etc.). While those who attend regularly know what to expect, newcomers do not. As guests are seated and begin to prepare for worship they may note the elements and wonder: Is everyone welcome at the table or only those with certain beliefs or membership? Should Read More …
Reading the Whole Bible (#0180)
Who Reads the Bible? Considerable research has been done regarding Bible reading. Most research focuses on the percentages of people who read it and how often they engage in that behavior. In What Americans Really Believe, Rodney Stark reports that 28% of Americans (24% of women and 32% of men) read the Bible at least once a week (p.64). Very little research has been done regarding those who have read the entire Bible. Earlier this week, New Testament scholar Scot Read More …
Initial Experiences with RockMelt (#0179)
Meet RockMelt RockMelt is the new web browser everyone is talking about. Founded and financed by a group of Netscape alumni, which includes Marc Andreessen, RockMelt is based on Chromium: the open source project behind Google’s Chrome browser. RockMelt has been constructed with the understanding that most online activity today revolves around socializing on Facebook, searching on Google, tweeting on Twitter, and monitoring a handful of favorite websites. It is currently Read More …