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Faith Matters: The urgent need for a prophetic ministry for peace
10-18-2024 11:46 AM

By THE REV. DAVID JONES

I’ve been re-reading “The Prophetic Imagination,” a classic by biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann. In it he talks about the prophetic ministry of churches as being the result of two essential ingredients.The first ingredient is that a church must...

Displaying articles 1 to 20 out of 46 total.
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Faith Matters: The importance of waving: Recognizing one another, post-pandemic, pre-election
10-25-2024 10:12 AM

By HETTY STARTUP

Have you, like me, noticed a spate of large, at least twice-human-sized skeletons appearing around the Valley in time for Halloween this year? They sure are creepy and quite threatening even if they are completely fake. As signifiers of our mortality,...


Faith Matters: Let us be more curious than certain: Each person, whatever their political views, is made in the image and likeness of God
10-11-2024 10:01 AM

By THE REV. HEATHER J. BLAIS

Recently, we took our oldest child on a tour of my alma mater, Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Our oldest has always navigated life with an insatiable curiosity and desire to know more. I was eager for them to have a taste of the...


Faith Matters: An alternative to anger and hatred: Hatred blinds people so that they can only see evidence that supports their beliefs
10-04-2024 9:18 PM

By THE REV. RANDOLPH CALVO

Today is Oct. 5. Election Day is Nov. 5.A recent survey found that 90% of Americans can name a recent news event that made them angry while only 50% could name something that made them proud. This is a worrisome comparison of numbers as we approach...


Faith Matters: The importance of welcoming strangers: Remember that you were once an alien in a foreign land
09-27-2024 9:48 AM

By THE REV. ALISON CORNISH

When a message runs through the whole of scripture, it’s worth taking notice. The ancient imperative of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures — to welcome the stranger — is one of note for its insistence, its timelessness, and timeliness, too.First...


Faith Matters: Are you ‘spiritual enough?’: Activities that fill us up or connect us to others on a deeper level are actually spiritual
09-20-2024 10:23 AM

By THE REV. CINDY LAJOY

Have you ever judged yourself for not being “spiritual enough?” And what does that even mean? Today in America we often find people speaking more about their spiritual journeys than their faith or religious journeys, and for many that is a much better...


Faith Matters: Divine activity out in the farm fields: Reflections from an agricultural Anglican
08-30-2024 10:20 AM

By THE REV. JIMMY PICKETT

I have on my right arm a tattoo that reminds me every day why I serve as a priest in the Episcopal Church.I grew up in Leicester and spent nearly every weekend at my Great Grandmother’s house, an old red farmhouse with a big barn and a large field...


Faith Matters: A call to enjoy this life: Sometimes we all need to be nudged out of our comfort zones
08-16-2024 9:45 AM

By THE REV. JULIE G. OLMSTED

Recently, I saw a video featuring a performer named Rhiannon Giddens. The video was called “Another Wasted Life,” and featured a group of exonerated prisoners through an organization you may have heard of: The Innocence Project. I looked it up...


Faith Matters: Restoring a climate of hope and trust: 2025 marks another celebration of the great Jubilee begun by Jesus Christ
07-26-2024 2:45 PM

By THE REV. SHAUN O’CONNOR

Like a flame my hope is burning,May my song arise to You:Source of Life that has no ending,On life’s path I trust in youRefrain from the Hymn of the Jubilee 2025When Jesus begins his ministry at the synagogue in Nazareth, he reads from the scroll of...


Faith Matters: Embodying the spirit of Jeong: Universal values of mutual respect and love echoed across various faiths
07-19-2024 9:57 AM

By THE REV. DR. CANDI ASHENDEN

Before heading to South Korea in August to visit my son who teaches there, I did a little research into the religions of South Korea and was intrigued by what I learned. I discovered that South Korea, a vibrant country with a rich cultural tapestry,...


Faith Matters: ‘God’s Eye is on the Sparrow’: Unlike the fleeting nature of our troubles, God’s love is everlasting
07-12-2024 1:05 PM

By THE REV. DR. MEGAN E. LEARY

For my birthday last year my husband and sons gave me a bird feeder with a camera attached.The camera has a motion sensor that is activated when birds land to feed and then captures video of them eating. I have become enchanted with watching the...


Faith Matters: The dissolution of community: Observing the ripple effect of big changes in small towns
06-28-2024 12:52 PM

By THE REV. MICK COMSTOCK

I came to Heath in the summer of 1970, just out of seminary, as pastor of the Heath Union Evangelical Church and the Rowe Community Church. It didn’t take me long to learn that the pastorate was no longer a bully pulpit but was still a bully...


Faith Matters: How to build relationships across vast differences: We must be curious, venture out, welcome in, stand tall, stand with
06-14-2024 11:15 AM

By THE REV. ALISON CORNISH

One of the greatest joys in my 20 years of ministry has been getting to meet, learn from, worship with, and befriend those who identify as religiously different from how I name myself — a Unitarian Universalist. First on Long Island, then in...


Faith Matters: Coming out can feel like a miracle
05-24-2024 11:22 AM

By THE REV. VICKI IX

I have added my coming out to the list of miracles in my life — the glimpses of the resurrection I have been granted in this life. I count this moment as a blessing and pray for those who have not yet been able to say the words out loud.More...


Faith Matters: We are all in the same boat: Finding God and our common humanity in ‘the between’
05-17-2024 12:30 PM

By BEN TOUSLEY, M.DIV.

Years ago, I stood with some family members and a large crowd of strangers on a whale watch boat anxiously anticipating the appearance of the first whale. When the mighty leviathan breached the water quite close to one side of our boat, all let out a...


Faith Matters: ‘Glimmer moments’ can be found everywhere: The importance of finding and sharing moments of joy, peace and safety
05-10-2024 3:12 PM

By THE REV. LINDA M. RHINEHART NEAS

Have you heard of “glimmer moments?” I thought this was something cutesy that someone made up, but after doing research, I learned that it is actually a scientific term.The phrase “glimmer moments” was created by psychotherapist Deb Dana in an attempt...


Faith Matters: It gets better, and harder: Discovering a growing need to see your commitment all the way through
05-03-2024 12:14 PM

By THE REV. DAVID JONES

There is and there always has been within the Christian tradition a lively debate about the divinity of the person Jesus. We encounter it in our own pews at the holiest times of the year, in our unease, at Christmas, with the virgin birth, and in our...


Faith Matters: A pastor celebrating Passover: Unmasking false theology that has been used to justify antisemitism
04-26-2024 12:15 PM

By THE REV. RANDOLPH CALVO

This weekend, Jews are celebrating the feast of Passover. Passover began at sundown this past Monday and ends at sundown this coming Tuesday. Usually, Passover and Easter coincide on the calendar. However, this is a Jewish leap year. The Jewish...


Faith Matters: How to still the muddy waters of overthinking: Clarity, peace and God can be found in the quiet spaces
04-12-2024 10:43 AM

By THE REV. CINDY LAJOY

Have you ever walked through a season of your life where, no matter how hard you tried, you were unable to see your way through to the “other side?” Maybe you have been anxious for months about a major decision you need to make, but despite your...


Faith Matters: ‘A place where there is no man’: A call to realize that we are the ones we have been waiting for
04-05-2024 1:30 PM

By JASPER LAPIENSKI

“In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man.” (Avot 2:6)If you take just the second half of this statement, it sounds uncomfortably familiar: Be a man. We hear that a lot these days. Real men don’t cry; be a man. Shoulder the burden. Do your...


Faith Matters: Never-ending love is the message of Easter: As Jesus’ disciples of today, spreading this love is our mission
03-29-2024 12:23 PM

By THE REV. DR. CANDI ASHENDEN

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and many little children in our towns will wake up to discover that the Easter Bunny has arrived while they slept and hidden real and/or plastic-colored eggs around their living rooms or yards, perhaps along with some little...

Displaying articles 1 to 20 out of 46 total.
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