The work of interim pastors is not often appreciated, but it is necessary.
At a young age, Union Presbyterian Seminary student Amanda Shanks felt a call to ministry. Having no model for female leadership in the church, she ignored it until two years ago. What changed?
Outlook intern Colin Farmer shares how he sometimes feels alone in his desire to end hate and corruption. Yet, even the prophets, he remembers, are called to love their neighbors.
A poem-prayer for waning seasons and bittersweet changes by Shannon Beck.
Ben Weakley spent 14 years in the U.S. Army, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He reflects on the cost of killing and the work of healing.
Sometimes, pastors need help finding the right words. Rebecca Gresham shares a resource she turns to when she's tired, overwhelmed, or feels at a loss.
“When we welcome sabbath, we welcome the holy,” writes Maggie Alsup.
Jodi Craiglow examines the practical theology of summer blockbusters “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.”
What does it mean to "love thy neighbor as thyself" when you struggle to love yourself? Colin Farmer reflects on this question.
When 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered, his mother Mamie boldly decided to publish pictures of his brutalized body, revealing the violence of racism to the nation. In the campaign to end gun violence, what can we learn from her courage and creativity, writes Jeremy Wilhelmi?
Reflecting on the 1984 fantasy film “The Neverending Story,” Karie Charlton shares her decision to dissolve her call.
“Slowing down carries with it the risk of boredom, but it also carries the freedom of genuine rest.” — Rachel Young
You can pluck a string on a cello and a nearby cello will sound out with the same chord. The Sabbath works this way too, Nadine Ellsworth-Moran writes.
"A 'day of rest' wasn’t going to be enough to heal my brokenness. ... I needed to feel the balm of sabbath on me at all times if I was going to continue living in this world." — Dana Moulds
Intentional rest is inconvenient, writes Linda Kurtz. How can embrace the challenge?
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Professor Roger Owens reflects on the nature of humor and humility.
Rebecca Gresham reflects on the difference between sabbath and self-care — and how some activities can be both.
Aaron Neff reflects on sabbath in conversations with parents and a rabbi.
Reflecting on T.S. Eliot’s “Gerontion” in light of a family health scare, Jenny Lee discovers a way forward through faithfulness — to God and to each other.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman shares how an hourly break at his community pool gives his family a glimpse of sabbath.
Did King Saul have PTSD, Elana Keppel Levy wonders? Perhaps. What she knows from her own life is this: surviving is an act of courage.
Brian R. Louis, a pastor in southern Arizona, shares the hate and love he experienced at a recent Pride parade.
Ashley Mason Brown offers concrete ideas for how faith leaders can assist with lowering the rate of gun violence in the United States.
Responding to the Southern Baptist Convention's actions to bar female pastoral leadership, biblical scholar Frances Taylor Gench reflects on how the PC(USA) engages Scripture that instructs women to be subservient such as 1 Timothy 2.
There are whispers of a "Ted Lasso" spin-off, but Brendan McLean doesn't want one. Applying the hospice principle of a good death to a beloved story can lead to something profound, he writes.
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