Hospitality or hierarchy? Fourth Presbyterian, Chicago, reckons with its past
Justin Myers shares how a recent discovery prompted him to wrestle with complicity, memory, and conformity.
Latest Posts
Grace Presbytery receives Lilly Grant
Grace Presbytery has received a grant of $1.25 million dollars from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish Renewed Grace: Transforming Worship Practices with Neurodivergent Children.
Stated Clerk Jihyun Oh on leadership, cuts, and accountability
Outlook Editor/Publisher Teri McDowell Ott sat down with Stated Clerk Jihyun Oh to discuss public statements, program cuts, and leadership decisions.
Stewards of sacred space: The story of John Knox Ranch’s conservation
Henry and Emily Owen share how John Knox Ranch secured its future through a conservation easement, protecting sacred land for faith formation, nature, and generations to come.
Ode to Everything
"Enough of the lamentations./ Open the window and sing!" — Marjorie Maddox
Pope Francis, charismatic reformer and disruptor, dies at 88
Francis leaves behind him a church still divided, but radically transformed.
Order of worship — May 4, 2025
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation.
Third Sunday of Easter — May 4, 2025
When faced with the extraordinary, will we choose transformation or retreat? Andy Greenhow offers a reflection on Easter hope, Acts 9, John 21, Psalm 30—and "The Big Lebowski."
The scroll and the lamb (April 27, 2025)
In Revelation 5, John proclaims Jesus—not Caesar—as Lord, calling believers to bold, holy resistance against tyrannical forces, writes Mark Hinds.
Why did Jesus die? Churches grapple with the mystery of atonement
In recent decades, some Christians have moved away from the theory of penal substitutionary atonement, which summons up the idea of an angry God who needs to be appeased.
Appreciate These Things: Eight Ways of Cultivating Compassion
How can we preserve our tender hearts yet be vulnerable enough to engage with the “other” in this current climate? Amy Pagliarella reviews Jill Duffield's new book.
The many lives of Stony Point Center
Christian Iosso reflects on Stony Point Center's 75 years of faith, friendship and formation — and their recent anniversary celebration.
The joy and sadness of Holy Week
Holy Week invites us to hold joy and sadness together—reminding us that Easter’s hope is richer when we don’t skip past the sorrow that precedes it, writes Maggie Alsup.
Theology in the Mode of Monk: An Aesthetics of Barth and Cone on Revelation and Freedom
"Carr’s project helps us more fully see, hear (and be challenged by) Barth and Cone in the fullness of their thought and the long polyphonic arc of its development," writes Derek Elmi-Buursma of Raymond Carr's new book.
Bearers of delight: Lent’s subversive call to joy
Lent invites us into a countercultural vocation of joy, writes Jess Rigel.
Mrs. Brown’s lessons on joy
Up a set of broken steps and behind a door needing paint, Mary Austin encounters a guru of joy.
Order of worship — April 27, 2025
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation.
Second Sunday of Easter — April 27, 2025
Karen Rohrer refelects on Jesus's ironic grace and inverted power.
Cross
A poem from the acclaimed poet Marjorie Maddox.
Writing and Rewriting the Gospels: John and the Synoptics
"Writing and Rewriting the Gospels" brings Occam’s razor to bear, leading to what Barker calls the snowball theory: Mark comes first. Matthew uses Mark. Luke uses Matthew and Mark, and John has access to all three (and Paul).
A letter to the church I love: Comfort or covenant?
Marissa Duffield loves the church, but they are beginning to wonder if the church loves them back.
The complexity of joy
Joy is an intentional disruption, writes Lakisha R. Lockhart-Rusch, an act of resistance and a spiritual practice to be open to the good.
Six impossible things before breakfast
Nadine Ellsworth-Moran explores how imagination is essential to faith, hope and community.
Presbyterians join push for ‘moral budget’ in Washington
Repairers of the Breach and supporters want to preserve safety net for children and other vulnerable members of society.
Do justice, love mercy, bring the stuffed tiger
Andrew Taylor-Troutman reflects on taking his daughter to a political rally where joy, justice, and a stuffed tiger reveal what it means to fight for a better future.
Page 30 of 888