First Sunday of Christmas — December 31, 2023
Philip Gladden looks at the connection between Christmas and Easter laid out in Luke 2 and Galatians 4.
Latest Posts
Podcast review: “Code Switch: Fearless Conversations About Race”
Dartinia Hull highlights a "Code Switch" conversation with author Alejandra Oliva. Perhaps paying attention can help us live into the Advent season, she writes.
A confession to close 2023: The rocks cry out
This year, rocks have witnessed war, gun violence, oppression, and global warming. They cry out, "How long, Oh God?" Let's join them, writes Jesy Littlejohn.
How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South
"All this leads McCaulley to ask: If there is a God, why has racism persisted for so long?" — Colin Farmer
The APCU partners with Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to offer post-graduate certificate for college chaplains
This will be the first and only post-graduate certification program focused specifically on the distinctive nature of a college chaplain’s work.
Love’s defiant song
How can the peace offered by God and the chaos of the world exist at the same time, wonders Maggie Alsup?
Drawn Again — A poem-prayer for Christmas Eve
Come, Lord Jesus — in the retelling of the familiar story, in the souls that gather to listen, writes Andrew Taylor-Troutman.
$1.25 million grant to help establish UDTS initiative to revitalize small churches
The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary has received a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish Plentiful Gifts: Nourishing Members for the Flourishing of Small Member Congregations.
Come alive, O Christ: A Christmas Eve prayer
Come alive, O Christ in every broken place so that love fills every gap, writes Jeremy Wilhelmi.
Moving in with Jesus: A grilled cheese parable
Eliza C. Jaremko shares some wisdom on the incarnation through the eyes of her 4-year-old.
New documentary tells the story of queer religious families in the Midwest
The movie profiles queer families and individuals living in the Midwest, grappling with their identity in a conservative and traditional environment.
Reckoning with violence and silence
Every Advent, I wonder: What is it like to truly live in peace? — Dartinia Hull
Preaching to polarized congregations: A responsibility and a challenge, clergy say
'It's not about going from red to blue to purple,' Andrew Hanauer of One America Movement advises clergy. ‘It's about going above the partisan divisions.’
Christmas Beatitudes
Christian Iosso writes: "Blessed are those who have no 'home for the holidays,' without jobs or funds to buy gifts, who have outlived their friends..."
Sing of Love — Weekly Christian ed lesson
This lesson will allow children to consider not only the love embodied in the little baby who will soon be placed in the manger.
Ahead of White House Hanukkah celebration, a wave of faith-led cease-fire demonstrations
The demonstrators, who were later arrested, noted the ongoing Jewish holiday, shouting, 'No Hanukkah to celebrate, cease-fire cannot wait!'
Embracing love: Celebrating successes and overcoming jealousy (December 24, 2023)
Love is not beholden to the myth of scarcity, writes Chris Burton. Elizabeth and Mary teach us this.
Order of worship — December 24, 2023/Advent 4B
You are welcome to use this liturgy in your online worship services and distribute it to your congregation.
Fourth Sunday of Advent — December 24, 2023
"We need not understand all the science behind awe to appreciate its gift and join the heavenly host in singing God’s praise," writes Teri McDowell Ott.
Scholar focusing on God’s human qualities wins Grawemeyer religion prize
Episcopal priest Charles Halton argues that embracing God as a deity with human qualities can bring us closer to God and inspire us to become better people.
How Hanukkah came to America
Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor festivals, but in the United States it has gained popularity as an expression of American prosperity and religious freedom.
Horizons — The lepers’ encounter
Rosalind Banbury's fifth reflection on the 2023-2024 Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible Study.
Is there room for mysticism inside the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?
Lydia Griffiths maintains there is rich diversity among Protestant religious thinkers when it comes to a transforming relationship with God.
Christmas is just the beginning
“This is no time for a child to be born ... [yet] love still takes the risk.” Teri McDowell Ott reflects on this Advent quote by poet Madeleine L’Engle.
Parties canceled. Celebrations toned down. Hanukkah won’t be the same this year.
With the Israeli military in the midst of a destructive showdown in its war with Hamas, many U.S. Jews aren’t in the mood for triumphant Hanukkah cheer.
Page 63 of 881