writer | neighbor | public theologian
Kristin and I have lived in Northeast Minneapolis for over a decade, and in that time, like many of our neighbors, we’ve observed the ways that our neighborhood and many across Minneapolis have increasingly gentrified. Minneapolis is a great city, and folks want to live here, but unfortunately as neighborhoods are redeveloped many long-time neighbors…
This past Sunday’s Gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (John 4:5-42) sits firmly in my top five stories in the Bible. Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well has it all; deep theological tangles, historical symbolism, the crossing of societally imposed boundaries, and an incredible story of conversion and evangelism. Though not named…
The congregations I’m working with in my day job at the Minneapolis Area Synod have been recently exploring ways in to incorporate the neighbor in worship. For churches, worship is the central practice of community life and the language, rituals, stories, and symbols we center there form and undergird a community’s culture. So finding ways…
If you’ve lived in Minnesota for any amount of time, you know that neighbors and snow removal are intimately connected. Following a big snow, like the one we experienced last week, it is not uncommon in many neighborhoods to find neighbors shoveling or snow-blowing one another’s sidewalks and driveways, extricating vehicles from the piles of…
I had this moment in the middle of the pandemic’s height, one that I heard from many of my friends and family, where I realized that this virus had forced me to slow down, to stop doing some things, and gave me time enough to attend to my most precious relationships and my own wellbeing….
Full disclosure, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. I kept an eye on the score, and watched some highlights this morning, but I chose some other ways to occupy my time on Sunday. But one thing I did notice was the controversy and conversation around the #HeGetsUs ads. These short advertisements highlight modern human experiences…
The amount of time I’ve had the opportunity to spend with faith communities has convinced me that churches are eager to connect with their neighbors. There is a deep and profound desire to feel connected, and sadness that the disconnect has become so acute. Churches remember when they felt like an extension and essential association…
In her incredible book, “Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God”, Kelly Brown-Douglas writes, “Essentially, a free black person contests the notion that the world as it is is the way that God ordained it to be. A free black body literally points to the possibility of a different cosmic order.” The…
There is a constant question within the church about how to practice Christian community well. What does it mean to follow Jesus in this time and in this place? What does it mean to speak a word of God’s freedom in this culture and this moment in human history? The work of the church is…
Today the United States honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. We remember his leadership, his powerful voice, and his vision for the world as it should be. We remember his prophetic call to speak a word of Divine judgement to a country held captive by the evils of white supremacy and…
