Each year at the end of October, Halloween festivities take center stage with many Americans tricking and treating in one form or another. And each year in the shadow of ghosts and ghouls and Batman capes, All Saints’ Day assumes the following act. On November 1st, liturgical churches consider, reflect, and remember what St. Paul... Continue Reading →
The last few weeks have been filled with feeble attempts to make sense of the senseless violence and continued oppression of our black and brown brothers and sisters. Thankful for Fleming Rutledge's directive towards scripture and it's unwavering stance to side with the oppressed which is seen most clearly in the rescuing work of Jesus.... Continue Reading →
In the small New England town my wife and I call home, cars no longer bustle through the downtown as most eateries and boutiques have indefinitely flipped their “Open” signs to “Closed.” I still hear the train most mornings but know it’s been running a reduced schedule, full of empty seats, heading to and from... Continue Reading →
In his recent book, Upside-Down Spirituality, truck-driver theologian Chad Bird recounts how he marks an “X” for each day finished on the calendar that rests on his semi’s dashboard: At the beginning of the year, that little calendar is in pristine shape. The top part candy-apple red, the twelve sheets of paper cotton white, their... Continue Reading →
Where we once sat in pews for a sense of meaning, we now sweat, work, eat, play, and parent to fill the void we think fulfillment is supposed to occupy. Religion has married the secular in an unholy union David Zahl calls Seculosity in his new book by the same name.
In 2018, Gus Van Sant (director of Good Will Hunting) added to his excellent directorial résumé with Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot. An under the radar biopic of late sketch artist John Callahan, the film examines his road to recovery as an alcoholic after a car accident leaves him as a quadriplegic. ... Continue Reading →
"If anyone should ask: What is certain in life and death – so certain that everything else may be anchored in it? The answer is: The love of Christ. Life teaches us that this is the only true reply."
A trippy tale of forgotten love, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind follows the relationship and subsequent break-up of Joel Barrish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet). Their story, in all of its indie glory, explores what life could be if we had the choice to forget pain.
In the game Jenga, players pull foundational wooden blocks from a block tower and place them strategically back on top. The tower gets higher and weaker, and all it takes is one misplaced block to bring it all tumbling down. If you’ve never played Jenga, but think you’d enjoy seeing the disastrous toppling of a poorly built design, look no further than the Netflix documentary Fyre.
The few days after December 25th may be some of the strangest days of the year with the climax of Christmas behind us and the dreary winter months ahead. At least for me, the heightened expectation of gifts and family is now replaced by a melancholy nonchalance accompanied by the looming question of "what do we do now?"
Both/And 