Word&Way Voices

Contributing writer Greg Mamula makes the case that we are not spiritually, emotionally, or physically ready for Easter until we have journeyed through Lent. If we over-emphasize the cross, our spiritual and scriptural imaginations have the potential to become closed off to the power of the full resurrection story.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy explores the ways that Marjorie Taylor Greene has come to represent a new form of Christians who work and pray for a rupture in deliberative democracy. This means that Republicans don’t just have a Greene problem – America has a Greene problem, and so does Christianity.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell offers us a poem as tribute to those who have had their lives changed by the pandemic. The struggles have been different for health care workers, parents, pastors, teachers, teenagers, the immunocompromised, service workers, and more.

Wendell Griffen reflects on the hypocrisy of President Joe Biden condemning Russia for a “premeditated war” against Ukraine when the U.S. is engaged in “premeditated” acts of violence on a regular basis.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, John Sianghio tackles some of the tough questions that come with international conflict: Are there situations that merit appeals to the divine to guide the use of force? Can (and should) we pray for war?

Contributing Writer Christopher Dixon reflects on prepping for marathon races as an analogy for the church as we reach the two-year mark of dealing with a ravaging pandemic.

Lauren Graeber makes the case that parents of young children are still languishing in 2022 and it’s part of the reason they’re not coming back to church. As positivity rates once again drop and parents don’t rush back, she suspects that the deeper motivation for staying home every Sunday is something harder to talk about than health metrics.

Lizzy Case – writer, theologian, and founder of Arrayed – argues that the mandate to love our neighbor often stands at stark odds with the current situation of many garment workers. But by consuming less and more mindfully as well as advocating for workers’ rights, we can live out our faith with integrity.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell examines why in the midst of pandemic uncertainty and disruption so many people choose to take on more responsibility through pet ownership. Something was awakened deep within us that connected us back to earlier times where our care for creation was much more direct and, frankly, necessary for survival.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy makes the case that much of what we are seeing in politics today can be traced back to the late 19th century populists known as the calamity howlers. Only this time the chief howler is not a rural farmer but a multi-billionaire shady businessman from New York.