Lent is a holy season of the church year, beginning with Ash Wednesday (March 1) and ending on Easter (April 16). It began in the early church as a time for preparing new converts for baptism on Easter. Today it is seen as a time...
Read MoreOn Sunday, February 19 the lectionary included verses from Leviticus 19 where Moses was instructed by God to tell the people of Israel: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. I doubt that many of us heard a sermon on...
Read MoreIn the hymn “Sois la Semilla (You Are the Seed)” numerous metaphors are used to describe our responsibility to “go to the world, proclaiming love to all, messengers of my forgiving peace, eternal love.” The metaphors include yeast, seed, salt beacon, sting, waves, shepherds, flame,...
Read MoreHow long, Oh Lord? Where are you God? The light of love is dim Have you forsaken us, O God? What’s wrong with this country? Heal us, Lord Have mercy on us! Hear our voices, please The people of Israel praised God, but they also...
Read MoreEach of us need to find the time and space to retreat into our inner selves for renewal, restoration, rediscovery and reawakening. A retreat is a spiritual discipline that can help us center ourselves in the God that is within each of us. Here at Scarritt...
Read MoreWe don’t often think of the connection between the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus and the Good Friday scene of crucifixion. But one hymnist made the connection. Charles Albert Tindley, an African-American Methodist pastor from the mid-1880’s until his death in 1933 made...
Read MoreThe word joy brings many images to mind. Joy is like the quiet rain, a child’s smile, a hug from a friend, the soft white snow on the pine tree, the gold of an aspen leaf against the blue sky, Easter, the unexpected gift, a...
Read MoreThe dictionary defines peace as a state of quiet, freedom from civil disturbance, harmony in personal relations, security/order in community, a pact to end hostilities. In the biblical/theological sense, peace is an inner quiet/assurance, lack of war/violence/conflict, unity healing, reconciled relationships, justice and eternal life. Jesus,...
Read MoreSpiritual Practices: Self-Care for Activists by Lis Valle Five women are sitting in a circle around a lit candle in the library of the Scarritt Bennett Center. We are journeying deep within our souls to dialogue with the Imago Dei in us, to find our inner wisdom. We...
Read MoreHope is not an easy word for children and many adults. Hope goes beyond “wishful thinking.” Hope, in the biblical understanding knows that God is in charge of the world. Often we forget this fact. At times we think we are in charge, or the...
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