Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! POLITICS Christian Leaders Welcome Muslim-American Women to Congress A delegation of Christian leaders delivered a welcome message to the first Muslim-American Congresswomen, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), today at Longworth House Office Building. […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! FAITH What We Get Wrong About Advent This month a few years ago, my wife and I felt the sting of death as we experienced our second miscarriage that year. Last year, a long-time friend and father […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! FAITH Faith Involves Your Brain, Too. I don’t like devotional books. I rarely get swept up in emotional worship experiences. And as much as I’ve wanted to be the girl who sings with her arms raised, eyes […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! Merry Christmas to all! SPIRITUALITY A Walk to Remember Through Bethlehem Advent is a wonderful time of preparation and anticipation for us, but sometimes, I wonder. How did Jesus feel about becoming human and entering our world? […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! CHRISTMAS The Real Saint Nicholas December 6 marks Saint Nicholas Day, and I thought I’d mark the beginning of the Christmas season by telling the story of Santa Claus’s namesake. But before I do, I should remark […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! CHRISTMAS Christmas Countdown Strange or silly as some of these customs might seem, I’d rather have my calendar structured around cultural traditions than around corporate budget forecasts. I don’t care how much retailers are worried about fourth-quarter […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! CHRISTMAS How Does an Advent Calendar Work? In today’s throwback podcast, Father Dave answers a caller’s question about Advent calendars: “Why are Advent calendars that are sold in stores always dated December 1-24, instead of the actual […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! CHRISTMAS One Last Letter for You, Santa My family is not religious, though my parents are the children of Catholics. We had one plastic manger, which was kept in my room when I was 11, the last […]

by Carolyn Pogue After Christmas, we should keep the woman of God visible to strengthen us This posting originally appeared on the United Church Observer’s website at ucobserver.org/pogue_blog/    Dear Mary, As I imagined you being released from tissue and newspaper — and from the attics and cupboards in which you’ve waited all year — […]

Each week, we bring you interesting stories from around the web. Here’s what caught our eye this week! HISTORY Why Do We Have Christmas Trees? Christmas trees started with medieval plays. Dramas depicting biblical themes began as part of the church’s worship, but by the late Middle Ages, they had become rowdy, imaginative performances dominated […]