Faith

CONCEPTION, Mo. — Conception leadership has announced the seminary college has met the Mabee Challenge, which awards an additional $1 million grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation toward the Brothers Living in Unity campaign. Last February, the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation offered a $1 million grant in support of the new seminary…

Martha’s journey takes a strong, practical, world-centered woman as she moves toward the spiritual vision Jesus brings. Like all of us, she sometimes struggles and loses her way, moving one step forward and two steps back. Remarkably, although she ends performing the same actions she performs at the beginning, in her journey she has redefined…

One day I was watching a hamster run in his wheel. He ran fast and yet arrived nowhere. As I watched, this thought came, “Laura, this is you in the midst of worry.” Many lay awake in bed running in our wheels of worry. We endlessly examine and re-examine a concern in our minds, considering…

Last week, I visited the town of Bethany in Judea and the home of two sisters, Mary and Martha. These sisters are involved with Jesus in so many ways that they deserve a deeper exploration than one column, so I’m going to stay in Bethany for the next few weeks and look at this family…

My grandma always said, “God put me on this Earth to worry.” She seemed to wear her worry as a badge. And it broke my heart to see that badge steal her joy. These past few years God has shown me how to praise instead of worry. Not easy but more hopeful. I love the…

Given the terrible last week, COVID-19 numbers rising and a riot in Washington, D.C., why would you want to read about hidden women of the early church? Why would I want to write about them? The answer to the first question is, as always, it’s up to you. The answer to the second is truthfully…

It seemed that whenever the Rev. Daniel Darling ventured into social media, he saw the same red flags — so he posted a commentary on “Christians and Conspiracy Theories.” “Because it’s online, doesn’t mean it’s true,” he noted. “Because a story is advanced by someone whose ideology I agree with, doesn’t mean it’s true. ……

Many parts of Christianity celebrate the gift giving part of Christmas this week at Epiphany, the celebration of when the Magi reached Bethlehem. They are not named in the Bible, but through tradition have acquired the names of Balthasar, Melchior and Caspar. In celebration of Epiphany, there is an old joke “If the wise men…

I remember as a kid I was terrified of storms. Early in the afternoons during the summer, I watched the horizon for potential storms. The continual scanning of clouds, looking for thunderheads, caused me great fear and anxiety during many afternoons. If I would have looked at the sun, then maybe I would have enjoyed…

My life is lived on two calendars, a religious one and a secular one. The secular New Year begins this Friday, January 1, 2021 CE and ends with December 31. When I was growing up, the year was called 2021 AD (Anno Domini, in the year of the Lord), but now in the interest of…