Certain manners of conviction can leave us feeling like outcasts in the empire.
An interview with Brenda Truelson Fox, director of the film Conviction.
A review of Deepa Mehta’s Water.
From Pieces of April and an album of 69 love songs by its music director to the dark alienation of Nick Cave and Grinderman.
A reflection on expectations at the initiation of another Advent.
On working for hope and peace as an intercessor and a grappler.
A freelance development worker reports on the state of Africa and his own sense of hope.
With daily reminders of all of the reasons we have to despair, how can anyone possibly hold onto hope?
The prayers, poems, verses and quotes that help form an understanding of hope.
Emotional gleanings from the film Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
A review of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, a film depicting a high school shooting that is alternately sensitive and detached.
A pastor presents a message of Advent hope to a small congregation in the middle of uncertainty.
A report on a family and friend tradition to mark the turning of the year.
A list of experiences to savor after fifty.
Exploring the early morning monastic tradition of Vigils.
On the broader implications of the upside down world in David Simon’s Baltimore.
A report on a community gathering to explore the role of sustainability in a life of Christian faithfulness.
An overview of the genre and two specific novels reveals changing images of women.
An exploration of the ideas underlying our starry-eyed obsessions.
Reflecting on political divisiveness after a rally for Barack Obama.
A film about Communist Romania, a Baltimore art collection and vintage music from She & Him.
Why we need sustainable building solutions now.
A unique community combines generations who need one another.
Middle school lessons, for better or worse, become life lessons.
Two historically-rooted fictions-a film about arms dealing and a novel about a Sudanese refugee-explore the lives of outsiders.
Pondering (invisible) boundaries when it comes to living with other people.
A reflection on living in proximity during Lent.
On two authors who served as wise, faithful companions in the midst of uncertainty.
A reflection on the songs that we let in, and the songs that we shut out.