New CC content on a word for the year, Jimmy Carter, a revelatory robbery, and more.
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** Moving forward into 2025
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I’ve often felt a little disillusioned by New Year’s Eve celebrations. The optimism felt forced, the measuring of the planet’s orbit arbitrary. But I’ve come to appreciate the symbolic new start—forced or not, arbitrary or not—as an opportunity for reflection and imagination. What did I learn this year? How did I grow? What are my dreams for the future?
Two new Voices columns reflect back on important personal moments from the year. Sam Wells recalls his experience of a brief, chaotic episode of theft—and the lessons he gleaned about God ([link removed]) from each character in the microdrama. Alejandra Oliva considers her word for the year 2024 (monasticism) and how a busy week in a cabin with friends ([link removed]) surprisingly captured the spirit of that word for her. In case you missed the news, 2024 will also go down in history books as the year of Jimmy Carter’s death; we have a tribute to “America’s best ex-president” ([link removed]) from Randall Balmer.
Our video of the week features Lesley Finn, who tells me more about the story from her recent CC essay: her son’s hilarious mixup of Jesus and a character from the Frosty the Snowman movie ([link removed]) . Plus scroll down for even more great new content.
Happy New Year!
Jon Mathieu
Email me (mailto:
[email protected]?subject=What%20I%E2%80%99m%20grateful%20for&body=Jon%2C%20) : What learning or growth did you experience in 2024?
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** Jimmy Carter, America’s best ex-president ([link removed])
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After his 1980 defeat, Carter devoted himself to the causes of a progressive evangelicalism that has all but disappeared from public view.
by Randall Balmer
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** Microdrama in Trafalgar Square ([link removed])
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“This 20-second episode gives us a picture of God.”
by Samuel Wells
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** VIDEO: When a kid conflates Jesus and a Frosty the Snowman character ([link removed])
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Writer and visual artist Lesley Finn discusses an essay about her son’s hilarious mix-up and surprising religious curiosity.
** In the Lectionary for January 6 (Epiphany) ([link removed])
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You rarely see a children’s pageant based on Matthew’s story of escape from a raging despot.
by Lisa A. Smith
Epiphany of the Lord archives ([link removed])
Get even more lectionary resources with Sunday’s Coming Premium, an email newsletter from the editors of the Christian Century. Learn more ([link removed]) .
** My word for 2024 was monasticism ([link removed])
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“This was what I had wanted: rest and work, community and solitude, a life that could hold it all within the contours and limitations of the everyday.”
by Alejandra Oliva
** A House Far Away ([link removed])
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“I imagine that my daughter lives in that house, or that she is the light— / because I don’t know what shape a soul might take / or how messages are sent from another world.”
poem by Cortney Davis
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