New content from Isaac Villegas, Heidi Neumark, Philip Jenkins, and more.
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** Friendships and stories
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Occasionally at a social gathering, I am asked, “What is your role at the Christian Century?” While I have some more technically accurate ways of answering, I sometimes find myself saying a version of: “I’m friends with people who read our magazine.” Again, this is not the most correct answer, but it captures what I love about this job. One reader invited me and my wife to see their cabin! One showed up a few times at the faith community I lead. One sends me near-weekly emails about epic ministry adventures in Alaska.
This is more than just a fun part of the job—it’s a humbling privilege, because many of you trust me with part of your stories. Stories of joy, of grief, of hope that lives through struggle. We have some new articles that share these same types of human stories. Heidi Neumark describes the changes in a congregant after she transitioned ([link removed]) to her true gender. Isaac Villegas shares about acts of life-giving gardening inside a prison ([link removed]) . Fictional stories also express the human experience—as in Michelle Hunevan’s comedy about a church’s pastoral search committee ([link removed]) .
The video of the week is a chat with Century Voices columnist Debie Thomas about evangelism ([link removed]) and whether we can reclaim that word.
Email me: What is one of your favorite stories from your life?
Jon Mathieu
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Editors%E2%80%99%20Picks)
This week’s top new pieces:
** The transfiguration of Larissa ([link removed])
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“On the luminous mountaintop, Jesus crossed a threshold between heaven and earth to show us his true identity, and hasn’t Larissa crossed a threshold as well, to reveal her true self?”
by Heidi Neumark
** Michelle Huneven’s homage to church life ([link removed])
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“As you can imagine if you’ve ever been on a search committee (or any church committee), a plot full of intrigue, drama, and absurdity ensues.”
review by Heidi Haverkamp
** A prison cell transfigured ([link removed])
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“He wanted something beautiful, he told me, something irrepressibly alive. So he transformed a piece of his everyday existence into a sign for life beyond captivity—plants and flowers plotting a transfiguration.”
by Isaac Villegas
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** In the Lectionary for February 22 (Ash Wednesday) ([link removed])
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‘Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.’ But my sermons!
** In the Lectionary for February 26 (Lent 1A) ([link removed])
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Many professions require testing—including Son of God.
by Kathryn Z. Johnston
Ash Wednesday archives ([link removed])
Lent 1A 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]) .
** [Video] Debie Thomas on reclaiming evangelism ([link removed])
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Jon chats with Century columnist Debie Thomas about progressive Christians and the dirty word evangelism—and some of her thoughts on the He Gets Us commercials.
** Smashing statues ([link removed])
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Iconoclasm isn’t just an expression of anger. It’s how we try to make new worlds.
by Philip Jenkins
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