Keyword search: faith
By THE REV. RANDY CALVO
This coming Wednesday is Abraham Lincoln’s birth anniversary. In his Second Inaugural Address, as the President of a divided Union, he realized that people of faith were praying to the same God for different outcomes. Lincoln was humble enough to dare not equate God’s will with that of either side, saying, “The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”
By BEN TOUSLEY, M.DIV
Listening to Jimmy Carter’s funeral service on Jan. 9, a national day of mourning, I found myself choking up as they brought his casket into the cathedral. My emotion certainly wasn’t because Carter’s life, at 100, had been cut short. He had lived out his calling as peacemaker, house builder, disease preventer and the like.
By THE REV. DEREK IRVINE
Greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Allow me to introduce, or shall I say re-introduce, myself, as I’ve had the opportunity to write for this column a few times before. My name is Pastor Derek Irvine and I have the privilege of now serving as the new senior pastor at the Advent Christian Church in Vernon, Vermont, after serving on staff for the past nine years as associate pastor. My family and I have settled in the beautiful town of Gill and we have loved living in Franklin County and serving in this area.
By PASTOR BRETT REITENBACH
History is filled with the rise and fall of governments. Some leaders stay in place for many years, but even those who stay in power a long time must eventually depart. In recent weeks, major leadership changes have happened in various parts of the world. Here in the United States, we are just two days away from Inauguration Day which will see our 47th president enter the office. Despite America’s political divisions and trying times throughout its history, the relative stability and consistency of elections and transfers of power for more than 230 years is remarkable.
By CHRIS LARABEE
GREENFIELD — A coalition of more than 30 groups from around western Massachusetts will gather in Greenfield Saturday to lay out their plans for the incoming Trump administration.
By THE REV. JASON A. BURNS
It always amazes me at how quickly the joy and excitement of the Christmas season subsides. I suspect it is because the joy of Christmas does not come from the virgin birth, from shepherds in their fields, from kings following a star, or from angels singing with the heavenly hosts. It isn’t about the beautiful decorations, the gorgeous music, the happiness of seeing and being with family, or watching our children open gifts from Santa. All of these wonderful things are byproducts of the fact that God lives among us.
By THE REV. CANDI ASHENDEN
As the holiday glow fades and January settles in, the humdrum of daily life returns. The decorations are boxed up, the festive meals are a memory, and the calendar flips back to workdays, school schedules, and to-do lists. For many, this transition...
By DOMENIC POLI
GREENFIELD — The third annual “Give the Gift of Living” gear and goods drive, organized by the Franklin County and North Quabbin Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force, collected 26 tents, 23 sleeping bags, 27 sleeping pads and three...
By THE REV. DR. CHRIS DAVIES
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was radical — a prophet, even, in a world that offered little hope for an unwed pregnant teenager.For many Christians, Sunday, Dec. 22 is the Fourth Sunday of Advent — the day that symbolizes love — wherein Mary’s song of...
By PASTOR BENJIMAN DURFEE
During the last two months of the year, we’re usually overwhelmed with messages to be jolly, we’re expected to show up for events with cheerful smiles, and we’re constantly surrounded by the joyous sounds of the holiday season. And while this is a...
By THE REV. JULIE G. OLMSTED
I have watched and listened over the past several years, as public discourse and the language used by elected officials and their followers has steadily slipped into a kind of exchange that once would have never been allowed to see the light of day....
By THE REV. ALLEN M. COMSTOCK
Because faith matters, we need to ask ourselves whether, in this time of political stress, our faith has gotten swallowed up in our politics. If so, we need to rescue our faith from our politics so that maybe our faith might come to the rescue of our...
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN
GREENFIELD — On the eve of Election Day, the Interfaith Council of Franklin County welcomed people of all faiths and political backgrounds to the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew for an evening of prayers, songs and conversations about the...
By HETTY STARTUP
Have you, like me, noticed a spate of large, at least twice-human-sized skeletons appearing around the Valley in time for Halloween this year? They sure are creepy and quite threatening even if they are completely fake. As signifiers of our mortality,...
By THE REV. DAVID JONES
I’ve been re-reading “The Prophetic Imagination,” a classic by biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann. In it he talks about the prophetic ministry of churches as being the result of two essential ingredients.The first ingredient is that a church must...
By THE REV. HEATHER J. BLAIS
Recently, we took our oldest child on a tour of my alma mater, Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Our oldest has always navigated life with an insatiable curiosity and desire to know more. I was eager for them to have a taste of the...
By THE REV. RANDOLPH CALVO
Today is Oct. 5. Election Day is Nov. 5.A recent survey found that 90% of Americans can name a recent news event that made them angry while only 50% could name something that made them proud. This is a worrisome comparison of numbers as we approach...
By THE REV. ALISON CORNISH
When a message runs through the whole of scripture, it’s worth taking notice. The ancient imperative of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures — to welcome the stranger — is one of note for its insistence, its timelessness, and timeliness, too.First...
By THE REV. CINDY LAJOY
Have you ever judged yourself for not being “spiritual enough?” And what does that even mean? Today in America we often find people speaking more about their spiritual journeys than their faith or religious journeys, and for many that is a much better...
By THE REV. JIMMY PICKETT
I have on my right arm a tattoo that reminds me every day why I serve as a priest in the Episcopal Church.I grew up in Leicester and spent nearly every weekend at my Great Grandmother’s house, an old red farmhouse with a big barn and a large field...
By THE REV. JULIE G. OLMSTED
Recently, I saw a video featuring a performer named Rhiannon Giddens. The video was called “Another Wasted Life,” and featured a group of exonerated prisoners through an organization you may have heard of: The Innocence Project. I looked it up...
By using this site, you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience, measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users
Copyright © 2016 to 2025 by Newspapers of Massachusetts, Inc. All rights reserved.