“You brought us out of nothing into being, and when we had fallen away, You raised us up again.” My dad’s family gathered in his parents’ kitchen, all 27 of us, for the Thanksgiving thanksgiving. Before my dad’s dad prayed, as he always does at these meals, my grandma spoke up. Papa would be having […]
The Lord’s (Subversive) Supper
This post was written by Chad Bird. I learned the basics of table fellowship where many others did: in the elementary school cafeteria. Gripping my cadaver-colored tray swimming in gravy, meatloaf, and green beans, I’d scan the tables. Where to sit? I dropped more footballs than I caught, so I couldn’t jazz with the fourth-grade […]
PZ's Podcast: The Sacraments... Walk in the Room
EPISODE 225: The Sacraments… Walk in the Room A forthcoming book on the sacraments, edited by Justin Holcomb and David A. Johnson, has got me thinking about the “means of grace” — or rather, how do we know and recognize God’s grace in our actual personal lives. The history of the Christian Church could almost […]
Church of the Deconstruction
This piece was featured in Issue 7 of The Mockingbird: The Church Issue. Issue 8 is well underway! In a recent visit to Mexico, Pope Francis spoke to a congregation of Mexican bishops and clergy. His words were harsh, to say the least. Instead of decrying the social and political upheaval of the country, or […]
PZ's Podcast: Shag (The Movie), Cimarron, The Sacraments Rightly Understood, Mirage Fighter, and What Actually Happens
Episode 195: Shag (The Movie) That’s a great little movie, from 1989. But I’m afraid it’s going to get banned one of these days, by the Ministry of Truth. Right from the “get go”, there’s an image in it that’s distressing today. Which gives me a chance to talk Christianly about how to deal with […]
