Innovate~Educate~Collaborate

Tag: ministry

  • Two Quotes from Thomas Merton: Do we understand violence?

    These two quotes from Thomas Merton are key to understanding and discovering the root cause of violence in our society. Violence is a symptom. A symptom generated by the root cause. If we only treat the symptom it will never end, we must as a society treat the root cause. Treating the root cause of […]

  • Secret Revelation of John

    There are hundreds of gospels and related texts about the movement of the early followers of Jesus in the first three centuries. We have given them many names, such as gnostic gospels and Apocrypha writings. Given our modern-day political environment, we find similar situations exist in churches & the political world of the early followers of Jesus […]

  • Green Junction: Masks are becoming vogue again By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    Health protection measures throughout the pandemic have involved an enormous amount of one-use plastics. These have included personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, gowns), take-home food packaging, test kits, syringes, wipes, and more, unfortunately intensifying the global plastic waste problem. Billions of disposable masks, mostly made of a plastic called polypropylene, have been used and thrown […]

  • Easter and the East, They Get it!

    Indeed He is Risen!  In the East, you have Jesus holding the hand of Adam and Eve and leading them out of Hades. Keep in mind Hades is not Hell, as we think in the West it is just the place where the dead go.   In this painting of the resurrection, We see God’s outreach […]

  • 56 years ago Thomas Merton warned…

    56 years ago, Thomas Merton warned that the failure to enact the Gospel’s social implications would result in an “Earthly Hell.” “Social Implications” is about the Great Good. Merton’s role as a mystic voice of awareness, soul searching, compassion, and peace is even more remarkable considering the ways conflict, confusion, doubt touched his personal life. […]

  • Reflecting on the year, as a historian

    Is authoritarianism the default model for nations? Do we understand that authoritarianism produces a level of conceit, militarism, overextension, and bureaucratic calcification in leadership? Study the patterns throughout history. Is authoritarianism the new wealth, power & Prestige? History/Philosophy teaches us that when governments move toward authoritarianism, it is because the people don’t believe it could […]

  • Thinking about Christmas

    I wonder how many pastors or parishioners understand the history of Christmas. From the time of Jesus’ death, the birth never had the same significance as Easter until the 1400s. It didn’t become a liturgical celebration until around 333 because the Holy Roman Empire needed to deal with the pagan solstice. What better way than […]

  • The Widow’s Mite

    For example, assuming Both Richard Rohr and Bishop Strickland of Tyler TX preached today on the Gospel, (Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44) I can just imagine, maybe they would be as different as night and day. The widow had no plan B, no savings to fall back on, no tomorrow. How many of our hierarchy would […]

  • GREEN JUNCTION: The earth’s natural balances have been disrupted BY JULIE PELLER PH.D

    The severe, unprecedented weather associated with increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is more concerning every passing year. The recent record heat in the US Northwest made headline news for several days. Temperatures in Portland, Oregon, reached 116oF, higher than other cities in the US have ever reached, except Phoenix and Las Vegas. […]

  • GREEN JUNCTION: What resources from Mother Nature do you treasure and protect? BY JULIE PELLER PH.D

    The reason we hear about semiconductors in the news is due to the shortage of semiconductor chips. Semiconductors are materials that have properties that are essential in most electronic devices. Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor. It is an element and is often produced by heating silicon dioxide (sand!) at very high temperatures, along […]