I recently wrote some liturgies for a local Australian group. The liturgies are designed so that a lay leader can pick it up and lead a service without being overwhelmed by preparation or study. There are a range of writers and it follows the Revised Common Lectionary. However, each individual writer can choose which reading within the lectionary to follow. Being a Hebrew Bible scholar, I often follow the readings from the Old Testament and sometimes from the psalms as that is a particular area of interest for me. Recently, I was writing on two sections from the book of Job. The first week too ..read more

This past Sunday my parish read the gospel story of Jesus healing the man born blind (John 9:1–41). Now we heard the shortened version of that story, so it left out the part that always bothers me a bit – the portion of the story with the blind man’s parent. That portion of the text says: Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born ..read more

Every Sunday, a clergy friend pronounces God’s forgiveness before the corporate confession. In the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (p. 360), it specifies that we confess first, and then the priest or bishop pronounces forgiveness: “Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.”  When I asked them why they switched the order, my friend, who is a deep liturgical thinker, said that we do not confess our sins in order to be forgiven, but rather, our confessi ..read more

There has been much written about people not returning to church after COVID. The things I have read are mostly from those who returned, lamenting (or judging) those who did not. I am one of those who did not return. Pre-COVID, I was an every Sunday morning church attender. I rarely get sick, so unless I was travelling rain, hail or shine would find me in church. And if I was travelling, I would often seek out a local church in the city or town where I travelled to. (This led to an interesting interaction with a minister when I turned up, fresh from the airport with suitcase in tow, and I was ..read more

WIT welcomes Mae Forrest Barnes as a guest poster. Mae is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, California, with a focus in theology and ethics. Her research is primarily in disability advocacy, science and technology, and their relation to theology. She is an avid reader, writer, and cultural critic. For more of her work, you can subscribe to her work on her blog. You can also follow her for both silly and serious takes on the site formerly known as Twitter, @dr_maeforrest. The following has been adapted for WIT from a series of posts from X/Twitter.com. In my researc ..read more

WIT welcomes Becky Garrison as a guest poster. Becky was a Senior Contributing Editor to the religious satire magazine, The Wittenburg Door, from 1994 to 2008, and has served on their Board of Directors since the outlet’s relaunch in 2021. She utilizes her MDiv/MSW from Yale/Columbia (1992) coupled with the latest research into narcissism and religious trauma to target those unbiblical bullies that cast profits over prophecy. With her latest book, Distilled in Washington: A Guided History (The History Press, 2024), she appears to have made a switch from covering the Holy Spirit to distilled sp ..read more

What a wonderful image the lectionary text gives us for the fourth Sunday in Advent. Two women, cousins, greeting each other belly to belly, feeling the movement of their babies within their own bodies: In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:39-41). Belly to belly, Elizabeth and Mary greet one another in the hill country, and Elizabeth’s baby leaps within ..read more

One of the things that I enjoy most about teaching is that even identical material can generate unique conversations because the collection of students in class is always different. Yet, I have noticed that across the dozens of ethics courses I have taught at Villanova, one refrain remains constant – “it’s not feasible.”  When analyzing moral problems, students often share a common vision for how things should be or what individuals or collectives should do. At the same time, the clear ethical demands are almost undercut by a single appeal to “feasibility.”  For instance, while it wo ..read more

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 New Revised Standard Version Every year, devout Christians embark on a theological journey, delving into the story of Jesus’ birth. While the liturgical season of Advent emphasizes the hope, joy, love, and peace offered by Christ’s awaited birth, less attention is given to the contextual realities of His arrival. Within the Gospel of Luke, Mary’s experience in giving birth to Jesus offers a thought-provoking perspective on the often roma ..read more

Content Note: This post contains a discussion of child loss. Discretion is advised for readers who are sensitive to topics of this nature. For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 6:6 (NKJV) It is the most wonderful time of the year.  The briskness of the impending winter season, the bright and colorful lights and ornaments on neighborhood houses, and the rush of holiday shopping for exactly the right gift is enough to put ..read more