59.3

Christian worship has always had political implications, whether for or against the current rulers. This is not to say that everything has been seen through a partisan lens, but rather that how Jesus is depicted in both words and images reflects what Christian communities believe about the connection between what he says and does and the relationship between the powerful and those who are sick, poor, or otherwise without power.

Wow! What was that? And how do we get more of it?” These words of Beyza, a Turkish Muslim woman leader, rang like the church tower bell that tells the neighborhood something significant is happening.

In Call to Worship volume 59.2, I wrote about the PC(USA) congregation that called me when I had both feet out the door of any church after many years as a church musician.

On a bright late August morning, after just dropping off our toddler at preschool and while pushing an empty stroller home, I prepared to cross a major north-south corridor through our neighborhood. Seemingly out of nowhere a police car screamed past me, lights and sirens blaring.