My faith journey: “You are not alone”
Voices of Faith

My faith journey: “You are not alone”

I remember that day well. On July 4, 1983, when I was 8 years old, I was moved to the Thu Duc Orphanage, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh…

Lingering with the lotus
Voices of Faith

Lingering with the lotus

Imagine the Mekong River as it winds through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea. A unique riverscape with houses on stilts, fishermen tossing nets, gilded temples and…

I will give you rest
Voices of Faith

I will give you rest

The Gospel reading for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost offers a promise many might crave. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “I will give you rest.” In this passage, Jesus addresses…

Taking the long view
Voices of Faith

Taking the long view

Three Advents ago, in a sermon on the incarnation, Phyllis Blair Milton noted how children’s images of God develop as their thinking grows more sophisticated. “When … children are asked,…

Reading Proverbs and reading life
Voices of Faith

Reading Proverbs and reading life

Series editor’s note: Throughout 2023, “Deeper understandings” will feature biblical scholars reflecting on one of the books of the Old Testament. Kathryn Schifferdecker will continue this theme in the next…

The story behind the story
Voices of Faith

The story behind the story

As a little girl, I loved mermaids. I recall being crushed to discover that they didn’t exist in real life. I’d look at pictures of “The Little Mermaid,” Edvard Eriksen’s…

This is what it means
Voices of Faith

This is what it means

It was the worst thing I could imagine. I was 6 years old, sitting on the sofa. My mom had answered the phone in the kitchen and quickly handed it…

An openness to new ministry
Voices of Faith

An openness to new ministry

As a recent guest preacher at All Saints Lutheran in Oklahoma City, Becca Middeke-Conlin remembered an older member of another congregation asking her why they needed to learn new hymns….