Tag: Church
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The Disney/Pixar animated film Inside Out would have you believe you own your emotions. After all, they exist inside your head and respond to your situations. So, that means they’re yours, right? Technically, yes, but only if you fight for them. From the moment we are born, there is a litany of external forces attempting…
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I grew up in the 1960s in small, rural towns and communities. What allowed those communities to exist was a set of social norms, largely unspoken, that everyone was expected to follow. If you made a promise, you kept it. If you made a mistake, you admitted it. If someone called for help, everyone else…
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Courage is not a word I would use to describe myself. In my head, courage defines people who fight battles against enormous odds. Courage is taking a stand when everyone else stays seated. Courage is finding the strength to do something others thought you couldn’t do. Those are the assumptions I’ve made all my life,…
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Gender autonomy may be the unsung hero in the war against authoritarianism. We don’t see it getting a lot of press at the moment, but that doesn’t mean the issue isn’t vital to unseating power structures that repress us all. Several people I know and love actively express their gender in terms other than what…
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Moments of intimacy stay with us. I still remember my first real kiss. We were at church camp, hiding off the path, sitting on a boulder hidden by trees. She was way out of my league. I had no clue what I was doing. In fact, the only thing I was sure of was that…
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Sexual identification is extremely important. More than just a label, sexual identity is personal. Older generations confirmed who they are around the age of 18. However, studies and polls show younger generations making that decision much sooner, anywhere between 12 and 14 years old. Complicating matters, especially for family and friends, is the fact that…
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Doom has a sense of finality to it. An interesting article came across my desk yesterday. The headline from Science magazine said, “Will the world end next month? Science said so, in 1960.” How could I not take a look? More precisely, the 1960 prediction set a specific date: Friday, November 13, 2026. The original…
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Belonging and community are topics you’ll see me writing about often because those factors matter more than ever for people who have been marginalized and traumatized. Chances are, if you’re here, you’ve been challenged by others because of your lifestyle choices and sexual identity. Yet, we all look for a level of spiritual belonging somewhere.…
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Fellowship is a goal of almost any type of community or social organization. Certainly, it is a large part of what drives us here at the Church of Steelle. Fellowship is fundamental to our existence. Rarely does life turn out exactly the way we plan, though. I suppose, every great once in a while, a…
