Violence in the name of God is an affront to all faiths

  When 19 year-old John Earnest walked into the Chabad of Poway synagogue and opened fire on April 27 — the last day of Passover, and six months to the day after the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh — he had a particularly unsettling motivation. He believed he, as a Christian, was doing the …

Hope beyond the empty room

I was warned about this. The sudden, unexpected empty feeling in the pit of the stomach. The numb grief. The self-doubt and regret. I was warned about all of it. When we started a small nursing home ministry almost two years ago, our priest, Fr. John, warned us. And, on each new occurrence, he's been …

“Stepping Into Fear” — Christian, Jewish congregations hear message of hope, love overcoming fear

ENID, Okla. — Members of at least six congregations of the Christian and Jewish faiths gathered at St. Stephen AME Church Monday evening for an ecumenical service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring legacy. The service, hosted by St. Stephen AME and St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, featured an address by Rabbi …

Becoming like little children

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4 This passage comes shortly after Jesus twice reveals He will die, and to follow Him we must take …

Ecumenicism: The way forward?

The thought of selling the church was hard for the congregation, "but ultimately, we're called to minister to people — we're not called to minister to a building." --Pastor Peter Olson, Faith Lutheran ELCA, Enid, Okla. ENID, Okla. — An Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregation and a United Methodist retirement community are strengthening …

The call to ordination, and to the grace of the Eucharist

I am always fascinated by the story of how clergy came to discern and surrender to the call to ministry. Some are more inspiring than others, and this one, written after the ordination of Rev. Janie Koch in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, was particularly so to me, especially in her explanation of the meaning …

Finding faith at the headsman’s block

An exploration of faith symbolism in Vladimir Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading" If I had intentionally sought to write a piece on faith imagery in literature, Vladimir Nabokov would not have been my first choice. It’s unlikely he would have made it into the top ten. C. S. Lewis is the obvious choice, and a …

Pedaling for peace and unity

ENID, Okla. — A Catholic monk made a stop in Enid Sunday on a cross-country cycling tour to promote Christian unity and collect prayers for a display in Washington, D.C. Brother Lawrence Chase, who describes himself as "the bicycling friar," began the American Faith Unity cycling tour last summer in Virginia and hopes to complete …

The bonds that set us free

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs …

Sowing in fertile soil

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, …