News & Stories

Dear Outlook readers,

In this collection of stories, you will find material from our October issue "Supporting our Soldiers," Advent reflections, some PC(USA) news, and other resources engaging the world around us.

The headlines of my morning news podcast today included the increasing numbers of omicron COVID cases, the impact of last Friday's tornadoes on children, and how inflation is making it hard for many to meet basic needs. Advent is often thought of as a season of joy, yet it is designed as a liturgical reminder to lament — to cry "Come, Lord Jesus, come," to sit in the gray, dark days of the year and remember why we need Jesus. And that is what I feel this morning. Join me in my cry and in my hope, knowing that our prayers are answered, knowing that joy is an unstoppable, deep force on the horizon, and knowing that we can hold hope and lament together.

Grace and peace,

Rose Schrott Taylor
Outlook interim associate editor

P.S. Looking for worship resources? Check your inbox on Mondays for our "Looking Into the Lectionary" newsletter or go to our website.

Editors' picks

Disruption, faith and generosity by Christine Chakoian

Listening for God’s call by Dave Coles

Review: The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Sterling Morse

Nativity play — A poem by J. Barrie Shepherd

In case you missed it...

Q&A with veterans
Teri McDowell Ott interviews veterans Eric Hanson, John Kennealy, Jared R. Worley and Ryan Bronaugh.

Bearing the pain of others
Samuel “Jack” Hemingway III shares lessons he has learned in his chaplaincy at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System (DVAHCS).

Reading the Scripture as the Church: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Hermeneutic of Discipleship
Sarah S. Scherschligt reviews Derek Taylor's book about Bonhoeffer and how the theologian engaged Scripture.

Scholar and Buddhist priest Duncan Ryuken Williams wins 2022 Grawemeyer religion prize
“Is America fundamentally a White and Christian nation or is America a multi-ethnic and religiously free country?” Scholar Duncan Ryuken Williams poses this question both in his life as a Buddhist priest and his work as a religious scholar. — Amy Pagliarella

Magic
Andrew Taylor-Troutman reflects on the layers of magic that happen at Christmas and what they can teach us about our faith.

Innovative executive presbyter selected to lead the transformation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency
Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall is named the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Director of Rebuilding and Vision Implementation.