Weekly Outlook - Who is Bad Bunny anyway?

Dear readers, I'm currently in love with the writing of John Green. His nonfiction book Everything is Tuberculosis was my favorite read from last year, and I just finished The Anthropocene Reviewed, a collection of essays written during Covid that offers playful yet sincere attention to odd corners of human experience— from Super Mario Kart to diet Dr. Pepper to living in Indianapolis. This is the kind of writing I aspire to in my personal and professional life: work that notices ordinary things and, through careful attention, allows them to bloom. In Green’s hands, the everyday becomes a place to wrestle honestly with joy and grief. And it is filled with wonderful quotes and references (Pastors: it is a treasure trove for sermon illustrations).  Here is one quote that I'm thinking about today.    "As with all the best sci-fi writers, Kurt Vonnegut was really good at seeing into the future. Way back in 1974, he wrote, 'What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously, but the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.' That seems to me to be an even more important and more daring endeavor than it was 47 years ago.  When people ask me why I live in Indianapolis when I could live anywhere, that's what I want to tell them. I'm trying to create a stable community in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured. And you've got to do that somewhere."   May we find ways today to build communities that fight to cure the terrible disease of loneliness. May we have grace when other communities pursuing the same goal look different from ours. May we believe, with the power of the Holy Spirit, that such work is possible and ongoing. Peace, Rose Schrott Taylor Digital Content Editor Presbyterian Outlook

Why you should listen to Bad Bunny by Alex Evangelista  Marketing Jesus: Prayer apps and Super Bowl ads by Patrice Gaines Empathy as resistance by Matthew Frease Empathy isn’t about fixing pain by Teri McDowell Ott Faith leaders gather in Washington, D.C. to urge Senate vote against DHS funding by Gregg Brekke Church is still vital — it may just look different by Mark Elsdon In case you missed it... Meeting Jesus on the Road: A Lenten Study With weekly walking prompts, reflection questions and a pastoral tone, "Meeting Jesus on the Road" encourages us to meet Jesus in our neighborhoods, writes Amy Pagliarella. Presbyterians advocate for Haitian neighbors as a federal judge blocks, for now, an end to temporary protective status From Springfield, Ohio, to Spokane, Washington, Presbyterians joined other people of faith to rally for their friends. — Cindy Corell Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity In "Against the Machine," Paul Kingsnorth offers a prophetic, if alarmist, diagnosis of Western civilization’s collapse, ultimately calling the church to become a sanctuary, writes Blaine Crawford. Why the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions is too long — and how to fix it Charles Aden Wiley, III, offers a provocative proposal: shorten the Book of Confessions to make it more accessible, usable and formational for the whole church. Even now: an Ash Wednesday lament An Ash Wednesday lament by Jennifer L. Aycock that names death, grief, and the ashes we carry into Lent. Maine clergy form spiritual ‘shield’ outside workplaces to protect immigrants from ICE Presbyterian clergy join an ecumenical coalition in Maine, forming a daily “spiritual shield” to stand with immigrant workers facing ICE enforcement.