I became aware of my trust in God when I was thirteen, during an overnight with the daughter of our church’s minister. We weren’t in the same school, but that year her dad taught our confirmation class and we became friends. We had turned the lights out—her mother had asked us to—but, as usual, we […]

This poetic prayer for the Lenten season holds together the suffering of the cross with the hope of flourishing life. It also holds together the dryness of our spirits in troubled times with the nourishment God offers in Christ so that we can bear good fruit.

Christ’s Lenten lesson for us may simply be this: our listening to one another has not, and may never, bring us to agreement on things that are important to us, but it does bring us together to have an honest, heartfelt conversation.