This church year, a small group of leaders and religious professionals from New England congregations gathered together as the Contexts Learning Community. We had a shared interest in exploring more deeply what is happening to church attendance and participation, especially amongst younger people...

Julian, do you not know? Do you not know about sorrow? And Julian, do you not know? Do you not know about pain? As our November newsletter was approaching final edits, horrific news of our country’s 565th mass shooting of the calendar year broke out of the city of Lewiston, Maine. As sometimes...

My grandparents had a découpage plaque by their front door with President Kennedy’s famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” A simple collection of words I could read for years before I started to really consider what they meant, and what...

The point of a community of practice is for people who want to get better at something to learn from each other through regular interaction. Even people new to a field can help the group learn. Their observations and questions can identify unrecognized practices and raise awareness of which...

Maybe you’ve heard the inspirational story about the starfish. It’s often told as a celebration of a young child’s hope triumphing over a curmudgeonly elder’s resignation to the inevitability of encroaching doom. But taking those signifiers out of the story, and it goes something like this:...

Last year, at their request, I met with Follen Responds to Racism (FRR), an anti-racism team at the Follen Community Church in Lexington, MA. We had an animated conversation. They told me about their work and the many ways they are addressing racism within and beyond their congregation. I was...

“Hello, who are you?” “I don’t know; I’ve never met me before!” This dialogue is from a comedy skit a friend and I wrote for an elementary school talent show. My comedy career never took off, but this dialogue resonates with me these days, as we collectively emerge from two years of...

While I was growing up, a strange thing happened. When I was very young, I naturally explored all sorts of interests, from ancient history to art to writing poetry. I’m grateful that I came up through a well-funded school district with robust extracurricular programs that enabled me to play...

At the beginning of 2020, we didn’t know what was coming. At the beginning of 2021, we had hope on the horizon. Now, at the beginning of 2022, our hope is tempered by a healthy respect for how quickly things can change, and some trust in our ability - and flexibility - to faithfully respond....

According to Movement Strategy Center (1), community transformation depends on: power analysis: understanding who has access to resources; who influences and participates in decision-making; and whose standards, stories and worldviews are valued; community organizing: working together across our...