It’s been quite a year here at Bearings Online. We’ve tried to bring you articles and poems that suggest faithful responses to today’s problems and opportunities. As part of this, Carol George addressed the racial violence at Emanuel church in South Carolina; Dan Brunner brought us a glimpse of how some evangelicals, typically known as climate change deniers, wrestle with the data of global warming; Michael N. McGregor, Katherine Willis Pershey, Sari Fordham, Rachel Srubas, and Renée Bondy reflected on why they write; and Lisa Ohlen Harris, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell and others tackled the subject of caregiving.
We hope you enjoy looking back at the Bearings Online articles that our readers and staff have most enjoyed this year. If your favorite article or author is not listed below, we’d love to hear from you—use the form below to let us know what piece(s) you liked best this year!
Top 10 articles from 2015*

#1— Climate Change: Evangelicals and the Pope by Dan Brunner
When climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe met with a room full of evangelical leaders, no one expected Pope Francis to show up.

#2—Beyond The Seven Storey Mountain: Remembering Thomas Merton by Mary Frances Coady
On January 31, 2015, we celebrated the centenary of the birth of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and prolific spiritual writer.

#3—A Way of Seeing: Why I Write (What I Write) by Michael N. McGregor
Like glasses, writing allows me to see the natural and the spiritual world more clearly, wholly, and truly.

#4—Chosen: Why I Write (What I Write) by Katherine Willis Pershey
I can’t quite bring myself to say that I’ve chosen to write about what I write about. It seems more accurate to say that the things I write about chose me.

#5—Holy Listening: On listening, silence, and leadership by Gil Stafford
Gill Stafford is convinced that holy listening can transform someone with authority into an adaptive leader.

#6—Calling and Retirement: An Interview with Jack Fortin, Part Two by Janel Kragt Bakker
Ministry to older people in the congregation should provide opportunities for community and conversations that re-explore calling and vocation.

#7—The Seven Cs of Social Media by Verity A. Jones
Verity Jones shares a rubric, “the seven Cs of social media” that she uses to evaluate social media from a theological perspective.

#8—Listening & Leading with Purpose, Meaning & Joy: A book excerpt from Deepening Engagement by Diane Millis
Deeply engaged leaders are more concerned about their way of being in the world than the positions they hold or the roles they occupy.

#9—In Ordinary Time With Extraordinary Love by Eric Massanari
Most of our days are lived in the wondrous mess of quotidian life. This is where we have the opportunity to practice a more patient attention to the Presence.

#10—A Love Letter to Reading: Why I Write (What I Write) by Sari Fordham
As a child, I discovered through reading that my most secret and embarrassing thoughts were not so peculiar after all.
Top 5 poems from 2015*
5 most shared articles or poems from 2015**
- Sunrise in Sicily by Angela Alaimo O’Donnell
- You Think This May Be How It Happens by Janet R. Kirchheimer
- Running to the Fire: An American Missionary Comes of Age in Revolutionary Ethiopia by Elisabeth Kvernen
- A Love Letter to Reading: Why I Write (What I Write) by Sari Fordham
- A Sacramental Farewell: A book excerpt from Mortal Blessings by Angela Alaimo O’Donnell
Staff favorites from 2015
We asked several staff members to highlight an article or poem from this year that particularly resonated with them. Below are their responses.
Carla Durand
My favorite was David Giuliano’s essay, “Thanks and Giving”… it was a good reminder that gratitude and generosity are inseparable.
Elisa Schneider
I resonated with the 2014 article, “We Must Save the Minorities of Iraq: A Letter from Fr. Najeeb Michael.” When Fr. Najeeb was here at the Collegeville Institute, he shared with us his life in a war-ridden country. I was so inspired by his love for his home and his people. The idea that he would return home knowing that his life was in imminent danger when he could have stayed here where it was safe completely shocked me. This post along with the photos made real for me the unimaginable. I’m not sure I had truly appreciated the blessing of by being born here in the United States of America until I looked into the eyes of a man who knew such violence on a daily basis. His faith in God was so strong, he seemed invincible… and his survival through all that he experienced when he got home makes me believe that he is.
Kathleen Cahalan
I enjoyed the poem, “She of Farm I Left Behind” by Susan Yanos. The phrase, “pileated woodpecker rings matins” is a great reminder of these ever-present majestic birds that we live with.
Jan Schmitz
I liked David Giuliano’s essay, “When Life Feels Like Winter.” Growing up and living in Central Minnesota, winter is something that we talk about all the time. Too warm, too cold, not enough snow, too much snow and so on and so on. I like the quote: “Those who embrace rather than resist winter tend to enjoy it more.” This means more to me than just about winter… embrace rather than resist comes in many forms. Family, faith, work, relationships, life. Like David, to me winter is a time to slow down. I listen to the silent snowflakes falling down in a dark woods with only the moonlight shadowing through the trees; remembering, praying, preparing, accepting what life brings. Embrace all moments.
Laura Kelly Fanucci
The Writer’s Life by Kenneth Garcia resonated with my own life as a writer, caught between the need for solitude and the desire for community. It also captured the essence of the Collegeville Institute’s gift to writers: a place that offers both life-giving solitude and encouraging community.
What was your favorite article or poem this year?
We’d love to hear from you! Tell us about your favorite Bearings Online piece from 2015, and why you liked it. If you need a reminder, here’s a link to the articles we published this year: https://collegevilleinstitute.org/bearings/2015.
Happy New Year from all of us here at the Collegeville Institute.
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** measured by Facebook Insights data
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