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Essays by 2021-22 Emerging Writers
Postcolonial Faith: Grappling with the Legacy of Missionaries in my Family
April 4, 2022
Kai (Sarah) Ngu considers the legacy of their family's relationship with an American missionary and how Christianity contributes to their parents' ongoing feelings of racial inferiority.Read more »When Overachieving No Longer Satisfies
March 24, 2022
To exchange the “ideal overachiever” title assigned to me for the “sacred human” title chosen by the God who created me, something needed to change.Read more »Women of Color in Ministry Are Not Scarce, Just Unsupported
February 3, 2022
Angie Hong reports on the experience of women of color in ministry and offers concrete steps toward helping them thrive in churches dedicated to increasing diversity.Read more »In Defense of Meddling
January 27, 2022
"Most people want their social circles to do a little bit of meddling, even if they would never articulate it that way."Read more »Essential Workers, Insufficient Funds
January 17, 2022
Those working in retail, the food industry, childcare, and eldercare are essential workers and deserve a living wage for the essential service and hard work they provide.Read more »Why “Brainwashed” Is a Lazy Accusation
January 13, 2022
Rather than dismissing someone as "brainwashed," what might we learn by approaching others with curiosity?Read more »A Church Made of Words
October 18, 2021
Sophia Stid, a poet, explores the difficult, ongoing task of finding the words for faith, in a world where words are multivalent and sometimes misused.Read more »A God Who Cleaves: Coming Out, Parents, and Queerness
October 11, 2021
"After college, I began to discover new tools for interpreting the Bible that allowed me, for the first time, to imagine myself as a whole person within my faith."Read more »Developing Patience for the Slow Work of Justice
October 7, 2021
"Making sense of a spirituality and church culture that causes harm is complicated and layered, opening past wounds and inflicting new ones if not done with great care."Read more »The Grief of Miscarriage Is Enough
September 30, 2021
I am stupefied now as I remember that I apologized for having a miscarriage. There is nothing I could have done to prevent them from happening. I had done nothing wrong. So, why did I apologize?Read more »
Essays by 2020-21 Emerging Writers
A Wound and a Gift: Forgiveness and Restoration in Prison
July 26, 2021
For two men, one wrongly convicted and the other guilty of first degree murder, conversion to Christianity provides a way forward to forgiveness and restoration.Read more »The Community’s Prayers Are My Prayers: A Life of Faith in Prison
July 22, 2021
For Christians incarcerated for first degree murder in Illinois, their faith can be a source of reconciliation and hope.Read more »When Monsters Are Real
July 1, 2021
For Black filmmakers, the horror genre illuminates the evil and terror often underlying mundane encounters in a racist society.Read more »Taking Off the Crown of Creation
June 28, 2021
What happens when we adjust our theology to see humans as part of creation rather than at the top of it?Read more »Husband, Father, and Living a “Religious Life”?
June 24, 2021
When I one day meet God face-to-face, will I be able to look him in the eye and say, “I heard your call. I heeded you”?Read more »
