Drew Downs
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Saturday, at the first part of the 178th Convention of the Diocese of Indianapolis, Bishop Catherine Waynick called on the diocese to elect her successor. Bishop Waynick is certainly a force, and her leadership will have a lasting impact on the region. Her announcement was eloquent and compassionate. The way this happened is instructive for the church,…
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Moving away from Anglo-Catholicism
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5 min read
I went to seminary to learn how to do church “right”. Seriously. That’s what I thought. I thought that going to seminary was about learning the methods, the practices. How to hold your hands and how to stand. One of my favorite moments from the end of the first year, when a few of us…
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What Ben Affleck reveals about our deepest need
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3 min read
When I heard that one of Ben Affleck’s ancestors owned slaves, I didn’t even blink. That he didn’t want to share that on national television surprised me even less. In our gotcha era of dualisms and polarities, an outspoken liberal actor/writer/director would be easy fodder for the outspoken conservative media personalities. His deep shame, perhaps…
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Why Style is Not the Problem with Church
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2 min read
One of the easiest fights in church is over worship music. Everyone has an opinion and feels comfortable sharing it. Another is liturgical style: how we worship and the tools we use in our worship. For centuries we heard snide remarks that “smells and bells” in church was “papish” and “Roman”, spitting these claims like…