Today, I'm thinking about the incredible amount of vulnerability required in Quaker business process. It's vulnerable in that we each have to be willing to show up, do our best work of listening, hold out our piece or angle on the truth with the fiercest, most solid conviction we know how, and let it go, …
Book review: Lady Midrash
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the voices and stories of women are not always told in the Bible, and even when they are, they reflect a male perspective, and, presumably, mostly male authorship. There are many women in the biblical text, from Eve, Sarah, and Rachel to Mary the mother, Mary Magdalene, and …
Book review published: Good Food
I recently reviewed a book called Good Food: Grounded Practical Theologyy by Jennifer Ayres (Baylor University Press, 2013) for the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, & Culture. You can see the review here. While I was a bit critical of the book for the review, I did actually like it. What I didn't like …
Christ & Cascadia: conference and new post
I'm soon finishing out my term as the Portland regional editor for Christ & Cascadia, an online journal and conference exploring the intersection of Northwest theology and culture. I recently went to their annual conference in Seattle. Unfortunately, I only got to go for the second day, as I was knocked out with a bad …
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Book reviews: Discerning Critical Hope; Listening to Teach
A couple book reviews I wrote went live last week on the Wabash Center for Teaching & Learning in Theology & Religion's Reflective Teaching site. One reviewed Discerning Critical Hope in Educational Practices (eds. Vivienne Bozalek, Brenda Leibowitz, Ronelle Carolissen, and Megan Boler), and the other reviewed Listening to Teach: Beyond Didactic Pedagogy (ed. Leonard J. Waks). Both were excellent books! …
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Stewards of the Vineyard
Last November, I had the opportunity to preach at my Friends meeting, North Valley Friends. I was asked to share about Query 19 in our Faith & Practice document, which has to do with being a Christian steward of God's creation. A re-visioning of the Parable of the Tenants came to me then, and I …
Spaceship Earth: day 5
On the final day of my Spaceship Earth class at Peace Village, Newberg, we spent some time reviewing what we'd learned, discussing what stood out, and then making seed pods. (See Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 if you missed them, and/or download the full Spaceship Earth day camp plan.) Peace Village does …
Friends Journal, Quaker Spaces, and Civic Ecology
I'm grateful for the community we have at North Valley Friends, and I wrote about it for the August issue of Friends Journal. This issue focused on the theme of Quaker Spaces, and in my article, "It's the Spirit that Makes It Beautiful," I shared about how our worship space isn't the most up-to-date, or …
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Spaceship Earth: day 4
Day 4 of my "Spaceship Earth" class at Peace Village Newberg focused on the theme of biodiversity, and of the importance of each part, each job, in ensuring that the whole system works well. (If you missed my earlier posts on this, see Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.) For day 4, we talked …
Spaceship Earth: day 3
On day 3 of my Spaceship Earth class at Peace Village Newberg last week, we focused on water, soil, and pollution (see also day 1 and day 2). We watched the second part of the Stunning Views – From Earth to Universe and Back Again video. In the first part, it zooms out so that you eventually …
Cherice Bock 