Religion

Tari Stage-Harvey is the pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Photo courtesy of Tari Stage-Harvey)

Living and Growing: Thoughts of jellyfish during time of holy mystery of death and resurrection

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor… Continue reading

Tari Stage-Harvey is the pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Photo courtesy of Tari Stage-Harvey)
Donna Leigh is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Courtesy photo)

Living and growing: A word for your year

I recently read an article by Emily Linder who wrote an article entitled “New Year, New Word” for LDS Living magazine. In her article she… Continue reading

Donna Leigh is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Courtesy photo)
Brent Merten is the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Juneau, a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. (Photo courtesy of Brent Merten)

Living and Growing: The passion of Christ

As an admitted word geek I often find the origin of English words to be fascinating. Take the word “passion,” for example. It’s a common… Continue reading

Brent Merten is the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Juneau, a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. (Photo courtesy of Brent Merten)
Fred La Plante is the pastor at the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Courtesy / Fred La Plante)

Living and Growing: The Christian season of Lent

This week began the Christian celebration of Lent. Lent is typically a time when people give up or abstain from something they feel controls them… Continue reading

Fred La Plante is the pastor at the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. (Courtesy / Fred La Plante)
Maj. Gina Halverson is co-leader of The Salvation Army Juneau Corps. (Robert DeBerry/The Salvation Army)

Living and Growing: How well have you loved lately?

Patient: Waiting without getting irritated in the car, waiting for family to get out of the house, when you told them an hour ago, it… Continue reading

Maj. Gina Halverson is co-leader of The Salvation Army Juneau Corps. (Robert DeBerry/The Salvation Army)
John Martin’s painting “Fallen Angels in Hell,” circa 1841. (Public domain via The Yorck Project)

Living and Growing: Rethinking Hell?

Does a merciful God really torture unbelievers, forever? Now, more than ever, more people reject God. One reason could be the idea of an “eternal,… Continue reading

John Martin’s painting “Fallen Angels in Hell,” circa 1841. (Public domain via The Yorck Project)
Kristina Abbott is a member of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Abbott)

Living and Growing: Struggles with this dark, wintry season will pass

January is my least favorite month of the year, it feels like an eternity of darkness, snow, and ice. I don’t particularly appreciate feeling cold,… Continue reading

Kristina Abbott is a member of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Abbott)
Communion during Mass on Sunday at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. (Photo by Gina Del Rosario)

Living and Growing: The Bread of Life

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have… Continue reading

Communion during Mass on Sunday at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. (Photo by Gina Del Rosario)
Tari Stage-Harvey is the pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Photo courtesy of Tari Stage-Harvey)

Living and Growing: Resolving to live in ‘Silent Night’ candlelight for 2024

I’m giving up exclamation points for New Year’s; 2024 will be the year of non-inflammatory statements. I remember Mrs. Mackey in the second grade telling… Continue reading

Tari Stage-Harvey is the pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. (Photo courtesy of Tari Stage-Harvey)
Adam Bauer, secretary for the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Adam Bauer)

Living and Growing: Don’t shun politics because of negative partisanship; promote unity and justice

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Áakʼw Ḵwáan and Taku Kwaan, the original… Continue reading

Adam Bauer, secretary for the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Adam Bauer)
(Photo courtesy of Chapel by the Lake)

Living and Growing: What Child is This?

Christmas is almost here! Of course, it’s been Christmas at Costco and Home Depot for months. As a teenager I remember thinking it was Christmas… Continue reading

(Photo courtesy of Chapel by the Lake)
A Menorah display in the British borough of Havering, where plans for a community menorah for Hanukkah were cancelled due to “tensions” before being revived. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Rosindell, Member of Parliament for Romford)

Living and Growing: Interfaith support of menorah shows ‘we are all brothers and sisters in humanity’

I belong to a book club. We meet once a month via Zoom, not a holdover from the pandemic, but because the club is comprised… Continue reading

A Menorah display in the British borough of Havering, where plans for a community menorah for Hanukkah were cancelled due to “tensions” before being revived. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Rosindell, Member of Parliament for Romford)
Alejandro Lamas stretches his arms as a bishop during an Our Lady of Guadalupe play on Sunday at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. In the background are Kimberly Valadez, playing the Virgin Mary, and Milagros Correa and Carlos Orozco as the angels. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

A visionary celebration for Juneau’s Hispanic community

Church celebrates Mexico’s Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe with Mass, play and food.

Alejandro Lamas stretches his arms as a bishop during an Our Lady of Guadalupe play on Sunday at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. In the background are Kimberly Valadez, playing the Virgin Mary, and Milagros Correa and Carlos Orozco as the angels. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Laura Rorem, a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church. (Courtesy of Laura Rorem)

Living and Growing: Faithful aging

“GOD put me on Earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I’m so far behind I will never die.” – From a… Continue reading

Laura Rorem, a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church. (Courtesy of Laura Rorem)
Page Bridges of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Page Bridges)

Living and Growing: Heartbreak Hill

Trying to write about beauty and our need for it is hard. Here is a poet’s effort to explain, “A thing of beauty is a… Continue reading

Page Bridges of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Page Bridges)
A public notice about one of several Thanksgiving proclamations President Abraham Lincoln issued during the Civil War. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum)

Living and Growing: Give thanks with a grateful heart

Happy Thanksgiving! Once again we celebrate what is a distinctively American holiday, instituted by our government almost from our nation’s beginning. In 2003 I stumbled… Continue reading

A public notice about one of several Thanksgiving proclamations President Abraham Lincoln issued during the Civil War. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum)
Maj. Gina Halverson is co-leader of The Salvation Army Juneau Corps. (Robert DeBerry/The Salvation Army)

Living and Growing: Be thankful for the opportunity to care for ‘Others’

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, we are reminded of the importance of being thankful. If you are feeling low this Thanksgiving season, I would prescribe the… Continue reading

Maj. Gina Halverson is co-leader of The Salvation Army Juneau Corps. (Robert DeBerry/The Salvation Army)
A sign at Chicago Midway International Airport. (Photo by Teri Schwartz)

Living and Growing: “All lanes lead to all gates”

Some time ago I was standing in a long security line at Chicago’s Midway airport. Above the crowd a large sign read “All Lanes Lead… Continue reading

A sign at Chicago Midway International Airport. (Photo by Teri Schwartz)
Sunlight is cast over part of Mount Juneau on Dec. 16, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)

Living and Growing: Light and beauty

October is the start of fall festivities, it ushers in Halloween, Thanksgiving and then Christmas, along with Alaska Day and Veterans Day, and other holiday… Continue reading

Sunlight is cast over part of Mount Juneau on Dec. 16, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire File)
(Juneau Empire File)

Living and Growing: An ancient history of meditation in the Christian tradition

St. Paul encourages us to “not be anxious about anything.” But how to attain such peace in our world so filled with peril and strife,… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire File)