The ordinary stuff of the physical world, the very fundamentals of survival provided by God, are transformed through human art and through the blessing of the Spirit, and they become means of grace.
Debra RienstraJanuary 30, 2021
I keep saying that I’m “exploring” this idea, but at this point it’s more like I’m serving the idea. Refugia seems to have a mind of its own and has sort of taken over my thinking and writing. And podcasting! I’ve just completed another season…
Debra RienstraDecember 5, 2020
The forests are living arks of biodivesity, tiny green vessels, sailing over a barren sea of brown. In this time of rising waters and diminishing life, the church forests of Ethiopia are in many ways the perfect metaphor
Debra RienstraNovember 14, 2020
Earth: Look, I try not to pay much attention to human politics. I have so much to do, what with plate techtonics and weather systems and sustaining various kingdoms and phyla of creatures. Plus I operate on loooooong time scales, you know? Still, my current…
Debra RienstraNovember 14, 2020
I long for a church that is as committed to effective praxis as it is to robust theology. I long for a church that rejects fear of being challenged or questioned or fear of imperfection.
Debra RienstraNovember 7, 2020
What does it mean, I wonder, to encounter a burning bush, flaming but not consumed, and hear nothing? Beauty manifests God, but what if God does not call your name out of the flames? Only silence. No appointment with destiny. You admire for a moment…
Debra RienstraOctober 31, 2020
I think that there's a danger that always being in a reflective and appreciative and sort of a passive mode, that it sucks up the intellectual energy and the motivations that you might have to go bang on the door and try to effect a…
Debra RienstraOctober 31, 2020
Listen now On this episode, we're joined by Katerina Parsons, a recent Calvin University alumna who works in legislative advocacy with the Mennonite Central Committee. After graduating, she spent four years in Honduras and is now doing graduate work in international development. Katerina talks with…
Debra RienstraOctober 24, 2020
