Christian Groups Issue Lenten Calls ‘Defending Refuge’ and to Follow Jesus in Caring for the Poor
03/06/2025

The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Jack Jenkins was published March 4, 2025 on religionnews.com. It has been edited for length and Banner style. The Banner added the eighth, ninth, and final paragraphs to provide context for the Christian Re

Support and Accountability
03/05/2025

I remember being at a classis meeting where a minister was being deposed due to significant challenges in his personal life. This pastor was given an opportunity to speak and, with the arms of his colleagues around his shoulders, he stood at the mic and quoted this proverb: “Wounds from a friend can

Women Telling Their Own Biblical Stories
03/05/2025

“Unless women tell their stories, someone else will tell it their way.” This is the motto of a new group of women theologians who are shedding light on gender inequality in the church.In 2009, most of the 2 million members of the United Church of Zambia, World Renew’s local partner, were women, but

Of Moose & Men
03/04/2025

If Yukon Cornelius from the old Rudolph Christmas special came to life and grew his hair out like a hippy, he’d look a lot like Torry Martin. But although old Yukon is full of bluster, Torry is more like the snow monster after his teeth are pulled, “A mighty humble Bumble.” To say that going from Ca

Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith
03/04/2025

Monica A. Coleman’s family experienced slavery, racism, war, sharecropping, poverty, and alcoholism. Trauma and mental illnesses ran through generations. In this candid autobiography, Coleman shares her own ever-evolving journey of finding comfort in God through these crises. This spiritual memoir b

Mixed Media Roundup: March 2025
03/03/2025

NOVA: Lost Tombs of Notre DameReviewed by Sam GuitierrezIn 2019, the world watched in horror as the 800-year-old Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris burned. The moment its iconic spire collapsed into the massive flames below is an image seared into our collective memory. Thankfully, firefighters could ext

A Man on the Inside Reflects the Worth of God’s Aging Image Bearers
03/03/2025

Septuagenarians are having a moment with the success of Only Murders in the Building, starring Martin Short and Steve Martin, and Matlock, starring Kathy Bates.Now we can add 76-year-old Ted Danson to the list of 70-somethings saving some of their best work for their later years. In A Man on the Ins

50 Is Fabulous
03/03/2025

It happened in an instant at a moment when I least expected it. We were in a department store, and I had just finished helping my oldest son choose an outfit for his first interview after his college graduation. Just before the clerk reached over to scan the barcodes, she looked up at me and asked a

In Quietness and Rest
02/28/2025

The warm air of the indoor botanical garden conservatory enveloped my family as we bustled inside.I was so glad to be there: with flora from around the world, bright sunshine streaming through glass pyramids, and trickling ponds filled with glittering goldfish, this place is a sanctuary amid the har

My Hive: A Girl, Her Grandfather, and Their Honeybee Family
02/28/2025

Inspired by her memoir, The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage, and a Girl Saved by Bees, author Meredith May’s debut children’s picture book relates the story of a young girl who lives with her grandparents after her parents separate. The girl spends most of her time with Grandpa, a beekeeper who

A Bend in the River
02/28/2025

A Bend in the River had me at its voice-over start. A winsome Irish accent with fine word use fastened me to the film—along with the sweep of County Tyrone land. This movie asks what happens to a famous novelist who is blocked before answering, “Return to your roots—and your wounds.”Irishman Matt Do

Will's Race for Home
02/28/2025

Twelve-year-old Will hates living in Texas in the only place he’s ever called home, and all he dreams of is leaving and seeking adventure. His father is a sharecropper on 20 acres of cotton. Most of the earnings are unjustly pocketed by the landowner.Father and Grandpa had left Louisiana and gone we

Affiliations Shift in Classis Grand Rapids East and Beyond
02/26/2025

The January 2025 meeting of the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s Grand Rapids East classis released eight ministers from the office of Minister of the Word and acknowledged 10 congregations in the process of disaffiliation from the denomination. That represents more than half of the 17 o

Home Away From Home
02/26/2025

“Home is where the heart is, and my heart is on this campus,” Shanaya James said.James is a sophomore at Calvin University from Islamabad, Pakistan. Like many international students, she decided to study at Calvin without ever visiting the school.Her reasons are ones commonly cited by other students

In the Garden
02/25/2025

Doug Tjapkes has been playing piano and organ in worship in the CRC for 70 years! He was encouraged to sit down at the piano in his home and record a number of hymns that he has loved over the years. At age 88 Tjapkes plays freestyle, changing keys and chords as he plays through hymns and gospel son

Overcoming False Witness With True Witness
02/24/2025

When a fellow Christian used his podcast to describe me and those who share my perspective regarding church life as so lukewarm that Jesus would vomit us out of his mouth, I felt tempted to respond with mutual insults and contempt. But then I heard Jesus calling me to rejoice!In the conclusion to th

Reply All: March 2025
02/24/2025

To send letters to the editor, please see our guidelines at thebanner.org/letters.BeaversMany websites say beavers use their tails to pack down mud, as does this article (“Aquatic Engineers,” December 2024). Quite a few say this is a misconception. I have never seen a beaver do this, and I’ve seen q

Born of Gilded Mountains
02/21/2025

In 1948, 30-year-old Mercy Windsor, a famous Hollywood actress, has reached the end of her rope. When Mercy stands up against an injustice that almost caused a tragedy, she learns that her career has been terminated, one more loss of home and belonging in a life too familiar with brokenness.Wanting

A Quiet Place: Day 1
02/21/2025

Expressing grief makes us vulnerable. We might be misunderstood. We might be attacked. Some people withdraw into themselves. Others become abrasive and push people away so that no one will sense the hurt that wants so desperately to be let out.In A Quiet Place: Day One (a prequel to A Quiet Place),

Being a Sanctuary: The Radical Way for the Body of Christ to Be Sacred, Soft, and Safe
02/21/2025

Author Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez begins her insightful, loving critique of the current state of the church, institutional and organic, by asserting, “It’s no secret that the Body of Christ is in a crisis. ... We are experiencing intense division, scandals, people walking away from the faith, and d