Filling our Worry Boxes with Peace
10/13/2025

I don’t remember where we first heard of the concept of a “Worry Box,” but it was an apt analogy for the worrying tendencies around our home. While I’m typically an optimist—always hopeful and looking on the bright side—my husband balances me out with his concern over things that could go wrong.Peop

A Jury of Peers
10/13/2025

I was one of nine jurors selected to decide a case brought against a young man accused of making terrorist threats against a high school he had attended. It’s a daunting task to determine the fate of someone you’ve never met and of whom you know nothing. You listen carefully to the lawyers, the judg

CRCNA Hires Director of Partnership Administration, Replacing Retiring CAO
10/10/2025

Roberta Vriesema is the new director of partnership administration for the Christian Reformed Church in North America, announced Oct. 10, after a successful interview with the Council of Delegates, the board that carries out the work of synod between meetings of synod. The Council met Oct 8-10 in Gr

Showing Love to Those Living in Fear
10/10/2025

At the end of August, I relocated to Washington, D.C., to participate in a year-long internship program. Since that time, I’ve been living with five colleagues in a community house.I’ve learned a lot being here, but it’s been a tense time to live in D.C. Like many times throughout U.S. history, the

Kalamazoo Church Begun in Protest Celebrates 100 Years
10/10/2025

Grace Christian Reformed Church in Kalamazoo, Mich., a congregation with a storied history, celebrated 100 years of ministry in September. Its first 20 years were as a breakaway church from the Christian Reformed denomination.Established in 1925 as the Protesting First Christian Reformed Church, it

East Leonard CRC Marks 100 Years
10/10/2025

East Leonard Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., is marking its 100th anniversary in October with the theme “We Praise God for His Faithfulness.”The celebration is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19. Open to the congregation and the larger community, Saturday includes a

Three Enthralling Books to Read by Hispanic Authors
10/10/2025

The Wind Knows My NameBy Isabel AllendeIsabel Allende never disappoints. The Chilean writer, now 83, applies a masterful touch to this novel, which braids two immigrant stories: a Jewish boy escaping Nazi-occupied Austria and a mother and daughter fleeing El Salvador in modern times.Vienna, 1938: Sa

Candle Island
10/10/2025

Twelve-year-old Lucretia Sanderson prizes the fact that her parents named her after Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), a Quaker feminist and abolitionist whose contributions to racial and gender justice were mostly ignored by historians.Young Lucretia’s father, a history professor with an ardent desire to b

Out of My Mind
10/10/2025

Out of My Mind is a heartwarming coming-of-age story that will also break your heart. Based on a novel by Sharon M. Draper, this fictional drama first premiered at the Sundance Festival in 2024 and, due to its enthusiastic reception, was released that same year on Disney+.Melody Brooks (played by Ph

The Canadian National Gathering Returns in 2026
10/08/2025

The Christian Reformed Church in Canada is actively looking toward its future, with key questions guiding its path: Who are we as a denomination in this time and place, and what is God calling us to do together?These questions will be at the heart of the next Canadian National Gathering, scheduled f

One Body, One Spirit: Disability and Community in the Church
10/07/2025

This award-winning guidebook is a collaborative effort shared by two people who started out as colleagues and came away as friends. When Jason Epps came to Paul Pettit with a serious question concerning how people viewed him as a person with a disability, Pettit tried to give Epps an honest and equa

Cultural Differences
10/06/2025

Not that long ago I was hired to be the manager of lands and tax administration at the office of a nearby First Nation. I was somewhat astonished when I walked into the office on my first day to find several of the positions of power filled by Bangladeshi nationals. Initially I was quite taken aback

A Rainy Ride and a Prayer
10/06/2025

I never liked rain. In Malang, where I live, it pours heavily, making roads slippery and the air cold. But as a motorbike salesman, I don’t get to choose when to ride. If a customer needs a test ride or help, I have to go, rain or not.One evening, the sky darkened and rain poured down. I was deliver

Mamiachi & Me
10/03/2025

Young Rosa is nervous. Today is a big day, and she’s not sure she’s up to the performance that’s expected of her. She’s joining Mami—whom she also calls Mamiachi—and other participants of a renowned mariachi band for the first time, and she wonders and worries, “Am I ready? Will they like me?”Mami a

CRC Work Crews from Michigan Help With Post-hurricane Repair in N.C.
10/03/2025

A team of 12 volunteers from Messiah Christian Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Mich., recently spent a week in western North Carolina repairing homes that were significantly damaged when Hurricane Helene ravaged the region in September of last year. That trip followed work by two other Hudsonville c

The Senior
10/03/2025

Mike Flynt's college football career ended abruptly when he was booted from the team and expelled from school for a series of fights during his senior season. The Senior charts the true story of how Flynt (played by “The Commish,” Michael Chiklis) received an opportunity to play in a college footbal

When Sally O'Malley Discovered the Sea
10/03/2025

Thirteen-year-old Sally O’Malley doesn’t know who her parents are or where she came from, but she is certain of one thing: “Nobody was wanting me. Never had.”Raised in an Oregon orphanage and then forced to work as a servant at a hotel, Sally finds herself on her own in the summer of 1894 when she’s

Last Pastor Forced Out of War-torn Sudanese City
10/01/2025

The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Fredrick Nzwili, was published Sept. 25, 2025 on religionnews.com. It has been lightly edited for Banner style.A priest of the Anglican Church of Sudan who stayed in El-Fasher, the besieged capital of North

From a Gap Year to a Lifelong Call
10/01/2025

What does faith formation in missions look like? For Delaney Plumb, it meant serving with Resonate Global Mission’s Cohort for one year—and now she’s back serving in Central America long-term.Resonate’s Cohort is an opportunity for young adults to discern God’s calling on their lives, engage deeply

Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in the Christian Community
09/30/2025

Counselor Dr. Andrew J. Bauman has some things to say in his new book, Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in the Christian Community.“This book is my attempt to elevate the voices and stories of women who have been silenced within Christian communities, many of whom have been deeply