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Lord, help evaluate this past year

It’s almost over, folks...yet it’s only just begun. 2021 is over, and a new day, a new hope, a new faith is upon us. Are you ready? While I’ve never been one to make New Year Resolutions (because I’ve learned they are often made in haste and soon forgotten), I see the need for us to recognize that we are stepping into a new day with so many opportunities before us. We DO need to reflect on decisions we’ve made during this last year and realize just how those decisions may have reaped rewards or devastation. Life or death...every single day of this past year has taken us ...

The only mark that matters

There is a cryptic symbol in John’s vision, that is often abused and exploited, the fabled “666, the mark of the beast.” It’s one of many symbols in the Revelation Code where some the biblical literalists, fear-mongering booksellers and some prophetic preachers have had a heyday of speculation, trying to figure out the meaning of the mark and the naming of the beast. At the time of the Reformation, some believed it was the Pope and others believed it was Martin Luther, depending which side of the debate you were on. During World War I it was thought to be Kaiser Wilhelm and, of ...

Women are finding new ways to influence male-led faiths

(THE CONVERSATION) In some religions, women are barred from serving as clergy or excluded from top leadership roles. Nonetheless, women have broken into influential roles in these male-led faiths. How are these women forging new pathways in these traditionally patriarchal religions? The panel featured Ingrid Mattson, chair of Islamic Studies at Huron University College at Western University; Emilie M. Townes, dean and distinguished professor of Womanist Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt Divinity School; Carolyn Woo, distinguished president’s fellow for global development at Purdue ...

Religion briefs

Editor’s note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinel’s Religion section, contact Erin Thompson at (717) 248-6741 or by email at ethompson@lewistownsentinel.com. Items also may be faxed to (717) 248-3481 or sent to The Sentinel, 352 Sixth Street, Lewistown, PA 17044. Items should arrive to The Sentinel by Wednesday afternoon for publication in the Saturday edition. Submissions will be published as space allows. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions. ¯¯¯ Ellen Chapel to host coffee house LEWISTOWN — Ellen Chapel Church will host a Coffee House ...

Religion briefs

Editor’s note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinel’s Religion section, contact Erin Thompson at (717) 248-6741 or by email at ethompson@lewistownsentinel.com. Items also may be faxed to (717) 248-3481 or sent to The Sentinel, 352 Sixth Street, Lewistown, PA 17044. Items should arrive to The Sentinel by Wednesday afternoon for publication in the Saturday edition. Submissions will be published as space allows. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions. ¯¯¯ Church to host special speakers REEDSVILLE — Schrader United Methodist Church will host the ...

Pastor seeks tattoo shop to bring church as people get inked

ALLENTOWN (AP) — Instead of waiting and hoping for more parishioners to show up in an era of declining church attendance, an Allentown pastor plans to bring prayer and Bible study to the community — through local tattoo shops. “People aren’t coming into churches,” Rev. Kathryn Dinkelacker-Swan of Emmanuel United Methodist Church said during a recent phone interview. “There’s church trauma — people don’t feel comfortable with all the churches and the liturgies and prayers. “I feel like church isn’t confined in the walls of a building, and I can bring church ...