Grounded in Faith, Formed in Community
May 27, 2023, was the 12th anniversary of the death of my paternal grandfather, the Rev. Raymond Troutman. He died almost exactly a year after I was ordained, which means I’ve been a minister for 13 years. Both periods of time are hard to believe. Granddad served Moravian churches in North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, and…
Radical is not a word often used to describe Fred Rogers. But his work in children’s television, and especially Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, was ministry ahead of its time. Almost 40 percent of seminary graduates today plan to use their degrees in contexts outside of the local church. Most who serve within the local church will…
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help, like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. (Psalm 88:4–5) These poignant verses express some…