mother teresa - the role of doubt

By now most people have read about the crisis of faith that struck the great Mother Teresa for approximately fifty years. It seems that just about the time that she moved to Calcutta to work among the poorest of the poor, she lost her connection with God - at least the kind of connection to which she had grown accumstomed, the kind that is personal and intimate. A new book is out - "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light" - that opens to the public a series of her private letters containing her darkest moments of doubt and loneliness.

What is the role of doubt in a life of faith? How do crises of faith affect our belief and our sense of wholeness in life?

For more on the subject, take a look at this article in TIME magazine.

progressive christian radio

I'm back from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's going to take a little time to process my trip and to get back into the swing of things. Life in the US is very different from life in central Africa.

While I'm getting my thoughts together, I thought I'd lift up - for all who are interested - a radio show hosted by United Methodist pastor Rich Lang. It's called "Living Faith Now" and it can be accessed via the internet at www.livingfaithnow.org. Rich's ministry follows in the footsteps of great liberation theologians, process theologians, and those who have ministered with the least and the last. Rich desires to offer a voice within religious dialogue that counters the pro-militaristic, pro-nationalistic, pro-apocalyptic voices that so often dominate Christian discourse.

Rich Lang says, "'Living Faith Now' is an attempt to create a 'public space,' both through live radio and as an ongoing resource on the web, for our congregations, both to hear an alternative Christian spirituality, and to share this alternative spirituality with others...Living Faith Now is an attempt to present an alternative expression of Christian faith. We are engaging the tough issues like homosexuality, militarism, the global economy, and core issues of meaning and purpose and direction in life."

Check it out!

no blog for a month

This is just a reminder that this blog will be down until the end of August, unless I find that I have both time and opportunity at some point along the way. The VIM team of which I'm a part flies off from Seattle this afternoon for a 35 hour trip to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After a night in Lumbumbashi, we board another flight for Kolwezi, where we'll spend two weeks. On our way home, we'll stop in Nairobi for safari. The team leaves after three days; I stay another three, returning to Seattle on Aug 25.

Enjoy the blogging world while I'm away!