On-line Inspiration: This blog is for the web surfer who is interested in some wonderful sites for spiritual rumination. Many of us spend hours on-line as part of our jobs, and websites to serve the spiritual seeker are cropping up everywhere. Like the spirituality shelves at bookstores, you can find spiritual websites on almost any topic. I’m not sure what the spiritual practice of today should be. For many people surfing the net is not something that requires a huge spiritual effort. For me, it is. I do find religious connections with people on-line through various blogs and websites.
Connection, communion, these happen in unusual ways, and the Holy Spirit seems to be using the internet in surprising ways.
In my on-going penitential duty of become more adept at cyber life, I include below some of the blogs and sites I’ve been researching this winter. The first is close to home for me. My daughter Amy is writing a blog for Lent, too. We came to our blogging decisions independently, mine because I resist technology, hers because she is thoroughly at home with it, and uses it often. She is currently an intern in California, and she offered to write a blog of Lenten devotions for her congregation. Her site is here. I’ve told her that I’ve passed on the blogsite address to some people here, and she was delighted.
Another wonderful blog/website is by an exciting young pastor in Denver:
sarcasticlutheran.com. This site is authored by Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, who serves as a mission developer for a church called House of All Sinners and Saints. Pastor Bolz-Weber is a bright light in the ELCA, an energetic out-of-the-box thinker, and in her own words, the most-tattooed pastor in the ELCA. That should be at least worth one look at the site. She’s a great preacher–read some of her sermons. House for All Sinners and Saints is what some might call an “emergent church.”
If the term “emergent church” piques your curiosity, see the website below for an adventure in the 21st century church. The times are a’changing, and so is church as we know it: emergentvillage.com I became interested in the emergent church movement at a conference several years ago. Take some time and look at this site, especially some of the blogs.
Recently our adult education group started exploring the Book of Faith materials provided by the ELCA in response to the Book of Faith Initiative. Basically, the Book of Faith Initiative, which you’ve heard me speak about many times, encourages all of us to become more familiar with scripture, to relearn the first language of faith: the Bible. Rob Claypool, in our congregation, has been working with on-line Book of Faith websites: see this.
Two on-line resources I use religiously for religious inquiry, especially in sermon preparation are: textweek.com and workingpreacher.org
Both of these websites are full to the brim of treasures, scripture studies, articles, art, translations, and some of the best scholarship available today. I can’t say enough good things about the WorkingPreacher site, sponsored by Luther Seminary. Good hunting.
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