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Spring ’24

R&S nicolespokane

blossoms

Death and Blossoms

by Karissa Knox Sorrell A couple of months ago, I went to a funeral. It was for a woman named Joyce whose husband had been

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Ann Marie Bausch

Forgiving Our Small Towns

by Ann Marie Bausch Once upon a time, I was lucky enough to be invited on a free trip to Paris.  I encountered the usual

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chamber opera

The Example of Romero

by Kenneth L. Field If someday they take the radio station away from us, if they close down our newspaper, if they silence us, if

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Witnesses

by Karissa Knox Sorrell When I write, I turn my back to the saints. We moved into a new home in August. With our home

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Andy Zell

Expectations

  by Andy Zell As I write this, we are expecting our fourth child in a matter of days. A few days before the birth

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Comfort Reads

by Amy Rice com·fort food noun food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically any with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content

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hayride

Filling the Cracks with Gold

by Polly Hollar Pauley I recently read that Japanese ceramic artists think that an item that has suffered damage becomes more beautiful, and that when

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Andy Zell

When in Doubt…

by Andy Zell Let’s talk about Doubting Thomas. First off, he’s got a branding problem: he’s forever known as a doubter.  He can never simply

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cat ownership

On Cat Ownership

by T.J. Pancake “Any dog under fifty pounds is a cat, and cats are pointless.” – Ron Swanson It seems that in the world of

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Amy Hendricks

The Gaze of Kindness

by Amy Hendricks What makes someone kind? Do they wear fuzzy sweaters and bake chocolate chip cookies all year round? Do they help you move

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Boyz II Men

Once More, With Brio

by Megan Hershey The first time I saw a Brio magazine was during a sleep-over at my friend Jolynn’s house.  I was 12 and the magazine felt

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Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis

Solvitur Ambulando

by Laura Reber Her prophecy seemed a bit dramatic, but I noted it in my journal anyway, as Lord knows I needed some help with

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Facebook

Social Mediation

by Ryan Stevens The word “twitter” used to exist exclusively as a playful way to describe the series of high pitched sounds created by a

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creative life

Creative Life

by Jacquelyn Barnes I live in the collision between slowing down and being ambitious, between experiencing and interpreting, where freedom meets commitment. I believe in

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Barbara Brown Taylor

A Tent in the Wilderness

by Karissa Knox Sorrell I live in a world where people pitch tents all time. I see them in their tents every day on Facebook,

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Dancing for Joy

Dancing For Joy

by Shannon McKee I’m not sure when it was that I stopped dancing. Not with a company or with a performance group or in clubs,

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Heather Caliri

Hunger

by Heather Caliri I was a junior in college when my Bible study leader, Tina, recommended that I memorize Scripture. She pulled out a card

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impeded stream

Impeded Streams

by Liz Mitchell One of my favorite authors, Wendell Berry, said, “The impeded stream is the one that sings.” I’ve been thinking about the dimensions

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Morgan C. Feddes

To Build A Church

by Morgan C. Feddes church \‘chərch\ n. 1 : a building for public and especially Christian worship 2 : the clergy or officialdom of a

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Appalachia

On His Seventh Birthday

by Polly Hollar Pauley On my son’s seventh birthday this summer, we breakfasted out, per his request, and then spent five hours at a local

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Caroline J. Simon

Life Drawing

by Caroline J. Simon I sit cross-legged on the ground by the lake at Oxbow, painting the stump in front of me. I capture the

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bike tour

The Night of Day Nine

by Corey Zalewski I slept in the middle most nights, Jeff on my left and Monte on my right. This night was no different until

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baptism

Being Born Again

by T. J. Pancake I took freshman-year health class as a sophomore in high school. It’s mostly about sex, which you would think 15-year-olds would

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ants

Learning From the Ants

by Kathryn Smith Beneath my patio, a silent upheaval. Silent to me, though the ants hear it in their own way, a vibration humming their

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John Green

Living In the Shadow

by Pierrette Stukes   These two teenage, giggling girls kept appearing before me. In the ticket line, as my husband and I bought our movie passes,

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body/soul faith

Prayer is a Thing With Wings

by Karissa Knox Sorrell I walked down to the church kitchen to make a cup of instant coffee, piling in sugar and chalky powdered cream.

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intercultural marriage

Marking the Color Trail

by Patrice Gopo I. Spin, I hear my thoughts say. Spin. And so I do. My right foot steps away from my left, and I am

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Desmond Tutu

Writer’s Ink: Ubuntu

            by Patricia Bruininks   On my right shoulder blade. At the Missing Piece studio.   These are two answers

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A Little Yes

A Letter To Ants

by Heather Caliri Dear Ants, I swore I wouldn’t use poison. The kids, you know? Also, the smell of the spray gives me the heebie-jeebies.

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FIFA World Cup

Quadrennial Secular Religion

by Katherine Karr-Cornejo Every four years I’m drawn back in to something that I love that makes me feel ecstatic and heartbroken. There’s an emotional

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advice for a young niece

Letter To A New Niece

by Annie Stillar Dear Callie, Happy birthday. This is your auntie. You have several, but I’m the funny one. I love fish tacos and eyebrow

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R&S Seeks Rad Bloggers

Rock & Sling is on the lookout for correspondents who’ll bear witness to this world–its art, music, books, politics, faith, doubt–and blog about it right here. To

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Maya Angelou

On Isla Vista and Maya Angelou

by Rafaela Acevedo-Field Between the UC Santa Barbara shootings and the passing of Maya Angelou, these past few days have  been tough. When I read about Maya

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body image

The Body, Revisited

by Kelli Hennessey I have always been heavy. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t extremely aware of the limits of my body. I

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church office manager

The Faces of the Church

by Lauren Michelle Major Have you ever walked in church alone? Have you paced the aisles of pews in the dark, walked the back hallways,

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middle school humor

Pinterest Tells All

by Miranda Cloyd Board: Unashamedly Laughed At This. Status: Public. Pins: 214. Analysis: You like to laugh. You’re easily entertained by well-timed pictures of animals

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church shopping

Shopping on Sunday

by Stacy Keogh I’m not much of a shopper. Mother worked in retail for most of my childhood and insisted I keep an eye out

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Advent

Deep Greens And Blues

by the Rev. Liv Larson Andrews Advent is here. For most, however, these weeks of December are not a separate season but are already Christmas.

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gratitude

Gratitude As A Gateway Emotion

by Patricia Bruininks Hope. Peace. Joy.  These words are ubiquitous this time of year.  Their meaning is fundamental to the story of Christ’s birth, and they

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Crater Lake

Running Water

by Judith Shadford My response to running water is instinctive, right up there with my response to Wagner, Rachmaninoff, Charles Villiers Stanford, Harry Potter, David

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Costa Rica

Whose Word Is “Shalom”?

by Maggie Montague Shalom was how my grandfather greeted us as my family was ushered through the door of his 300 square foot apartment in

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Barbara Haas

Contributor Notes: 8.2

We ask our contributing authors to consider the role of faith in their work, or in the pieces in our issue. It adds some depth

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cautionary tales about power tools

On Scars and Their Stories

by the Rev. Martin Elfert The scar runs up my forehead, starting just above my right eyebrow. Perhaps half an inch wide at the bottom,

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adoption

Love At First Sight

by Jenny Brown For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you

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a pastor's role

The Pastor On The Ladder

by Kellan Day Go my children with my blessing, never alone. Waking, sleeping, I am with you; You are my own. This one line of

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false listening

Learning To Listen

by Gregg Brekke Listening has consequences. A number of years ago, I was teaching in Micronesia. One day, Noah, the principal of our high school,

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Chicano English

Language Patrol

by Gregg Brekke We tend to think that popular people such as Peter Jennings and Justin Bieber are friendly, international-border crossers. We ignore the OH

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Jeff Dodd

An Interview with Jeff Dodd

John Taylor is an R&S editorial assistant and recent Whitworth grad. He interviewed contributor Jeff Dodd. John Taylor : You’ve said that much of your

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1970s psychology

In My Father’s Library

by Jackie Wallace My dad has this library. It’s mostly history books, and books on various religions. He has a whole corner of the room

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art

On First Transgressions

by Jacquelyn Wheeler I was at Grandie and Poppa’s house, its weird guest room with the rainbow bed spread, the baseball lamp, the plaques on

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Contributor Notes: 8.1

We ask our contributing authors to consider the role of faith in their work, or in the pieces in our issue. It adds some depth

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Ark Press

Midnight Orchard

by Nathan Hauke I’m given to write poems. I cannot anticipate their occasion —R Creeley, A Quick Graph It’s December already and the windows are

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