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Spring ’24

R&S Reflections

children

Rainbow Boy

by Karen Bjork Kubin I wish you could have seen the look on his face, walking home from school. I wish you could carry it

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AWP

Rock & Sling at AWP: Finding Your People

Even being constantly surrounded by people for the majority of the weekend, the whole experience felt rejuvenating rather than draining.  Everyone at the conference was wonderfully friendly and absolutely thrilled to have yet another conversation about books or poetry or the super awesome panel they had just seen.

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AWP

A Seattleite’s Survival Guide to AWP in Tampa

AWP is full of amazing treasures, interesting people, and SO. MANY. BOOKS. But traveling from one corner of the country to another can lead to a cultural shock, so I’m here to help the fellow PNWers cope with these possibly terrifying changes.

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AWP

Rock & Sling at AWP: Mapping Our ‘Little’ World

So, of course, AWP this year was slightly different. This year I not only knew what to expect, but could walk past the tables and mutter to myself, “Ah! It’s that journal, so glad to see them here. Wonder if they are still…” or “I have to find this journal. I saw it while researching and it looks beautiful!” Whatever the utterances, I no longer felt like an uneducated impersonator in the sea of writers, editors, and publishers.

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community

Notes From a Social Media Addict

Why is this moment not enough, without the need to share? Do I just want to brag, or is there a good-hearted motivation there too? What am I so afraid of, that I can’t refrain from sharing?

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creating art

Environmental Art

While traditional theology can sometimes err on the side of trying to make everything fit neatly into familiar philosophical boxes, Theopoetics aims to look directly into the mystery of God and to leave space for wonder.

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beauty and art

Reaching Out to Beauty

What can I offer them? What can I write to them when their fears and questions—along with mine—are so loud in our ears?

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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