Earth & Altar

A Silent Rebellion — Earth and Altar

Earth & Altar + SSJE are launching a new collaboration: A Silent Rebellion — an every other week series featuring writings from Anglican religious orders.

Reflections on community life, kindness, commitment, and the freedom found in limitation—rooted in vowed life, offered for the whole church.

“I really want to hear the voice of God. If not in person, at least on the answering machine.”

Today’s essay is by Heather Lende.

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BOOK REVIEW: CHRIST AND THE COUNCIL — Earth and Altar Orthodoxy is a fraught term in the Christian faith. On the one hand, proponents for thinking in an orthodox manner might stridently argue for the high importance of clarity of thought when speaking ab...

Good morning, Saturday crowd! If you missed it yesterday, check out Ian Caveny’s book review of Ben Wyatt’s Christ and Council!

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CONFESSIONALISM WITHOUT (EVERLASTING) ANATHEMAS — Earth and Altar In an age when indifference about doctrine is often mistaken for humility, many mainline Christians hesitate to embrace their church’s confessional tradition. For some, creeds and catechisms feel like...

“I’m convinced that a firm trust in universal restoration can heal underlying anxiety that often hampers our maintenance of orthodoxy and our mission of evangelization.”

Today’s essay is by Andrew Raines

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NICAEA AT 1700: REFLECTIONS FROM ROME — Earth and Altar For the past four years, I have been on a quest to understand the Nicene Creed. Time after time, I heard the same questions from parishioners: “Why do we say this every Sunday?” “Can I come to church...

"In the face of the deep anxieties of the 21 st century, Christians are coming together instead of pulling apart."

Today’s essay is by Ben Wyatt

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AMATEUR HOUR: ON CHURCH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD — Earth and Altar Amateur Hour: On church for the love of God I recently watched Carson Lund’s 2025 film Eephus . (1) It’s a beautiful and sad movie. Its beauty comes from its deep love for baseball. In its slow pac...

“Let us rejoice that we are amateurs. That we undertake this common life, not for the love of the game, but for the love of God, our only end in life.”

Today’s essay is by Liam Nieman.

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The latest episode of In Simeon's Wake is out now!

The Imaginary History of Christian Nationalism — Earth and Altar The Church faces no crisis more urgent than that posed by Christian nationalism. Born out of an infernal blend of political authoritarianism, fundamentalism, racism, and heteronormativity, Christian n...

“The great irony is that the future the Christian nationalist hopes for already exists. It is called the Kingdom of God. But it can only be accessed by those who are willing to give up the will to control the Kingdom’s governance.”

Today’s essay is by Ben Wyatt

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HOW GREAT THOU ART: TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE IN A TIME OF FEAR — Earth and Altar Contemplating transcendent aspects of the divine creates a slow-burning fullness in my chest. It lacks the mystical sharpness of St. Teresa’s fiery sword, but when it happens, I feel my desperate hold...

“Did Jesus soothe his own aching heart by collecting driftwood, stacking and arranging it, kneading flour and water, sprinkling salt, and then welcoming?”

Today’s essay is by Suzeanne DeWitt Hall.

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"In Essentials, Unity": A Call for Confessional Anglicanism — Earth and Altar In a July 3 opinion article for Religion News Service, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe argues that, in the words of its headline, “The Episcopal Church must now be an engine of resistance.” (1) In rea...

“In considering a return to confessional Anglicanism, we will find the church’s unity and the church’s voice – a way to interpret all the things that matter to us, not just saying the same things over and over again.”

Today’s essay is by Richard Pryor.

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NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD — Earth and Altar What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. Robert Lowry’s “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus” was first introduced at a New Jersey Baptist camp meeting in 1876, where “this very simp...

In today’s essay, Chris Gregorio reflects on the hymn “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.”

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OUR OWN PSALMS — Earth and Altar I’ve always been a student of the Bible. From finding a comfort in memorizing four verses on a high school mission trip, to leading Bible studies in youth group, to realizing how quickly the right ans...

“As my grip tightened on my phone, I pursed my lips together to keep from screaming: “That’s not what that verse is about!”

Today’s essay is by Katie Rouse

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Check out the latest episode of In Simeon's Wake! This week, we meet Philo of Alexandria.

RECONSTRUCTING IN THE ANGLICAN ORCHARD — Earth and Altar The Christianity of my high school was a leaning overgrown tree, its roots intertwined with invasive undergrowth and creatures sheltering in its branches. My school affirmed the historic dogmas of the...

“From Pentecostalism to deconstruction, New Age detours, and contemplative liturgy, the Anglican approach helped prune and nourish a healthy faith.”

Today’s essay is by Luke Anderson

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“What if the transcendent experiences we have around art aren’t just a mirage? What if they’re real encounters with God?”

Today’s essay is by Carey Wallace

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All throughout the 20th century, Africa witnessed one of the most extraordinary revivals of Jewish identity in modern times. How did this come about? Listen to find out more!

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God is a Negro: What The Black Church’s Political Theology Can Teach Us — Earth and Altar In a sermon published in an 1898 edition of the Pan-Africanist paper, Voice of Mission, the Right Reverend Henry McNeal Turner, a Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a longtime Black n...

“If those of us who are Christian and anti-fascist are to take this current moment of Christofascism seriously, we must take the African American prophetic tradition and its Church seriously as well.”

Today’s essay is by Talique Taylor

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The Self-Emptying of Motherhood: Breastfeeding as Spiritual Discipline — Earth and Altar It took a desert monk to help me see that breastfeeding is the closest I’ve ever come to prayer without ceasing. The young, wealthy, and well-educated John Cassian left his family’s home in present-...

“And no matter how your baby eats, caring for him or her results in a complete “refashioning” of the mind.”

Today’s essay is by Kayla Beth Moore

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Running on Empty — Earth and Altar One mile in, I heard from my left earbud: “battery low.” Add to the mental list: charge earbuds! A little while later, my watch sent one long buzz to my wrist. “That was a quick mile,” I thought, befo...

“What do you think Jesus meant when he said this?” the calm British voice asked.
“Who the f--- knows?” I’d say, while peeling wallpaper. 

Check out our latest essay by Anna Sutterisch

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Check out the latest episode of In Simeon’s Wake!

On the Consolation of Philosophy — Earth and Altar "[Boethius's] sense of the world was ripped away, and no alternative was offered until Lady Philosophy came with her cures."

"[Boethius's] sense of the world was ripped away, and no alternative was offered until Lady Philosophy came with her cures."

Today’s essay is by Williams Lewis.

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Audio Divina — Earth and Altar Imagine walking with prayer in the neighbourhood. The noises of those around us say so much—about job loss, health issues, infertility, abandonment, loneliness and all the different ways life takes a ...

"Imagine walking with prayer in the neighbourhood. The noises of those around us say so much - about job loss, health issues, infertility, abandonment, loneliness and all the different ways life takes a turn.”

Today’s essay is by Suzie Gallagher

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Walking Alone at Eve (with Eve): Darkness, Depression, and the Desire for God — Earth and Altar For many years, I believed my family was born under a black cloud. Mental and spiritual struggles ran deep across generations. My grandfather died by suicide before my father could remember him, and m...

“In the quiet dusk, the hymn reminds us God is not absent. He is present in the slow unfolding of night, in the stars that pierce the sky.”

Today’s essay is by Carlos A. Santiago

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The End of the Victor’s Parade — Earth and Altar I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike...

“If the church is going to stand up to and defeat the perversion that is Christian Fascism, it must first listen to those whom it has othered, marginalized, and hurt during its centuries-long ‘victor’s parade.’” -Scott Robinson

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Go, My Children, With My Blessing — Earth and Altar If you are (or were) a parent of young kids, you know that bedtime can be a challenge. At least I hope you know—I’d hate to think it was just me. You might be hoping to pack school lunches, get the d...

"My kids are vocal about not always loving church...But once we are finally tucked in and the lights are off, all three still ask me for bedtime prayers."

Today’s essay is by Shane Marcus

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Check out the newest episode of In Simeon’s Wake!

The Parasite Class — Earth and Altar

Today’s poem is by Scott Robinson.

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Jerusalem the Golden — Earth and Altar I was an undergraduate at Sewanee in the mountains of Tennessee the first time a hurricane hit home while I wasn’t there with the rest of my family.  I knew in my head that we’d had worse storms ...

Today’s essay is by Daniel Stroud.

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SPILLED IN INK AND GRACE — Earth and Altar I didn’t scream—I wrote instead, With trembling hands and thoughts I bled. Each page a place to set it down, The grief, the ache, the thorn-tipped crown. I spilled the silence, line by line, Th...

“Some wounds don’t ask to be erased,
They’re simply spilled
in ink
and grace.”

Today’s poem is by Amy Kennedy

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Discerning the Dream — Earth and Altar “After the attempt on the life of the Führer, the German Protestant Church Chancellery and the Spiritual Council of the German Protestant Church expressed their gratitude to God for his gracious prote...

“The misappropriation of revelation and providence by the far-right and Christian Nationalists provide a veneer of biblicism to wantonly wicked acts.”

Today’s essay is by Samuel C.R. Cripps.

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