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Jessica Mesman

@jessicamesman

Senior editor of The Christian Century Writer specializing in religion and culture

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10.10.2023
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Latest posts by Jessica Mesman @jessicamesman

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The bombing of Iran cannot be justified Even if you think there are Just Wars, this isn’t one of them.

The church cannot bless war | The Christian Century

04.03.2026 23:15 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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My queer, infertile fatherhood Last Lent, I found myself reckoning with the concept of failureβ€”and beginning to understand the power of standing in suffering with...

β€œScars I’d almost forgotten, cut by the conviction that I’d failed God’s design, opened again, seeping corrosive doubts about virility, procreation, and succession. The story I thought I’d been given to tellβ€”of God’s love made manifest in my queer familyβ€”was being rewritten.”

– Mario Koym-Garza

25.02.2026 15:03 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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β€œLouise Fago-Ruskin turned to the camera in her 30s in order to document and analyze her life in a moment of profound rupture as she left a fundamentalist church where she had been a dedicated member for two decades.”

– Art commentary from Aaron Rosen: www.christiancentury.org/art/louise-f...

25.02.2026 16:02 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for writing it, Michelle!

24.02.2026 16:51 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

My review of Udi Greenberg’s The End of the Schism is out in @christiancentury.bsky.social: www.christiancentury.org/books/when-e...

19.02.2026 15:31 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

"I have not given up hope that mainline congregations could serve as the community-building, justice-seeking, emotionally safe places that many exvangelical millennials are searching for. " @lizcoolj.bsky.social

23.02.2026 18:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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When the Lunar New Year, Lent, and Ramadan converge The February moon is capacious enough for carnival, lion dances, and taraweeh prayers; for dumplings, dates, and king...

β€œThe February moon is capacious enough for carnival, lion dances, and taraweeh prayers; for dumplings, dates, and king cake. For those of us who navigate multiple cultural and religious calendars, such calendar collisions are a cosmic invitation.”

– Celene Ibrahim

18.02.2026 19:27 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Danced religion at halftime The stage was set for a direct confrontation at the Super Bowl. Instead, Bad Bunny created a liturgy for...

The stage was set for a direct confrontation at the Super Bowl. Instead, Bad Bunny created a liturgy for belonging.

New essay from Ricky Padilla:
www.christiancentury.org/features/dan...

13.02.2026 15:16 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

There is nothing better than seeing a cop that abused you look confused as all your charges are dropped. It is just *chef's kiss* - only problem is I wanted the whole world to see that bodycam footage. That's probably why they dropped my charges. Shutting down #Broadview is a religious obligation!

04.02.2026 16:30 πŸ‘ 394 πŸ” 77 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 4
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What we could not see as beautiful When I told my reading group we’d be looking at one of Brian Staveley’s dark fantasy novels alongside Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology, they...

Art always represents something passing away: Beauty β€œis everywhere and appears as if clothed in death.” Lyle Enright on reading trash, Balthasar, and Anne Michelle Carpenter @catholickungfu.bsky.social

www.christiancentury.org/features/wha...

28.01.2026 19:00 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ve been thinking about this more, and it seems to me that the ecclesial-political stance Barron takes here and elsewhere is very similar to that of conservative Latin American bishops in the 1980s and 1990s.

22.01.2026 18:17 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1
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BISHOP BARRON: Minnesota’s crises demand real change, not more division Bishop calls for unity against Minnesota fraud scandal involving hundreds of millions allegedly stolen from taxpayers, while urging calm amid ICE enforcement tensions.

Folks, the Bishop of Winona Rochester had opinions and now you all are going to hear about it.

It is rare that you get to read the actual letter that someone penned selling their soul to evil, but here is one in it’s full in Fox News

www.foxnews.com/opinion/bish...

21.01.2026 23:38 πŸ‘ 60 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 13 πŸ“Œ 13
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Here in Minneapolis, hundreds of clergy from all over the country have been deployed into the streets to participate in ICE/DHS watch.

The hail from a range of religious traditions, and have come from all over.

This particular group is in a heavily immigrant neighborhood.

22.01.2026 17:41 πŸ‘ 1342 πŸ” 383 πŸ’¬ 23 πŸ“Œ 18

Important to know that Armstrong is a reverend and that she and the protesters felt compelled by faith as well their commitment to civil rights.

This is the state choosing which Christians they will support and which part of the 1A they will defend.

Christian nationalism in action.

22.01.2026 16:23 πŸ‘ 2580 πŸ” 999 πŸ’¬ 22 πŸ“Œ 17

they're response to Kate Bush is my all time fave

16.01.2026 05:12 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The heaving, howling, rolling, jumping ecstasy of Ann Lee I know β€œShaker musical” sounds like a prompt at a bad improv class. But Mona Fastvold’s new film is wild and...

β€œIn a way that can only be seen to be believed, the dancing and singing are the beating heart of the film, and the deepest expression of Shaker spirituality.”

– Kathryn Reklis

www.christiancentury.org/screen-time/...

13.01.2026 15:44 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

2025 was a financially rough year.

If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).

If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!

Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!

14.01.2026 20:45 πŸ‘ 56 πŸ” 44 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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When religion joins the UFO conversation β€œThe nexus of religion, technology, and culture is more interrelated than most people assume,” says professor and filmmaker Brett...

β€œIf the internet were to break down tomorrow, what would we do? These are the sort of cataclysmic consequences that are only rivaled by something like religion, something apocalyptic.”

– Brett Robinson, in an interview by @jessicamesman.bsky.social

www.christiancentury.org/interviews/r...

02.07.2025 20:11 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The rise of Teilhard de Chardin Frank and Mary Frost, the filmmakers behind a recent PBS documentary about the Jesuit paleontologist, have long seen him as a true...

β€œThe key insight into Teilhard’s theory of evolution as opposed to the Darwinian theory is that it's ultimately the evolution of consciousness.”

– Frank and Mary Frost, in an interview with @jessicamesman.bsky.social

www.christiancentury.org/interviews/s...

08.08.2025 20:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0