Editorial

In Search of Solace Randall Gauger A pastor who lost a son to cancer probes the problem of pain.

Essays

Where Are the Churches in Canada’s Euthanasia Experiment? Benjamin Crosby Since MAID was legalized, euthanasia is Canada’s sixth leading cause of death. Why are so many Christians silent? Letters from a Vanishing Friend Lisabeth Button What’s it like to succumb to Alzheimer’s? A woman with dementia befriended me, her teenage neighbor. God’s Purpose in Your Pain Rick Warren What good could suffering possibly serve? A pastor reflects on what he has learned from losing a son to suicide. Saving Friends: What I’ve Learned from Insufferable Patients Brewer Eberly A difficult patient teaches her doctor a better approach to medicine. The Speaking Tree Eleanor Parker In an Anglo-Saxon poem, a tree becomes the meeting place of horror and joy. Chinese Christians’ Costly Allegiance Wang Yi A house church pastor imprisoned in China calls Christians to face repression boldly. Baptism Means Leaving Home to Find It Julian Waldner How do you make an inherited tradition your own? A young Hutterite reckons with the legacy of his forebears. The Return of the Bison Nathan Beacom In the Great Plains, scientists and small farmers bring back a mythic beast and a lost ecosystem.

Reading

The Way of the Passion Felicity of Carthage, Anselm of Canterbury, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, J. Heinrich Arnold Five readings from across the centuries illuminate the meaning of suffering in Christian discipleship. The Communion of Empty Hands Eduardo Galeano The beloved Uruguayan author portrays an Easter service behind bars.

Poetry

Poem: “Zeal” Sofia M. Starnes Oh, to imagine I’m shielding You, when You’re / secure as a chant in a red hymnal, / hope of our eyes. … Poem: “Winter” Julia Nemirovskaya and Boris Dralyuk Boris Dralyuk translates a poem by the Russian poet Julia Nemirovskaya: “Here it is, my dearest winter, / dearer than the fall or spring…”

Editors' Picks

Editors’ Picks: Demon Copperhead Chris Zimmerman Barbara Kingsolver’s novel reimagines a Dickens classic in 1990s Appalachia. Editors’ Picks: How to Inhabit Time Joy Clarkson In part personal memoir, in part philosophical reflection, James K. A. Smith’s How to Inhabit Time is a compelling read. Editors’ Picks: Faith, Hope and Carnage Elizabeth Oldfield Nick Cave’s and Seán O’Hagan’s Faith, Hope and Carnage is a record of an unabashed longing for God.

Family and Friends

The Gift of Palliative Care Leah Libresco Sargeant The Hawthorne Sisters serve terminal cancer patients, offering palliative care in the spirit of their founder. Transforming Food Mim Skinner In northeast England, a small band of dumpster divers has become a driving force for food rescue and redistribution.

Lives

On Planting Sugar Maples David Johnson How do you pass on a legacy, and how do you receive one?

Comic

Felix Manz: The Making of a Young Radical Jason Landsel In a city astir with dangerous new ideas, the son of a priest becomes a leader of a nonviolent revolution.

Forum

Letters from Readers Readers respond to Plough’s Winter 2023 issue, “Generations.”

Interview

Two Thousand Years of Christian Strangeness Tom Holland A podcasting scholar sums up the history of pain in two artworks and the lives of three illustrious women.

Report

The Dust on All the Faces Navid Kermani In south Madagascar, farming families battle to survive a lethal drought caused by climate change.

Covering the Cover

Covering the Cover: Pain and Passion Rosalind Stevenson An eloquent sculpture evokes the themes in this issue: the redemptive nature of suffering, and the hope implicit in the Easter story.