Featured

Sunlight casting angled shadows of window blinds on a textured yellow wall next to a dark curtain.
Scraps and Ruins
Hope and action amid anger and oppression in Detroit.
Zito Madu
Essay
Renaissance fresco of philosophers and scholars in an ancient architectural setting discussing and writing.
The Home Is the School
What my children need is not to learn the Mayan number system, but to learn how to take out the trash.
Mary Townsend
Essay
Abstract painting of a diverse group of tall, slender figures in colorful robes against a dark background.
Schooling Hope
Through the threat of the virus, ironically, we’ve discovered we are inextricably interrelated.
Stanley Hauerwas
Interview
Person riding a bicycle at a sunny urban intersection with palm trees and parked cars.
This Too Shall Pass?
Community matters the most in times of crisis.
Edwidge Danticat
Essay
Abstract painting with bold black lines, bright colors, shapes resembling birds and landscape elements.
A Unique Time of God?
The revolutionary message of the Gospel, come what may.
William H. Willimon
Features
Wilting flowers in a glass vase placed near a window with sheer curtains and soft light.
Grieving Alone, Together
The best thing we can do for the bereaved is be present and bear witness to each other’s grief. How can we do that now?
Marilyn R. Gardner
Essay
Close-up of a chain-link fence with barbed wire shaped like stars against a purple night sky.
Clean House
Life and death, fame and faith in prison.
John J. Lennon
Features

From the Editor

Close-up of green moss with thin stalks and orange tips against blurred blue and green background.
A Time for Regeneration
We must look clearly at what the coronavirus crisis reveals – and prepare for a renewal to come.
Peter Mommsen
From the Editor

Insights

Child in pink jacket walking on a log over a rocky stream with an adult watching nearby in forest.
Care, Pray, Trust, Obey
While there’s no guarantee of what will happen, God will be faithful to us in whatever the future brings.
Viewpoint
Black and white engraving of a haloed figure blessing a kneeling man while others watch near a tree.
Apart Together
If physical contact keeps us human, what does the future hold?
Charles E Moore
Viewpoint
Calm lake with floating green plants and distant hills under a clear blue sky.
Floodplain
What could be lacking in the sufferings of Christ? Only that which his hands and feet – us – have not yet experienced.
Matthew Loftus
Dispatch
Black and white photo of a stethoscope lying on a fabric surface.
Grateful for Each Breath
An Italian doctor shares his experience treating COVID patients.
Dispatch
Small white mosque with a minaret in a field of white flowers and mountains in the background.
Breaking the Fast in a Broken World
On the eve of Eid, Djibouti starts to emerge from lockdown.
Rachel Pieh Jones
Dispatch
Man and woman wearing face masks standing inside a public transit station near an escalator.
Fellow Feeling in a Crisis
Where is the Christian readiness to give people in stressful situations the benefit of the doubt?
Dispatch
Abstract landscape watercolor painting with layered earth textures and blue distant hills under a pale sky.
The Hard Work of Conversion
Can the lessons learned in this pandemic help us tackle climate change?
Bill McKibben
Essay
Painting of a twisted almond tree branch with blooming white flowers on a blue background.
When the Church Doors Close
After a time of quiet we meet others in a different and fresh way.
Essay
Ambulance driving fast at night with blurred lights and street background.
The Art of Dying
A New York City doctor on the questions colleagues and patients need to ask.
Lydia Dugdale
Interview

Web Exclusives

Black and white image of a young boy hugging and smiling on a woman's shoulder outdoors.
When the Sickness Is Over
How do you explain the pandemic to a three-year-old?
Essay
Figure with staff walking toward a complex of domed buildings at the foot of blue mountains under a cloudy sky.
The Book of Repose
Horizontal and Vertical Time in Laurus and in Lockdown.
Nathan Beacom
Essay
Historic city street scene with crowds, horses, carts, and people gathered along a tree-lined avenue.
Rejoicing in Apocalypse
Plagues as seen through Christian art.
Elizabeth Lev
Essay
Close-up of colorful yellow, blue, and brown clothespins hanging on a clothesline outdoors with blurred greenery behind.
Learning to Stay
Can a frequently transplanted tree – or family – hope to flourish?
Jonathan Kirk Brooks
Essay
Three falcons in flight against a blue sky, one holding prey with wings spread wide.
Mother Peregrine
Keeping watch with fellow creatures.
Laura M. Fabrycky
Essay

Arts & Letters

Brown dog with red collar looking down from an open window with blue shutters on a pink wall.
A Pain in the Navel
A pandemic exposes the gap between those who stay safe and those who never could.
Harold Muñoz
Dispatch
Illustration of ducklings hatching from eggs, one duckling inside an egg and two outside nearby.
Of Ducklings and Baby Fish
Signs of new life amid fear and disaster.
Uk-Bae Lee
Dispatch
Abstract painting with textured earth tones and intertwined circular lines in orange, blue, and white.
Tinned Fruit in Times of Famine
Social media is second best – until it’s the only choice.
Essay
Star trails in circular patterns above silhouetted tall trees at night.
The Rawness of the World
Two poems about seeing and speaking.
Poetry
Dried tumbleweed casting shadow in arid desert landscape with distant mountains under blue sky.
By the Lights of Brush and Night
Two poems about illumination.
Poetry
Two black and white joker playing cards on top of scattered colorful face cards and diamonds.
Patience in Lockdown
A card game delivers messages from on high.
Fiction
Watercolor of people at a funeral surrounding a coffin with text: 'Their greenness is a kind of grief.'
Philip Larkin’s “The Trees”
“The trees are coming into leaf / like something almost being said…”
Julian Peters
Comic
Hands holding a metallic pan lid and a wooden spatula raised against a window background.
Remember When…?
Recording true impressions for the day when we will reminisce and shake our heads in disbelief.
Essay
Impressionist-style painting of a field of red and pink poppies against a dark background.
Service from Suffering
Lessons in facing disaster from a lifetime of grief, prayer, hope, and love.
Fida Meier
Essay