the Web Editors

The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.

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Prayer of the Day: Signs of the Reign of God

by the Web Editors 10-22-2013

Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit inspires us to become signs of the reign of God, anticipating God's heavenly glory through the love, compassion, kindness, truth, goodness, and joy we share with one another. May our relationships with friends, neighbors, and enemies be filled with those signs of the reign of God. Amen.

Voice of the Day: Maya Angelou

by the Web Editors 10-21-2013

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” - Maya Angelou Maya Angelou + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: In the Midst of Daily Life

by the Web Editors 10-21-2013

May God's Spirit guide us to open our hearts wide to the grace of God surrounding us in the midst of our daily life. We pray for all who suffer separation from their loved ones as the carry out their work or studies, may God's Spirit comfort them and reassure them, empowering them to complete their duties. Amen.

Verse of the Day: Mark 4:10-12

by the Web Editors 10-21-2013

When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that “they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’ - Mark 4:10-12 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Voice of the Day: Walt Whitman

by the Web Editors 10-17-2013

Prayer of the Day: Deepen our Trust in the Mystery

by the Web Editors 10-17-2013

Verse of the Day: Malachi 3:1

by the Web Editors 10-17-2013

Joining the #FaithfulFilibuster from Des Moines

by the Web Editors 10-16-2013

An Ecumenical group of pastors and lay leaders in the greater Des Moines area. Photo courtesy Sarah Trone Garriot.

People around the country have taken notice of the #FaithfulFilibuster and want to lend their voices. From Pastor Sarah Trone Garriot in Des Moines, Iowa: "Since we couldn't be in Washington to join you, a few of us pastors got together and visited our Iowa Representative's office."

After reading through select Bible verses, the group read the following statement:

To the Honorable Representative Tom Latham:

We believe that the recent government shutdown is not just a failure of the process of governance. This shutdown is born of the failure to follow Jesus’ commandment to “love our neighbor.” (Luke 10:25-37)

We have witnessed hard hearts as our elected representatives squander their time and energy to attack one another and create failure.

We have witnessed our elected representatives acting without mercy when it comes the poor, the vulnerable, the sick, and the stranger.

As Americans, we are at our best when we come together to work for the common good. This shutdown, and the divisive behavior that gave birth to it, is an insult to our nation. We can do better.

[contined at the jump]

Prayer of the Day: Preserve Us from Duplicity and Hypocrisy

by the Web Editors 10-16-2013

All-knowing God, your Son Jesus Christ reminds us that nothing escapes you. You know our thoughts and our hearts better than we know ourselves. Send us your Holy Spirit to preserve us from useless duplicity and hypocrisy, guiding us toward the perfect integrity your Son showed us. May we welcome people in our lives who are working to build the kingdom of God. Amen.

Voice of the Day: Martin Luther King, Jr.

by the Web Editors 10-16-2013

"We must learn to live together as brothers [and sisters] or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Verse of the Day: Nehemiah 1:8-9

by the Web Editors 10-16-2013

Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.” - Nehemiah 1:8-9 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: Love Without Partiality

by the Web Editors 10-15-2013

Holy God, we bring our prayers to you as acts of love for you and for our neighbors. Your love knows no partiality. We pray for our community and for our neighbors. You are the Lord of all you have made. We pray for the world, that your reign may come and your will be done on earth. Amen. -Adapted from Take Our Moments and Our Days: An Anabaptist Prayer book

Voice of the Day: Bishop Ken Untener

by the Web Editors 10-15-2013

"It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. ... We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own." Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, Mich. + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

[Editors note: Quote was previously misattributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero]

Verse of the Day: Psalm 18:27-28

by the Web Editors 10-15-2013

For you deliver a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. - Psalm 18:27-28 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: More in Love with You

by the Web Editors 10-14-2013

Creator of the Universe preserve us from our own presumption. Do not let us close ourselves into ourselves, but open us continually into you. Let us be more in love with You than with our notions of You. Let us stop claiming to know everything so that we may understand something. Amen.

-Rabia Terri Harris

Verse of the Day: Mark 4:39-40

by the Web Editors 10-14-2013

He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ - Mark 4:39-40 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Voice of the Day: God Alone Will Do

by the Web Editors 10-14-2013

"May nothing wind you up, nothing affright you; everything comes and goes. God, still, just there; through patience all will be achieved. If you have God, you lack nothing: God alone will do." - Teresa of Avila + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

WATCH: God's Justice Never Shuts Down — Jim Wallis on #FaithfulFilibuster

by the Web Editors 10-11-2013

Jim Wallis talks about the #FaithfulFilibuster outside the Capitol Building and offers a reading of his conversion text, Matthew 25.

Voice of the Day: William Penn

by the Web Editors 10-11-2013

"No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown." - William Penn William Penn + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: Firm Foundation of Your Presence

by the Web Editors 10-11-2013

Heavenly God, grant us the faith to turn to you in prayer, and to seek your presence in our lives. May a sense of your presence be a firm foundation for all that we do, say, or carry out, especially in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.