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The Kingdom, the Power, The Glory—book review

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The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Tim Alberta Harper, 2023 Tim Alberta is a native son of Michigan and adept observer of the Evangelical and post-Evangelical world as the son of a born again pastor who built up a successful church down the road from me in Brighton. We’re all floundering right now in a netherland between polarities, in a nation more divided than ever. Some assert on the verge of a civil war, Into this dire fractured battlefield stepped Tim Alberta.   After his father died, the author decided to assess the health of Evangelical Christianity from a number of perspectives, knowing that not everyone would agree on even what it means to be an Evangelical Christian. What he found was that the Church was in trouble, I began reading this book in the aftermath of a decision by Chicago’s City Zoning Committee to deny CCO (Cornerstone Community Outreach, the homeless shelter I used to work at) a Special Use Permit to extend a

Beautiful Things, music review

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I like occasionally reading reviews by NPR music correspondent Ann Powers, who recently wrote about Beautiful Things. Google it, it’s viral, y’all. My take on the lyrics and delivery are uniquely my own. And, though, it could be interpreted as male toxicity when he belts out I NEED YOU TO STAY I came away with a different feeling. I find it to be a song about faith and security within a faltering relationship. Some of this comes from my current insecurities with God, the Church, and my own faith journey. Powers mentions that Benson Boone is a Mormon, which introduces its own complexities to the modern relationship. I need to add here that I’m not on Tik Tok or keep up on all things viral. Lately I’ve been too busy to even write the occasional short story, But, last Friday I took a break and caught up on stuff having nothing to do with my writing or backwoods existence. I didn’t know anything about the artist or that he’d been on American Idol. I had never seen his videos. Etc.

deadline March 22

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Sometimes at Night

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 I stop and pause on the back deck to study the night sky above me, where a kind of theater takes place: Dancing stars, piercing the veil A succession of clouds, entering and exiting Moons, fat or skinny, no shows, everything in between From the pit—a crescendo of crickets, a train horn section, the percussive bark of a neighbor dog Every night a different show, a version of the same Before stepping back inside I do a dance On the dimly-lit stage

Lightweight Jacket

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After three months I see you again, old friend, hanging around. I get you off the hook and we go out together, for drinks, dinner, a walk to the store in twilight’s new warmth. You’ve always been steady, by my side in rain or shine; you’ve got my back. As the season’s turn and our love for each other wans and waxes, I hope I never lose you.