All Posts By

Debra Rienstra

Blog

Lectures: A Triptych

“Where did you come from? How did you get here? Who paid?” March 18, 2017 In order to put the current discussion of immigration reform

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Blog

Bewildered in the Wilderness

On Wednesday, a fierce March wind hurricaned through West Michigan. Traffic lights swayed, trees whipped about, and any remotely weak branches snapped off and littered

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Blog

Notes from the Lament Team

“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is

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Blog

The Call of the Library

Of all the good books I received as Christmas gifts this year, one has captured my heart: You Could Look It Up: The Reference Shelf

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A Prayer for Christmas Eve

Come, Savior. Come amid the salt-crusted cars lined up at the light, amid the clamor and bustle of commerce, the grocery store cash drawer rings,

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Blog

Quid Est Potentia?

“There are two elements of the constitution, wrote Walter Bagehot in 1867, the efficient and the dignified. … The efficient has the power to make

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Blog

Tribal Council

by Debra Rienstra When I was on the Perspectives board years ago, I used to refer to our semi-annual meetings as “tribal council.” We gathered

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