Good morning, readers and friends, and welcome to Advent. Today marks my last post as a regular writer for The Twelve; perhaps I’ll be back

I knew adult coloring books were becoming popular, but it wasn’t until I watched someone happily coloring in one during a conference about six months ago

This fall, Trinity Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan is studying and discussing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). I contributed a reflection on

Just after Pope Francis arrived at the Philadelphia airport last month, he stopped his driver on the tarmac and made his way over to a

A week ago Sunday night I sat on the front porch and watched the moon as it rose, full and bright. Clouds came and went

“A long thread of tragedy is woven through the story of the puffy white substance that clothes us all.” That’s the closing line of the

Happy Labor Day. I hope for at least some of you it is indeed a rest from labor. It has me thinking about the evolving

As a general fan of sarcasm and satire, I thoroughly enjoyed Stephen Colbert’s shenanigans on the Colbert Report. Now, as only two weeks remain before

Well, hello again. I’m back after a three month hiatus from The Twelve. Many thanks to those who have been writing in my absence! I

Below, I want to share with you the homily I offered at my grandmother’s memorial service, six months ago now, just shy of her 94th

Good morning, on this annual Monday where our clocks have been turned back for a day but our body clocks struggle to catch up. The

Over the weekend I heard Dr. Andrew Newberg speak; he’s a neuroscientist who researches the effects of religious experience on our brains. Newberg coined the

In the spirit of Black History Month and the year-round realities to which it draws our attention, I want to share a story from a

It’s been almost two weeks since my entire backpack was stolen from a locked office in one of the hospitals where I work occasional chaplain

This poem by the late Irish poet John O’Donohue showed up in my inbox last week (via emails from Inward/Outward, a wonderful daily dose of

I’m not generally one to make New Year’s resolutions, but I do tend to get pretty reflective as one year gives way to the next.

A few months ago,  early one morning, on my way into one of the hospitals where I work occasional chaplain shifts, I was making the

“A deliberate tension must be built into our practice of the Advent season. Christ has come, and yet not all things have reached completion. While

Last week I enjoyed meeting and hearing from Dr. Norman Wirzba during his visit to Nashville. Norman teaches theology and ecology at Duke Divinity School. 

Susan Sytsma Bratt serves as Associate Pastor of Northridge Presbyterian Church (USA) in Dallas, Texas. She’s also my cousin-in-law (and daughter-in-law of fellow 12 blogger

Picking up where I left off last time, I want to take another look at “emerging adulthood.” In two weeks, the third and last installment

I really appreciated psychologist Laurence Steinberg’s article last week, “The Case for Delayed Adulthood.” He acknowledges that the societal ways we talk about the path to adulthood

Robert Couse-BakerToday’s guest post comes from my friend Adam Navis. Adam is the Director of Operations for Words of Hope and is also studying the

Today’s guest post comes from my friend Adam Navis. Adam is the Director of Operations for Words of Hope and is also studying the intersection of

Today’s guest post comes from my friend Adam Navis. Adam is the Director of Operations for Words of Hope and is also studying the intersection of

 “Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you 
in thought, word, and deed,
 by what we have done, 
and by what we have

It’s high season for weddings, and this time around I’ll be a bride. Yes, I’m happy to share the news that I got engaged this

A friend here in Nashville is helping to plant a church in a nearby state prison, and recently got approval to start having outsiders come

           Over the course of this month I’ve been leading a book discussion of N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope for an

Today’s guest post comes from the Rev. Dr. Daniel Meeter, pastor of Old First Reformed Church in Brooklyn, New York. The charismatic rabbi of the

Good Monday to you. After much hemming and hawing over several half-baked ideas for today’s post, I’ve decided to re-post this piece. I humbly (re)submit

I’m picking up where I left off two weeks ago, and glad for the responses that have given me much to ponder in the meantime.

Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed piece, “Professors, We Need You!,” struck a chord with me last week. I deeply respect Kristof’s work, and I’ve written here before (and

“Too many choices!” I commented as I tried to pick from the array of bread, bagels, and baked goods displayed in the breakfast buffet. “Yes,

 This weekend I saw a special exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s work here in Nashville . I had heard it was great, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The baptism of Jesus was the central motif yesterday, as far as the liturgical calendar of the church year goes. I found myself reflecting quite

I learned about the recent “elf on a shelf” trend on the day after Thanksgiving, when the plane I was boarding was preparing to take

Today’s guest post comes from Rev. Dr. Chad Pierce. Chad is a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the RCA, and currently serves as a

 I’ve been daydreaming about the comet Ison a lot the last few days, fascinated by this celestial body that has been making interesting headlines. Ison

A week ago was Veterans Day, an occasion to honor and thank those who’ve served in our armed forces. Along with showing our gratitude, however,

I don’t typically follow sports very closely, but I got really into the World Series during the past couple weeks. Watching the Red Sox win

 Last week I was in New York for the Brooklyn classis meeting of the RCA. That’s the classis (local body of churches) of which I’m

I’ve asked Rev. Meg Jenista to be our guest writer today. Meg is the pastor of the Washington, DC Christian Reformed Church, where 20% of

I’ve started putting more birthday reminders in my Google calendar, but it feels awkward when I set such events to “repeat annually,” because the screen

Just after New Year’s Day this past January, while I was back in Grand Rapids, I walked past a reporter lady from the East Grand

© Ryan Spencer Reed It took a couple weeks, but the postcard from Paktia Province, Afghanistan eventually arrived in my mailbox. It’s from Ryan Spencer

The summer is waning, but the heat in Nashville isn’t. I’m especially preoccupied with escaping the humidity and sweltering temps because the A/C in my

A year ago this week I said goodbye to Boston and moved to Nashville. Of the many Boston memories that continue to steep in my

I just returned from Minnesota, from a writing workshop called “Deepening Words: Writing and the Spiritual Life,” led by writer and scholar Lauren Winner. She

Yesterday I did something I hadn’t done in five years. I was pouring a bowl of cereal and a piece fell on the kitchen floor

Last week, after an “Auntie Jessica” visit to San Francisco, I visited the Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, with my friend Stefanie. It had

Graphic by Timothy Aivazian (http://timothyaivazian.com)Happy Pentecost Monday, friends. As I was reflecting on the layers of meaning that Pentecost carries, I found my way back

My dad, Ken Bratt, is retiring this year. He’s been a Classics professor and director of the Honors program at Calvin College for decades, so

Today’s guest post comes from Kate Davelaar. Kate is a minister of Word and Sacrament in the RCA and currently serves as a Chaplain at

A few weeks ago, the day after Pope Francis’ election, actually, a chaplain colleague and I greeted a troop of Girl Scouts in the children’s

As we enter into Holy Week, I’d like to share a piece I wrote two years ago for the Faith and Leadership program at Duke Divinity:

Today’s guest post comes from Mark Roeda, pastor of South Bend Christian Reformed Church:    Learning to read resembles learning to ride a bike.  In

Good morning. Happy Monday. Happy busy, lots-to-do, didn’t-get-enough-done-this-weekend-or-enough-rest-either kind of morning. Welcome to another brief interval between sunrise and sunset. If you’re anything like me

  I snapped this photo from my seat at the Washington, D.C. restaurant where I had brunch with a friend last Sunday. I admired the

Today marks a month since the school shooting in Newtown. The media have moved on, of course, and discussions continue about what changes can or

I was musing over some vintage images of Father Time and Baby New Year when I saw on Facebook (source of breaking news, for better

 I’m struggling to find words today. I’m tempted to just re-post my piece “Herod’s Long Shadow” from a year ago. And I’m tempted to take back

Today I want to commend Brene Brown to you, and point you to some of her work that I hope you’ll watch or read when

Today’s guest post comes from Rev. Adriene Thorne, an Associate Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City. It originally appeared on The Huffington Post. Thanks

Well, tomorrow’s the big day. After tomorrow, the attack ads and campaign coverage will be over, and sweet little Abigael will be able to stop

I’d like to introduce you to someone. His name is Pumpkin-Headed Turkey Claus. His creators, the nice people at RetailMeNot.com, offer us this bio: “Who is

Several months ago I recommended the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. A documentary based

I know this might amount to sacred cow-tipping, especially this time of year, but I’m troubled about football. I must admit, I had a great

I heard about the Election Day Communion project in a recent newsletter of Christian Churches Together. It caught my attention this week because it seems like

I am missing many things about my life in Boston, but the church I attended, Fourth Presbyterian, is one of the highest on the list.

I’ve got stuff on my mind. Literally, stuff. I’m moving this week (Boston to Nashville) and packing up my worldly belongings again. Stuffing stuff in

Today, a movie recommendation. “Of Gods and Men.” It is hauntingly beautiful.  Here’s the trailer: Based on true events, the film depicts a small group of

    Our guest writer today is my friend and colleague Rev. Dr. Daniel Meeter, pastor of Old First Reformed Church in Brooklyn, New York.

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. Don’t most people? I enjoy keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances from various seasons of my life,

Okay, one more set of bullet-point ponderings on what it would mean for the RCA and CRC to consider coming together. [Here’s Part I and

As I mentioned at the end of my last post, I have another post’s worth of wonderings about the CRC and RCA and the question

I want to add some observations to the conversation Jeff and others have raised: why shouldn’t the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in

  Below are three of ten short reflections I wrote on the theme “Children and God” which are currently running in the Words of Hope

Listen to the three-minute story here. There have been a couple times when I’ve had experiences as a chaplain on Holy Saturday that have made

As women’s history month wraps up, I thought I’d feature some books that have made an imprint on me in the past year or two

“Christians Provide Free Labor on Jewish Settlements” Plenty of news stories leave me feeling bothered; this story also left me sad. I couldn’t put my

Behold the elephant in the room. Banksy, the street graffiti artist, had this elephant in the room as part of his first US exhibit (Los

As someone who fretted over “figuring out what I’m called to do” for many years, I appreciate the emerging dialogue on vocation here on the

On a layover in Atlanta this fall, my hurried walk through terminal E was interrupted when I noticed a few display cases. I paused and

Whether or not Herod’s “Massacre of the Innocents” in Matthew 2 is based on historical fact, and whether thousands of babies were killed or just

Occupy Boston was just a few weeks old when I trekked downtown to check out the encampment at Dewey Square. MIT professor Noam Chomsky was

This past Thursday and Friday I gathered with several hundred other people for the inaugural conference of the Newbigin House of Studies, a partnership between

Invitation Mary Oliver Oh do you have timeto lingerfor just a little whileout of your busy and very important dayfor the goldfinchesthat have gatheredin a