“What does it mean to be a human being?” This is one of those questions I heard in the opening lecture to the required philosophy class in college. It was the kind of thing that made me not like philosophy. I wasn’t interested in hearing historical and contemporary postulations about something that could not really…
For decades I’ve heard Barbra Streisand’s voice crooning out words I know to be true: “People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.” Of course, I think that people needing people aren’t just lucky; they’re human. I think we all need other people. We all need community. Religious folk like to call…
In the summer of 2002, I was a graduate student in religion who was tired of reading theology. In search of summer fiction, I walked into a large bookstore and stumbled into a book that hit closer to home than I ever could have imagined. There it was in the main display: Unholy Ghost: Writers on…
Growing up in the Sunday school programs of black churches and in Catholic elementary school, I was taught that although there were many disciples, but there were only twelve apostles. That is, there were many people who followed Jesus, but there were only twelve men who Jesus handpicked to preach the gospel. These were…
My father was a student of history and ensured that I would be as well. More specifically, he was a student of African American history. I knew who Mary McLeod Bethune and George Washington Carver were before I went to first grade. I read Carter G. Woodson’s The Miseducation of the Negro in the…
I like the way the gospel of John talks about the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ farewell to his disciples (John 14-17), he talks about a Spirit – a Comforter – that will come to bring peace to the disciples after his death. I like how Jesus knows that his departure will…
when we put the gospel to hip hop and host u2charists, when we share the church building with the Korean congregation, when we preach against homophobia when we break bread with jews and muslims, when the teenagers lead worship on a regular Sunday (not just youth day) when we invoke the ancestors and learn from…
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston writes about the protagonist Janie Crawford’s relationships with her three husbands and how they reveal her evolving relationship with herself. During an argument with her second husband, Janie realizes that “something fell off the shelf inside of [her].” That wasn’t the end of the relationship, but it was,…
I recently sat at dinner with a group of seminarians talking about whether or not theological education prepares student-ministers for the everyday tasks of ministry. At this particular time, we spoke about how classes in liturgy prepare seminarians to conduct some of the key rituals of our trade: weddings and funerals. Weddings are fun, we…
When I first finished divinity school, I subscribed to a journal of Christian spirituality called Weavings. That was when I first heard of the concept of “active waiting.” Often associated with the liturgical seasons of Lent and Advent, “active waiting” describes the way in which believers wait for a great spiritual event. In the Christian tradition,…
Dr. Monica A. Coleman is an award-winning scholar, writer, and minister dedicated to the intersections of faith, social justice, and transformation. Through speaking, consulting, and writing, she empowers individuals and organizations to navigate change with purpose and integrity.
Copyright © 2025 Inner Prizes Inc. | Privacy Policy
Site Design by Happily Hafsa