Even I ask myself: How can someone who lives with depression like such a depressing time of the church year? Lent is my favorite liturgical season. I’m not exactly sure why. I did and did not grow up understanding that many Christian churches follow something called a church calendar. My early years were spent in…
I like memoirs. In fact, when I have the time, I read them voraciously. Because I need them. I need to know someone else’s story to better know my own. I need to know that someone else, somewhere, has experienced some part of what I am living. Has experienced it and come out on the…
10 ways you can pray for mental illness Today is the National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding. People often ask me how they can pray for people who live with mental health challenges. I like prayer. I pray. I’m a minister who often prays for other people. I believe that God…
For me and many other African Americans, this summer has been dominated by the not guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting of 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin. Shortly after the verdict was rendered, media outlets announced that one of the jurors in the case had a secured a literary agent for a…
My daughter has been crawling for three months. Our outings to the six a.m. worship service with our faith community have changed. We used to hold her in our arms, gently rocking or nursing her to sleep during the spoken message. Now, we find space on the carpet between the chairs and let her crawl…
I was instantly nauseous. My stomach turned in knots and I doubled over. I collapsed into my seat and held to the edges. I became sick. Literally. This was my response to hearing the news of the verdict in the trial against George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. In the hours…
There are three generations living in my home: my mother, my partner and I, and our teenager and our infant. Conversations over dinner often reveal how much has changed over time. And what has not. One evening, my mother tells my teenager that she is becoming more adept in her usage of Facebook. The teenager…
Communal prayer is a tactile experience for me. In my denominational tradition, African Methodism, we come to a wooden altar at the front of the church, kneel, and pray. In my favorite worship experiences, the “Altar Prayer” portion of the Sunday liturgy takes twenty or thirty minutes. We come to the altar individually or with loved…
Blogger Rachel Held Evans invited me to answer questions from her readers in her “Ask a Liberation Theologian” column. Here are my responses: From Benjamin: I grew up in pretty conservative evangelical circles, where liberation theology was generally ignored (or, if mentioned, might have been described as just another version of the “social gospel”). How would…
The final article in my four-part series on Advent from the perspective of pregnancy. As I think about Christmas and the birth of Jesus, I can’t help but to think about the process of giving birth. Here I reflect on both spiritual and physical birth as I try to imagine Mary’s experience with Jesus. Birth…
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.
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