by Jason Farley | Oct 18, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Feast Featured Post, Jason Farley
My soul clung to the dust, now dust clings to my soul. Your life-breath, once blown up the nose of my father, once exhaled in fruit-statutes, once blown across the dry bones until they could get up and dance; breathe life on me. Speak again the six stanzas that climb...
by Jason Farley | Oct 2, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Jason Farley
Blueberry bushes brush bungling hands. Hands heavy with age —quivering unhelpfully— gather taste gushing gems of tang. No rot. No root-break. The ripped branches are simply savaged off by shaking old hands. Hands tired of being bound- back for decades. Held mute by...
by Managing Editor | Oct 2, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Feast Featured Post, Movie Reviews
By Jesse Sumpter Black Panther engages with some important philosophical questions—some of the best since The Dark Knight trilogy. But the movie fails to give anything close to an interesting answer. The ending scene in Oakland fails to offer anything substantial...
by Managing Editor | Sep 25, 2018 | Blog, Feast, Feast Featured Post
“If we understand mealtimes as an important blessing from God, then we need to carve enough time in our schedules for this most precious gathering of the day. To have regular sit-down meals as a family, and to have people over, you have to have a schedule that...
by Jason Farley | Aug 10, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Feast Featured Post, Jason Farley
SONG OF YOUR OWN People take on the shape of the songs and stories that surround them, especially if they don’t have a song of their own. Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys Like the slender-ankled daughters of ocean shaped by the banks that decide their path, we are...
by Jason Farley | Aug 2, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Book Reviews, Feast, Feast Featured Post, Jason Farley
Thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk. And thank you for such a delightfully named blog. It’s always been one of my favorite names. Your novel Strays, what’s it about? What inspired the story? It’s about a boy named Rodney who...
by Jason Farley | May 7, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Jason Farley
Joel, thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk, hosted by CrossPolitic. So you have a new Kickstarter out. Your last one was a big success. What have you learned about yourself as a musician since your last kickstarter, “The Nature of Us”? Great...
by Jason Farley | Apr 17, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Book Reviews, Feast, Jason Farley, Theology
Having recently had The Rev. Joseph Carlson as a Guest on the recent episode of CrossPolitic, I thought it might be nice to get one of his sonnets before you. This is for the 24th Sunday of the Trinity Season in his book of Sonnets for the Church Year. Waiting Four...
by Jason Farley | Mar 31, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Jason Farley, Theology
“The Church is like a great ship sailing the sea of the world and tossed by the waves of temptation in this life.” St. Boniface, letter 78 From the very beginning of our lives, we are dependent upon received grace. Grace that we have never given. Grace that we cannot...
by Jason Farley | Mar 8, 2018 | Arts, Feast, Jason Farley, Theology, Uncategorized
Hannah, thank you for joining us at the Westminster Confession of Funk hosted by CrossPolitic. The Clouds Ye So Much Dread was such a delight to read. But it is obvious that a lot of tears and pain was required to fill this particular pen with ink. Do you find it...
by Jason Farley | Mar 5, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Feast, Jason Farley, Theology
Wing Lift Psalm 91:3-4 Death-wrenched, life-drenched, each pinched soul fledged to soar on raptorial sails. A fowler-freed fire-bred goldfinch, carols unhitched, stretching and reaching, on wind-held wings. Held in glide and lift, windhover pinion, piloted upwards,...
by Jason Farley | Mar 1, 2018 | Arts, Blog, Culture, Feast, Jason Farley, Movie Reviews
Every once in a while you hit a movie that is just plain beautiful. I mean, real life beautiful. The story is wonderful, the characters and acting are wonderful, and it moves you to want to do what you were made to do. Chef (written, produced, directed by, and...
by Jason Farley | Oct 30, 2017 | Arts, Culture, Feast, Jason Farley
In my first church job the Pastor gave me a bit of advice that stuck. Children learn most of their theology from the songs that their church sings. They may not remember your sermons, but they will carry the songs they sing in church the rest of their lives. This is...
by Brianna Bratrud | Oct 3, 2017 | Arts, Feast, Theology
This autumn marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s pinning of the ninety-five theses. Whether you’re Lutheran or not, Luther and the Reformers’ impact on the world is undeniable, unforgettable. Of all Luther’s works, the De Servo...
by Jason Farley | Oct 3, 2017 | Arts, Culture, Feast, Jason Farley
The Blues are sad songs. No one wants that. And yet The Blues persist. There is little reason to believe that The Blues is going away. Even when the current pop music is thumping and protesteth its cheerfulness too much, The Blues continue to hold a steady fanbase. I...
by Jason Farley | Aug 29, 2017 | Arts, Blog, Culture, Feast, Fight Featured Post, Jason Farley, Laugh, Politics
Editing is an art form. My son Cedric was coming in the front door a few days ago when his sister asked, “Did you eat an ice cream sandwich?” He replied, “Malachi had two.” That was, strictly speaking, true. Malachi had eaten two ice cream sandwiches. The...
by Jason Farley | Jul 12, 2017 | Arts, Blog, Culture, Feast, Jason Farley
The Christian Church is in exile. Not that we are living in tents (though many church buildings may qualify as temporary). Instead, there is a deeper exile. The soul of the American Church is in the plot point of the epic poem in which the protagonist becomes a...
by Jason Farley | Jul 2, 2017 | Arts, Culture, Feast, Fight Featured Post, Jason Farley, Politics
Everyone has to have an overarching story. A mythos that holds what they see and hear together. When I lived in California, I did evangelism on Wednesdays. I hoped to do it other days as well, but Wednesdays I did my sermon prep at the neighborhood park. I introduced...
by Benjamin Alexander | Jun 24, 2017 | Arts, Culture, Feast, Movie Reviews
Well, it’s summer. It’s time for the beach towels, sunblock, the nearest pool, and, yes, good movies. Who doesn’t love a late night movie with some great friends? Good movies, though, are harder to find than the nearest swimming hole. What do I mean by a...
by Jason Farley | May 24, 2017 | Arts, Culture, Feast, Jason Farley, Movie Reviews, Science, Theology
It is true that nobody makes a new earth without first making a new heaven. – G. K. Chesterton (Ffinch 1986, 278) I have recently been wondering, if I were to travel to Krypton, would the sun give me superpowers? Or would Krypton’s sun, being red and therefore...
