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We do not inherit Scripture as a solved problem. We inherit it as a holy responsibility. From the beginning, the people of God have argued with the text. Not against it, but with it. Scripture addresses real communities, living under pressure, making choices that carry consequences. That has never changed. What changes are the questions we bring and the lives at stake when we answer them.

Theophany sits at the heart of the Christian year for those of us shaped by the Eastern streams of the Church. In our Convergent Catholic tradition, it does more than mark the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. It reveals something about who God is, who we are, and what the world is becoming. After the flare of Christmas, Theophany arrives with a quieter strength. It stands there on the edge of a river and tells the truth. God steps into the water with us. God does not hover abo

The Very Reverend Archpriest Columba The weekend of 9-12 October, I attended the annual conference of the Affirming Christian Fellowship (ACF). If you are not familiar with ACF, they were founded in 1988 by Fred Pattison (then pastor of Casa de Cristo Church in Phoenix, AZ). Originally known as The Evangelical Network, ACF was founded to provide a home for LGBT Christians who were committed to theological orthodoxy, evangelism, and charismatic gifts. Originally, this mission

Father Agapios Dear family far and wide, As most of you know, I work with a street ministry that reaches out to everyone so when I sat down to write Everyone Belongs, my heart was heavy with the stories of those who have been told they are unwelcome. I thought of the weary and the broken, the dreamers and seekers, the queer and trans believers, the saints and those who have started. Too often, the very places meant to be sanctuaries have become sites of exclusion. This song

One of the most frequent criticisms leveled at Convergent Catholicism is the accusation of relativism. The concern usually follows a familiar line. If Scripture is held alongside Tradition, if reason and lived experience are taken seriously, and if East and West are allowed to speak to one another, then truth becomes unstable. Authority weakens. Everything becomes negotiable. That fear deserves to be taken seriously. But it also needs to be examined honestly. The reality is t

The Right Reverend Michael Angelo D'Arrigo There’s something holy—sacred, even defiant—about the persistence of the widow in Jesus’s parable. She’s not rich, not powerful, not connected. But she knows what justice looks like, and she refuses to surrender her dignity to a corrupt system. She keeps showing up. She demands to be heard. She refuses to let an unjust judge, who “neither feared God nor respected people,” determine the boundaries of her worth. And simply through the

There are seasons in leadership when effort stops feeling like progress. You show up. You speak carefully. You make decisions with intention. And still, it feels like it is not enough. Not to the people you serve. Sometimes not even to you. We are living in one of those seasons. The economy continues to press hard on families already stretched thin. Trans people are being openly targeted, legislated against, and spoken about as abstractions rather than neighbors. Racism has n

As Convergent Catholics, we find that the concerns raised by Dignity USA regarding the Vatican's document "On Human Dignity” deeply resonates with our own views on the matter. Although we may not always see eye-to-eye with our friends, Dignity USA, on this occasion, their overall critique is absolutely correct. They have said: “The Vatican document “On Human Dignity” undermines its purpose by undermining the integrity and human rights of transgender and nonbinary people, al

21 January 2025 To the beloved communities of the Convergent Catholic Communion - in our cities and countryside, in grief and in grace: A new Executive Order has been issued by the White House titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” It describes our urban centers as overrun by vagrancy, addiction, and violence. It names over 274,000 people sleeping on the streets, the highest number ever recorded, and states that “the overwhelming majority” of these individua

Beloved in Christ, Grace and peace to you from the One who calls the Church into all truth. I write to you with a full heart in this season when the Spirit presses the Church to reckon again with its life, its memory, and its witness. Recent announcements from the Roman Communion regarding the question of women in the diaconate have stirred grief, concern, and prayerful resolve in many across the Catholic world. The Vatican’s declaration that “there is still no room for a pos

My Beloved in Christ, Grace and peace be with you. I write to you not from the comfort of a quiet study, but from a heart that feels the deep spiritual and social fractures of our time. The air we breathe is thick with the dust of contention, and the ground we walk on is scorched by the fires of hatred. Our nation stands at a crossroads, not just a political one, but a spiritual one, a moment of profound crisis and a moment of divine opportunity. For in our history, the darke