CHAPEL VIEWS
Regular glances at faith, culture, and news. Grab some coffee and join the conversation!
Click here to read Chris Keating’s Faith Perspectives columns from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Searching for answers after violence
Orginally posted at www.stltoday.com By Chris Keating After the shooting ends, the questions begin. News of the shootings at two New Zealand mosques blew into our lives Friday like the bitter gusts of wind which swept through St. Louis recently. The violence...
read more“Were You There?” offers guide through struggle and pain
Beginning this week, I’ll be using “Chapel Views” to introduce various resources, practices, and ideas for you to use during Lent. Face it, Lent can be a hard sell. For one thing, we’re fatigued by snow and winter. If you ask a Midwesterner what they want to give up...
read moreFestival of Sound to sing February 24
On Sunday, Woodlawn Chapel will welcome the Festival of Sound singers, an African American gospel chorus. They’ll be singing in worship in honor of black history month. They’ll also help us hear how history mixes with the chorus of current realities. That thought...
read moreEpiphany stories
I love to tell stories about Woodlawn Chapel, and I hope you do as well. I love to share the stories of how we care for each other, and how that love is particularly apparent in times of distress. I love to tell stories of acolytes trying to light the candles,...
read moreA different sort of coach
NFL coaches beware: Coach Keating is ready to roll. Go ahead and laugh. Thinking of me as a football coach – or a coach of any sport, for that matter, is absurd. Even the most desperate beginning youth team wouldn’t hire me as a coach – and for good reasons. Yet...
read moreCancer Sucks
Hang around a church coffee hour, or even a gathering of friends, and pretty soon you’ll hear a term ripe with theological meaning. Cancer sucks. Your father, mother, friend, colleague. The kid up the street. The young mom from work. The senator, the singer, the...
read morePaying respect to the queen
The queen of soul has died, and it is time to pay our respects. The queen of soul has died, and now is the time to pay our respects. Aretha Franklin, who died August 16, was truly a lamp that could not be placed under a bushel. Her indomitable gifts of range and...
read moreThe Land of Misfit Toys
I tend to cringe when someone tells me they’ve found the “perfect” church. I don’t disagree that they have probably joined a church that helps them feel nurtured and loved. Nor do I believe that their church is not a wonderful community. They’re blessed to have...
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