Julian’s article in each “Messenger”
Pastor Julian is featured as one of the voices speaking to what a charred cross from 50 years ago may mean today. Many thanks to the Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries
***printed first in “Sojourners” — , under the title, “The Neighborhood Watch: The Story of the Blind Samaritan” — The Good Samaritan & George Zimmerman was the original title*** http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/07/19/neighborhood-watch-story-blind-samaritan First there is smoke on the highway — thick and black, as if the unknown fire was still burning. As I draw closer, the source of the dark […]
As pastor of University Church, I am sad to inform everyone that Rev. Michele Edwards, our associate pastor, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 15, 2013, inside of Weiss Memorial Hospital. Michele had recently discovered and shared with the church her cancer diagnosis, and as she continued to serve the church and God’s people, she […]
The gearbox of an automobile is one way of talking about how a church operates. That is to say: sometimes we do a lot, and sometimes we are moving slow, and that’s okay as long as we are going the speed required of us at the given time: 1st gear on the highway, or 4th […]
Here is a link to the profile that ABC7Chicago did featuring our pastor, who also goes by J.Kwest. Enjoy, and share the exciting work of University Church with others! http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/mathie&id=8999022
As ordination pushes near, I want to make sure the church has an opportunity to read a bit of my theology in different areas. This is the paper I submitted to the United Church of Christ (the final draft was in November 2012). Far from a complete systematic, but a way to cover a few […]
This piece I wrote was originally published through “Sojourners Magazine” (@sojourners). Here is the original link: http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/12/20/forgetting-children-sandy-hook-how-we%E2%80%99ve-become-friends-job *If you have not read the Book of Job, this pastor recommends it as a must-read during this time of national crisis. There is much to digest; it requires no theological confession (only a sincere concern for humanity); and […]
“Everybody In, Nobody Out” What’s your favorite Jesus miracle? Feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish? Turning water into wine? Raising Lazarus? Each of Christ’s wonders speaks to us in different ways, but they share a common setting: miracles happen in groups. Miracles happen when people come together under […]
Being comes from doing. Essentially, this is how humanity understands the self. We are the jobs we have; we become our habits, and we are often known and remembered for what we have done. In life we leave legacies of work, not being, and our resumes tell a story of past performance, never a litany […]
In a fairly famous sermon, Jesus says the following: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.” This is in Matthew (5), and […]
