“Grandpa, we don’t pray in restaurants!” So declared my daughter to my father, many, many years ago. Our food had…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellApril 7, 2014
We believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is the gathering of those who are saved and there is…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellMarch 10, 2014
I am no philosopher, nor a philosopher’s son. I am not even a herdsman or nor a dresser of sycamore…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellFebruary 24, 2014
Or “Neo-Pagans” and “Unchurched” Neo-pagan. It’s a term I toss around frequently, often endearingly. I think of many friends and…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellFebruary 11, 2014
Today, we welcome Chad Pierce as a guest blogger on The Twelve. Chad teaches biblical studies at Central College in…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellJanuary 28, 2014
Small-town church life in the upper Midwest means that we do funerals—quite a few. Iowa, for instance, is among the…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellJanuary 13, 2014
What is it about the end of the year that makes us turn to stout and solemn hymns? While the…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellDecember 30, 2013
Driving by the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Des Moines, the sign* read, Any night a child is born Is a holy…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellDecember 17, 2013
Exhibit One: Once while spending the weekend at my college roommate’s home, we worshipped at his Nazarene Church. Small, sincere,…
Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellDecember 3, 2013
