Blog Olly, Olly, Oxen Free! Playing hide-and-seek as a kid, when the game was over, we would yell out “Olly, olly, oxen free.” Only recently…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellApril 22, 2014
Blog Praying in Restaurants “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
Blog Fred Phelps Should Go to Hell? Fred Phelps, the controversial founder of Westboro Baptist Church, died last week. If you want to know more about Fred,…Steve Mathonnet-VanderWellMarch 24, 2014
Blog Church 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
Blog Philosophy & Autobiography 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
Blog Nine Reasons Not to Read Blogs with Numbers or Lists in the Title* 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
Blog The Religion of Crossfit 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
Blog Funeral Women 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
Blog Dark, Year-End Hymns 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
Blog This Will Be a Sign for You 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