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Hadestown Sings It Again

Submitted 05-10-2023 under OPINION

"It's an old song, but we're gonna sing it again." That's the promise of Hadestown, the Tony Award-winning musical that retells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. By moving the action from ancient Greece to a lightly...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Does Theology Need Philosophy and Psychology?

Submitted 05-08-2023 under OPINION

Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds: I can’t imagine how it can. I don’t even know how theology can exist without acknowledgement that psychology and philosophy are inherent in it....

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Ethics and Religion Talk: The Difference Between Welcoming and Inclusive

Submitted 05-01-2023 under OPINION

The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds: I completely agree, unless each person is given full access to all rites of passages or membership then it...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Beware of Entering Debates on Religion!

Submitted 04-24-2023 under OPINION

Linda Knieriemen, Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Holland, responds: Discussing religious difference brings out the worst in humans unless there are ground rules— implied or concrete. Just today I was in a situation where I had...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Is the Death Penalty Ethical?

Submitted 04-17-2023 under OPINION

Rev. Salvatore Sapienza, the Senior Pastor at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ in Saugatuck/Douglas, responds: More than 30 years ago, the World Council of Churches declared their overwhelming opposition to the death penalty. In no...

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My Fair Lady, Lightly Updated, Graces The Stage

Submitted 04-13-2023 under OPINION

Ovid writes of a sculptor who, "offended by the failings that nature gave the female heart," shunned the company of women until, having carved a beautiful statue, he found himself in love. A statue isn't a woman, of course. Still, he...

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Do Dress Codes Discriminate Against Women?

Submitted 04-10-2023 under OPINION

Males and females are biologically different and our culture is in generally agreement that the male chest is a non-private area but the female chest is a private area. Recently, the Missouri House decided to adopt a stricter dress code for women....

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Ethics and Religion Talk: How Do You Help People Who Have a Pattern of Making Poor Decisions?

Submitted 04-03-2023 under OPINION

The Reverend Colleen Squires, minister at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation, responds: I am obligated to try to help them. Sometimes that help is guiding them to counseling or support groups....

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Where do Sermons Come From?

Submitted 03-27-2023 under OPINION

Rev. Salvatore Sapienza, the Senior Pastor at Douglas Congregational United Church of Christ in Saugatuck/Douglas, responds: I do not plan my sermons weeks in advance. Rather, I begin composing them just a few days prior to Sunday. Every Monday...

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STOMP Brings Imagination and Noise to DeVos Performance Hall

Submitted 03-21-2023 under OPINION

As a toddler, one of my greatest joys was to take a pot or pan, lift it, and let it crash to the floor. What could be better than that? Imagine this: your grandfather is stretched out on the couch, face hidden behind a newspaper. Carefully, with...

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