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I was at the 2013 Boston Marathon when it was brutally interrupted by two successive explosions. As smoke and screams of terror clouded the scene, my heart sank with fear, but in that very instant the words of a beloved psalm poured into my thought and brought me a sense of calm and comfort.

What can you do when a group of people you value split into opposing factions and refuse to cooperate with each other? It happens frequently. Political parties polarize and refuse to work out their differences while the greater good of their constituency suffers.

During my years of study of the Bible, the word immediately has often leaped off the pages of the New Testament’s accounts of Christ Jesus’ healing work. When this word is used in relation to the Master’s healing work, it is referring to the quickness of the effect of Christ-healing on the individuals Jesus healed.

Have you ever heard the phrase “Don’t let anyone get your goat” and wondered what it meant? One theory about its origin says it comes from the use of goats as companions for racehorses so they can be calm and focused. If someone removes a horse’s goat, the horse can become unsettled and agitated, hurting his race.

A friend of mine told me, after a church service, that he had formerly been a member of a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, in the Midwest. Everyone there knew of a woman who had come to a service painfully lame, leaning on a cane, and left the service completely well.

Christians around the globe pay homage at this season to the arrival of the babe that in time became known as Christ Jesus. The circumstances surrounding his birth—his virgin mother, his coming in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, the attending shepherds and wise men to whose hearts the occasion spoke in a revolutionary way of God’s great love toward humanity—were all utterly unique to Jesus’ life and mission.

“Write a poem about a social injustice. ” That was it? That was the assignment? Yes, that was it.

What follows is an edited summary of the Hymn Sing held on Sunday, June 5, 2016, in the Extension of The Mother Church and broadcast live online. The Hymn Sing was one of the events held during the weekend prior to Annual Meeting.

In the United States, Thanksgiving is a very special day—a day set aside for giving thanks—which also happens in several other countries, at different times. The Bible is filled with the joy and blessings that come from sincerely praising, glorifying, and giving thanks to God, and the necessity and naturalness of doing so.

Today there is more news to consume and less time in which to consume it than perhaps ever before in human history. It may feel overwhelming to take time each day to discern what needs healing and devote prayerful attention to those issues.