The Warmth That Draws Us Near
As the cold draws us together in physical proximity to one another, the magic and mystery of the fire is how it pulls us together emotionally too. That’s what we waited for. Those few minutes in darkness where our bodies and our hearts glow, our spirits align, our intentions calibrate before the sun scatters us in different directions. I suspect the allure is that these moments give us the purest sense of home. Our most embodied experience of belonging. The feeling of family distilled and bottled up. While we never have pretty words for it in the moment, that’s what draws us to the fire.
What I Love About Dead Ends
By Kurt Rietema It happens every time. Sooner or later the path that was once so clear disappears into the bushes. The joy at the beginning of the journey grows weary. The ideas that once generated energy now spin further…
Shared Sorrows by the River
by Kurt Rietema “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; They said,…
Ribbons, bows and ties that bind
By Kurt Rietema The tables overflowed with the excess of the season. Yellow dump trucks were primed for the abuse of new toddler drivers. Red scooters at the ready to slice and slalom across the playground pavement. And oh did…
If it wasn’t for the churches…
I sat across from Maribel as she flipped through the binder she had been using to coordinate the relief efforts of the migrant center in Ciudad Acuña. In the past three weeks, the Mexican border town scrambled to provide refuge…
Turning the Tables to Unmake Dividing Walls
Soledad spoke glowingly of life here in the United States. She bubbled with delight as she looked about her climate-controlled home, the easy access to stores, moving about without fear of gangs, jobs that pay in a week enough to…
Five Lessons on Race, Faith and Parenting while White
Cover image: Rietema kids with neighborhood friends Kurt and Emily Rietema and their sons, Luke, Perkins and Leo live in an under-resourced neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas called Argentine. Their work includes intentional neighboring, youth social entrepreneurship, immigration advocacy, just…
Race and Parenting: A Personal Journey
The National Museum of African American History and Culture has launched Talking About Race, “a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity, and the way these forces shape every aspect of American…
Snack Shack KC creates place of restoration for Argentine youth
A common misconception about Youthfront is that the organization is just a summer camp. The thought is that “offseason” months act as time for staff to regain energy and prep for the next summer. This is not true. Youthfront is…
And you Gave me Something to Eat
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35 Among the six million inhabitants of Nicaragua, 20…
