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Sunday Stretch: Vol. 128, Easter 7

3 weeks ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,The season of Lent is six weeks long, and I always forget that the official Easter season in the church is actually often longer, such that we are now in Week 7 of Easter! I think it’s important to say here that, just as often as we neglect the season of spiritual solemnity, repentance, asceticism, and reflection that is Lent - we also often neglect dwelling in the joy, promise, and celebration of resurrection that is Easter! So here we are. Another week of Easter.
Remembering

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,I usually send out a bonus Substack on the last Tuesday of the month: usually a little catch-up of personal stories, or a fun chance to address a new topic. But this month, the last Tuesday of the month falls a day after Memorial Day, and so I wanted to use this space to send this note a day early. In this fast-paced, frenetic world, with millions of well-funded outlets attempting to vie for our attention, it can be really tough to slow down - reflect - remember, and even grieve.
Sunday Stretch: Vol. 127, Easter 6

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,It’s Memorial Day weekend and the end of a very, very crazy May/spring around here - so I will keep this intro short. Hope you all are getting a chance to breathe a little this weekend and maybe spend some time outdoors, even if - like us in Minnesota - the weather is a bit colder than expected.
News with Nuance: May 23, 2025

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,It’s the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, and so I hope you have a relatively light work day and are getting ready to spend some time outdoors with loved ones. For those of us with school-aged kids, May always kind of feels like a crazy sprint, filled with lots of school events and repeated reminders to finish homework and wake up on time for the school bus … we almost made it (our kids have a couple of weeks of school left).
Sunday Stretch: Vol. 126, Easter 5

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,I am so grateful for this week’s Gospel reading. I read it again today in preparation for writing this Sunday newsletter and for the sermon I’ll be preaching this morning at 9:30 CT (at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church in Minneapolis - followed by a Q&A forum on my book, Disciples of White Jesus.
LIVE with Cara Meredith: CHURCH CAMP and DISCIPLES OF WHITE JESUS

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker |Cara Meredith

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Sunday Stretch: Mother's Day 2025

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,Well, I said the below last year - but what do you know - it’s true again this year! (And - I’m currently recuperating from a nasty upper respiratory virus/infection - so send some prayers for clear lungs + quick healing when you get a chance. Thank you!)Mother’s Day came fast this year! I’ve been a mom for 13 years now (if you count the time I was pregnant with my first) and that old adage of long days, short years, just gets more and more true all the time.
News with Nuance: May 9, 2025

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,I’ve been thinking today of the Bible reading from Luke 24, where two of Jesus’ disciples are walking down the Road to Emmaus, after Jesus has been arrested and sentenced to death by crucifixion. The Bible text says that as they walked, Jesus himself appeared and walked with them, but “their eyes were kept from noticing him.” Instead, the two are filled with grief, sadness, exhaustion, and lament. They tell this supposed “stranger” that Jesus has been crucified.
Sunday Stretch: Vol. 124, Easter 3

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,As I write this, we are awaiting a potential severe spring storm in Minneapolis. We got this news right after my husband put out the deck furniture cushions, so we have impeccable timing, as usual. There’s an electricity in the air with an impending storm, as well as the barometric pressure changes that give so many of us headaches.
A Little Perspective

1 month ago | angeladenker.substack.com | Angela Denker

Hi Readers,I started out this morning feeling like today was a special, luxurious sort of treat. I didn’t have any appointments on the calendar between dropping off my youngest at school, and then taking him to an appointment at 3 in the afternoon. I knew today too that it was the last Tuesday of the month, the day when I plan to write a special Substack just between us - without a certain kind of agenda or plan.