The fictional “Downton Abbey” mirrors the real-life tensions of some Baptist trustees dealing with the blessing and burden of a large church property. Do we see our “life’s work” in the brick to be fixed or the life of faith to be lived?

Abundance and precarity are two ends of the same spectrum. On Sukkot we learn that although nothing is permanent, we must always rejoice in all that we have. May this Fall be a time of rejoicing in abundance and supporting those experiencing precarity.

The Council of Nicaea and its creed have shaped the boundaries of orthodox thought for the entirety of the Christian world, Baptists included. Like it or not, it is still incredibly relevant to Baptists 1700 years later.

When we feel “swallowed” by grief or shame, it is precisely from that place that redemption begins. It is from the dark belly of the fish that we must cry out. And if our call is sincere, Jonah reminds us, G-d will answer. We will be spit back out onto dry land.