While we are currently at our maximum number of regular contributors, Mockingbird is happy to publish quality writing from guests. To submit something for consideration, simply email it to info@mbird.com. We can’t promise anything, but we will take a look. Naturally, the best way to get a sense of what we are looking for is to read the site.
About Guest Contributor
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Father of the Bride(groom): Winning and Losing with Vampire Weekend
This one was written by Ryan Stevenson-Cosgrove. The members of band Vampire Weekend have always been winners. Only on their latest album, “Father of the Bride,” they no longer sound like it. At least, not in the way we tend to think. Vampire Weekend’s star began to rise at a time in the music industry […]
The Special Waffle: Something Like a Parable
By Nathan F. Elmore: Occasionally, you get handed the Special Waffle—rectangular pieces of brie topped with thin, crescent-moon slices of Granny Smith apples, drizzled with honey and resting on a modest, square-shaped buttermilk waffle. Without paying for such things. Without any birthright for such things. Without having ordered it or even wanting it. Without deserving […]
When People Stand and Cheer for You (and When They Don’t)
This one comes to us from Bo White. The greatest two minutes in sports is when people stand up and cheer for horses that run really fast in a circle. And while there may be skeptics, try attending a race in person or try watching it without wanting at least a horse with a cool […]
The (Step)Ladder to Glory
This reflection comes from Rev. Will Ryan. I never thought I had outsized expectations of how my career would go, but I certainly did have expectations. Once I got through the first year of seminary—which admittedly was an eye-opener to this guy who thought he could turn in rough drafts and get A’s (spoiler alert: […]
If Christ Be Not Raised
This one comes to us from Kenneth Tanner. On Holy Saturday, The New York Times published an interview with the president of Union Theological Seminary in which she mentioned a Christian “obsession” with the physicality of our Lord’s resurrection. Count me among the obsessed. There are many witnesses in the New Testament, but John’s testimony […]
Through Him All Things Were Made: Mercy in John Chapter One
Grateful to share this sermon by author Francis Spufford, delivered this February at St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford. The full passage is John 1:1-14. And without him not one thing came into being. May I speak in the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. I’ve been hearing the first chapter of […]
The Science of Miracles
This one comes to us from Tim Burbery. Passover is upon us, providing a superb opportunity for reflecting on the original event as well as the miracle of the Exodus. A number of scientific theories have attempted to explain how the plagues and the Red Sea crossing could be accounted for by natural causes, and […]
The Top Ten Reasons the Lectionary Sucks and Five Half-Assed Solutions
This one comes to us from Sarah Hinlicky Wilson: A lectionary is a collection of readings for Sunday worship, ordered according to the seasons of the church year. The version most widely used by mainline Protestants is the Revised Common Lectionary, though others such as the earlier Common Lectionary and the Roman Catholic Lectionary for […]
The In-Between: Sufjan Stevens and the Anticipation of Holy Saturday
Thankful for this reflection from Kelly Reed. I’m not sure what I expected from turning thirty. (I suspected there would at least be a dog in the picture…alas, no). My other friends in their thirties have moved steadily through the phases of adulthood. They’ve developed careers, gone to grad school, taken managerial roles. Single friends […]
The Flower That Ate the Pines
This lovely reflection was written by Derrill Hagood: All my life, I’ve heard that the vine that ate the South was a little leafy plant called kudzu. Not so in March in Macon, Georgia. The bearer of that titled crown is a brilliantly blooming flower known as wisteria. Growing up in the South, I’ve always […]
My Daddy Is Big and He Can Carry Me
This sweet reflection comes to us from Juliette Alvey. This picture was drawn by my daughter, Devyn, and the words she expressed are very literal. My husband is 6’4” and is strong enough to pick her up and carry her (or even swing her upside down). She says she loves him because of this, which […]
I Have Decided to Go to Church
Grateful for this reflection by Sarah Gates: I have decided to go to church. It’s a good idea. It’s at least a better idea than not going. I’ll probably feel bad if I don’t go. Specifically, I’ll feel bad about myself. I should go. I don’t want to go anywhere lately, but I will go. […]
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