Relief Welcomes New Editor-In-Chief

Friends, it is my pleasure to bring you big news for this week's Relief News Tuesday. In our recent issue, I announced a changing of the guard in my editorial statement.  For those of you who haven't purchased your issue yet (or who blew past the editorial statement to get to the good stuff), here's an excerpt:

There is a richness in this issue of Relief for which I am deeply thankful, because this is more than our tenth issue. With it we end one season and prepare for another. As my misfit heart has struggled with the hard questions of my own identity, and Relief’s, I’ve felt God moving me toward something new, and moving this journal, too.  So I’ll be stepping down as the Editor-In-Chief of Relief, and it is my privilege and honor to announce my successor, Christopher Fisher. We knew him first as an author, and were amazed. When we had the privilege to meet him, we were charmed. When he agreed to edit fiction for us, we could hardly believe it. In every conversation I have had with him since that day, I have been secretly excited and hopeful, aware that he would be able to take Relief to new heights when the time was right. The time is now, and I am confident that the best of Relief is yet to come.

Chris has blessed this journal at every turn. You may have read his work in Relief--his story "The Priest at Exit 53" received a Pushcart honorable mention and his essay "Scars" was stunning. As a fiction editor, he has brought forth excellence. I can't imagine a better person to guide Relief in this new season.

Next Monday, Chris will be blogging about this new adventure, so stay tuned, and prepare for wonderful things.

Peace, Kimberly

What are we Waiting For? Advent…A Season When…

Stephen Swanson moves on to something nicer for the holidays…the holidays! After a recent conversation group at church about the meanings and importance of the Advent season, Stephen tries to piece together something from the scraps of wrapping paper, tinsel, and fallen pine needles.

We are Filled…Literally

I’ve always enjoyed the period from Thanksgiving to New Years. Not only is the weather changing and the semester is winding down, but we enter into food season where the kitchen is filled with enticing smells every week, if not every day. There’s the prep for Thanksgiving, which leads to leftovers, which leads to stock made from leftovers, which leads to soups made from the stock from the leftovers, and this progresses on to cookies, prep for Christmas when the cycle continues, just in time for New Years, football, and Chinese New Years…mmmmm…

How Unfilling?

Of course this plenty has its negative side, gluttony of food and stuffs. In addition to a time of food, family, and friends, it is the time when advertisers tell us that we need to fill ourselves with HD TVs, Nintendo DS’s, plastic toys, and salad shooters. We all know, intellectually, that these things do not feed us through these cold months. We know that we should not spend THAT much, “But, it’s Chrismas,” right?

The 24-hour cable news machine also tells us of our emptiness, as it tries to fill its own. The TVs at school, tuned to Headline News, consistently tell all passersby how much they need to argue about the name of the season, “Holidays” v. “Christmas,” about how one should or should not spend, “Organic” v “Local”/“Wal-Mart” v “Ma & Pa”/etc., and about what to do when you realize you’ve ended up overdoing it, debt consolidation/gold/ diets/gyms/ Gold’s Gyms & Diets.

I go to church and hear the same passages from Luke, see the cute kids in bathrobes, listen to the handbells, and I love those familiar rituals, but something leaves me unfulfilled. It is not that we need more “Christ in Christmas” or need to acknowledge “The Reason for the Season”. It is so much more simple and complex than that.

“Filling” is Filling

Rather, I want people to think outside of the platitudes and simple expressions of faith and fulfillment. What is so energizing and exciting, to me, about the food part of the seasons from late November and into February is not the consumption but rather the “advent”.

I don’t mean the candles in the wreath or the little doors with candies behind them. I seek the “arrival that has been awaited” that advent really means. It is in the preparation and that magical instant at the door when you invite the visitors in to your warmth, smells, and company: your hospitality. No matter your religion or spirituality, the meaning behind this time of year touches the commonalities within all of us to be both host and hosted and gifter and giftee.

The connection between “love”, “joy”, “peace”, and “hope” of advent does surround the “Christ” candle in my tradition, but that messiah also points to the duality at the center of both Christianity and humanity, more broadly: that we are all both citizens and strangers and need connection to remember the transcendent power of hope in bringing peace and joy through love.

And so I ask that you all consider what you are feeding yourself and others, and I ask that you look for the fulfillment of the self through the other.

Also…learn to make your own stock. It’s not that hard and is soo tasty.

My True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas has always been my all-time favorite part of the year.

Well, maybe it's in a tie with Halloween. And hot summer days on the lake. Regardless, I love Christmas because of the magic it creates and for the love I feel on Christmas Day and the eve before.

I love Christmas because of childhood memories of waking up at 3 a.m. and excitedly but cautiously making my way towards the Christmas tree to see if Santa had come yet. I was never disappointed, and the magical feeling of seeing a new toy bathed in the soft glow of the tree's light has never left me. I call it the Christmas Feeling, but it's a feeling that still crops up, occasionally, year-round.

As sacrilegious as it may seem to say this, Christmas for me isn't about the birth of Christ, but about love, generosity, thankfulness and family. All things Christ represents, I suppose, but I reject the story of Jesus' birth happening in a manger on Dec. 25.

Not long ago a friend saw some of my writing here about my search for spirituality and asked me questions about what I believe. She's a devout Christian and a giving, loving human. She asked if I had ever considered Christianity and then invited me to her church.

I respectfully declined.

The truth is, I have considered Christianity very carefully and I appreciate many of the values it teaches (and loathe others). What I cannot accept are the stories behind the religion; Christmas being one of them.

I try to keep an open and respectful eye on all of humanity. Humans have been on Earth much longer than 2,000 years and through it all, humanity has one constant: a desire for the spiritual. It seems people today don't give credit to the advances and traditions of ancient people. December 25th and the winter solstice have been important as early as 4500 BC; acknowledged in everything from ancient Ireland's Newgrange burial chamber, Babylon's Isis and Osiris myths, the Roman's Festival of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun, and the modern day story of Christ's birth.

When Roman Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion in 350, other forms of worshiping were banned. Rather than changing old traditions, Pope Julius I declared Dec. 25 Christ's birthday.

My intent here isn't to persuade people away from Jesus' story. I believe Christ was a real person, an heir of God, who's purpose was to spread the message of love. If your truth lies in Christianity, revel in it!

During the holiday season, it's the Christmas Feeling that I celebrate though, along with many thousands of years of humanity's desire to celebrate our planet, our families and the love that holds us all together.

Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth, friends.

***

Travis Griffith, who recently left behind the corporate marketing world, choosing family and writing in lieu of “a comfortable life” financially, is a former atheist trying to define what leading a spiritual life really means. His children’s book, Your Father Forever, published in 2005 by Illumination Arts Publishing Company, Inc. captures only a fraction of his passion for fatherhood.

A Year of Interning Ends & Coach Turns 29 (again)

Issue 3.2 is almost printed, and we're excited to get it to you.  Every issue feels like such a relief--hahaha!--when we're done with it, and we keep feeling like each issue is just as packed with great work as the last.  I'm speaking for everyone on staff when I say that each issue we put out adds momentum to what we are doing.  We love providing this outlet for Christian authors.

I have found it to be a true blessing to be a part of Relief.  Though I have been known as an intern for the last year, I will be stepping into a new role that will start officially at the first of the year.  I will then be known as Blog Master, Web Administrator, Web Master, etc.  I haven't picked which one yet, but I'm not really concerned about that.  I will still be helping read fiction submissions, updating the blog, answer submission questions, updating Twitter, and everything else I've been helping with for the last year.

What I love about Relief is not just the writing.  It's the people surrounding and supporting Relief that have made my experience great.  I've had great opportunities to work with great people in the last year, and I can't wait to keep developing the relationships I've made with them.

A Special Thanks OR Wish Coach a Happy Birthday

Over the last year, there's been one person on staff that has answer close to 1,000 questions from me with the patience of a saint.  (And he just turned 29 for the fourth or fifth time last week.)  His name is Coach, and he has given a lot of time and energy into making Relief happen.  He is the reason that ReliefJournal.com is as awesome as it is.  He is the one who tried to get a breast-like bicep on the cover of issue 3.2.  He is amazing.

If you could be so kind, wish Coach a happy birthday by commenting on this post or hop on Twitter and send him birthday wishes with the hash tag "#coachrocks".  (I personally tweeted about 10 different #coachrocks tweets over the weekend.  Can you beat me?)

"It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you."

Last Friday, I saw that I had a message in my inbox on Facebook.  It was from a good friend of mine who has been, for as long as I've known her, a Unitarian Universalist.  She spent last year teaching in Taiwan, and since she's returned we've only had a couple chances to reconnect.  About a month ago, we talked about our faith backgrounds, and it was one of the few times I've actually shared my deepest beliefs with her.

Her message contained a link to a Shane Claiborne article written for Esquire Magazine titled "What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?" Claiborne starts the article off with an apology to his "nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends" on behalf of Christians.  From there, he goes on to talk about how unloving Christians can be sometimes--and almost every single time it is in the name of our Lord and Saviour.  And that can hurt people to the core.

But it's in Claiborne's last paragraph that I understand why my friend sent the article to me.  Since I cannot sum it up, I present it to you in its entirety:

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world... well, we should at least pray that it is.

This final paragraph is why my friend sent me the Facebook message.  In her message was the quote, "It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you" and a link to the article.  It was like she understood that Claiborne's last paragraph is my sentiment towards her.  She has been a great friend to me over the last 10 years.  I would be a very different person without her friendship, and for her to understand my faith better than many Christians makes me a very happy person and a very blessed friend.

To check out Shane Claiborne's article, click here.

***

Ian David Philpot, a Relief intern, is studying English at Northern Illinois University and spent one year in Columbia College Chicago's Fiction Writing program.  He writes fiction and poetry and music.   Ian prefers black to white, vanilla to chocolate, and only eats yellow cake.

Relief News Tuesday 12.8.2009

We went to print!

On Monday morning (approximately 12:30 AM), Relief 3.2 was sent to print!

Though we wish it had been a little sooner, we are completely satisfied with how this issue came together.  We love it and we hope that you love it.

What now?

• Pre-order a copy of 3.2 at a reduced price by clicking "Add to Cart" on the right.  The reduced price will go away in just over a week, so place your order now. (*Any pre-orders placed before 5 PM on Friday (12/11/09) are eligible for a free Google Wave invite.  Just include your e-mail address in the comments when checking out with PayPal and an invitation will be sent to you within a week.)
• Tell others about Relief.  You can do this by simply recommending them to our website, tweeting a link to our website, or by purchasing a copy of 3.2 for them.  We exist survive through sales and donations, so getting the word out is very important.
• Our submission system is open, so get your latest works submitted for issue 4.1.

Authors For Relief Issue 3.2!

	Kohleun Seo Adamson Kiki Creative Nonfiction Kohleun Seo Adamson drinks too much coffee—a habit honed while studying philosophy and gender studies at George Fox University in Oregon. In 2008 Kohleun received a peace studies fellowship to write the stories of Arab women in poetry and prose. This project took her to Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank, offering a new perspective on hope and forgiveness. Between work and trying to finish grad school writing samples, Kohleun reviews books for Barclay Press and Christian Feminism Today. In the future, she hopes to teach undergraduates, and open an organization to aid women from circumstances of violence.
	Rebecca Andem Inside the Lines Fiction Rebecca Andem completed her MFA with the Stonecoast Progam at the University of Southern Maine in 2007. She lives in China, where she teaches English at Guangdong Peizheng College in the beautiful countryside outside Guangzhou. She is currently working on her third novel.
	Derrick Austin Christ and the Three Fig Trees Eve's Death French Lesson Imagine Flesh Before Knowledge The First Night Editor's Choice for Poetry Derrick Austin is an undergraduate English/Writing major at the University of Tampa. He is Editor-in-Chief of Quilt (www.quiltlitmag.com), the undergraduate literary magazine, and Commentary Editor for The Minaret (www.theminaretonline.com), the student newspaper. He's volunteered at Tampa Review and has work forthcoming in The Sigma Tau Delta Review. He loves Lady Gaga, R&B music, and So You Think You Can Dance.
	C. N. Bean LaJunta Poetry In addition to having published several novels,including A Soul to Take, C. N. Bean has published short stories, poetry and screenplays. His feature-film screenplay, Santo de Cristos, was a recent semifinalist in the prestigious Blue Cat Screenplay Competition. His screenplay, The Beginning of the End, received an honorable mention at the 2009 Canada International Film Festival. He serves on the English faculty of Virginia Tech.
	Cindy Beebe Proof Vespers Three Parts Water Poetry Cindy Beebe lives happily with her husband and two teenage sons in Collierville, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. She works part-time, cleaning and organizing the household of a friend and fellow poet, when she is not otherwise occupied in homeschooling her boys--an activity accomplished by the skin of her teeth, most days. A few things she loves--Cormac McCarthy's books, camping in the mountains, and the Dave Matthews Band. Her poems have appeared in The Southern Review, The Atlanta Review, The Evansville Review, The National Poetry Review, The American Poetry Journal, and Rock &Sling, among others.

	Heather Cadenhead Embalming Bone Collection Poetry Heather Cadenhead's work has been featured in Illuminations, Arbor Vitae, The Ampersand Review, Boston Literary Magazine, and other publications. She recently won the Editor's Prize for an upcoming issue of New Plains Review. Heather lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with her husband, Tyson, and their dog, Arthur. She is the senior editor of The Basilica Review.
	Michael Dean Clark Synoptic Gospels Creative Nonfiction Michael Dean Clark is an author of fiction and nonfiction who can’t decide which he likes better – lying about the truth or telling truthful lies. His fiction most recently appeared in Relief. Currently, he is finishing a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and shopping his first novel while writing his second.
	Maryann Corbett Changed Translating Sabaoth Psalm for the Last Night of the State Fair Poetry Maryann Corbett is the author of two chapbooks, Dissonance (forthcoming from Scienter Press) and Gardening in a Time of War (Pudding House, 2007). She is co-winner of the 2009 Willis Barnstone Translation Prize, and her poems, essays, and translations have appeared or are forthcoming in River Styx, Atlanta Review, The Evansville Review, Measure, The Dark Horse, Umbrella, Mezzo Cammin, and many other journals in print and online.
	Jason Hubbard Derr Live Nude Girls Fiction Jason Hubbard Derr is a theologian, author and independent scholar living in Vancouver, BC with his lovely new bride. Jason is a contributor to PopTheoloy.com, has been invited to submit to an academic journal and will soon see his MA thesis published. He has most of a BA in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University and and all of a MA in Theology from the Vancouver School of Theology.
	Neil Dyer Imagine Lazarus There is Blood Poetry Neil Dyer is a Christian by calling and a veterinarian by training. Born and raised in the upper Midwest, he is married with three children and three grandchildren. He is a committed reader and writer, and enjoys bicycling, birdwatching and a good cup of coffee.

Naphtali Leyland Fields Tree Editor's Choice for Fiction Naphtali Leyland Fields is from Kodiak Island, Alaska. A commercial salmon fisherman, she is majoring in Bilingual Theater. This is her first publication.
	Susan Fish That Sign Fiction Susan Fish is a writer, editor, wife, and mother of three school aged children who lives in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.Her first novel Seeker of Stars was published in 2005, while her second is still looking for a home. She is always intrigued by the signs people choose to erect on their garages, fields, or lawns, and once had both a pesticide sign and a Green party sign on her front lawn at the same time. Fortunately, she saw the irony in the situation.
	C. J. Giroux Sex and Sister James Fiction A lifelong resident of Michigan, CJ Giroux is inspired by the peninsulas that surround him. He is an instructor of English at Saginaw Valley State University.
	Inez Holger Reconciliation Editor's Choice for Creative Nonfiction Inez Holger is a writer in search of a genre. While tutoring English students in Jacksonville, Florida, she continues to work on a novel about a young girl and her autistic brother, along with a workbook for Christians suffering from depression. She has worked as a writer for a newspaper, and as a contributing editor for a local sports magazine.
	David Holper Acacias Ditching the Tour Poetry David Holper has worked as taxi driver, fisherman, dishwasher, bus driver, soldier, house painter, bike mechanic, bike courier, and teacher. With all that useful experience and a couple of degrees, he has published a book of poetry called 64 Questions (March Street Press), as well numerous other poems in literary journals including Relief. He lives in Eureka, California, which is far enough from the madness of civilization that he can get some writing done. Another thing that helps is that his three children continually ask him to make up stories, and he is learning the art of doing that well for them.

	Brent House Pastoral Psalm Of Oscillation Poetry Brent House grew up in Necaise, Mississippi, where he raised cattle and watermelons on the family farm. His poetry has appeared in Colorado Review, Cream City Review, Denver Quarterly,Third Coast, and elsewhere. His chapbook, The Saw Year Prophecies, is forthcoming from Slash Pine Press. He received his M.F.A. from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, where he served as an assistant editor for Arts & Letters. He is a contributing editor for The Tusculum Review. Brent House lives in Cedartown, Georgia with his wife Renae Applegate House and daughter Elizabeth Cady House.
	Ryan Jessup More Than The Sea More Than The Light I Am Amazed Hymn Poetry Ryan Jessup is a native and lifelong resident of North Carolina. His poetry has appeared in The Penwood Review, Time of Singing, Ancient Paths, and others. He is a member of The Academy of American Poets and is listed in the Directory of Writers at Poets&Writers.org. Currently, he is the Research Director for the FOX Television affiliate, WGHP. He and his wife, Maria, live in Winston-Salem. Visit www.ryanjessup.com for more info.
	Ashley Makar Bodies of Water Poetry Ashley Makar is a writer, an associate editor of Killing the Buddha, an online literary magazine of religion writing, and a graduate student in Yale Divinity School’s Religion and the Arts program.  You can read about her latter-day baptism, her adventures in Israel and her fascination with James Agee’s heretical punctuation, among other curiosities, at killingthebuddha.com
	Jerome L. McElroy Cana of Galilee Nathaniel Mystic Alchemy Poetry Jerome L. McElroy is Professor of Economics at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana. His research specialty is the development problems of small tropical islands and sustainable tourism development. He has published over 100 poems in small literary journals as well as three chapbooks by Finishing Line Press: Secret Seams (2007), Sacred Traces (2008), and Sparks of Eden (2009).
	Scott McWaters Postmodern Prophet The Land of Cotton Poetry Scott McWaters teaches in the English Department at the University of Alabama. This work is part of a longer prophecy titled The Naked Prophet's Thread.

	M. V. Montgomery Darwin in Rio Poetry Two collections of M. V. Montgomery's poems will be published in 2010: Strange Conveyances, (Plain View Press) and Joshu Holds a Press Conference (Conversation Paperpress). He is currently at work on two collections of short fiction, Waking Dreams and Zombie Peace, Zombie Love.
	Brent Robison Baptism Fiction Brent Robison emigrated west to east and is now rooted in the Catskill Mountains of New York. His fiction has appeared in a dozen literary journals and has won awards from Literal Latté, Chronogram, and the New Jersey Council on the Arts, as well as a Pushcart Prize nomination. His collection of linked short stories, The Principle of Ultimate Indivisibility, is available wherever books are sold. Between daddy and hubby hours, he blogs at http://ultimate-indivisibility.com and continues chipping away at two novels-in-progress. He is also the editor and publisher of the Hudson Valley literary annual, Prima Materia.
	Kristina Roth An Edible Geography Creative Nonficiton Kristina Roth recently completed her M.A. in English. When she isn't writing, you might find her attempting to make pottery, playing with her goofy wirehaired dachshund, or reading. She and her husband currently live near Houston, although she returns home to South Dakota whenever possible.
	Miriam Selle Confession April on the Road to Damascus Poetry Miriam Selle studies English with a Writing Concentration at Wheaton College, Illinois. Her poetry has recently been published by Cicada. Growing up in Essex Junction, Vermont, she enjoyed writing stories with her sisters and creating books for her grandfather. Much of her writing today comes from her struggle with chronic pain. Besides writing in multiple genres, her favorite activities include reading, singing, running in the rain with her friends, and stargazing. She hopes to live overseas, possibly teaching English, for a few years after graduating in the spring.
	Laura E. Steer Phantom Child Creative Nonfiction Laura is a recent graduate of Malone University, where she majored in English (no, not to teach!) and minored in both Bible and Communication Arts. Though her ultimate goal is to pursue careers in editing and freelance writing, she has, in the meantime,accepted the position of Drama Director at her church. She also volunteers there as a middle-school youth leader, and plays keyboard and sings backup vocals for a Christian rock band. Beyond writing and music, Laura also enjoys consuming and creating visual art, namely photography. Her future plans include artistry, travel, and a possible move to Chicago.

	Sara Stripling Fire Baptism Poetry Sara Stripling is in her final year of a four year MFA program at the University of Arkansas. Although she is originally from southern Indiana, she currently lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and two cats as she is finishing her degree.
	Kelli Worrall The Midterm Exam Creative Nonfiction Kelli Worrall is an M.F.A. student at Roosevelt University in Chicago. She teaches English, speech, and drama at Moody Bible Institute. And she lives in McHenry, IL, with her husband, beautiful foster son, and mother-in-law (chief babysitter). They look forward to the arrival of their daughter from China.
	Gabriella Yokoyama Now Boarding Poetry Gabriella Yokoyama is a writer and poet. She holds degrees in Social Science and English from the University of Southern Colorado. Her most recent move took her to New York City; previously she has lived in a convent, a chicken coop, and a seriously haunted house. She is currently writing a graphic novel. Her work has appeared in various journals, most recently in Inscribed and tinfoildresses.
	Dana Yost Sculptures: Stations of the Cross at San Luis, Colorado Raw With God Poetry Dana Yost is a 29-year veteran of daily newspaper journalism, mostly as an editor at small dailies, where he won state and national awards for excellence in writing and news coverage. He and his wife, Rae, live in the small southwest Minnesota town of Cottonwood. A collection of his new poetry, Grace, was published in October 2008 by Spoon River Poetry Press. Grace is largely about two themes: Depression/anxiety, and a reaction to a deadly school bus crash in Cottonwood that killed four young students in 2008.
Clare Gajkowski-Zajicek Church Fathers Poetry Clare is a graphic designer and videographer who graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in Communication. She currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband and pet snapping turtle, Roger. She spends most of her time watching movies and eating starchy foods. (Mostly potatoes.)

Relief
A Journal of Art & Faith

For over a decade, Relief has helped shape the landscapes of faith and imagination for readers around the world. In our annual print journal, we feature fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, graphic narrative, and reviews by some of today’s finest literary practitioners, alongside emerging voices. We also occasionally publish new reflections on our blog—meditations by diverse writers pondering our contemporary moment through the rich lenses of art and faith.

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