Lifestyle

U nited Methodists have for generations been a mainstay of the American religious landscape — one of the most geographically widespread of the major Protestant denominations, their steeples visible on urban streets, in county seats and along country roads, their ethos marked by a firm yet quiet faith, simple worship and earnest social service. But the United Methodist Church is also the latest of several mainline Protestant denominations in America to begin fracturing, just as Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations lost significant minorities of churches and members this century amid debates over sexuality and theology.

Last week, on a beautiful fall day, driving with my windows down, singing with the radio, I was enjoying a typical Tuesday morning, until it wasn’t. The traffic had slowed to a crawl, and it wasn’t long before it was obvious a wreck had just happened, with one of the vehicles flipped upside down.

The tragic story of Emmett Till is one of a face. The face of a 14-year-old boy, beaten and murdered in Mississippi, a battered and bloated face that his mother insisted be seen by the world. Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” is a story of two faces: Emmett’s and that of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley, portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler in a powerfully skilled and undeniably star-making screen performance.

Recently, I found a picture of a bird’s nest inside my grill. The picture was old and taken close to Mother’s Day.

Summer is over, and many of the activities that go with it are too. Time to break out the sweaters and get those walks in before cold weather sets in. It’s so much easier to keep your body moving and your diet on track when it’s nice outside.

For most grocery shoppers, they are as familiar as carts with wobbly wheels, aisles of cereal boxes and checkout stands full of juicy celebrity tabloids. But in California their days are numbered.

One of the iconic dishes of West Africa, jollof rice is vibrantly colored and heavily spiced. And it reflects how cultures across continents blend with delicious results.