In this issue of Thema, the articles, poems, and sermon give voice to struggle, loss, depression, and the absence of God. But as Muriel Rukeyser proclaims in her poem, “Elegy in Joy,” not all are blest, but the blessing is in the seed.  The Bible often reveals new beginnings after much struggle. In the Book of Ruth, Naomi had lost her husband and her sons: yet her daughter-in-law, Ruth, traveled with her to a new beginning that ultimately became part of the ancestry of Jesus. After Jesus, innocent of all wrongdoing, was cruelly crucified, he was resurrected into a new life. The disciples despite their grief and fear were empowered…