That racism exists in our world, in our country, in our community, in our systems - social, economic, and political - is irrefutable. But as a middle-aged, middle-income, able-bodied, cis-gendered, straight, white, Christian, male, layers of privilege afford me the possibility - the comfort - of not noticing that racism. Or, if I do notice …
Category: Christianity
Sleep Out Saturday
Gonna try live blogging Sleep Out Saturday. Haven't done that before so bear with me... 2:00pm Home preparing to go on a bike ride with our kids. Being away from them is the hardest part of any overnight youth event. In the next day or two, I'll share more SOS insights from WUMC teenagers in …
Building empathy, enabling community
"Stress. It was really stressful having to constantly compare prices and serving sizes. It took a lot longer than when I grocery shop with my mom." "I felt like people were watching us and judging us, because we we talking so much about the price of everything and the servings. I didn't like that." In …
Vote out hunger, how?
The Midterm Elections are now just a few days away (on Tuesday, November 4). Last week, I pledged to vote in a way that seeks to end hunger and encouraged you to do the same. Which you can still do, by the way. But it occurred to me that it might not be exactly obvious …
Connections. It’s all about connections.
There was a lot to like about last weekend's Confirmation retreat. No, not everything was peachy. You can't throw 16 people who aren't used to spending that much time together into a fairly small space for 26 hours and expect nothing but sunshine and roses 🙂 We played a lot, and we snacked a lot, …
New parables?
My task this week is to tackle some of those most mysterious teachings of Jesus that we usually call parables. In particular, parables about what the author of Matthew's gospel calls the Kingdom of God Heaven. Why 'Heaven' instead of 'God'? Most likely the author was Jewish or was writing for a Jewish audience or …
‘Blessed are the peacemakers’
Today is Nelson Mandela Day; it could hardly occur at a better time. What the world needs now is a whole lot of people praying for - and working for - peace. Those of us who claim the name of Jesus better be leading those efforts, if we want to live up to that name. …
Advocacy at work
Well, that happened fast. I guess sometimes it all comes together. Lately I've used this space, as I often do, to write about the Christian duty to engage in justice advocacy to alleviate hunger, poverty and oppression. Then Bread for the World picked up a little of what I wrote and asked if they could …
Wanna feed 2 million people – or even 9 million – in less than 10 minutes?
If so, all you have to do is read a little and add your name to a letter. Sometimes advocacy is just that simple. Illinois residents (along with those of Alaska, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia) have an opportunity - I would even say a duty - to influence legislation …
Continue reading Wanna feed 2 million people – or even 9 million – in less than 10 minutes?
A true must-read
Given that: 1. As followers of God in the Way of Jesus, my congregation (Woodridge United Methodist Church) strives to love God and love our neighbors. Which, as Jesus put it, means everybody. 2. A vital piece of loving our neighbors - and of UMC membership vows - is striving to fight evil, injustice, and …
All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 