Frequently of late I've been talking and writing how striving to follow God in the Way of Jesus compels me to try to end hunger and poverty. And I will continue to do so. For instance, I'm with Bread for the World: Now that the shutdown is over, it is time to end sequestration. But with our …
There’s still no Other
This week at Wednesday Night Live (my church's weekly gathering for youth) we watched a video. Of course, in and of itself, that's hardly newsworthy. We often use some kind of media to get a conversation going. But I don't know that we've ever been able to use an award-winning short film before. Once I …
Striving to have eyes that see
My September 29th sermon was, at heart, an attempt to humanize people who receive SNAP benefits - people who are all too often demonized, blamed for needing help, called names like "lazy" or "grifters." I was trying to demonstrate that the people who receive SNAP benefits are simply that: people. It just happens they are people who need …
The power of 1000 days
The church. Christians. Followers of God in the Way of Jesus. Living the life of faith. Being the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in the world. If you've spent any time around me (or, you know, this blog or my other blog or my twitter feed or my facebook timeline), I would hope it is clear that I believe …
Mourning, and yet…
It has been rough week. It's been a week of mourning. It has been a week of mourning with Miriam, all the Cabanas family and friends, and our congregation over Ernie's sudden death. Just a few days ago Miriam and Ernie hugged me on their way out of church after our worship service, all smiles …
Go Orange!
Sorry to disappoint, but this post has no connection to Syracuse University, college football, or the Bears. Instead we're talking hunger. And $40 Billion. I spoke about going orange in my sermon on Sunday. It's easy enough to change a Twitter or Facebook profile to support the cause. It's easy enough to read about ways …
Making US food aid more Methodist?
When we collected an Offering o f Letters (OL) at Woodridge United Methodist Church on April 28th, I shared that writing to support food aid reform put us on the cutting edge; that we were helping Bread for the World try out a new focus for OLs. Food aid reforms in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 …
Record-breaking OL not done yet
Last Sunday, my congregation, Woodridge United Methodist Church, partnered with Bread for the World in taking an Offering of Letters. Rosie's story (see above video) was a key component of our presentation and perhaps part of the reason the OL produced 110 names on the petition to the President and 120 letters to our Senators. The …
Responding to evil with a hope and a prayer
How often this week have you heard someone say, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of ______"? Boston, Iraq, Texas, Iran, Illinois...there's no shortage of people dealing with violence, disaster, pain, and tragedy. There never is. Has the "thoughts and prayers" sentiment gone the way of "how are you"? Tossed off with little …
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‘Behind all those big words are human beings’
How about a bevy of links for your weekend? These are all what I deem "Well said!" -I probably say this a lot, but this is why we fight...for justice that is. The title for this post comes from this inspiring video. How are we doing on the current Millenium Development Goals? -Are you the …
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All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 