José Mujica, nicknamed Pepe Mujica, was President of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former Tupamaros freedom fighter in the 60s and the 70s, he was detained, like a hostage by the dictatorship between 1973 and 1985. He advocates a philosophy of life focused on sobriety: learn to live with what is necessary and fairest.
read moreAziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian born in Jerusalem, who grew up throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and fighting against the occupation. His brother was tortured and died from trauma sustained in Israeli prison when Aziz was just ten years old. Yet he now fights for peace.
read moreRe: the Oregon mass shooting: “Harper-Mercer’s mother, Laurel Harper, shared her son’s passion for guns… I was so appalled by the Roseburg incident that I needed to deal with my despair by flying my fingers across my computer keyboard. This is the result – a spoof on the absurdity of owning guns for self-defense:
read moreIn a powerful speech to a joint session of Congress Thursday morning, Pope Francis pushed the United States to confront several political issues that tend to divide Republicans and Democrats, including immigration, climate change, the Iran deal, Cuba, poverty, and the death penalty.
read moreMorality is more than abortion and gay marriage. Code-words such as “biblical morality” have been diluted in recent generations of American Christians to the point that almost everyone knows their new cultural meaning: such terms have become synonymous with being anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion, and little else. And that’s a shame– because morality is so much more than one’s position on gay marriage or abortion.
read moreThis will change the way you think about trusting humanity. The 9 countries that participated in this heart warming global Trust Experiment were Australia, Switzerland, Mexico, Germany, Canada, USA, Spain, Italy & Belguim.
read moreThis behavior-over-belief curriculum connects children with their own inner wisdom. It teaches interdependence, self awareness, respect for nature, stillness, forgiveness, prayer, meditation, and integrity. Using the Bible and other wisdom stories, A Joyful Path helps children learn how to follow the path of Jesus, other teachers, and real life heroes in today’s world.
read moreWolves once roamed the United States before decades of unregulated slaughter wiped them out. It wasn’t until they were missing that people began to recognize the crucial role wolves play in maintaining the health of the natural world.
read moreI have never told this story to anyone but my husband and God, but I’m telling it now. I realized after the murders in Charleston last week that the dirty secret I’ve been keeping is a part of the problem.
read moreIt is time that we as human beings confront the darkness of racism and violence. As people of faith, as followers of Jesus, we must be the leaders of that confrontation.
read more… so raising and educating our kids as if we have any idea what the future will hold is not the smartest notion. How then to prepare our kids for a world that is unpredictable, unknown? By teaching them to adapt, to deal with change, to be prepared for anything by not preparing them for anything specific.
read moreI am a bit of a unicorn – a Black Puerto Rican, third generation Lutheran. I was baptized, confirmed, married, educated and called to ministry in this church. The past year has been difficult for me to reconcile my cultural identity and my denominational identity.
read moreWe asked readers to write in with their perspective on what we can do about violence and racism. We received many meaningful, intelligent, and thoughtful responses. Here are some of them!
read moreWe asked readers to write in with their perspective on violence and racism. We received many meaningful, intelligent, and thoughtful responses. Here are some of them!
read moreThose who forgave the deadly, racist shooter in the Charleston church were as Christ to me. Their grace exposed the racism of those who held onto the confederate flag as a way of life. Their grace transformed parts of the country that seemed irredeemable.
read moreIt is time for congregations to develop protocols for responding to hate initiatives on their doorsteps. As the intolerant lose any self-discipline in lashing out at others, we can expect a fresh round of cross-burnings, gay-bashing graffiti, and online vitriol.
read moreWhat follows is the text of a “sermon” that I gave as a “congregational reflection” to an all White audience at the Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ on Sunday, June 28th. The sermon was begun with a reading of The Good Samaritan story, and this wonderful quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.
Credit for this speech goes to Chaédria LaBouvier, whose “Why We Left” inspired me to speak out about racism; to Robin DiAngelo, whose “White Fragility” gave me an understanding of the topic; and to Reni Eddo-Lodge who said “Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race” long before I had the courage to start doing it again.
read morePope Francis and the Environment: Yale Examines Historic Climate Encyclical. What follows are the transcripts from the Panel on the Papal Encyclical held at Yale University on April 8, 2015.
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