Happy Birthday, John Lewis!
Today is the 72nd birthday of civil rights pioneer John Lewis. His is a story is deeply woven into liberation history in the United States. A son of rural Alabama, Lewis grew up on a small farm without plumbing or electricity in the Jim Crow south. He wanted to be a preacher. When he was a teenager, he heard[…]
Unparalyzed
“And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once, and walked out in front of everyone.” –Mark 2:12 “Are there ways, other than physical injury, that people become paralyzed?,” I asked the assembled group. “Fear paralyzes,” said one person assertively. There were a number of knowing nods in the room. “So can anger,”[…]
Reflections on Self-Forgiveness
“How about how to forgive ourselves?,” my friend suggested as a topic for this blog. It’s a subject that comes up often in workshops and discussions. My initial response is to ask the person what they are hoping to be able to do, or what they are seeking to have happen. Their perceptions are vital.[…]
The Role of the Church
“Perhaps the anthropological role of the Christian church in human history might be oversimplified as follows: To undermine structures of sacred violence by making it impossible to forget how Jesus died and to show the world how to live without such structures by making it impossible to forget how Jesus lived.” –Gil Bailie in Violence Unveiled
