The Common Good

James Colten

Assistant to the CEO

James is a former campaigns assistant (Intern Cycle 28) for Sojourners, and currently works as assistant to the CEO, Jim Wallis. He grew up outside of Chicago in Wheaton, IL, and graduated from Hope College (Holland, MI) in 2011 with a degree in political science. At Hope, he was able to pursue his passion for social justice, as well as study the effects of religion on social and political life. However, it was through his church in Holland that he began to learn about community and what it means to be a good neighbor.

In his spare time, he enjoys breaking a sweat by running and bicycling, or playing ultimate frisbee, football, tennis, and basketball. He is inspired by good music, creative cafés, and thriving farmers markets. He serves as a utility musician on his church’s music team, but enjoys paying regular, old pianos the most. Even though East Coast beaches are nice, none of them compare to the ones on the west coast of Michigan.

You can follow James on Twitter at @JamesColten.

Blog Posts by James Colten

Posted by James Colten 15 weeks 16 hours ago
Next week, The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will premiere The Convert, a play by Off-Broadway Theater Awards-winning playwright, Danai Gurira.The Convert is set in late 19th...
Posted by James Colten 21 weeks 6 days ago
“What Child is This,” written by William C. Dix in 1865 is one of the few Christmas carols I know of that does not have its own musical arrangement. It uses the tune, “Greensleeves” (a traditional...
Posted by James Colten 22 weeks 2 days ago
When I go home for Christmas, I always end up pulling out the old Christmas songbook from inside the piano bench and working my way through while my mom cooks dinner. I don’t really read the music as...
Posted by James Colten 26 weeks 6 days ago
All this talk about the three Israelis killed by Gaza rockets …What about the fifteen Palestinians killed by Israeli bombs?If I were inclined to give mathematical value to people based on the media...
Posted by James Colten 28 weeks 1 day ago
What does it feel like to have your vote stolen?It sucks. It feels like someone literally let all the air out of my balloon animal.Late in September, I happily filled out my absentee ballot request...