 QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
The main cause of this is the Taliban. But what is the aftermath? The population doesn't realize this. They think the Americans deliberately want to kill civilians.
- Lutfullah Mashal, governor of Laghman province, Afghanistan. According to a U.N. report, a record 2,118 Afghani civilians were killed last year. Insurgents were responsible for 55 percent of the victims, but U.S., NATO, and Afghan forces killed 39 percent. (Source: Chicago Tribune)
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The Bipartisan Poverty Forum
Through the partisan fistfight of the general election, in the midst of political posturing during the transition, and moving forward in spite of a Congress split down party lines, a bipartisan group of leaders has found common ground in one thing -- God’s concern for the poor. Four months ago, and well before any of us knew who would be president, people of faith from across the political spectrum began meeting to discuss practical policy initiatives that would reflect our common belief that God has called us to care for the least of these. In what is now known as The Poverty Forum, Mike Gerson, President Bush’s speech writer for six years, and I co-chaired a group of leaders and policy experts who were convened by Sojourners and The Clapham Group. You can read more about the forum and a list of participants.
In a press conference yesterday, The Poverty Forum publically announced a list of policy proposals aimed at reducing poverty in our country. Each proposal was developed by a pair of leaders coming from different political perspectives on a wide range of issues from health care to prison reform. You can read the full list of proposals here and also listen to the entire press conference.
I recently heard a reporter comment that it just might be time to start looking at the mid-term elections for clues as to what Congress might do. I couldn’t help but conclude at how broken the logic of this city can be. Our litmus test for each policy proposal was to turn the logic of Washington D.C. on its head and ask first, “What would each policy do for the poor?”
The Poverty Forum has gathered leaders together who agreed on the end goal, care for the poor, just not always how to get there. As Mike Gerson said in the press conference today, we built relationships and trust with one another not only for dialogue but for innovation. Chuck Donovan had this to say about the group in the Wall Street Journal:
"This is an opportunity to get attention for some ideas that might not be taken as seriously if they came directly from the Family Research Council" or other advocacy groups easily pigeonholed as conservative or liberal, Mr. Donovan said.
It is my hope that this group serves as an example for what bipartisanship can achieve when the end goal is agreed upon, and I hope Congress was watching. As Steve Waldman wrote this week:
If you can strip away the political barnacles to reveal the pure idea beneath, you've served a real public purpose. That is good bipartisanship.
With an estimated 9 million more people about to fall into poverty, we need now more than ever to show that poverty is a bipartisan issue and a non-partisan cause.
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| Inside Sojourners Magazine |
Ed Spivey Jr. discovers Facebook
 “It started innocently enough. An acquaintance e-mailed me and, using a new verb with which I was unfamiliar, asked if she could ‘friend’ me. Considering she was already a friend, her request was not readily understood. Is the verb ‘friend’ more intimate than the noun version? Will this involve touching? Should I consult a priest or parole officer before replying? Being the trusting individual that I am, I clicked on the link in her e-mail, followed the on-screen instructions to fill out a few lines of personal information—name, gender, criminal record—and clicked again. My life hasn’t been the same since ..."
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| ON THE GOD'S POLITICS BLOG |
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Prayer, Renewal, and Action on Immigration Week
by Allison Johnson
God is showing up in a powerful way amongst immigrants and non-immigrants alike all across the country, as thousands of people of faith gather to pray for the crisis of immigration in our nation.
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New York Post Monkey Cartoon: Beyond the Pale
by Melvin Bray
Did no one involved in the publication of this cartoon grow up in America? Is each of them completely ignorant of the history of shameful and grotesque misrepresentation of people of color—particularly black men—in the United States?
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Eric Holder on America and Race: 'A Nation of Cowards'
by Eugene Cho
When it comes to the issue of race, why are Americans [including Christians] so reticent and reluctant to engage in honest conversations? What are we scared of? This is a thought provoking and honest assessment about the American people and the issue of race by Attorney General Eric Holder.
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Stop Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Racial Profiling
by Nate Van Duzer
According to The Arizona Republic, Sheriff Arpaio's other made-for-TV stunts include immigration sweeps cheered on by gun-toting motorcycle and anti-immigrant "Minuteman" groups that target anyone "guilty of looking Latino." Sherriff Arpaio has even made the outrageous statement: "I wish that the Phoenix Police Department would arrest everybody, even if they're not sure [of that person's legal status]."
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Is A-Rod Forgiveable?
by Cathleen Falsani
Over brunch with my husband and one of my best guy friends last weekend, conversation turned, as it does, to Major League Baseball, doping, and the nature of sin.
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Audio: Improving Our Party Invitations
by Efrem Smith
In this clip, with Acts 2:36ff as his text, Pastor Efrem describes the church as the expression of the invitation to the party of God's kingdom -- and questions why so few are saying yes. There's nothing wrong with the party, but the invitation needs some work.
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Love God=End Poverty: Why I'm Going to the Mobilization to End Poverty
by Lisa Ho
The greatest commandment, to love God and love your neighbor, is as important as the great commission! The two are intertwined. Because this has become so real to me, I want to help others make the connection. That is why I am working to bring a delegation to The Mobilization to End Poverty event in April.
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The NAACP Century
by Philip Luke Sinitiere
With the bicentennials of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin the subject of numerous conferences, articles, and television shows this month, we also should remember another important commemoration in 2009: the centennial of the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
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Rare Repentance: John Lewis Receives Apology from Attacker
by Troy Jackson
On May 9, 1961, when the Congress of Racial Equality's (CORE) Freedom Riders came into town and attempted to enter an all white waiting room at the bus station, Ku Klux Klan member Elwin Wilson was there. When he saw future U.S. Representative John Lewis enter, Wilson attacked, pummeling the young civil rights worker, who responded with nonviolence. ... A few weeks ago, Elwin Wilson contacted representative Lewis to apologize for beating Lewis nearly 48 years ago.
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Tulia and Jena: America in Miniature
by Alan Bean
Little towns like Tulia and Jena are America in miniature. The election of Barack Obama shows how far we have come; Tulia and Jena tell us how far we still have to go.
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Waltz with Bashir: Drawing a Massacre from Memory
by Ryan Rodrick Beiler
The film portrays an Israeli soldier's struggle to reconstruct suppressed memories of his role in the invasion of Lebanon, when Israeli forces surrounded the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps as residents were massacred by Christian Phalangist militias in 1982.
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Women Leaders in the Early Church
by Mimi Haddad
Have you ever noticed how the church in the first century was far more egalitarian (with respect to class, gender, and ethnicity) than many evangelical churches are today? Isn't this astonishing!
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Being the Oaks of Righteousness: Domestic Workers United
by Onleilove Alston
Instead of the poor just being passive recipients of the gospel, the poor are called to rebuild and restore their communities! If you are a person of privilege, instead of working for the poor you are called to work alongside the poor. And if, like me, you come from the ranks of the poor, you are called to rebuild and restore your community.
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'They Told Me to Forget My Name. I Was Now Number 21'
by Philip Rizk
Every once in awhile I am hit by the incomprehensible contrast between absolute freedom and absolute confinement. During those four long days I didn't do much else but be interrogated, sleep, or try to sleep. Before I go into any other details I want to say shukran, thank you, really. I am overwhelmed by the response of family, friends, and strangers all around the world during my imprisonment.
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Australia's Wildfires: It Is Well?
by Nathan Brown
By accident of rostering, I am the worship speaker and whatever I say feels like the inappropriate mumbling it probably is. Fumbling to find hope, even amid life stained with death. Any "answers" are too neat; any questions are too raw.
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A New Conversation in the Holy Land
by Lynne Hybels
A year ago I became haunted by the notion that Christians, Muslims, and Jews are going to blow up the world unless we learn to get along. I wished -- well, actually, I prayed -- that I might become part of a new kind of conversation that seeks peace and understanding between these diverse cultural and faith communities.
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What Change Can Tsvangirai Bring to Zimbabwe?
by Seth Naicker
Feb. 11, 1990, marked the wondrous day that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was released from prison. ... On Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister of Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe. One must question if this 11th of February, 2009, in Zimbabwe is to be considered as promising as the 11th of February, 1990.
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| SOJOURNERS IN THE NEWS |
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Top Stories:
Fight against poverty unites Christian left and right
The Christian Science Monitor
On Tuesday, a new bipartisan group called the Poverty Forum released a series of specific proposals aimed at reducing domestic poverty and keeping Americans hit by the economic crisis from joining the ranks of the poor. The group of 18 leaders – headed by the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, and Michael Gerson, President Bush's former speechwriter and policy adviser – has worked since November to develop concrete antipoverty policies they hope will gain widespread support.
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Christians on Left, Right Push Plan to Aid the Poor
The Wall Street Journal
New Christian Poverty Forum Aims to Keep Focus on the Poor
Religion News Service
Centering on Poverty
Christianity Today
Christians left, right, center promote poverty reduction
National Catholic Reporter
Putting the Priority on Poverty
Christian Broadcasting Network
Exclusive: Christian Right and Left Partner on Poverty Reduction Advice to Obama
U.S. News and World Report blog
Buscan grupos religiosos reforma migratoria integral en 2009
El Financiero
Líderes religiosos de EEUU reclaman una "reforma humana" de la inmigración
msn latino
Clergy, lawmakers launch immigration reform push
Religion News Service
"Sojourners in the news" articles are the most recent news clippings that mention Sojourners in any way - whether favorably or unfavorably. Though we provide the text on our site for your convenience, we do not necessarily endorse the views of these articles or their source publications. |
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