 QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
I no longer believe that you can fix the death penalty ... I learned that the death penalty throws millions of dollars down the drain -- money that I could be putting directly into crime fighting -- while dragging victims' families through a long and torturous process that only exacerbates their pain.
- James Abbott, a 29-year veteran Republican police chief from Orange, New Jersey, who served on a New Jersey panel that recommended abolishment of capital punishment. (Source: The Columbus Dispatch)
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Justice Revival is Coming
Earlier this month, I was in Dallas for the official launch of Sojourners’ next Justice Revival. It’s the culmination of more than a year’s worth of organizing to unite more than 1,000 churches and 1 million Christians in the Dallas area to come together to address issues of public education and chronic homelessness. These were not issues that were decided from here in Washington, but rather issues that came from local grassroots leaders.
In Dallas, 89 percent of all high school seniors are not college or career ready. More than 5,800 people are homeless, of whom nearly 700 are chronically homeless. Dallas leaders have united across denominational, racial, and socioeconomic lines and have committed to creating 25 partnerships with public schools and advocating for 700 new units of permanent supportive housing as a solution to chronic homelessness in Dallas. The Justice Revival event next month will just serve as a precursor to the work that will take place in 2010 in Dallas.
Two weeks ago we held a press conference and a City Leaders Luncheon where senior pastors, nonprofit leaders, elected officials, and business executives gathered for lunch with me and the wildly popular mayor of Dallas, Tom Leppert, a person of deep faith. All 250 leaders went through a buffet line to receive a school lunch, cafeteria-style. It was a great reminder of why, and on whose behalf, we are coming together in Dallas.
During the press conference beforehand, Rev. Zan Holmes, pastor emeritus of St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church and an elder statesman of the Dallas church scene, said, “We've never come together like this. This is historic.”
And indeed, across Dallas people are talking about this historic initiative and the potential it has to transform the city. Many articles and interviews have already come out locally about the event, including a full-length feature article by The Dallas Morning News. The DMN also published an editorial endorsing the Justice Revival, which said:
If the Justice Revival works in Dallas as it did in Columbus, Ohio, Wallis envisions such efforts helping recast our national dialogue about many different issues. He believes that houses of faith can be sanctuaries where people of all stripes, including those who have no interest in religion, can gather publicly to discuss everything from health care to immigration reform to school policies. The one rule is no one can trash someone else. As we said, it’s a novel concept, and we can’t wait to see it break out in Dallas and across the country.
The Dallas Justice Revival will take place Nov. 10-12 at a huge indoor exhibition hall called Dallas Market Hall. We’ll hear preaching from Rev. Zan Holmes, Rev. Sam Rodriguez, and Grammy Award-winning musicians such as Fred Hammond, Israel Houghton, Jaci Velasquez, and Salvador will lead us in worship. It will conclude on Nov. 14 with a Day of Action that includes a march for the homeless and 10 projects throughout the city.
I hope that you will be able to make it to Dallas in a couple weeks to join us. If not, please be in prayer for this exciting initiative and be sure to tell your friends that live in the area. To find out more information and register for this free event visit www.justicerevival.org.
| INSIDE SOJOURNERS MAGAZINE |
46 Million Reason for Health-Care Reform. This month’s issue of Sojourners magazine contains several essays about the moral imperative for health-care reform. Read contributions from Jim Wallis, John DiIulio Jr., Carol Keehan, E.J. Dionne Jr., Janelle Goetcheus, Rose Marie Berger, Tom Sine, and Arthur Waskow.
Video: How to Make a Memorial Prayer Altar. In this how-to video created to accompany an article on liturgical worship resources, associate editor Rose Marie Berger teaches assistant editor Jeannie Choi how to create a memorial prayer altar.
| ON THE GOD'S POLITICS BLOG |
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Penny Per Pound Is Gaining Ground: Join the Call for Tomato Worker Justice
by Megan Grove
Many of the farmers who provide Kroger's with tomatoes make about $10,000 a year -- below the poverty line for Florida workers. With the penny per pound increase, however, migrant worker salaries will rise to around $17,000 -- above the poverty line. Such a small difference can make a huge impact.
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Dear President Obama (An Open Letter on Afghanistan)
by Brian McLaren
I'm writing to ask you to find another way ahead in Afghanistan. I wrote a similar letter to President Bush when he was preparing for war in Iraq. I believe now, as you and I both did then, that war is not the answer. Violence breeds violence, and as Dr. King said, you can murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. As the apostle Paul said, evil must be overcome with good, which means that violence and hate must be overcome with justice and love, not more of the same.
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God Does Not Heed My Snotty Opinions About Evangelicals by Nadia Bolz-Weber
I'm honestly as comfortable with my opinions as that rich guy was with his wealth. I am perfectly happy not liking evangelicals.
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Without Health-Care Reform, the Customer Is Always Wrong
by Anonymous Guest Contributor
To riff on the words of Jessica Rabbit, health insurance corporations are bad because they are drawn up that way: their incentive structure is fundamentally broken, and any legal fix can only be partial. This is why I strongly support a "public option."
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One Day's Wages
by Eugene Cho
The numbers regarding extreme global poverty are overwhelming, but there is some good news. Individuals and organizations around the world are already doing amazing work to fight extreme global poverty. We're not trying to re-invent the wheel, but rather to collaborate and partner with others like you.
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Judge Refuses to Marry Interracial Couple
by Brenda Salter McNeil
How is it that in 2009, a Louisiana judge was either so ignorant of the law or so arrogant about his power to supersede it, that he denied an interracial couple a marriage license?
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I Was Wrong. The Insurance Company Was Evil.
by LaVonne Neff
I still believe that the for-profit U.S. health-care system is a villain, because injustices happen with regularity when health care is made a source of profit. However, I now understand that the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America grossly misbehaved, even by the lax standards of the health insurance industry.
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National Association of Evangelicals Provides Moral Model on Immigration Reform
by Jim Wallis
I believe the NAE statement reflects a different tone in Washington and in the U.S. with respect to immigration reform. Church leaders who have been personally and privately supportive of immigrants and their struggles have now publicly declared that it is morally wrong to keep families apart, and that it is morally right to fix the broken system so that immigrants are treated with respect and mercy.
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Humans, Humility, and the Higgs Boson Particle
by Ernesto Tinajero
Humans and humility are distant cousins -- related, but somehow unable to hang out. Arrogance, on the other hand, is our bud.
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In Defense of the Suburbs
by Tracey Bianchi
My hope is for the blaming and bashing of suburbia to end and the beginning of a truly reflective conversation to begin. It is possible to have rich experiences of community, mixed neighborhoods, and a concern for the world while living outside the city.
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'Illegal Alien' Halloween Costumes Cash in on Racist Stereotypes
by César Baldelomar
"The 'Illegal Alien Adult Costume,' manufactured by Forum novelties, includes an orange jumpsuit, similar to prison garb, with 'Illegal Alien' stamped in black across the chest; a space alien mask; and a fake green card. The 'Illegal Alien Mask with Hat' also includes a space alien mask, this time with a dark handlebar mustache and a baseball cap."
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Video: Sen. Lindsey Graham Calls Out Conservative Fringe by Margaret Benefiel
Republicans have been in danger recently of losing their party's soul. With talk-show hosts playing on the fears of the fringes, Republicans are running the risk of becoming the party that tears down, rather than a party that offers constructive solutions growing out of their deeply-held values.
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A Pre-Emptive Peace Prize?
by Gareth Higgins
The totem for the northern Ireland peace process is that, after decades of using violence or belligerence as a political first resort, people decided that negotiation was not a sign of weakness. It is undeniable: a vast number of people are alive today because sworn violent enemies talked to each other. And this is why President Obama may deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. Because he is willing to talk first.
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Audio: Confronting the Rage That Killed Derrion Albert
by Lisa Sharon Harper
Neighborhoods that are marginalized and under-served tend to be highly violent areas. That's not because the people are violent but it is because poverty breeds violence.
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Nobel, Obama, Bono, and 'Rebranding America'
by Eugene Cho
Like many folks a couple weeks ago, I was stunned that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. And then I read this pretty amazing column from Bono titled "Rebranding America" in The New York Times.
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Evil Insurance Company or Evil Health-Care System?
by LaVonne Neff
What is evil is this: that we Americans allow our health-care system to be financed by industries that exist to make a profit. No other rich capitalist nation does this. Many developed nations finance their health-care systems through private insurance companies. The difference is this: everywhere else, basic health insurance is required by law to be not-for-profit.
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Audio: Remember Your Immigrant Roots
by Efrem Smith
In this short clip from a recent sermon, Pastor Efrem encourages European Americans to remember their own immigrant heritage and history in order to inform their current attitudes toward immigration policy.
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Video: Colbert on the 'Desert Cross' Church-State Controversy
by Ryan Rodrick Beiler
Stephen Colbert makes some strong arguments regarding the true meaning of the cross -- including a near-complete recitation of the Nicene Creed. When was the last time you heard that on TV?
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'You Shall Not Oppress an Immigrant'
by Anne Dunlap
When the Israelites were liberated from slavery, God gave them instruction in how not to become like Egypt, and one of the constant themes of that instruction is summed up in this verse from Exodus: "You shall not oppress an immigrant; you know the heart of an immigrant, for you were immigrants in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 23:9).
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Chris Rock's 'Good Hair': A Humorous Deconstruction of Stubborn Beauty Standards
by Edward Gilbreath
One of the big conversations in my household this year has revolved around the question of whether my 9-year-old daughter is ready to get her hair "permed." Some girls at her school have already been initiated into the world of relaxed hair, so the peer pressure is in effect.
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Advocating for Sudan from the Inside
by Cynthia Lapp
We are accustomed to standing outside the White House, protesting the policies of war and torture. As people committed to peace, we still see plenty of ways the current administration can improve its efforts toward peace, the Nobel Peace Prize notwithstanding. Being on the inside was a new experience.
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Who Sinned, That This Child Was Born Uninsurable?
by Gunnar Cerda
We have the opportunity to raise our prophetic voices on behalf of those who have trouble expressing their thoughts and needs. We have the opportunity to speak for those whom society has marginalized and designated "disabled" and "uninsurable."
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A Theology of Ecology
by Justin Fung
A theology of ecology, a theology of creation care, is part of -- and is consistent with -- a grander biblical theology, woven through with themes that can be found throughout scripture.
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Caught Between Two Worlds: Progressive and Evangelical
by Aaron Taylor
As a long-time evangelical missionary and a recent convert to non-violence, I find myself caught between two worlds. On the one hand, I move freely in circles that "pray through the window" and map "unreached people groups." On the other hand, my devotion to peace and non-violence cause me to move in peace circles -- many of which are comprised of theologically liberal Christians.
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The Church-State Debate: Biblical Insiders and Outsiders
by Soong-Chan Rah
Some Christians may argue that the church needs to be disconnected from the state, forming a counter-cultural community that focuses exclusively on the exhibition of piety and holiness. Others may argue that the church needs to become deeply invested in the state in order to bring about God's kingdom specifically in the United States.
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| SOJOURNERS IN THE NEWS |
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Top Stories:
Revival! Sojourners event targets justice issues
The United Methodist Reporter
The Rev. Jim Wallis, founder and president of Sojourners, said Dallas clergy are coming together for two reasons: to help the chronically homeless and to improve public education. In Dallas, for instance, there are more than 6,000 homeless persons on the streets, and 90 percent of high school students in the Dallas Independent School District are not college ready. +Click to continue
Peace, Peace -- But Is There Peace?
Christianity Today
Sojourners supported giving Obama the Nobel Prize in several posts. Valerie Elverton Dixon wrote that while little has been accomplished so far, Obama has a vision for peace. She wrote that the Nobel committee recognized this vision and "has given him a just peace prize." Edward Gilbreath viewed the prize as "a salute to America's ability to finally rise up to the ideals of equality, freedom, and strength through diversity that it was founded on." Jim Wallis interpreted the prize as a "prayer." He wrote that he wanted it to "be a prayer for the U.S. itself, to lead in a new way and to seek a fundamentally different approach to the many global decisions that this new president will now have to make." +Click to continue
The President's Faith Council Meets
On Faith
There were voices on both sides, some saying that we shouldn't lift up one or two conflicts, others saying that one conflict or another should have particular resonance for the Council. Jim Wallis offered a way forward: religion is part of the problem in too many conflicts; this Faith Council believes religion needs to be part of the solution, and wants to offer its expertise and understanding to that end. +Click to continue
Bloggers of all stripes grab a piece of the climate pie for Blog Action Day 2009
Grist
Sojourners: This blog on faith, politics, and culture has deep social-justice roots, so it makes sense that a look at climate inequality in the Senate climate bill would spring from their pages today. They also want you to pray for Glenn Beck so that he’ll get behind health-care reform. All in a day’s work. +Click to continue
What is God's place in government?
USA Today Blog
Working to make religion part of the solution
The Capital Times (Madison)
"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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