Sojourners in the News

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and South Sudan and the Episcopal Church in the United States have co-signed an open letter to US President Barack Obama urging him to help put an end to the conflict in South Sudan.

In the letter, 19 religious organisations and NGOs urge Mr Obama to use his upcoming visit to Africa to "press for a solution to the ongoing crisis in South Sudan and stress the need for greater regional cooperation to pressure the warring parties to make the necessary concessions for a sustainable peace in South Sudan."

Former President Jimmy Carter has said in an interview that he does not believe Jesus Christ would support abortion in most cases, identifying the "only conflict" he's had between his political duties and Christian faith. "I have never believed that Jesus would be in favor of abortion, unless it was the result of rape or incest, or the mother's life was in danger. That's been the only conflict I've had in my career between political duties and Christian faith," Carter told The New York Times in an interview posted on Friday.

A coalition of Christian leaders devoted to helping end poverty has released a series of videos featuring six 2016 presidential candidates. Each candidate explained the approach that he or she would take to solve poverty and hunger issues in the United States and across the globe if they were elected president.

Journalists, nonprofit leaders and political analysts from across the political aisle discussed the politics of inequality and the role that the issue could play in the 2016 presidential elections in a conversation at the Aspen Ideas Festival this year.

We need to make it clear to our leaders that many Christians favor practical and pragmatic steps to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, not merely rhetorical flourishes that demonstrate at best a desire to oppose the Obama administration at any cost, or, at worst, a desire to go to another war.

So I am wondering, will America change as a result of nine people slaughtered in a prayer meeting? It remains to be seen. Some have said we can never be the same. To live as if there is no bigotry and racism infecting the soul of our nation is only to give such things room to grow. To face them anew in the wake of profound pain and sorrow may be the first step in healing a social cancer. 

If Christian leaders in the U.S. do not act on the desire of many of the faithful to work for social justice issues, churches will continue to lose members, especially millennials.

“What is religion good for in this world of social justice?”

The biggest problem we face -- the biggest enemy at the heart of many of the issues we must address -- is hopelessness.