I am not the first one to say this, and it is less prophetic than just observably true: Donald Trump is consistently putting his calculus of how he can win reelection over any commitment to protect the nation’s public health.
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis and Adam Taylor
John Lewis was a friend and mentor. As I, Jim, said when he died last Friday, John Lewis showed us the way again and again; his truth will keep marching on. I was moved to share a tweet from my son Luke, which said, “I’m honored to have ever been in the room with this man. Let’s fill these empty statue pedestals with patriots like #repjohnlewis.” Under his tweet was a picture of John Lewis holding Luke as a baby — he’s the only politician I ever let hold my child.
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis
What’s been the message of Confederate monuments and flags? It depends on who you are.
Source: The New York Times | Jessica Grose
Sandi Villarreal, the executive editor of Sojourners, a Christian social justice magazine, said that her husband, Michael Middaugh, a pastor of a Lutheran church in Silver Spring, Md., is doing the same amount, if not more, of the caretaking for their three children, ages 6, 4, and almost 1, because his schedule is more flexible than hers — for now.
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis
The mask is off. For decades, white political leaders in the U.S. have masked their racism, subtly stoking white voters’ racial fears, grievances and even hatred of those whose skin color makes them matter less to white America. But throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has steadily moved from covertly racist rhetoric and policies to ones that are overtly so. And standing in front of Mount Rushmore on July 3, Donald Trump abandoned any remaining shred of pretense (he doesn’t like masks anyway) and delivered a speech that offered a classic defense of white nationalism in America’s past and for America’s future.
Source: The Christian Post | Samuel Smith
Interfaith clergy as well as civic leaders in at least 50 cities nationwide declared Monday the National Day of Mourning and Lament for the over 100,000 people who have died in the United States from coronavirus. They also took the time to grieve the deaths of the recent victims of racial injustice.
Source: NPR | All Things Considered with Michel Martin
NPR's Michel Martin talks to Reverend Jim Wallis about the National Day of Mourning and Lament put on by faith leaders across the country to commemorate those who have died from the coronavirus.
Source: HuffPost | Carol Kuruvilla
Rev. Jim Wallis, president of the progressive Christian group Sojourners, called on people of faith to stay at home “until it is healthy and safe to gather again.” Like Barber, Wallis said that this was a way to live out Jesus’ teaching to love your neighbor.
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis and Barbara Williams-Skinner
We believe all human beings are made in the “Imago Dei,” the image and likeness of God — it’s a core tenet of ours and many other faiths. So any strategy that would negate people’s votes because of the color of their skin is not just a partisan tactic, but rather a denial of their Imago Dei, a theological, biblical and spiritual offense to God. Protecting the right to vote affirms the divine imprint and inherent value of all of God’s children.
Source: Noticias Telemundo | María Peña
Por su parte, Sandy Ovalle, activista del grupo cívico Sojourners, dijo a Noticias Telemundo que es urgente valorar la labor de los “trabajadores esenciales” como De León, que en su mayoría son inmigrantes.
Source: Associated Press | Elana Schor
A multi-denominational coalition of Christian leaders is calling on Congress to allocate upwards of $4 billion in its next coronavirus economic recovery measure to help Americans safely cast their votes in November.
Source: Psychology Today | Blake Griffin Edwards
Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners, has recommended that Congress extend Medicaid funding for testing and treatment to undocumented people, provide cash assistance under the CARES Act to undocumented people and their U.S. citizen families, and ensure assistance received during the pandemic cannot be used against people in future determinations of eligibility for public benefits. Wallis stated, "farmworkers, who are risking their health to provide food to all of us, must be provided with protective equipment and access to paid sick leave and unemployment insurance."
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis
Monday, May 4, was the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings. Thirteen students were shot and four killed by the Ohio National Guard during a Vietnam War protest after the invasion of Cambodia. On that day, I was a student up the road at Michigan State University, helping lead Vietnam protests there. It all felt very personal. It still does.
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis
I believe that the ultimate test of our discipleship to Jesus Christ is how we treat the most vulnerable in society, or as Jesus refers to them in Matthew 25, “the least of these” among us.
Source: CNN | Billy Shore
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While hunger may have been less visible before coronavirus, it still afflicted far too many Americans. It was solvable then too. Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners and a wise leader of the faith community told me, "This virus is revealing so much of what was true before."
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis
Nobody wants our society, economy, government, schools or our families to stay on lockdown. Everybody wants our lives to reopen. But in order to do that in a way that protects health and lives, three biblical principles are necessary: truth, unity and solidarity.
Source: Religion News Service | Jim Wallis
Easter was never meant to go back to normal; but it was, and still is, intended to make all things new.
Source: C-SPAN
Reverend Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, talked about the role faith and religion were playing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: MSNBC: AM with Joy
Coronavirus and religion in the age of Trump are discussed by Joy Reid and her panel, as fears arise that many of the president's evangelical followers and more will ignore pandemic warnings and gather for religious celebrations such as Easter.
Source: Religion News Service | Emily McFarlan Miller
The FBI released a warning last week about a potential surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.