Opinion
People of all religions and political leanings are speaking up against the administration’s policy of taking children from parents — but that’s not enough. We also must challenge the ideology that produces these human indignities, the mindset that supports them, and the perverted theology that blesses them. Those things have been around from our country’s beginning.
“In my 20 years here being engaged in frontline immigration work, this was probably my most difficult and hopeless day. There were probably 120 migrants looking for support. Most were coming from Guatemala and Honduras and wanting to seek asylum. There were alot [sic] of women with children who were fleeing horrible domestic violence situations where their ex-husbands are trying to kill them. They had no idea that Attorney General Sessions has changed the laws and that they can't even apply, or if they do, they will be separated from their kids. It was so painful to see them process this news and they are so far from home.”
Tonight at 6:30 EDT, we will be kicking off the first of four live-streamed “Core Conversations” for The Summit 2018: Radically Rooted, and we warmly invite you to tune in on our Facebook page. (RSVP here to be alerted on Facebook when it begins.)
Yesterday Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a legal decision that has fatal implications for our neighbors fleeing abuse around the world. Sessions has decided to deny asylum to everyone coming to the U.S. to escape domestic violence, overturning a precedent set by the Obama administration in 2009.
Rogers believed that the need to love and be loved was universal, and he sought to cultivate these capacities through every program, saying in a 2004 documentary hosted by actor Michael Keaton, one of his former stagehands, "You know, I think everybody longs to be loved, and longs to know that he or she is lovable. And consequently, the greatest thing we can do is to help somebody know they’re loved and capable of loving."
By defining Muslims as future citizens in the 18th century, in conjunction with a resident Jewish minority, Jefferson expanded his “universal” legislative scope to include every one of every faith.
4. The Forgotten Psychological Wounds of the Stress of Migration
“Focus of resettlement of Syrian refugees has been on immediate minimum housing and financial and physical health care needs. Mental health, which requires greater language and cultural familiarity, has typically not been a priority before and after arrival in the U.S.”
5. My Life-Changing Switch to Only TV Shows That Feature Real Black Lives
“These women are not loudmouth, promiscuous, or asexual stereotypes. These are shows in which I am affirmed, in which Black women, Black people—Blackness—are affirmed.”
While the Reclaiming Jesus declaration has now been encountered by millions— it had only been signed by the 23 elders. Now, many more wanted to “sign on.” We were very grateful for that so many wanted to now signify that they were “another kind of Christian” than those who had been embarrassingly speaking up for the current political powers or remaining silent in the face of such hypocrisy.
But outsiders, especially conservative Christian neighbors, considered the Rajneeshees a threat. In Wild Wild Country, we see Osho speak to his followers of “an awakened man,” and meditation as a means of attaining higher levels of awareness. His seemingly revolutionary way to sainthood, which rested on being spiritual without having to isolate or reject human needs, had a profound effect on his devotees, and soon his stature grew to resemble that of a rockstar. Neighbors around Rajneeshpuram felt they were being too quickly outnumbered. And they were — they lost elections, as well as the city council.
When’s the last time you received a warning from the pulpit about the dangers of wealth? How often have you heard “Woe to the Rich” as theme of a sermon? Perhaps no part of Jesus’ message has been rejected so completely by U.S. Christianity as the dire warning against wealth and how it leads us astray. Instead, we admire the rich, envy them, and aspire to become one of the rich.
Her actions cry, “Give me your oil, your gold,
Your riches are my rightful destiny!
But keep your desperate people, young and old,
They’ve no right to a future within me!”
The NFL holds Sunday church services for half the year, with various revivals during the other six months. In various intersecting ways, those four spiritualities are integrated as liturgy during every service. And the national anthem is its worship song.
All over the place in American Christianity, we are asking what is appropriate, what will work and what will not work anymore, how women and people of color are to be treated, what is expected of our male leaders. We are re-wiring things and tearing some things down. We’re making room for a new kind of faith, detaching it from the fear-based faith we were taught as children.
In the first week of Pentecost, at what became an extraordinary service, thousands gathered at the National City Christian Church to participate in a candlelight procession and vigil at the White House.
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Image via Nicholas Kwok/Unsplash
Christian ministries have been a part of the prison reform movement for decades, and Barna polls like the one conducted by Prison Fellowship tell us that 89 percent of practicing Christians agreed with the statement, “It’s important that prison conditions are safe and humane, specifically because I believe every person has intrinsic value and worth.” Our Christian belief that every single person bears the image of God within them informs the actions we take to support each other.
I mentioned these incidents not solely because I’m a black man in America, but because our attention is easily swayed away from these incidents. They are uncomfortable and authentic truths and possible realities for all minorities in America. They are most certainly the fear of most black youth, young adults, persons, and parents in this country. The possibility that you can/could be killed for being ‘Black in America’ is daunting.
The historic meeting was set for June 12 in Singapore, but was cancelled by Trump this month. The U.S. approach to this meeting was concerning. Trump felt that the U.S. did not have to do anything to prepare for the June meeting. He continues to keep a military presence in South Korea with joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises that have always been a threat and irritation to North Korea. The mere presence of 25,000 U.S. Troops in South Korea heightens the suspicions and anxieties of Kim Jong un and the North Korean people. Trump has become blind to the need for diplomacy.
1. Fresh Off Royal Sermon, Bishop Warns ‘Somebody Woke Up Jim Crow’
CNN covers last night’s Reclaiming Jesus Service and Vigil to the White House that drew more than 2,000 people to hear Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Rev. Jim Wallis, Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, and other church elders.
And if you missed it …
2. You Can Watch the Full Video of the Reclaiming Jesus Service Here
“Pa’lante is a very Puerto Rican mindset,” Kristian Mercado Figueroa, who directed the music video, said. “Be it a family struggling to stay together, or recovering from the hurricane, the Puerto Rican people are strong and they will always stand and move forward.”
As we got the word out to Christians across the United States and beyond about tonight’s Reclaiming Jesus service and candlelight procession to the White House gates (which you can live stream on the Sojourners Facebook page starting at 7 p.m. EDT), I just loved the question that came from some of the people planning to come on Thursday night. “Do we need to bring our own candles?” (For the record, we are providing candles for up to 1,000 participants — and if there are more, candle aps on smart phones or flash lights will suffice!