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More Social Justice Seminaries

by Kaitlin Barker 09-01-2009

Seminaries and theological schools historically have trained two kinds of people: pastors and academic theologians. But more and more these institutions are realizing they need to develop and nurture students to serve outside those lines. Helene Slessarev-Jamir, a professor of urban ministries at Claremont Theological School, has a vision for her students to become “practitioners that inter-relate religion with whatever work they’re already doing; be it nonprofit, environmental, or global hunger issues,” she says.

Seminary 2.0

by Kaitlin Barker 09-01-2009

Retooling seminaries for the world of today -- and tomorrow.

Speaking for the Silenced

by Kaitlin Barker 09-01-2009

The Stoning of Soraya M., written and directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh. Mpower Pictures.

Tiananmen Square Conversions

by Kaitlin Barker 08-01-2009

Twenty years ago, on June 4, 1989, tanks rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to suppress an estimated 100,000 peaceful protesters.

Out of the Media's Eye

by Kaitlin Barker 07-01-2009
Going beyond the blind spots.

Tilting at Windmills?

by Kaitlin Barker 07-01-2009

The Teresian Carmelites of Millbury, Massachusetts, soon hope to add a wind farm to their life of prayer and service.

Using My Liberty for Aung San Suu Kyi

by Kaitlin Barker 05-20-2009

I spent my Monday lunch hour, and maybe longer due to D.C. traffic, standing with some 30 protesters across the street from the Burmese embassy, waving signs and shouting at curtained windows. Hundreds of other demonstrators around the world were also protesting on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi.

M2EP Video: Mo

by Kaitlin Barker 04-30-2009
The four days of Sojourners' Mobilization to End Poverty has come to an end.

Poverty is No Accident

by Kaitlin Barker 04-01-2009
The End of Poverty? written and directed by Philippe Diaz. Cinema Libre Studio.

Save Darfur's Women: Rape as a War Crime

by Kaitlin Barker 02-25-2009
I recently heard a voice from Darfur. She sat on a stage in front of me, not on the pages of the newspaper, and Darfur's resilient voice said, "The crisis has turned our lives upside down."

The Devil Down in Georgia

by Kaitlin Barker 02-01-2009
SOA Watch

'Yes, We Did' - But What Will We Do Now?

by Kaitlin Barker 01-28-2009
As I layered my clothing and stepped out into the biting pre-dawn chill, and as my friends and I walked the three miles down to the Mall and stood for hours feeling our toes go numb, I found it all

Protesting Injustice and Celebrating Memories at the Gates of the SOA

by Kaitlin Barker 11-26-2008
This past weekend I road-tripped with my housemates, the Sojourners interns, from Washington, D.C., to the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia.

Father Roy Bourgeois Faces Excommunication for Support of Women's Ordination

by Kaitlin Barker 11-18-2008

"I know you know what you're doing," Janice Sevre-Duszynska told Father Roy Bourgeois when he agreed to co-preside and give the homily at her ordination Mass, "but do you know what you're doing?" About a month ago I shared Janice's story of ordination, spotlighting her struggle for justice in the Catholic church and the long road she'd walked for years leading up to August 9, 2008, the day of her ordination Mass.

Soldiers of Conscience: The War Within Those Trained to Kill

by Kaitlin Barker 11-12-2008

Life is easier in black and white, when things are clearly right or clearly wrong. We tend not to like the gray very much. It was certainly easier for me to hard-headedly disapprove of all war, including those who took part in it. But, working at an orphanage in India, I met Chad, a young man fresh from Iraq with an American flag tattoo, and he muddled up my clarity.

From Riot to Revelry at the Intersection of Change

by Kaitlin Barker 11-05-2008

I woke up this morning, my throat dry from singing and yelling in the streets last night. I woke up with an unbridled joy, and though I'd only fallen asleep five hours earlier, I was more awake than I've felt in a long time. My first urge was to run back to the street, to continue dancing with strangers, hugging the person closest to me.

The Other Meltdown

by Kaitlin Barker 10-20-2008
The financial crisis is nothing to bat an eyelash at, of course, but as the U.S.

Injustice is Not Categorical

by Kaitlin Barker 10-07-2008

Near the Vatican in October 2001, Janice Sevre-Duszynska and fellow advocates hung a banner calling in seven different languages for the ordination of women. Almost seven years later, the fruit of that action and many others like it was realized. Janice's long-awaited and hard-fought ordination Mass took place Aug. 9, 2008, in Lexington, Kentucky.