the Web Editors

Every fall, Sojourners warmly welcomes a new intern class. For a year, a group of 10 women and men join our mission to put faith in action for social justice. Each intern works full time in one of our departments. The Sojourners Internship Program is dedicated to offering a holistic integration of life and faith through professional development, spiritual guidance, and intentional Christian community. Sojourners is also committed to providing interns with housing, meals, healthcare, local transportation, and a stipend in keeping with a simple lifestyle.

Our newest intern group, Cycle 32 (Yes, this program has been around for 32 years and is going strong!), comes from a dizzying array of backgrounds and religious traditions. From California to New Hampshire, they are brought together by their passion for faith and social justice. They bring laughter, creativity, and just the right dose of quirkiness with them wherever they go.

Read on to learn about each individual in Cycle 32 and the people they are grateful for in their own journeys to Sojourners. And a deep thanks from our entire staff for the ways your support allows this internship program to thrive year after year!

In the rollercoaster ride that has been media coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S., yet another twist has emerged: Pope Francis met with a same-sex couple, according to CNN.

After departing to widespread adulation, Pope Francis’ reputation in the U.S. shifted dramatically after it became known that His Holiness had secretly met with Kim Davis. The Vatican then stated that the meeting did not signal support for Kim Davis’ case.

But Oct. 2, the rollercoaster took another loop. Pope Francis’ longtime friend, who is openly gay, met him in Washington and brought along his partner of 19 years.

What a week it has been! We're compiling our favorite behind-the-scenes snapshots of Pope Francis' visit, from the cameras and phones of our Sojourners representatives on the ground. Here's how the pope's visit has looked to us:

When a soft-spoken, white-robed, wisdom-dispensing sage took the stage this morning before Congress, his affect seemed a little...familiar. Former Sojourners staffer Danny Mortensen proclaimed him the "Christian Gandalf," and (okay, all disputes as to whether Gandalf is the original Christian Gandalf aside) we totally dig it.

Some women lay in the street to block traffic. They were addressed by police officers, who said they could be arrested for blocking the pope's parade path. Later in the day, three men and four women were arrested. Their charges were not immediately available.

Those laying in the street included some women who have been received alternative ordination as priests outside the Catholic Church. These women were excommunicated, according to Duignan. After the arrests, some protesters moved to the sidewalk to lay down in protest.

… "Some of the group have decided they need to take action and block the path of the pope because there is no other way to get the attention of the official church," explained Miriam Duignan, spokeswoman for the organization. "They are just ignoring women—we sent letters, books, we ask to meet with Bishops and are ignored. We are treated like untouchables because we mention women maybe equal to men. This is the only way we can get anyone to talk to us."

Viola Davis became the first black woman to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama at the 67^th Emmy Awards on Sunday night.

Davis won the award for her role in How to Get Away with Murder, in which she plays Annalise Keating, a brilliant criminal defense professor.

In her stirring acceptance speech, Davis spoke about the difficulties women of color have often faced getting lead roles. 

Viola Davis became the first black woman to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama at the 67^th Emmy Awards on Sunday night.

Davis won the award for her role in How to Get Away with Murder, in which she plays Annalise Keating, a brilliant criminal defense professor.

In her stirring acceptance speech, Davis spoke about the difficulties women of color have often faced getting lead roles. 

Viola Davis became the first black woman to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama at the 67^th Emmy Awards on Sunday night.

Davis won the award for her role in How to Get Away with Murder, in which she plays Annalise Keating, a brilliant criminal defense professor.

In her stirring acceptance speech, Davis spoke about the difficulties women of color have often faced getting lead roles. 

“Several of the now 15 Dyett hunger strikers returned to City Hall Monday on their 29th day without solid food to call on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to at least have a ‘respectful conversation’ with them over the future of the Bronzeville school in Washington Park.

‘A compromise happens when two people come together and they work out together something that's agreeable to both parties,’ said Jitu Brown, a leader of the hunger strike, Monday at City Hall. ‘There was no compromise.’

According to Brown, he was told about the CPS plan 15 minutes before it was presented by Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool. Brown said he asked to continue to negotiate, but Claypool responded, ‘We're moving forward.’

‘That's not compromise,’ Brown said.”

“The man who bludgeoned Van Treese to death, Justin Sneed, testified that Glossip hired him for the murder. But jurors weren't presented with evidence that Sneed gave contradictory accounts to police about what happened, wrote Sister Helen Prejean, who ministers to prisoners on death row.

Prejean also noted the lack of evidence linking Glossip to the crime.

Glossip's scheduled death will also be the first in Oklahoma since a bitterly divided Supreme Court allowed the use of the drug midazolam in June.

1. The Ecology of Trauma: Resilience in a Post-9/11 Nation

"What within the fabric of our national identity has forever been changed? Have we responded in a way that moves us towards recovery and healing or further disrepair? Perhaps what is important here is not to attempt to answer these questions, but simply to consider them."

2. Forget The Redistribution Of Wealth: Let’s Redistribute Neighborhoods

"Growing up poor in the U.S. isn’t always a life sentence to poverty. But growing up poor in a very poor neighborhood is much closer to one."

3. Cult Week

A weeklong series of reported essays on belief, zeal, and creed, from Bikram yoga to frat life. “‘But’—you're asking—‘do I belong to a cult?’ To which American media says, probably, yes.”