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Debbie Almontaser is the founding and former principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy. As a 20-plus-year veteran of the NYC public school system, she taught special education, inclusion, trained teachers in literacy, and served as a multicultural specialist and diversity advisor. She co-designed a curriculum for the Muslim Communities Project at Columbia University and for Educators for Social Responsibility/Metro. She has contributed a chapter in The Day Our World Changed: Children’s Art of 9/11 for New York University’s Child Study Center and the Museum of the City of New York as well as articles and essays in several magazines. Almontaser has worked as a consultant to groups such as Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr., Channel 13 WNET, and the Interfaith Center of NYC. Almontaser lectures frequently and serves on panels as well as facilitates teacher and public workshops on conflict resolution, Arab culture, and Islam at universities, libraries, museums, churches, and synagogues across the city and at local, national, and international conferences.

Anurag Gupta is the Founder & CEO of Be More, a millennial-led social enterprise that aims to make real the promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all humans regardless of their external appearance or presentation. Be More is to human capital as Fair Trade is to coffee, LEED is to buildings, and B Corp is to business. Be More aims to assess, train, and certify public and private corporate entities to understand and transform ingrained habits of thought that lead to errors in how institutional actors perceive, remember, reason, and make decisions regarding human talent, potential, and abilities. Gupta has a J.D. from NYU School of Law, a Master’s in Development Studies from Cambridge, and a Bachelor’s in Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies from NYU task assignment software. Born and bred between old Delhi and New York, Gupta has worked with social enterprises and nonprofits in Korea, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Burma, and across the U.S. He teaches yoga and mindfulness meditation in his spare time.

Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews is the director of clergy organizing for PICO (People Improving Communities Through Organizing) National Network, a faith-based network of more than 1,200 congregations engaged in community organizing in more than 200 cities in the United States. He is the lead organizer of PICO’s Prophetic Voices Initiative, which is organizing a prophetic faith voice leading the struggle for racial and economic inclusion in the U.S. He joined the PICO senior leadership team in January 2008. An ordained American Baptist minister, he served churches throughout California, most recently as the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church of San José from 2000-2008. A native of California, Mathews celebrates 26 years of pastoral ministry this year. Mathews is a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California. His dissertation project is an introductory pastoral theology for pastors engaged in faith-based community organizing.

Rev. Peter Goodwin Heltzel, Ph.D., an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is the Director of the Micah Institute and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at New York Theological Seminary. He also serves as Assistant Pastor of Evangelism at Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City. Heltzel holds a B.A. from Wheaton College, a M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and earned his Ph.D. from Boston University. He also completed course work at the University of Mississippi in Southern fiction and creative writing. These courses, combined with his childhood years in Mississippi, inform his work with a deep commitment to the power of words and music, to social justice and to a global movement of radical change and collective activism. Heltzel has contributed to seven books as author or editor. He has published numerous articles in journals, such as Books & Culture, Science & Theology News, Sojourners, Political Theology, and Princeton Theological Review published here. Heltzel serves on the Metro Commission on the Ministry and the Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation Team of the Northeastern Region, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Rev. Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson attended Chapman College in Orange, CA and graduated with honors from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He received his Masters of Divinity degree, also with honors, from the Duke University, School of Divinity in 1973. In 1991 he completed the course work and was awarded the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has served as pastor of Loudon Avenue Christian Church, Roanoke, Virginia, associate pastor, Second Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana. For almost 20 years, Jackson was Senior Pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church of Memphis, a congregation that experienced phenomenal growth under his leadership. For seven years, he served as Senior Pastor of National City Christian Church and President of the National City Christian Church Foundation of Washington, D.C. In September 2006 he became Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church of New York City.

Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson is president of Auburn Theological Seminary. Henderson is an international leader in theological education and has pioneered programs for religious leaders of many faith traditions to exercise moral leadership in the public square. With her leadership, Auburn equips leaders of faith and moral courage with research, tools, and trainings to help them raise their voices, powerfully, peacefully, and prophetically to create the change to end violence and injustice. In December 2014, Auburn along with a group of clergy and activists joined members of the New York City Council in a “die-in” protest to call attention to the police brutality in New York City and across the country. During this “die-in” inside City Hall, clergy sang spirituals and protest songs, and declared that black lives matter. Henderson has been featured in outlets such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, and is the author of God’s Troublemakers: How Women of Faith are Changing the World (Continuum, 2006). She is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Rev. John H. Vaughn is the executive vice president at Auburn Seminary, a leadership development institute whose mission is to inspire and equip bold and resilient leaders with the tools and resources they need — research, education, media, training and movement-building — to build congregations and communities, bridge divides, pursue justice and heal the world. Vaughn has become a prominent voice for racial reconciliation by publishing opinion pieces in national outlets and participating in multifaith #BlackLivesMatter “die-in” protests. He has been featured in outlets such as The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and Arise TV. From 1996 to 2000, Rev. Vaughn served as the minister for education and social justice at The Riverside Church, and he has more than 10 years of experience in philanthropic work. An ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches, Vaughn received his undergraduate degree from Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA and his Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA.

Rev. Jennifer Bailey is a storyteller, community organizer, and emerging national leader in multifaith movement for justice. As Founder and Executive Director of the Faith Matters Network, Bailey believes that people of faith can be game changers in the fight to build a more just, compassionate, and peaceful world. She comes to this work with nearly a decade of experience combatting intergenerational poverty in her hometown of Chicago, and her adopted home, Nashville, Tennessee. Bailey is currently a Nathan Cummings Foundation

Aja Monet is an internationally established poet, performer, singer, songwriter, educator, and human rights advocate. Her craft is an in-depth reflection of emotional wisdom, skill, and activism. In both Monet’s poetry and songs, she poses questions about the power of the imagination and metaphor in how we engage with local and global issues. As a Teaching Artist for Urban Word NYC as well as Urban Arts Partnership in NYC, she uses poetry as a therapeutic tool with at-risk inner city kids, showing how words can empower and encourage holistic healing in youth education. In 2014, she was awarded the YWCA of the City of New York’s “One to Watch Award”—an award established in honor of Monet’s work to honor women under the age of 30 who exemplify the mission of the organization: to empower women and eliminate racism. Monet volunteers with Justice League NYC, a coalition working on juvenile justice to end police violence both in New York City and nationally.

Linda Sarsour is a working woman, racial justice and civil rights activist, every Islamophobe’s worst nightmare, and mother of three. Ambitious, outspoken and independent, Sarsour shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and Senior Strategist for Take on Hate, a recently launched campaign which aims to change perceptions of Arab and Muslim Americans including refugees. In 2013, she co-founded the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, the first of its kind in NYC. In wake of the police murder of Mike Brown, she co-founded Muslims for Ferguson to build solidarity amongst American Muslim communities and encourage work against police brutality. She has received numerous awards and honors including “Champion of Change” by the White House and received the inaugural American Muslim of the Year honor from the Council on Americans Islamic Relations. She has written for and has been featured in local, national, and international media discussing impact of domestic policies that target Arab and Muslim American communities, criminal justice issues, and Middle East affairs.

Camille Beckles is a St. Louis native with a love for media, photography, and technology. Beckles attended Boston University as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar where she earned a degree in film and television. After moving to NYC in 2010, she began her career in television as a member of the NBC Page Program, before moving into the digital media space. She currently leads the digital production team at Beamly, a social and content tech startup. Beckles has always been passionate about social justice and discovering ways that media and technology can connect people and break barriers. She is from Ferguson, Missouri, and is an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Darren Johnston is a New York City-based director and dramaturge, focused on new work and the theater’s ability to spark social change. Johnston was the Festival Artistic Director for DETROIT, NY, a collaborative performance between New York City and Detroit artists, featuring seven short plays, historical footage, short films, performance art, and live music. With Tectonic Theater Project, he has helped develop work about Paul Robeson, the Cuban revolution, LGBT hate crimes, and life on the Autism spectrum. At the Public Theater, Johnston served as the Executive Assistant to Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and assisted Suzan-Lori Parks and her producers on Watch Me Work, her ongoing performance piece in the Public Theater lobby. As a political organizer, Darren was the Grassroots Fundraising Manager for Organizing for Action-New York, the Campaign Manager for Jenifer Rajkumar for City Council, and a Field Organizer with Obama for America, in addition to his work with the official youth wings of the New York State and Manhattan County Democratic Party.

Dr. Obery Hendricks is one of the nation’s most provocative and innovative commentators on the intersection of religion, politics and social policy in America. A widely sought lecturer and media spokesperson, Hendricks has been featured on C-SPAN, PBS, National Public Radio, al-Jazeera Television, NHK Japan Television, Air-America, Radio One, Fox News, the Discovery Channel and the Bloomberg Network. Hendricks is a featured writer for Godspolitics.com, an editorial advisor to the award-winning Tikkun magazine, a contributing editor to The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, and a principal commentator in The Oxford Annotated Bible. “Essential reading for Americans” is what The Washington Post called Dr. Hendricks’ most recent book, The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus’ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted. A former Wall Street investment executive and past president of Payne Theological Seminary, Hendricks is currently Professor of Biblical Interpretation at New York Theological Seminary and Visiting Scholar in both the Department of Religion and the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University.

Rev. John Janka is a consultant to congregations and non-profits, and is an experienced trainer and coach with a focus on systems intervention, educational design, training models, staff supervision, coaching, and evaluation. He has trained, coached, and led teams in diverse settings and across racial/ethnic, generational, gender, and socio-economic lines. Janka’s experience includes strategic planning and visioning, managing change and resistance, dealing with difference, cultural diversity, human relations training, and conflict management. He is currently on the Doctor of Ministry faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary. Janka is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the Director of Program for The Middle Project.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, CNN, Essence magazine, the Associated Press, and The New York Times. Middle Church and Lewis were recently featured on The Today Show. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful! She has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, Rev. John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.

Rev. Adriene Thorne is Executive Minister at Middle Collegiate Church where she has served for nearly seven years. She earned her M.Div., with an emphasis in art and psychology, at The Pacific School of Religion, and is ordained in the Reformed Church in America. Prior to ministry, Thorne pursued a nearly 20-year career in the performing arts, including time as a Radio City Music Hall Rockette. She is a decades old member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society and brings those gifts and graces to New Brunswick Theological Seminary where she was the recent Visiting Artist and Union Theological Seminary where she currently lectures on embodied prayer. Thorne blogs for The Huffington Post and That Reformed Blog and is working on a book of healing prayers. She is married to Colin St. Rose and together they are raising a daring little girl named Petal.

Rev. Marlin Lavanhar is the Senior Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK. It is the largest Unitarian Universalist Church in America and one of the denominations most racially and culturally diverse congregations. In 2000, Lavanhar was called to All Souls. During his tenure the church has grown from 1,000 to more than 1,800 adult members and serves 800 children and youth. In 2008, All Souls welcomed, Bishop Carlton Pearson, the founder of the Azusa Conference and his predominantly African American congregation to join what had been an essentially all “white” church. Today All Souls offers multiple worship services weekly with a variety of styles of music, theology and liturgy. He and the congregation have been recognized and given many awards locally and some nationally for their work for social, racial, economic and LGBT justice at home and abroad. The church has a vision and commitment to create a thriving intercultural, interfaith and intergenerational community.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, CNN, Essence magazine, the Associated Press, and The New York Times. Middle Church and Lewis were recently featured on The Today Show. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful! She has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, Rev. John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.

Elizabeth Lesser is the co-founder of Omega Institute, the United States’ largest life-long learning center focusing on health, wellness, spirituality, creativity, and social change. She is the New York Times best-selling author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and The Seeker’s Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure. Her work at Omega has included leading the organization, developing its curricula, teaching, and spearheading Omega’s popular Women and Power conferences. In 2008, Lesser helped Oprah Winfrey produce a 10-week online seminar based on Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth. She has appeared on the Oprah television show and Oprah.com webcasts, and is an ongoing host on Winfrey’s Soul Series on Sirius/XM. A student of the Sufi master, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan since 1971, she has studied with spiritual teachers and religious scholars from other traditions, as well as psychological practitioners and healers. Lesser attended Barnard College and San Francisco State University. Previous to her work at Omega, she was a midwife and birth educator.

Rev. John Janka is a consultant to congregations and non-profits, and is an experienced trainer and coach with a focus on systems intervention, educational design, training models, staff supervision, coaching, and evaluation. He has trained, coached, and led teams in diverse settings and across racial/ethnic, generational, gender, and socio-economic lines. Janka’s experience includes strategic planning and visioning, managing change and resistance, dealing with difference, cultural diversity, human relations training, and conflict management. He is currently on the Doctor of Ministry faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary. Janka is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the Director of Program for The Middle Project.inflatable tents

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WABC, WNBC, CNN, GritTV, Ebony.com, and Essence magazine, and The New York Times online. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful!, Lewis has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.East Inflatables

Anurag Gupta is a social entrepreneur, human rights lawyer, academic researcher, and cultural innovator.  He envisions a world that is socially just, environmentally sustainable, and spiritually fulfilling.  A published author on the subjects of social entrepreneurship and human rights, from 2011 – 2013, Anurag worked with the Vera Institute of Justice and the Pipeline Crisis Initiative to design and complete the Root Cause Framework.  He has since joined the Middle Project to incubate and launch BE MORE.

Rev. Dr. Miguel De La Torre serves as a professor of social ethics at Iliff School of Theology. He focuses on ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. He specializes in applying a social scientific approach to Latino/a religiosity within this country, Liberation theologies in the Caribbean and Latin America, and postmodern/postcolonial social theory. De La Torre came to the U.S. as a refugee from Cuba when he was six months old. He earned his M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Ph.D. from Temple University in social ethics. He has authored numerous books, including Reading the Bible from the Margins; Santería: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America; and Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins. He has served as a director to the Society of Christian Ethics and the American Academy of Religion. In 2011, he was elected Vice-President of the Society of Christian Ethics.

Reverend Michael-Ray Mathews is the director of clergy organizing for PICO National Network, a faith-based network of more than 1,200 congregations engaged in community organizing in more than 200 cities in the United States. He is the lead organizer of PICO’s Prophetic Voices Initiative, which is organizing a prophetic faith voice leading the struggle for racial and economic inclusion in the U.S. He joined the PICO senior leadership team in January 2008. An ordained American Baptist minister, he served churches throughout California, most recently as the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church of San José from 2000-2008. A native of California, Mathews celebrates 26 years of pastoral ministry this year. Mathews is a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, California from this source. His dissertation project is an introductory pastoral theology for pastors engaged in faith-based community organizing.buy a bounce house cheap

Lynne Twist is the founder of the Soul of Money Institute and author of the best-selling book, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life. Over the past 40 years, Twist has worked with more than 100,000 people in 50 countries in the arenas of fundraising with integrity, conscious philanthropy, strategic visioning and having a healthy relationship with money. Her clients include Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, the International Unity Church, Charles Schwab, United Way, The National Black Theater of Harlem, and Harvard University. A sought-after speaker, she has presented for the United Nations Beijing Women’s Conference, State of the World Forum, Synthesis Dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the Governor’s Conference on California Women, among others. A recognized global visionary, Twist has served as an advisor to the Desmond Tutu Foundation, and The Nobel Women’s Initiative. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious honors, including the “Woman of Distinction” award from the United Nations.

Lynne Twist is the founder of the Soul of Money Institute and author of the best-selling book, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life. Over the past 40 years, Twist has worked with more than 100,000 people in 50 countries in the arenas of fundraising with integrity, conscious philanthropy, strategic visioning and having a healthy relationship with money. Her clients include Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, the International Unity Church, Charles Schwab, United Way, The National Black Theater of Harlem, and Harvard University. A sought-after speaker, she has presented for the United Nations Beijing Women’s Conference, State of the World Forum, Synthesis Dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the Governor’s Conference on California Women, among others. A recognized global visionary, Twist has served as an advisor to the Desmond Tutu Foundation, and The Nobel Women’s Initiative. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious honors, including the “Woman of Distinction” award from the United Nations.

Sara Vetter is the Business Development Director at the Soul of Money Institute. In addition, she is a major gift fundraiser and leads trips to the rainforest for The Pachamama Alliance, a non-profit that works with the indigenous people of the Amazon and committed people worldwide to bring forth an environmentally responsible, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet.  A budding philanthropist in her own right, she works closely with the Nobel Women Peace Prize Laureates in funding their work globally and recently traveled to Liberia and Ethiopia for a delegation in support of a worldwide campaign to end violence against women and girls as tools of war.  Sara lives in Menlo park with her teenage son, and has two adult children attending college.

Valarie Kaur is an award-winning filmmaker, civil rights advocate, and interfaith leader who centers her work around the power of storytelling. She is the founding director of Groundswell at Auburn Seminary, a non-profit initiative with 80,000 members that mobilizes people of faith for social change. She has led national campaigns responding to hate crimes, racial profiling, immigration detention, and solitary confinement. She is a frequent political contributor on MSNBC, and her essays appear regularly on CNN, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post. Kaur earned degrees from Stanford University, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale Law School, where she founded the Yale Visual Law Project to train students in the art of storytelling for social change. The Center for American Progress lists Kaur among 13 national faith leaders to watch in 2013. A third-generation Sikh American, Kaur is from Clovis, California where her family settled as Punjabi farmers in 1913. She lives in Los Angeles with her filmmaking partner and husband Sharat Raju.

Dr. Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. Known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, he held the Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. He is a best-selling author of twenty books, including Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (1994), Reading the Bible Again for the First Time (2001), Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (2006), Putting Away Childish Things (2010), and Evolution of the Word (2012). Described by The New York Times as “a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars,” Borg has appeared on NBC’s Today Show and Dateline, PBS’s Newshour, ABC’s Evening News and Prime Time with Peter Jennings, NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and several National Geographic programs. A Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, he has been national chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and co-chair of its International New Testament Program Committee, and is past president of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars.

Prof. Irshad Manji is founder of the award-winning Moral Courage Project. Based at New York University, this multi-media project teaches people to take thoughtful risks for life-changing rewards. Manji’s newest venture is Moral Courage TV, a YouTube channel that tells the stories of individuals around the world who are standing up when others want them to sit down. As a Muslim reformer, Manji puts moral courage into practice. Her latest book, Allah, Liberty & Love, is a how-to guide on reconciling faith and freedom on a planet raging with dogmas. Her previous book is the global bestseller, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith. Manji spearheaded the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, Faith Without Fear. Ultimately, Manji’s mission is help people grow into wholeness, especially those who are stifled by cultural, religious, or societal norms. She aligns with questioning individuals, giving them a platform to share their stories so that they can inspire others.

Rev. Robert Chase is the Executive Director of Intersections International and works globally in the field of cross-cultural dialogue. Prior to Intersections, he served as Executive Director of the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication, Inc.-the UCC’s historic media justice agency-and Director of Communications for the UCC serving its over 1.2 million constituency. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Chase spent over a decade traveling across rural China, townships of South Africa, favelas in Brazil and the United States interfacing with diverse populations highlighted in his more than 100 documentaries. He has produced and directed such award-winning social justice documentaries as Troubled Waters; Strong Roots, Fragile Farms; LPFM: The People’s Voice; and Call Me Malcolm among others. A published author and playwright, he is also a nationally recognized speaker on topics of faith, cross-cultural dialogue and reconciliation, and has been featured on CNN, The New York Times, and Associated Press.

Prof. Irshad Manji is founder of the award-winning Moral Courage Project. Based at New York University, this multi-media project teaches people to take thoughtful risks for life-changing rewards. Manji’s newest venture is Moral Courage TV, a YouTube channel that tells the stories of individuals around the world who are standing up when others want them to sit down. As a Muslim reformer, Manji puts moral courage into practice. Her latest book, Allah, Liberty & Love, is a how-to guide on reconciling faith and freedom on a planet raging with dogmas. Her previous book is the global bestseller, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith. Manji spearheaded the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, Faith Without Fear. Ultimately, Manji’s mission is help people grow into wholeness, especially those who are stifled by cultural, religious, or societal norms. She aligns with questioning individuals, giving them a platform to share their stories so that they can inspire others.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WABC, WNBC, CNN, GritTV, Ebony.com, and Essence magazine, and The New York Times online. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful!, Lewis has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.

Dr. Marcus J. Borg is Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. Known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, he held the Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. He is a best-selling author of twenty books, including Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (1994), Reading the Bible Again for the First Time (2001), Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (2006), Putting Away Childish Things (2010), and Evolution of the Word (2012). Described by The New York Times as “a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars,” Borg has appeared on NBC’s Today Show and Dateline, PBS’s Newshour, ABC’s Evening News and Prime Time with Peter Jennings, NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and several National Geographic programs. A Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, he has been national chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and co-chair of its International New Testament Program Committee, and is past president of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars.United States

Macky Alston serves as Senior Director of Auburn Media at Auburn Theological Seminary, dedicated to informed, engaging coverage of religion and justice in the media. Alston is an award-winning producer and documentary filmmaker (Love Free or Die, premiered Sundance Film Festival 2012, PBS 2013; Hard Road Home, PBS 2008; The Killer Within, Discovery Films 2006;Questioning Faith, HBO/Cinemax 2002; Family Name, PBS 1998), an educator on issues of media and religion, an organizer within the worlds of philanthropy and media-making, and a writer and reviewer on film and religion. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Alston comes from a long line of ministers in the American South and grew up exposed to the power of the media and the pulpit, as charismatic leaders on the Left and the Right shaped society and politics for generations to come.

Isaac Luria, is director of Auburn Action at Auburn Theological Seminary. He is an organizer, communicator, and technologist with a decade of experience helping progressive political and faith-based advocacy organizations build constituency, raise money, and achieve impact on issues of pressing social concern. At Auburn, Luria leads Auburn’s advocacy and online campaigning efforts, as well as training programs helping faith leaders use digital organizing techniques to heal and repair the world. Previous to Auburn, he was the Vice President of New Media and Communications at J Street, where he developed and managed traditional communications, new media, and technology strategies at both the national and local levels, built a database of 170,000 members through viral advocacy campaigns and partnerships, and raised millions of dollars online from small donors for political candidates. Isaac holds a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Trinity College. From 2007 to 2008, Luria lived in Jerusalem as a Dorot Fellow.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WABC, WNBC, CNN, GritTV, Ebony.com, and Essence magazine, and The New York Timesonline. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful!, Lewis has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.sumo suits for sale

Rev. Adriene Thorne is an Associate Minister at Middle Collegiate Church. She completed her Masters of Divinity degree with an emphasis in art and psychology at The Pacific School of Religion. Prior to ministry, she pursued a nearly 20-year career in the performing arts, including time as a Rockette. Thorne served the Reformed Church in America’s Commission on Christian Worship for three years and was the Visiting Artist at New Brunswick Theological Seminary from 2010–2011. She is currently pursuing counseling studies at the Blanton-Peale Institute where she is working towards a theology of healing in which the arts play a central role. Her key assertion is that the arts have the ability to drop us into the center of ourselves and our healing more quickly than anything else. Thorne is married to Colin St. Rose and together they are raising a little girl named Petal.

Chad Tanaka Pack is an Associate Minister at Middle Collegiate Church. He graduated with a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. He also received a certificate from Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music, a multidisciplinary program dedicated to religion and the arts. Tanaka Pack is a playwright, poet, and performer. He has been an active member of drama groups, gospel choirs, and the liturgical dance choirs. During his undergraduate studies, he co-wrote and directed a children’s musical that was performed for inner city schools. Prior to his ministry studies, Tanaka Pack was a Vice President in the Finance Division at Goldman Sachs. Tanaka Pack graduated cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics. He serves on the board of directors of Second Generation Productions, a not-for-profit Asian American theater company. Tanaka Pack is committed to inclusive, multicultural ministries that celebrate the voices of all God’s people.Sportspark60

Christina Fleming is an editor, producer, and an organizer. She has served on the production teams of Frontline, The Center for Investigative Reporting, and public radio’s New Dimensions. She independently produced a public radio documentary, Kenya: Taking It Personally which featured Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Kenya: Taking It Personally aired nationally and was honored by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. Fleming earned her master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and her bachelor’s degree from Kalamazoo College. She is a Certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church. She guest preaches and leads classes on prayer and spiritual growth. She is director of communications for The Middle Project and Middle Collegiate Church. She also coordinates young adult programming at Middle Church big w inflatable water slides.

Kerry Docherty is a lawyer, writer, and founder of The Mindful Mentors, a company that provides mindfulness meditation workshops to schools, law firms, corporations, and sports teams. Graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in psychology, she received her J.D. from Pepperdine Law School and obtained a Certificate in Trauma Studies form the International Trauma Studies Program in New York City. She has conducted human rights fact-finding missions in Thailand, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Thai-Burma border, and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Judge Joan Azrack in the Eastern District of New York. She has completed mindfulness training from UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, the Insight Center, Wat Singpong in Thailand, and the OMEGA Institute. A contributor to Darling Magazine, and winner of Donna Karan’sWomen: Inspiration and Enterprise essay writing contest, she is currently writing a book titled Enoughness, The Struggle to Feel Complete as We Are. She is a 2011 graduate of The Middle Project’s Young Adult Leadership Initiative.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author dong fang qi mo, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WABC, WNBC, CNN, GritTV, Ebony.com, and Essence magazine, and The New York Timesonline. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful!, Lewis has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.cheap inflatable water slides for sale

Rev. John Janka is a consultant to congregations and non-profits, and is an experienced trainer and coach with a focus on systems intervention, educational design, training models, staff supervision, coaching, and evaluation. He has trained, coached, and led teams in diverse settings and across racial/ethnic, generational, gender, and socio-economic lines. Janka’s experience includes strategic planning and visioning, managing change and resistance, dealing with difference, cultural diversity, human relations training, and conflict management. He is currently on the Doctor of Ministry faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary. Janka is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the Director of Program for The Middle Project.

Connie Rice is a prominent civil rights attorney and the author of Power Concedes Nothing: One Woman’s Quest for Social Justice in America, from the Courtroom to the Kill Zones. She is the second cousin to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In her legal work, Rice has led coalitions of lawyers and clients to win more than $10 billion in damages and policy changes, through class action civil rights cases redressing police misconduct, race and sex discrimination and unfair public policy in transportation, probation and public housing cheap inflatable toys. In addition, her organization, The Advancement Project, released a seminal report on gang violence in Los Angeles—“A Call to Action” in 2007. Rice dedicates her life to creating greater equality. She was co-director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Los Angeles Office before co-founding and co-directing The Advancement Project. Rice graduated from Harvard and earned her law degree at NYU. She has received more than 50 awards for her leadership and unorthodox approaches to social change.

Sister Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus, traveled through nine states in June 2012 to protest Representative Paul Ryan’s federal budget (two months before he was nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate). She voiced that Ryan’s budget cut social services, food stamps, and taxes for the wealthy. Campbell is a lawyer, a poet, and the executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C. Nuns on the Bus traveled throughout the U.S. after the Vatican spoke out against Network and nuns working in social justice issues, and became a 21st-cenury protest at food banks, town squares, and churches which highlighted the stories of those on the economic margins. Campbell has extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change. She lobbies on the issues of peace-building, immigration reform, healthcare, and economic justice.

Rev. Dr. Miguel De La Torre serves as a professor of social ethics at Iliff School of Theology. He focuses on ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. He specializes in applying a social scientific approach to Latino/a religiosity within this country, Liberation theologies in the Caribbean and Latin America, and postmodern/postcolonial social theory. De La Torre came to the U.S. as a refugee from Cuba when he was six months old. He earned his M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Ph.D. from Temple University in social ethics. He has authored numerous books, including Reading the Bible from the Margins; Santería: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America; and Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins. He has served as a director to the Society of Christian Ethics and the American Academy of Religion. In 2011, he was elected Vice-President of the Society of Christian Ethics used commercial inflatables for sale.

Dr. W. Anne Joh areas of research interests include postcoloniality, gender, affect, war, militarism and trauma, political theory and race, economies of freedom, rights and debt, theorizing melancholia and loss, Asian America and Asia Pacific, and theorizing politics of love. Her contributed essays include “Teaching to Learn from the Other,” “Postcolonialism in Fugue: Contrapuntality of Asian American Experience,” “Loves’ Multiplicity: Jeong and Spivak’s Notes Toward Planetary Love,” “Interrogating Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in Feminist Theology,” “Gender and Sexuality in Asian American/Pacific Islander (API) Religious and Theological Studies,” “Violence and Asian American Experience: From Abjection to Jeong,” “Relating to Household Labor Justly.” She has also written Heart of the Cross: A Postcolonial Christology. Forthcoming are Terror, Trauma and Hope: A Spectrality of the Cross and co-edited volume, Engaging the United States as a Military Empire: Critical Studies of Christianity from Asian/Asian North American Perspectives jumper for sale in los angeles.

Rev. Dr. Gary Dorrien is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, Professor of Religion at Columbia University, and an Episcopal priest. He is the author of 16 books and approximately 275 articles that range across the fields of ethics, social theory, theology, philosophy, politics, and history. He is described by Boston University philosophical theologian Robert Neville as “the most rigorous theological historian of our time, moving from analysis of social context and personal struggles through the most abstruse theological and metaphysical issues.” More than 40 reviewers have described his trilogy, The Making of American Liberal Theology, as the definitive work in the field. Dorrien holds a Ph.D. from Union Graduate School (1989), a Th.M., Princeton Theological Seminary (1979) and a M.Div., Union Theological Seminary (1978). A frequent lecturer, Dorrien is a recent past president of the American Theological Society and has a long record of involvement in social justice organizations.

Rev. John Janka is a consultant to congregations and non-profits, and is an experienced trainer and coach with a focus on systems intervention, educational design, training models, staff supervision, coaching, and evaluation. He has trained, coached, and led teams in diverse settings and across racial/ethnic, generational, gender, and socio-economic lines. Janka’s experience includes strategic planning and visioning, managing change and resistance, dealing with difference, cultural diversity, human relations training, and conflict management. He is currently on the Doctor of Ministry faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary. Janka is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the Director of Program for The Middle Project.

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City and Executive Director of The Middle Project. Lewis earned her M.Div.at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Lewis is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and preacher on the topics of racial, economic, and gender/LGBTI justice. Lewis has been adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. She has been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, WABC, WNBC, CNN, GritTV, Ebony.com, and Essence magazine, and The New York Timesonline. Author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leaders in Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations and a children’s book that celebrates diversity, You Are So Wonderful!, Lewis has published numerous articles and sermons, and blogs for The Huffington Post. She is married to her best friend, John Janka, with whom she works for racial reconciliation every day.

Jacqui Lewis presenting at The Leading Edge 2012: Igniting Social Justice.

One of the reasons I am passionate about Middle Church is that we have been addressing economic justice for more than 50 years. Olga Downey was an older woman who helped start the clothing closet. She got her clothes from that closet, saved her money, and left us an endowment that funds our children’s ministry to this day. Lucille Bodden followed Olga in running the closet for a long time, and on a fixed income, was always faithful and generous in giving money to fund the ministries she loves. And now, due to some wonderful volunteers, our closet is getting boutiqued in a larger space so that our clients can feel clothed also with care. We feed close to 1,500 people each month with lunches in the park, bags of food to take home, and warm meals on Sundays. We also partner with New Alternatives and Momentum to feed homeless LGBTI youth and people living with HIV/AIDS. Generous people: people of means, people who struggle, people who give time, and people who give funds make ministry happen at Middle Church.

It is also true that our investments–Olga’s fund and Collegiate investments–fund more than 75% of our ministry. That means Wall Street is a partner in our ministry.

I want to change the conversation, Middle family. I am bored with political rhetoric about class war fare. I want us to talk about class collaboration. I grew up in the Black Church, where the milkman and the accountant sat together on Sunday, taught their children to lead on Wednesday, marched for justice on Saturday, and gave what they had in time, talent, and treasure to make the church run. Once enslaved Africans were free, there was always an economic gap. But folk did not forget from whence they came, and they reached back and pulled someone up and helped someone out. The early church was like that, learning from its Jewish leaders, including Jesus himself, that in God’s Economy, the poor, the orphaned, the widowed, the sick, and the lame were the responsibility of the community.

Class collaboration means that a faithful coalition of people realize that they can have a greater impact toward a more just society when they pool resources, enact strategies, build bridges, challenge the status quo, and speak truth to power. The early church learned that some have gifts for prophetic speaking and others have gifts for making sure people got fed. I think we need to resurrect these ideas and ideals and not waste time on us-versus-them tactics.

People of faith know that God’s Economy does not have to be a dream; it can be a reality in this time and place. This is, to my mind, what it means to be faithful. How do I care for my family, save for our future, and help others care for their family and future as well? How do I share of myself and my resources for the greater good of humanity? On several occasions, Middle members have made donations directly to Middle Church to benefit someone else. “Give this to someone who really needs it…” This is the kind of partnership I want the Church to explore. Can we adopt a family or a classroom or create a scholarship fund or mentor children so they are ready for college?

I must admit, I am outraged at the state of our economy. It is not acceptable for a nation with this much wealth to have people living on cardboard outdoors, to have children who only get one meal a day at their school and that one meal threatened with tax cuts. It is outrageous to have older people have to choose between medication or food. Even still, I am less concerned about how we got here, whose fault it is, and whether someone else could have done it better than I am with what can we do now and how will we pull together to do it!

I want Middle Church to keep on feeding and clothing those who need our help. And I want us to change the story and the conversation as we work for a more just society in which food, clothing, clean water, shelter, and health care are guaranteed for everyone in this nation, everyone on our globe. This means coordinating work with other partners. This means marching and writing and blogging and talking about solutions to these systemic issues. This means asking the hard questions, holding leaders accountable, and being will to be part of the solution. I don’t think any one person can fix this thing, but I know by God’s Grace and Spirit, WE can fix it together!

Several of our Middle family has been connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement since it began on September 17. Some have been organizing on line, been at the scene downtown. On Wednesday, some of our staff and lay leaders participated in the march at Wall Street. As we were standing and waiting, singing and strategizing, there was a great brass band rocking tunes that reminded me of a cake walk in Louisiana. There were union guys in purple shirts, dreadlocked children with their parents, and cameras everywhere ready to capture the moment. In my head, Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution will not be televised” was playing, because in fact this is a revolution and it is being televised and U-tubed and blogged and tweeted.

A crowd of thousands in business suits and bandanas, sweat pants and saris, clergy attire and mohawks moved and pulsed like one body. This is what America looks like, we chanted, claiming our 99% status and in our great diversity of person and perspective collaborated on at least one message: This ain’t working so well and we have to change it. I heard another song in my head, a spiritual: Hush, hush, somebody’s calling my name… Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, what shall I do?

God is calling us to God’s way of thinking, to God’s Economy. You may wonder what that looks like. Jesus tells a story in the gospels (you heard it in September in worship) in Matthew 20:1-16. Workers who are hired early in the morning to work in the vineyard get the same pay as those who came at the end of the day. There is something about the way God loves us that is about ALL of us having what we need! Enough food, warm clothing, safe places to live, a living wage, affordable healthcare, access to education for our children. These are not luxuries, people of God. And there are enough resources in these United States to take care of all of us and then share with the world.

People of faith: wealthy people, middle class people, working class people, and poor people–we need to UNITE in our common call to be the people God created us to be. We are responsible to and for one another, we have to do this better; it is our watch and we must take care of business!! We must partner with one another, reach across the aisle as necessary, find partners, and build bridges so we can heal this land.

It is too simplistic to demonize all of the people who make more money than we do. Good people with wealth share it every day. Look at Stephen Jobs and the legacy he leaves with us, rest his soul. The problem is a system that allows lobbyists to protect corporations from the appropriate tax; the problem is a tax code with loopholes that poor people will never find or fit through; the problem is that people of faith often don’t dare even whisper, “I wonder if we can take this on, demand something different, build a bridge over which the poor can walk toward a better life?”

Middle is going to stay connected to this movement, just in case this is the revolution we have been waiting for. I am not looking for us to throw verbal bombs or to participate in vitriol and hatred. And I know that we who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes. Let’s turn our restlessness into revolution, our anger into action, our despair into demonstration. And let’s never forget the Power at work within us that is able to do more than we can ask or imagine–that Power is Love.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Cowardice asks the question – is it safe? Expediency asks the question – is it politic? Vanity asks the question – is it popular? But conscience asks the question – is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.”

On Sunday, after we have worshipped our God, after you have had some brunch and talked a bit with your neighbor about the economy, after our volunteer training, Trish and John will lead a coalition downtown. They are taking sandwiches and Spirit with them; they will sing and offer hope and prayers…

Because it is right. And we’ve got the Power!

Love and Light,
Jacqui

For a list of Occupy Wall Street solidarity events and Facebook pages, click here.

Friends, in the Christian tradition, Palm Sunday begins a very holy journey toward new life. It is a journey of remembrance of events that happened in ancient Palestine, when a Rabbi named Jesus rode into Jerusalem for the Holy days of Passover. He rode in on a borrowed donkey, and was greeted with palms and excitement from those who thought he was the much awaited Messiah. What also awaited him was a trial, torture and an execution, because many believed him to be a heretic, a rabble rouser and an enemy of the state.

I don’t think the historic Jesus was trying to create a new religion, but I do think he took exception with the religious and political authorities of his day. I think he was offering a radical re-visioning of culture and the praxis of a life of faith. I think he was crossing cultic and cultural boundaries– welcoming women, children and the disenfranchised into more power-full relationships with authority. And I think he held a deep critique of economic disparities present in the Roman Empire. This is why he addressed the issue of money so many times in his preaching and teaching.

Beginning April 30 through May 2, Middle Collegiate Church and The Middle Project will hold their fifth annual conference for leaders in multicultural/multiethnic congregations. This time we will focus on faith, justice and the economy. This conference may not feel as warm and fuzzy as some of our others, where we have celebrated the joy of worship in our congregations, highlighted the use of the arts, and encouraged leadership development and intercultural relationships in congregational life. But it is no less important; in fact this may be one of the most important conversations we can have as multicultural/multiethnic congregations in this moment in time. We understand that we can change our culture as we rehearse the reign of God in our congregations. We understand that race, class, ecological, economic, gender and sexual orientation justice are inextricably intertwined.

And so, yes, we will have an amazing worship celebration on May 1, with Jim Forbes preaching, stunning music, dance and powerful fellowship. And we will talk about how worship, education, community organizing and leadership development can help grow our congregations and have an impact on culture. But we will also be engaged from Saturday through Tuesday by an extremely gifted and multidisciplinary team of presenters from theology, sociology and organizing who will help us to examine, both theoretically and in practice, what faith communities should do and can do to follow in the footsteps of that Rabbi. We will think together about how to critique and improve the climate of economic justice in these United States, to make a small dent in the problems of empire, and to transform the hearts and minds of our congregants toward a more just society. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, we have been told.

A small band of folk got activated by the powerful message of Jesus, perhaps best “preached” on a mountainside, when before words were said, people were fed.

Come to this conference. Let’s talk about feeding the folk.
Learn. Do. Act. Heal the World.

Here are some resources for our journey toward a more economically just society:

The House of Representatives will vote Friday on a budget that would radically slash Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP/food stamps, slash funds that cover almost every other domestic human needs program, and wreck the promise of the new health care law. Click here to tell your US Rep to Oppose the House Budget Proposal.

[MoveOn.org]

Join the Circle of Protection at HungerFast.

Embrace the Darkness, Eric Law’s latest blog post.

At the end of the day today, we drove into the center of Capetown, and a cloud was nestled at the breast of this giant rock called Table Mountain, soft and misty; it seemed to want to nurse at the strength that comes with time. Or, it was nourishment itself, for the city below, full of Living Water, ready to cascade on this city and this region to bring God’s healing Grace. If you read my not-regular-enough blog for secular content, hear this: Only God’s love can do what needs to be done. It is both Living Water and a Rock in a weary land; it is a shelter in the time of storm. And if you don’t believe there is a God, what force can make beauty like these clouds.

I have looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow…

I think God is able.

To be Living Water and a Rock in a Weary Land

We need healing; God is able to help us.

Dear friends,

You must have heard about that largest earthquake in Japanese history on March 11th at 2:46pm, M8.8. If you have not, pls. see CNN. What is hard to believe is happening in eastern part of Japan and all the sea coasts are being attacked by tsunami. Highest tsunami is over 10M which is not possible to measure.Accessories

I live in western Tokyo prefecture, which is quite away from Sendai town (which is closest to the core) and yet have been greatly affected by it.

Fortunately I had arrived home 15 minutes before it started to occur and was with my mother. Cupboards were shook and alter got opened and inside spilt, glasses and pottery got broken and was hard to keep on standing Water Obstacle.

It was hard for me to lift my mother and take her to safer corner but I managed. Frequency has gotten less but I feel the tremor almost every 5 minutes even now. The major quaking was so strong and long time; I was mumbling “Please stop” while holding the pottery of sideboard not to fly out. My mother was quiet but kept on eating her lunch and said “Turn the TV on”. Since then unbelievable sights have been shown on TV screen.

They assume more than 1,300 are dead or missing. Some towns were burned down or washed away by tsunami and they do not look like there were houses a day ago.

As for my house, damage was not severe but my studio’s was something to me. About 45 minutes after the measure shaking I left my mother alone at home and rushed to my studio. Liquor stores on the way smelled very strong sake. Some buildings’ signs fell on the pavement and wall tiles came down. I managed to open my studio’s door and could not move, seeing the sight inside. And I am still picking up the things on the floor and pieces of glass and china vase, trying to put things in safer places in the studio since it is still shaking. I could not reach to my computer because my piano had moved and together with pots of plants and so force blocked my way to my desk (on which computer is). I asked 2 men to help me move them and now I am writing this to you. I have mirrors on one side of my studio and they were shattered and I asked a carpenter to come tomorrow. I cut my right hands cleaning the pieces of glasses.

There are so much more work to do to clean up so I thank you for reading this and wish you a good day.

Your friend,

Saho

Dear Jacqui,

I’m just letting you know that I just arrived home, in my hometown Nagoya, which is not affected at all. The trip was very smooth. I’m realizing now, how much I was encouraged because of messages of the people in New York, having friends and being in the Middle community-it’s a big difference. I’m truly blessed and lucky.

And I was awed how quickly the US issued, ‘How to Help’ list when I sat there helplessly crying and not knowing what to do. My prayer extends to the US too, which has suffered also, and is still ongoing.

With love,

Junko

You can make a donation to Reformed Church World Services for their Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami efforts here. To see how Reformed Church World Services handles their disaster work, head over here.

This is like something out of a disaster movie, except it is real. Our friends in Japan have been absolutely decimated by a massive earthquake, measuring at an 8.9 magnitude, a tsunami with waves as high as 33 feet, and then two more aftershocks at 5.1 eachsumo suits for sale. The photographs, shocking as they are, can’t possibly tell the story of the fear and loss. Already, 88,000 people are reported missing, so far. Please pray and, if you can, help the Red Cross address this emergency: you can donate online or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to give $10.

God bless you, and God bless the people of Japan.

Jacqui

Fear and bigotry fuel the fires of terrorism.

Take this to heart.

It is Black history month and we still have work to do. Check out the Color of Change and sign the petition protesting the brutal treatment of 15 year old Chad Holley.

Read. Get engaged. Pray. Act.

How young we are when we imitate others, mimic others. How very young we are when we learn to do the thing people affirm; how very, very young we are when we get it that the thing that delights people and makes them clap is a good thing to do.

I would like us to each think that people are watching us. We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world.  We need to imagine that we are a lantern on a hill and that people are gazing upon us to see what God is all about. I don’t want us to be self conscious but I want us to be other conscious, and to take seriously that we are leaders in a movement for change. What is that change? We are working to transform our culture into the Reign of God.

So, look at the person in the mirror, and know that each day we start a revolution.  RJ likes to say, “spin! Turn around.”  This is good advice. Let’s turn this thing around.

I know you want to tell me things are getting better all the time. Yes, you are right. Yet, last week a 15-year old kid in Houston was kicked and beaten by police while others watched.  We still have some things to turn around.

We have work to do.  A two year old watches television and mimics the dance.  Someone is watching you and will imitate your activism, your kindness, the way you are faithful to your values and the way you choose to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.

Come on, turn it around; we can do this together.  Do something, one thing, every day, to make it a little better.

I was on the phone a little while ago with my mother. She is on the way to the doctor, to discuss a regimen to address her cancer–will she need chemo and radiation or just one?

It is not an easy conversation, but I send her phone love and kisses as she walks out the door with my dad.

My mom is a fiercely loving and generous person, and she is afraid right now. She is afraid that we are worried about her, she is afraid that she might not be here long enough to see RJ grow all the way up. She is afraid the doctors may not save her, not for long enough, and I understand that.

Sabrine, another mother, another brown mother a world away was afraid this week, too. Afraid for her son. Afraid for the violence and for his life.

“He kissed me goodbye and said, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Then he looked me in the eye and said, ‘You are not my real mother. Egypt is my real mother. I must go save her.’ He gave his life for his country.”

— Sabrine, recounting her son Mohammed Badr’s goodbye as he left for the protests in Tahrir Square, Cairo, where he was shot and killed. (Source: Los Angeles Times

Mohammed laid down his life for his country, for freedom.

There is a song, Sweet Honey in the Rock sings it, known as “We Who Believe in Freedom Will Not Rest Until it Comes” (Ella’s Song).

Muhammed can rest easy now, an eternal rest. His mother Egypt is free. He did help save her.

And Sabrine, his other mother, can let fear go, release it to the wind, release it in the shouts and cheers.

Freedom has come.

Jacqui Lewis

Today is a peaceful day, relatively peaceful. Not like two days ago, when violence took the lives of 13 people and left 1,200 more wounded. The NPR reporters are being harassed, but not threatened with violence like their colleagues have endured, not today. There is an old woman poking her finger at them, “You make Egypt look bad! You are spies,” she says, but they can shake off words from an old woman.

Today the crowd moves with more care, aided by the police and the military. Today they lift up one man in a wheelchair, up over the crowd into the square, so he is close to the protest, which is pulsing with the energy of liberation and freedom. He waves his fists in the air and I am reminded of the friends who lower their disabled buddy right through the roof of a house so Jesus could heal him and make him free.

Today is a different day; it is the “Friday of Departure.” The protestors have been assailed by police on camels, had cement hurled at them, endured a rain of bullets, and still they are undaunted. They can smell the freedom they desire. If Mubarak loves Egypt, they say, he will leave.

Right after evening prayers.

Right after evening prayers, the Mubarak regime says, they will squash the rebellion.

And the sun has gone down on Cairo, dipping into the night sky. Mubarak is still in power. The protestors are still on the square called liberation. They have come across the Nile River, they have camped out with their children. They are hoarse from singing and shouting.  They are determined to live in a new way.

The deadline has come and gone. But not the prayers; they will pray again tomorrow, five times on mats facing Mecca. And in between, they will pray with their feet, and with their voices. They will pray with their stamina and their actions. They will hold each other up and keep each other standing. They will shout and march and sing the national anthem and wave flags and insist on democracy.

We should pray, too. For change, for hope, and for peace.

Do something: get informed, sign a petition, ask great questions, and get involved.

Pray.

Jacqui

Want to stay informed? Here are some links:

• The Lede’s Daily Live Blog (New York Times)
• Al Jazeera’s Daily Live Blogs
• BBC News’ Live Blog
• CNN’s Coverage is expansive

Greetings to you and your loved ones in this season of light, love, and hope! We here at Middle Collegiate Church and The Middle Project pray that no matter what tradition you celebrate, this time of year will be one of peace and joy and a time to refresh your soul and spirit.

It seems that now more than ever we need some glad tidings of great joy. I was listening to NPR yesterday, and the radio host was interviewing Santa’s top ‘elf’ at the United States Post Office here in NYC. This elf was relating how the recession had definitely influenced the children’s wish lists. Gone were the letters of greed, he said, and instead was now the palpable sense of need. He told the host how often the volunteers who open Santa’s mail will get quite a chuckle when reading the requests. But this year, he said, volunteers were crying. It’s quite simple: our down-turned economy has affected our children’s most dearly held fantasies and wishes. So, now more than ever, we need prophetic voices to prepare ethical leaders for a just society. The prophets and writers of Holy texts depict an alternative reality to the status quo, one in which justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. In this reality, the Divine requires us to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. What does that look like in our lives of faith? What does “doing justice” mean in today’s economy? We hope you will register for our 5th annual conference The Leading Edge: A National Conference for Leaders on Faith, Justice, and the Economy, April 30 – May 3. You may register right now at www.middleproject.org. We have special rates for groups of 2 or more and we also have a special student rate.

In hopes we will continue to do a bold new thing here on this earth together, I wish for you many, many blessings, now, into the New Year, and forward looking on into 2011. See you in April!

Peace be with you,

Jacqui

What was extraordinary about this past Sunday was the feeling of Home. A special art presentation focused on the road home to Middle – a journey we have all taken from many origins.  Both choirs just rocked it!  Many of us were back. And I think we were all feeling the sense that we had come home; home to a table that God has set for us; home to a place of shelter and safety – a place that, while not perfect, is a place where “mistake” is not the last word; home to a place beneath God’s wings; home to a place where we are free to rehearse new behaviors, to encourage the best in each other, to forgive the flaws and failings. A place called home in which we can find grace and peace and hold each other accountable for the self that God created to emerge and shine. Our choirs, the artists, the staff – all of us felt like we were participating in the beginning of a new thing: a bold new way to be the People of God.

I hope you had a summer full of adventure, healing, fun, meditation, exercise, making up, playing, and praying. I hope that if you had disappointments and setbacks, you had people to care for and about you. I hope that when things were amazing, you had some folk to say, “You GO!”  I hope that you will make your way to Middle soon (and again) and get a warm hug during the passing of the peace and a great big dose of the Love of God. I hope you know that the Vision that God has given to us in our hearts needs you to make it happen, and that you will plug in to something; give a hand, mentor a kid, sing a song, teach a class, fold and stuff bulletins, pack and serve food, donate clothing, send a kid to New Orleans, write an article, support someone who needs help, advocate for justice – you get the picture.

Mostly, what I hope you know is that Middle is more Middle because you are here!

WAYS TO ACT FOR RECONCILIATION

This weekend will be a poignant time for the people of the United States, and especially for those who live and work in New York City. We want to make you aware of four positive and peace-seeking events which will take place this weekend.

All of these events express support for our Muslim brothers and sisters in this difficult time, and support the vision of the Park51 project in lower Manhattan.

Candlelight Vigil
Friday, Sept 10th at 7:15 PM
Church Street and Park Place
Please bring candles and American flags, but no signs.

Sponsored by New York Neighbors for American Values – a coalition of more than 100 community groups (inclusing Intersections International, Inc.) in support of the American Constitutional values of religious freedom, diversity and equality, and the rights of Muslim Americans to build a community center in Lower Manhattan.

Interfaith Worship Celebration and Panel Discussion on Interfaith Reconciliation
Sunday, Sept 12th at 11:15 AM
Middle Collegiate Church

Join Middle Collegiate Church for their annual Interfaith Celebration (Eid ul-Fitr and Rosh Hoshana). Jacqui Lewis will preach, and she’ll be joined by special guests Rabbi Burt Siegel (the Shul of New York) and Fred Johnson (Intersections International, Inc.).

Stay after worship for a Conversation on Interfaith Reconciltion, a panel discussion with Fred Johnson, Jacqui Lewis, Tricia Sheffield, Burt Siegel,  and Chad Tanaka Pack; moderated by Bob Chase.

Liberty Walk
Sunday, Sept 12th at 3 PM

An interfaith “Liberty Walk” supporting Religious Freedom in the USA, that will gather for an initial program at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 12 at St. Peter’s Church, 22 Barclay Street in lower Manhattan.

Again, people have been asked not bring any signs. Rather, they ask that you bring American flags to show support for religious freedom in America.

If you would like to travel with Middle Church, please meet us in the church social hall by 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon.

Screening & Discussion
“On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly”
Sunday, Sept 12th at 6:30 PM

A special bridge-building dialogue and film screening at Park51 on Sunday September 12 from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.. This event offers a constructive way for New Yorkers of diverse faiths and backgrounds to come together for an enriching educational experience and to learn about their Muslim neighbors, and to reflect on the bigger picture. A screening of the film, On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly offers a whimsical approach to the very serious issues that surround us.

Following the screening, discussion groups will consider a broad range of topics, including stereotyping, faith, and identity. Reserve space here. Presented by Unity Productions Foundation and Park51.

The staff and I believe it is important that as you listen to all sides of this conversation, you hear some words directly from the source. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, in his own words.

It is also our prayer that Ahmed Sharif and his family feel God’s arms-around Grace in this season and that he fully recover. Further, we pray for Michael Enright, whose actions stand in stark contrast to his previous volunteer efforts at Intersections and their sense of the kind of person he is.

Please plan to join us on September 12 for an Interfaith Worship Celebration that gives us the chance to think, love and pray together.

…(We) share our stories, we learn about folk, we read their Holy texts, and we read our own. We find out that the One God is the God of everyone. God is on the side of justice and mercy and peace and reconciliation. Ain’t nothing wrong with a little prayer, is my belief. And the place of prayer should not matter. We have all come “over a way that with tears has been watered . . .” walking a path “through the blood of the slaughtered.” May hope and prayer heal our world.

These sentiments are still on my mind today. It remains my hope and heart’s desire for our world to be healed from racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism. I’m listening to NPR right now, and sighing as I hear the stories of war and floods and intolerance. Despite the news, I, without a doubt, believe that God calls us to peace and reconciliation. We’re all still walking that path . . .

One of the ways The Middle Project ‘walks that path’ of hope and reconciliation is by coming together and learning from one another. The prophets and the gospel writers depict an alternative reality to the status quo, one in which justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. In this reality, God requires us to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. What does that look like in our lives of faith? What does “doing justice” mean in today’s economy?

Building on the success of four annual national conferences for leadership in multicultural congregations at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, The Middle Project is proud to host a three-day conference for clergy, seminarians, and other congregational leaders, The Leading Edge: A National Conference for Leaders on Faith, Justice, and the Economy, April 30–May 3, 2011. Our confirmed speakers are Dalton Conley, Gary Dorrien, Miguel de la Torre, Jacqui Lewis, Ivan Petrella, Tricia Sheffield, Chad Tanaka Pack, and Roger Touissant.

Participants will not only engage in deep theological reflection about these issues, they will also do practical work as they—
• Deepen their understanding of economic justice and the widening disparity between the rich and the poor (power analysis).
• Find power and purpose in the narrative of the progressive movement’s historical involvement in economic justice (labor movement, etc.).
• Discover practical tools for congregational education, activism, and advocacy.
• Create strategies for developing leaders and organizing their communities for justice work.

Conference Offerings: All speakers will do implications and applications as part of their presentations.
• American Empire, Militarism, and Economic Justice
• A Liberation Perspective on Global Economic Justice: Learning from the Margins
• Creating a Culture of Critical Consumption
• Building a Movement for Economic Justice
• Race, Immigration, and the Economy: Why the Rage?

Middle Church and The Middle Project is in the ‘business’ of training ethical leaders for a just society. I hope you will consider attending the conference in April. For more information, or to register now, please click here.

So, this is a note to everyone, before I go into radio silence. If you have been absent, we miss you; come on home!  If you have been feeling poorly, I am praying for you, even now.  If you are sad or confused or hurt, I pray God’s grace will feel more than sufficient to heal you and comfort you. And, if for you, this is a great day that God has made, then I rejoice with in this day.

And if for you, the news is painful, like it is for me, then I pray that you put into God’s hands this world–created full of folk with free will, which means confusion and conflict on a bad day, and love and compassion on a good one.

I am thrilled about Proposition 8 being overturned and pray for good sense for everyone who wonders if LGBTI persons ought to be able to marry. “Of course!” is my answer and so I say Amen for the change!

I am angry at the crazy conversations about immigration in Arizona and the possibility that our constitution might be bastardized by immigrants to keep out other immigrants.  I am sad at all the controversy about Cordoba House.  To be sure, the tragedy on September 11, 2001 was a national horror.  We lost innocent lives and our own innocence. The planes-turned-to-bombs happened on our land, in our space, and we will never be the same.  We are hyper-conscious now of ourselves as a nation in a global community and that some people hate us!  We who believe in freedom need to keep our minds and hearts open to the other, lest we become an enemy to our own souls.  Space for a community center in which there is a house of prayer may be just the kind of ‘balm in Gilead,’ which we need.  The center may also help to demystify Muslim culture and religion, and aid in uniting us all as friends.  When we learn about each other, and see each other for who we are, we are less likely to maim, wound, bomb and annihilate each other.buy a zorb ball in australia

So we share our stories, we learn about folk, we read their Holy texts, and we read our own. We find out that the One God is the God of everyone. God is on the side of justice and mercy and peace and reconciliation.  Ain’t nothing wrong with a little prayer, is my belief.  And the place of prayer should not matter. We have all come “over a way that with tears has been watered…” walking a path “through the blood of the slaughtered”.  May hope and prayer heal our world.

I think of the Big Easy and I think of jazz. Last Sunday at Middle Church there was a lovely three-piece suite of jazz improvisers, led by Louie Belogenis. The music was breathy, cool and smooth, and the silences were full of Spirit. I did a homily on love that ended in a hymn called “My Funny Valentine”. Inspired by the band, I tried bending notes like God bends all the way down to love us just like we are. My colleague Chad – preacher/artist/accountant(!) – was there, nodding his head and praying with his eyes open.

The Breath that is all around, the Breath that loves us more deeply than we can ask or imagine gave him this poem, and I share it with you along with my hope for easy days, and the easing of suffering everywhere.

Take it easy and make it easy for others.

*****

Were I Jazz

Were I jazz

Cymbals sizzling
Summer sunset

Raspy whispered sax
Dusk

Twinkling piano plinking
Evening starlight

Were I jazz

Easing
Rhythm
textLoose
texttextFree

Trusting
Silence
Carry me

Savoring
Dissonance
Crunchy sour pickles

Our song
A playful prayer

I just got back from the beach in Hollywood, Florida.  There were moments when the water was bathtub warm and crystal clear. Fish and human beings moved through the water as though safe in amniotic fluid filled with nutrients for life. This oil spill is another crude awakening that human need and greed will kill our Mother Earth if we do not take care of God’s good creation.  See below from MoveOn.org.  Be outraged and speak up!

Dear MoveOn member,

It’s just unbelievable.

By Tuesday, the oil spill in the Gulf will have been gushing out for 50 days straight. It might already be five times larger than the Exxon Valdez, and now BP says that the spill probably won’t be stopped until August .*

Meanwhile, our political leaders in Washington aren’t even talking about the real solution—getting off oil once and for all, and fully powering our economy with clean energy. It’s clear we need a major public outcry to make this horrible tragedy a turning point.

So on Tuesday—day 50 since the spill—we’re organizing emergency Oil Spill Vigils to demand an end to our dependence on oil, call for stepped-up efforts to end the spill, and stand in solidarity with all those affected in the Gulf.

Can you host an emergency Oil Spill Vigil next Tuesday? Click here to get started.

Hosting a vigil is easy. We’ll gather together, read stories from Gulf residents affected by the spill, and observe a moment of silence. All you need to do is find a nearby public location for people to gather, invite friends, and tell the local media about it. We’ll help you recruit people and give you all the guidance you need.

By standing together at events coast-to-coast, we can make sure lawmakers understand that the American people are demanding bold action to prevent disasters like this from happening again.

But we have to act now. The people in the Gulf of Mexico are facing the destruction of an entire way of life. Fishermen say they’ve lost 75% or more of their business, and it’s getting worse. Federal officials have closed over one-third of the Gulf of Mexico to fishing. And the oil is poised to reach the beaches of Florida soon.**

As Charlotte Randolph, president of one of the coastal parishes affected by the spill, said, “You see it in people’s eyes. You see it. We need to stop the flow. Tourism is dead. Fishing is dead. We’re dying a slow death.”***

Until we end our dependence on oil, disasters like the BP spill will keep happening. We can’t get off oil in a day, but the energy experts say that if we had gotten started 20 years ago after Exxon Valdez we could be most of the way there already.**** But because Big Oil still calls the shots in Washington, such bold action isn’t even being discussed. We need to turn this moment of crisis into a rallying cry to finally get America off oil.

We need as many Oil Spill Vigils as possible around the country so that tens of thousands of MoveOn members have the chance to speak out right in their neighborhoods. Can you host a vigil in your area? Click here.

Thanks for all that you do.

–Steven, Wes, Lenore, Kat, and the rest of the team

Sources:

* “BP oil spill worse than Exxon Valdez, according to government estimates,” Christian Science Monitor, May 27, 2010

“BP officials on Gulf oil spill: We can’t stop leak until August at the earliest,” New York Daily News, May 30, 2010

** “BP puts containment dome on gushing oil geyser,” The Washington Post, June 4, 2010

“Almost one-third of Gulf fishing grounds closed,” Associated Press, June 2, 2010

“Oysters: From The Gulf To The Table, ” NPR, June 3, 2010

*** Ibid.

**** “Winning the Oil Endgame,” Rocky Mountain Institute, September, 2007

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

Check this out. I have been on the advisory board of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice for ten years now, be sure to let them know how you feel about this.inflatable school bus

Jacqui

I am writing this brief note on Palm Sunday, as I get ready for worship today. In our Christian tradition, this is the day Jesus makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We call it triumphant, because his followers placed him on a colt, threw their cloaks down on the ground before him, hailed him as a king of peace, and waived palm branches before him. In fact, when he gets into the city, he is arrested, put on trial, and crucified as a criminal for insurrection. Jesus’ encounter with the authorities was certain kind of contest, a struggle for peace in a time when Jesus’ people were under Roman occupation–the so-called Pax Romana; the Roman Peace. It is not a new concept for powerful nations to think of themselves as peace keepers/peace makers as they wage war.Scooby-Doo-Bouncer Banner rental

So, here is a piece on peace, from our colleague Sekou, as Tavis Smiley focuses on Dr. King’s speech against the war in Vietnam. Important as we think about our years in this terrifying war against terror.

Peace, for real

Jacqui

I came home to an amazing accomplishment: the passing of a healthcare bill that realizes decades of work by several administrations toward providing healthcare for the majority of citizens of our country. You know as well as I do what a contentious process this has been, and the narrow vote speaks to both the divide in our Congress and in our country on this issue.

What is shocking to me is how a divide in opinion, no matter how deep, can lead to violence and threats and unspeakably uncivilized behavior by so many. Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner (Queens/Brooklyn) was the most recent recipient of this ridiculous and dangerous behavior, when a white substance was mailed to his office. 10 house democrats are under police protection now.

I am so sad about this, but I am more angry than anything else. I am heartened to know that both Democratic and Republican leaders are denouncing this behavior; we need to denounce it as well.United States

I got the note below from the people at MoveOn and Color of Change. No matter what your politics, join me in denouncing this violent behavior.

Let’s expect better and demand more from our leaders, and from one another.

Jacqui

Last weekend, anti-health care protesters were out in force in Washington and some of their behavior was deeply disturbing.

A crowd of tea partiers shouted the “n word” at Congressman John Lewis, a former civil rights leader who marched with Dr. King. They yelled homophobic epithets at Rep. Barney Frank, an openly gay congressman. And one protester actually spat on a Black member of Congress.1

Then this week, Democrats who voted for reform began receiving death threats; one had a coffin left on his lawn and another was told snipers would kill the children of lawmakers who voted yes.2 Several Democrats had their district offices vandalized, and a gas line was cut at a home that tea partiers mistakenly believed belonged to Rep. Tom Perriello.3

A few Republicans have spoken out against the racism and violence, but most are still treating them as “isolated incidents.”4 They are not isolated. They’ve been part of Republican-supported tea parties for almost a year and they’re a natural consequence of telling people that reform is a totalitarian plot.5

It’s an outrage, and no American should tolerate it. So we’re joining with our friends at Color of Change to stand up to the hate. Can you add your name to this letter asking Republican leaders to unequivocally condemn bigotry, hate, and violence among their supporters?

http://pol.moveon.org/condemnhate/?id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=3

The letter asks the leaders of the Republican party to do two simple things:

Unequivocally condemn bigotry and hate among your supporters, and make clear that those who embrace it have no place in your party and that you reject their support.
Make clear that you will not tolerate fear-mongering and coded appeals to racism from officials in the Republican Party, at any level.
Instead of calming the tea partiers’ anger, Republican members of Congress have stoked it. NBC reported that on Saturday, Reps. Mike Pence, Tom Price, and Michele Bachmann all addressed the tea partiers and that Bachmann stirred them “into a tizzy.”6 Protesters from that rally then fanned out across Capitol Hill and were behind the assaults on Reps. Lewis, Frank, and Cleaver.7

Yesterday, Rep. John Boehner called the violence and threats “unacceptable.”8 But just last week, he referred to fellow representative Steve Driehaus as “a dead man” if he voted for health care reform.9 And while Boehner’s office insisted his remark wasn’t meant to be taken literally, as Rep. Driehaus pointed out, “It doesn’t really matter the way you meant it, nor the way I accept it. It’s how the least sane person in my district accepts it.”10

And there’s more: During the debate on the floor of the House on Sunday, Rep. Randy Neugebauer shouted “baby-killer” at Rep. Bart Stupak.11 And after the vote, Sarah Palin told supporters “Don’t Retreat, Reload,” and then highlighted specific members of Congress she thinks are politically vulnerable using gun cross-hairs.12

The Tea Party movement has been marked by racially inflammatory and violent outbursts since its inception a year ago. And while most Republicans are probably disgusted by this behavior, the Republican Party and its leaders have repeatedly tolerated it at events they support.13 But the hateful rhetoric and the tacit acceptance of “isolated incidents” of violence have gotten way out of hand.

Will you sign our letter to the leaders of the Republican Party telling them they must stop it now?

http://pol.moveon.org/condemnhate/?id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

Justin, Nita, Kat, Daniel, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “‘Tea party’ protesters accused of spitting on lawmaker, using slurs,” The Washington Post, March 20, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87574&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=5

2. “FBI investigating threats to Democrats,” The Associated Press, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87575&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=6

“Coffin placed on Carnahan’s lawn,” Politico, March 25, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34982.html

“The backlash: Reform turns personal,” Politico, March 24, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34907.html

3. “The Map So Far,” Talking Points Memo, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87576&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=7

“Severed gas line found at home of Perriello brother,” Charlottesville Daily Progress, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87577&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=8

4. “Steele: Slur-hurlers ‘idiots’,” Politico, March 21, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87578&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=9

5. “Swastika painted outside Congressman’s office,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 11, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87580&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=10

“10 Most Offensive Tea Party Signs And Extensive Photo Coverage From Tax Day Protests,” The Huffington Post, December 28, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87579&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=11

“Armed and Dangerous?” Talking Points Memo, August 11, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87581&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=12

“We have something to fear from fear-mongering itself,” The Washington Post, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87582&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=13

6. “Tea Party Protest Scene,” MSNBC, March 20, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87583&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=14

7. “‘Tea party’ protesters accused of spitting on lawmaker, using slurs,” The Washington Post, March 20, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87574&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=15

8. “Leadership decries threats to lawmakers in wake of health vote,” The Hill, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87584&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=16

9. “Exclusive: House Minority John Boehner on the Health-Care Vote,” National Review Online, March 18, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87585&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=17

10. “Amid Death Threats, Dem Rep Driehaus Points The Finger At GOP Leadership,” Talking Points Memo, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87587&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=18

11. “‘Baby killer outburst fuels Republican’s new funding ad,” The Houston Chronicle, March 24, 2010
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6928920.html

12. “Palin Uses Crosshairs To Identify Dems Who Voted For Health Care Reform,” Talking Points Memo, March 24, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87586&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=19

13. “Tax Day Tea Parties Officially Endorsed By Republican Party,” The Huffington Post, May 15, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=87588&id=19573-9108008-4X4rrQx&t=20

14. “Steele: I’d join the tea parties,” Politico, January 5, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31177.html

We fly tomorrow to Ghana, we will see Pat at BASICS and we will see the slave castles and I will preach on Sunday about unity.

This is my passion, and I know it is also yours.

I am grateful for colleagues who share this passion with me. Hug Trish when you see her because we promoted her to Associate Minister. Along with administration, she will help with our social ministries like Celebrate Life/Momentum Project and the Clothing Closet.

We are off tomorrow to see some of this country, to let the words we have heard settle into our hearts.

I am here, with my heart burning and my brain churning with wisdom and candid sharing and confession from South Africans working on reconciliation. I have more to tell you, and I will. For now, God is in the business of making all things, and all of us new.

Those of us on both sides of the world need this newness. I love you…

and my tooth does not hurt. Maybe there are other healings to follow.

I just left for South Africa, and I will have so much to share! Keep your eyes on this space in the coming weeks.

The Women in Church and Ministry Lecture: “The Word Became Flesh”
Location: Main Lounge, Mackay Campus Center
Start: 7:00 PM
End: 8:00 PM

Free and open to the public

For more information, contact the Communications/Publications Office or call 609.497.7760.

If you do not get Religion Dispatches, you should sign up for it. See this piece by Jean Carstensen and the report on how much silence there is from progressive clergy when it comes to human sexuality. What we do not say from the pulpit speaks volumes. We need to say that economic justice, gender justice and sexual orientation justice are braided tightly together with racial justice. We need to say that when abortion rights are restricted young women and poor women are most affected. We need to say out loud and Believe Out Loud that women and LGBTI persons should be afforded full rights and inclusion in faith communities, and that includes the right to be ordained. We need to say that LGBTI persons should have the right to marry and raise families. It is not enough to believe it; we need to believe it and proclaim it. Our people need to have theological discourse from and with clergy they trust about human sexuality.

Sunday ends National Marriage Week. Let’s make Sunday the beginning of a movement: Believe Out Loud that human sexuality is a gift from God and that there is a full spectrum of sexual orientations that express that gift. Let’s preach and teach that from our pulpits and break the silence.

Toward the peaceable reign of God.

Jacqui

Critical to the rebuilding of Haiti is the cancellation of their debt, and then grants for the rebuild, not loans. Check this out and see what you can do to help.

Also, don’t forget to register for our leadership conference “The Leading Edge”.

In the struggle for a better tomorrow,

-Jacqui

Melinda St. Louis
Jubilee USA
February 6, 2010

Today, the US government listened to your call for justice for Haiti and took action. Congratulations on all your hard work.

This morning, the US Treasury announced its support for Haiti’s debt cancellation and grants, not loans. “Today, we are voicing our support for what Haiti needs and deserves — comprehensive multilateral debt relief,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

We couldn’t agree more.

In the days following the devastating earthquake on January 12th, Jubilee USA Network helped lead efforts by US civil society to achieve debt cancellation of the $709 million Haiti owes to the international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank. Your calls to the White House, letters to the editor, and now thousands of petitions have shown our leaders that Haiti’s debt cancellation is critical.

Last week, over 80 US faith, labor, and human rights organizations sent a letter urging Secretary Geithner to negotiate Haiti’s debt cancellation. This message was echoed in another letter sent yesterday by 94 Members of the House of Representatives — Members you called and emailed. Legislative momentum also continues to build in both bodies of Congress.

This weekend we are sending your petitions to the Artic Circle in Canada, where the G7 finance ministers are meeting to discuss Haiti relief, among other things. The Treasury committed to using its leadership here to make sure that the ministers support debt cancellation for Haiti.

As the country begins to rebuild, debt cancellation without harmful conditions and an assurance that Haiti won’t get back into debt are critical and important steps in the right direction.

In the coming days, we’ll be watching closely to see how the Treasury and the G7 will fulfill this commitment. To stay updated, make sure you check out www.jubileeusa.org/haiti and follow our blog “Blog the Debt” at jubileeusa.typepad.org.

Thank you again,

Melinda St click here to find out more. Louis

Deputy Director, Jubilee USA

• Jeff Sharlet, author of “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.” Also, hear Jeff Sharlet on Fresh Air.
• Worth listening to:
  Terry Gross interviews Bob Hunter of The Fellowship (also known as The Family)
• Eliot Spitzer and AIG: “Show Us the Email.” Also on Huffington Post.
• The Conservative-Christian Thinker (Robert P. George)
• Karen Armstrong on NPR and Religious Dispatches

Jacqui

What will I tell you my son?

What will I say to you, my daughter?

You for whom the tropics are a marvelous paradise

a blooming garden of islands floating

in the blue box of the Caribbean Sea

What will I tell you when you ask me

Father speak to us of Haiti?

What will the fathers and mothers who survive the aftermath of the devastating earthquake tell their children about Haiti? What will they say about a place named Ayiti Quisqueya, Bohio by its inhabitants? A place of mountains whose beauty was captured by the French and the Spanish? A place whose people were killed off by disease; a land inhabited by kidnapped Africans, whose land was tilled by forced labor? What will they say to their children about Hispaniola and Saint-Domingue-identities forced upon a land by colonial presences?

What will they say about slave rebellions and Francois Macandal and the Six-Year War? What will they say about those who fought in the American Revolutionary War and who went home to fight in their own? What will they say about François-Dominique Toussaint L’ouverture and the abolition of slavery in 1794? What will they say about January 1, 1804, the equalizing meal of soup, and Black Independence.

What will they say about Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, a free Black man, the son of a French mariner and an African-born slave mother? What will they say about his time in Peoria and the way he founded Chicago, Illinois? What will they say about how his father took him to France to be educated? What will they say about a man who had the diplomacy necessary to befriend the area Native-Americans who considered him one of their own; who spoke several Indian dialects, as well as English, French, and Spanish? How can they speak about this Haitian American Hero?

What will they say when they speak of Haiti and of this time and of the reaction of the world-their neighbors? How will they speak of 40 seconds of terror, of two aftershocks and the aftermath of the crumbling of buildings and the crushing of bodies and souls? What will they say about the promises of an American president and a people? And when, more than a week later, there is another aftershock – a devastating 6.1, what will they say of how their spirits were rocked? What will they say about how the fault lines of race and class collided to crumble an infrastructure before the earth quaked?

And what will we say to our children, and to theirs?

A history of a people is just that – a story. Some of it is true; some of it is shaped and retold by those in power. In this month where we celebrate the African diaspora in America – African American History month, we think about how race is “storied”. We know there is only one race – the human race – but ethnicity and culture get “raced” in our country, and in other places around the globe. Race, skintone and color become signs for who is privileged and who is not; who holds the power and who does not.

How will we, on this soil, on this land help shape our history, and support and encourage the Haitian people to shape theirs? How we respond, what we do in these times can help reinforce the scars of a colonial past or help heal them. To be sure, money is the best way to help in these early days. Money can buy needed supplies and water, and money can flow over the internet; it needs no transport, airfield or road on which to travel. But in the days and weeks to come, as Haiti rebuilds and as we help, the way the world puts the power to shape policy, to name priorities; the way the world pardons debt and gives grants rather than loans – these tactics will help to create a story of hope, power and agency in a critical time in history.

Let’s do all we can to help write this chapter of history with love, grace and generosity. The Collegiate Churches of New York have made a first strike at this tragedy with a grant of $50,000; you can join in this grant-making by sending a check to Middle Church marked “Haiti Relief”, or you can go directly to www.churchworldservice.org and make a donation there. In time, we will do more – with our resources, with our time, with our love, prayers and support.

Let’s make African History Month a time of African diasporan connection. We all come from the same cradle of civilization – Africans, Europeans, Asians and Indians. So Haitian history, African American history, Chinese history – all of it belongs to all of us; and our future story is ours to write, together.

These are the snapshots of the disaster in Haiti; pictures too horrible to even process.

Where do we see ourselves in that picture? Who is our neighbor?

This Sunday at Middle Church, we will celebrate the life and ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. We will sing, and pray, and dance, and hope and talk about what it means to be a neighbor in these days and times. And we will collect a special offering for our neighbors in Haiti. Please come and be with us for worship at 11:15 followed by our SoulFood Brunch and then a workshop and panel of The State of Race in the Union featuring John Janka, Dean Hubbard, Granville Leo Stevens, Bruni Pabon, Kendall Thomas, yours truly and you in conversation.

People this age move from working on who they are to finding strength at standing apart from the parental ethos and a more widely cast net of influencers and influences. She and her peers at 18-30 scoff at hypocrisy and want to see clear evidence that words and actions match. They believe they can change the world, and they can. One of Morgan’s BFF’s decided that she could start a business in Africa, pull some friends in, and not only make a living but make a difference; she did and they do.

This is the Yes We Can generation. They get technology and want their media served quickly how and when they want it. They thumb at the speed of sound– as they text, email and Tweet. They want connections and they want action and they know how to make it happen.

All of these people know a truth: people and institutions that talk the talk but don’t walk the walk are to be suspected. I believe they will wither and die on the vine. This is a newsflash for the church: if we don’t get relevant, if we don’t get with it, if we don’t get meaningful, if we don’t get relevant, we will die.

So we are doing a study of 18-29-year olds. Some of them go to church or synagogue or mosque. Some of them do yoga or chant. Others are recovering Baptists or Catholics. We want to know what they think, how they think about the world, about ethics, about doing the right thing. We want to know what gives them hope and what makes them want to make a difference. We think this generation will change the world and we better get on board or get out of the way.

If you are such a person, 18-29, who wants to get your voice heard in our study, January 29-30 at Middle Church (www.middlechurch.org) or you know such a person, reach out to Trish Sheffield at tsheffield@middlechurch.org. The conversations are on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for 90 minutes each. We want to hear what you have to say. No compensation but lots of coffee will be provided.

Change the world, lead the way.

I have so many thoughts about the last ten years; I could not have imagined ten years ago how my life would be today. I have SO much to say about that, but it will wait until the New Year.

For now, I am thinking about how the sand in the hourglass is running out on this year. I am thinking about how the clock is ticking toward a new day, a new year, a new decade. I LOVE fresh starts and new beginnings. It is as though we get to wipe our slate clean and begin all over again.

Many of us will make resolutions in the next few days. We will resolve ourselves to be new, to do new things, to think new thoughts, to engage in new behaviors. I am a person who moves too fast, tries to do too much, needs to lose five pounds (maybe ten?), should give up potato chips forever, should stop swearing (a confession here), BUT

I want to use this reflective energy to think of deeper, more meaningful shifts in myself and in my life – the kind of shifts that make me a better human being and make me better at being human.

Here are the questions I am asking myself this year; maybe they can be good for you, too:

What was the most consistent attitude I had last year?

Was it helpful/hopeful or did it pull me and others down?

Is there anything I can do to get a new attitude? Is there anything I can do to keep that helpful attitude?

What was the hardest or most difficult thing that happened to me last year?

Where was God (or the Holy or the Universe) in that? Did I do anything to make that happen?

What is the most important lesson I learned from that hard thing?

What was the best thing that happened to me last year? Where was God/Holy/Universe in that?

What did I do to help make that happen?

What can I learn from that success/blessing/triumph/peace?

What is one thing I can carry with me from this year into the next that will make me a better world citizen?

However you engage with yourself in conversation about 2010, may it be a joyous, peaceful, purposeful year filled with new love for others, new love for yourself, new grace in tough times, and a new and abiding appreciation for the goodness of God — however you name God — and the Universe around us.

Happy New Year!

Jacqui

Most meaningful to me among the special moments happened when the children helped me with my sermon. I wrote a child-friendly one. After one of our little people recited a scripture by memory, I used the letters of the word Christmas to talk about what Christmas means. With great respect for their intellect, I was subtle and did not say, “C is for the Child and R is for the Region in which the shepherds worked.” I just preached it with the refrain “Christmas means…”

I was good and theological until I got to the second “S”, at which time I acknowledged that Santa is part of the deal for many. Our children first coached me on all the names for Santa. Then there was a Minority report. One of ours was simply outraged: “Christmas is NOT about Santa. It is about Jesus and it is about love,” he said.

Now as a Christian clergy person, I was totally going there discover this. But this child beat me to my own conclusion! Christmas is about love. And it is about this Child who re-presents Love.

Christmas is also about little children who, if we will listen and let them, will fulfill a prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures: “A little child will lead them.”

May the little ones be our leaders as we seek hope, peace, joy, and love this season, and in the next year.

Happy Holy-days from me and the Middle Project

Jacqui

I have to tell you from the start that I am not up on all the details about Tiger Woods’ infidelity… my apologies. I hear there are nine women and counting, and that Tiger was neither suave nor super sneaky about getting with these women. Ms. Dowd ended her comments with, “Now all we have left to look up to is Derek Jeter.” I was tempted to go to a few sites and see if, indeed, Derek is worthy of our adulation Oppblåsbare slott.

But, I did not. I don’t care. I think Derek Jeter is a great baseball player and I think Tiger Woods is an outstanding golfer. He may well be the best golfer that has ever lived.

I am sad for Tiger’s wife. I hope that she drinks wine with her girlfriends and gets good and mad about it. I hope she gets a massage and lets herself weep. I think being betrayed is a very difficult experience, and I will hold her in my prayers as she and Tiger work through this.

I am just not worked up, though, about Tiger falling off some pedestal. Tiger is a man, a human being, a relatively young man who has spent much of his life in the public eye playing golf. He is not my hero, and I hope he is not yours. He is an athlete, a professional athlete, a wealthy professional athlete. He was a child, then a teen, he went to college, and he met some girls. He studied some, skipped some classes. He turned pro at 21. He lost his dad. He married his sweetheart. He had two babies. He hurt his knee. He recovered from his injury and is playing an amazing game.

I have some psychology experience and so I could risk some analysis about his life: strong parenting. Not enough freedoms. A young and growing self impinged by the golf club (see Donald Winnicott on Good Enough Care/True Self/False Self). I could tell you about how many people go underground with their sexuality because they are expected to have a certain normative image, and they live in their persona (see Carl Jung), hiding out until they get discovered.

I also have some theological training, so I am tempted to write about how and when monogamous heterosexual marriage got romanticized (it most certainly was not romanticized in ancient Judeo-Christian culture), and how unnatural monogamy is considered in many cultures. I can write to you about how marriage is a legal contract, one that should be available, by the way, to all adults. And I could say more about the religious/spiritual/theological piece of marriage that is primarily about keeping covenant or making promises, and that the best advice I give to couples when marrying them is to make a promise they can actually keep. I say, quite bluntly, don’t lie.

We are not quite sure about the promises Tiger made to Elin; we think we know, but are we actually sure? I can’t imagine, though, that there was a provision for having nine mistresses.

Here is what is most on my heart: I used to be perfect — when I was about… five years old. And now, at fifty, I am not. So, I am sad for Tiger and Elin, and I am hoping they can work things out for the sake of their children. I hope the nine or however many women there were are safe and disease free, and that they will think more carefully about whether it is worth the risk to make love to someone else’s husband — famous, infamous or otherwise.

I hope Tiger learns something from this (not just how to be better at cheating, but what is this all about)?

But, I am not judging him. I don’t care enough to judge him. When he plays again, I will watch. I will purchase whatever I was going to purchase, with or without his endorsement. He is just too ordinary in his humanity for me to judge him. He is not my hero; I don’t need another hero. We don’t need another hero, not Wheaties Box Front heroes, anyway.

We need leaders. And neither Tiger nor Derek Jeter count in that category from where I sit.

They are just professional athletes.

I want a leader in my president. I want leadership from Congress and from my state legislators. I want community organizers and clergy and lay people in the marketplace to stand up for what is right — for healthcare for all Americans; for marriage equality; for a social justice ethic that ensures that all people have safe places to live and food on the table. I want leadership in the banking industry that will decide enough is enough and give bonuses to people struggling with their mortgage payments in the form of lower interest rates and grace to keep their homes. I want REAL heroes and heroines — leadership in parents who keep on working to take care of their children and courageous same sex couples and heterosexual allies who keep pushing for marriage equality, and people who keep going to New Orleans to help rebuild that city even though it has fallen off the news radar, and folk who blog and email and inform us about atrocities in Uganda and the ways we can make a difference around the globe. I want leadership committed to anti-racism and immigration reform. I want leadership in terms of peacemaking –everywhere. And I do mean an end to war in all the theaters where it is being performed.

And besides wanting leadership, here is what else I want:

I want my husband and I to keep the promises WE made to each other (I happen to know what those were) and if we get it wrong, I want us to find a way to love each other through it, hang in and grow old (I like my husband as much as I love him). And, if we really mess it up (GOD FORBID), I want our transgressions to be private, not the stuff for the front page of People or for Maureen Dowd’s column.

And I want Tiger to save his apology for his wife.

I don’t care enough to accept it.

Jacqui

Tiger’s Apology:
I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.

But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.

Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.
From his official website.

I was watching the live stream when the vote was taken on Wednesday. I was sad; I was disappointed.

And I am inspired. I am inspired by the speech made by Senator Eric Adams, who encouraged his colleagues to “benchmark” their lives by the way they voted on that day, and admonished Senator Diaz for speaking from his heart, not from his mind about this issue. I am inspired by the speech that Senator Diane Savino gave, where she said, “So if there’s anything wrong with the sanctity of marriage in America, it comes from those of us who have the privilege and the right and have abused it for decades.”

I am inspired by the amazing community in which I do my ministry — a place where everyone is welcome just as they are as they come through the door; a place where we really mean that welcome, and in which we work together for justice.

Here are some excerpts from an email chain that went around right after the vote.

“The NY Senate just voted on the Marriage Equality bill. 24 – aye; 38 – nay. Equality lost today, but we must use this as a rally cry. Now we KNOW. We KNOW who supports us. We KNOW where we need to focus our efforts. We KNOW where to start.”

“I think it is amazing that it went so far. New York State may not marry people but Middle Church does. Be not discouraged…”

“Middle Church is a prayer realized. It is a green branch that is grown and cannot be stopped…”

I wrote, “The People united will never be defeated! We can rock it; it is the right thing to do and that is why so many people (not quite enough) voted yes.”

And then one of my wonderful congregants touched my heart with this: “On a rough day like today, your short, perfect email reminded me what a great ally we have in you — and it filled my heart with hope and resolve. I’ve been working in the LGBT movement for almost two decades, from doing AIDS prevention education in Chicago in 1990 to being the ACLU’s marriage campaign manager to my new position as ED of the National Stonewall Democrats…I have been on the losing end of the stick quite a lot when it comes to the fights like we lost today. Tonight, though, I’m reminded that I am on the side with the right people, the right side of history and the right side of God’s wish for equality for all of us. ..”

That’s right. We are on the right side with the right people on the right side of history and on the right side of God’s wish for equality for all of us.

We who believe in freedom will not rest. We who believe in freedom will not rest until it comes.

This will happen. It will become law not only in New York State but all across this nation. Why? Because it is right — it is the right thing, and even though justice is too often a long time coming, it will come. It will surely come.

So join in the growing throng on the right side of right. Write to your senators and articulate your point of view (how your senator voted).  Come to Middle Church on December 13 and participate in our PeaceTalks/Justice Works program and send a letter to your congressperson.

We live to fight another day, until it passes.

May it be so.

I was slow to speak (actually, I edited myself) wanting to refrain from my gut reaction (why are we talking about this so much?!?) to an analysis (why are we talking about this so much?!?)

Among other pieces, I read an article in The New York Times Magazine by a blogger named Lisa Belkins (November 29, 2009). Her comments feel really true to me. Alaska’s former governor struck a chord in the hearts of women when she was Senator McCain’s running mate last year. She was a great hope for many — relatable, attractive, seemingly balancing home and work, caring for both a baby boy with Down Syndrome and a teenaged-pregnant daughter. Her homespun droppin’ of the g made her seem to many as one who could save the Republican Party from within the populace. She polled at 54% at the beginning of her candidacy.

Even as Tina Fey helped us to laugh at Ms. Palin’s mistakes, even as she polarized her own party and offended feminists with her winking and flirty presence, even as she showed herself to be a poorly researched and not well rehearsed public speaker, she still polled at 42% at the end of the campaign. Now, even now, 69% of Republicans give her a favorable rating with 29% unfavorable and 6% offering no opinion. (This compares to 14% favorable in Democrats, with 72% unfavorable and 13% no opinion and 41% favorable for Independents, 48% unfavorable, and 11% with no opinion. See the Gallup Poll October 2009.)

Why all the buzz? Why does hope remain in the hearts of many that Sarah Palin can… lead us… anywhere?

Does Sarah Palin understand national or foreign policy? Does she understand the dynamics of power and privilege that under-gird the racism and classism in our nation? Does she know how to exert ethical leadership in the public square?

No, she does not. But Sarah is spreading seeds that are taking root because the ground is fertile in America for this sort of leader — unethical, unedited, unaccountable, and perhaps even unintelligent. There are people in our culture who are sad, afraid, and anxious that the America they love is slipping away. They are angry, suspicious, clinging to some dream that belongs to only a few, and they need a hero/ine who can articulate their feelings in a covert way. They are thinking that Blacks, immigrants, lefties, progressives, Latinos, and the poor are taking what rightfully belongs only to them, but they can’t really say that and be politically correct. Sarah says these things in code — to and for a certain group of people who are looking for someone/something to lead them. There is no one else quite ready to say those things, no one quite ready to stand in that place against the marginalized in our country and for some values that are archaic at best.

We know from the history of our world that when there seems to be a vacuum of ethical and moral leadership; when people are divided by class, fear, and poverty; when racial and ethnic tensions rise, they will let themselves be led by… anyone! I think the parts of this country that reject President Obama as their leader are looking for the anti-Obama to articulate the racism, classism, fear, and fascism just under the surface of the American psyche.

And for those people, Sarah Palin is not even really a person or a subject; she is an object onto which they can project their hopes (just like Obama is an object on which to project their fears and hatred).

I wish I could get Ms. Palin in our Middle Project leadership lab for a week. We could teach her how to think ethically, to move morally, and to have a vision for a just society in which the common good is a gift for all. We could teach her how to organize a community, how to manage conflict and change, how to have the back of the “other” and build coalitions.

She won’t come; she knows all there is needed to know to go rogue and hold the projections and fears and rearticulate them for the masses.

But if she did, maybe, just maybe we could give her the opportunity to learn to be a leader. Then, maybe if she did run for office in 2012, there would be a real subject there, a real person there, not an object shaped by the projections and fantasies of an America in trouble. Maybe there would be someone on the Republican ticket who would want to pull the country together, not pull us apart.

I know that children are not everyone’s flavor, and I also know that they can be distracting in public places. Who doesn’t get annoyed when a baby starts shrieking on an airplane or in a movie theater? Personally, I really love children, but in THOSE moments, I find myself moving between, “what is wrong with that child’s parents?” to “did anyone think of putting Benadryl on the pacifier” to “that poor tired baby; maybe I should go and rock her!”  A baby’s cry, especially a tired or hungry or angry cry, can pierce us right to our souls, right?

We celebrated our children so that we can listen more closely to their cries. Adults need to listen for meaning to the cries of little people. There is a cry that goes up each day in America.  Each day in America, one child cries as his mother dies in childbirth. Four children cry each day before they are killed by abuse or neglect.  Five children every day cry before they commit suicide.  Eight children or teens cry, right before they are killed by firearms.  Thirty three cry before they die from accidents.  We need to hear the cries of the 192 children arrested each day for a violent crime and the cries of the 383 arrested for drug abuse.

When we listen to their cries we can learn how to respond.  Parents learn to discern the “she is just tired” cry from the “he is in pain” cry. The children in our nation are in pain.  When we listen carefully, we can know how to respond.  They need our advocacy; children can’t advocate for themselves. The need our activism; children don’t’ have enough power often to be activists. They need our attention as we address making the nation and the world a safe and loving place for them. They are our future, they are our present.  If we don’t act on their behalf, who will?  If not now, when?

For more information on how to help our nation’s children, go to www.childrensdefense.org.

Race matters, still, and in these United States, class and race run so closely together that underneath the poverty, underneath poor housing, underneath shoddy schools, underneath lack of health care is the racial schism on which our nation was built.

It seems to me that there is such virulent hatred underneath the criticism of President Obama. There is such shameful blatant bad-behavior—signifying, mocking, hurling insults, hissing and booing, shouting out of turn. No white president, no matter how stupid, would be assailed in this way. How do we know?

Well…history is a great predictor of the future, that’s all I am saying. If the shoe got thrown, wear it (is that OK to say?)

And here it is. I am still hopeful that this administration will pull this nation together in a way that no other before could. I hope not only in our president but in those around him.

One year ago, history was made. It is history in the making. No matter your party, or your political persuasion, I wonder: What are we going to do? What is our part in this reparation?

I am not sure that we always feel as though what we do matters, but it does. We have the ability to make a difference, in our prayers, in our sharing information, in our speaking and writing and texting and blogging and twittering. YOU can make a difference by what you do and how you are in the world. Err on the side of patience and peacefulness; give the other the benefit of the doubt. Send positive energy out and expect it back. Read and know, rather than suspect and speculate. When a petition comes by, when there is an opportunity to show up with your feet and hands, sign it; go there!

Love is a verb that can change the world.

President Obama can’t do it by himself, but we can do it with him.

Yes, we can.