“Skin color itself is not the barrier; it’s the beliefs attached to it. And beliefs, compared to birth dates or … More
Category: justice
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 9: White Superiority
[Edited 2/23/2019 A point of clarification on this post: the indented portions are quotes from the book by Debby Irving, … More
Prayer to Persephone
Today’s post is just poetry, this time from the sublime Edna St. Vincent Millay: Prayer to Persephone by Edna St. … More
I’m Just Here to Dance
I had an interesting question the other day: are Christians good? The subject came up because there is a defense … More
Trying Every Doorknob
What do I do about the things that I see that I think aren’t right? What do I do about the situations where injustice occurs, where oppression is maintained, where there is no room for the human and the person and the needs to be understood, much less addressed? So much is a giant system that is rolling on unchecked, and all I have are these small tools and weak commitments that are easily broken by adamant obstacles…
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 8: Racial Categories
“The biggest problem with America’s idea of racial categories is that they’re not just categories: they’ve been used to imply … More
In the Fields of the Lord
I guess I’m on a kick of listening to acoustic, and finding intriguing (for me) albums that have that just-right … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 7: The GI Bill
“I couldn’t shake the duped feeling—duped and infuriated to have inherited a legacy that contaminated me with injustice.” This chapter … More
Little Things with Great Love
I’m snowed in today (and have been since Thursday), and though we may get some relief this afternoon what with … More
Review: When They Call You a Terrorist
Yet another reminder of James Baldwin’s words* “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things … More
It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
You know, as we get older our sleep cycles shift. Used to be that I could sleep straight through, night … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 5: Within the Walls
“For me, part of the waking-up-white process is acknowledging that I’m a recovering lemming*…I never considered that the space I … More
Are #BlackLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter Opposite Sides? A Conversation
An interesting conversation in church this morning, Our pastor, after reading a few books about race and conciliation (Including Jemar … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 4: Optimism
“By pretending the world was virtually problem-free, my family culture left me grossly underprepared to solve problems.” The 50s and … More
Believe
Something I think about every so often is how we are sometimes two people. We are people who think we … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 3: Race Versus Class
“Which one is the real issue?” The temptation when confronting a difficult issue is to find a subsidiary issue, make … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 2: Family Values
“One of the things my white mother could not teach me was to honor feelings of outrage.” This chapter is … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 1: What Wasn’t Said
This chapter* opens with a provocative quote by the author: “‘WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ALL THE INDIANS?’ I asked my mother … More
If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see
James Baldwin* said this, I’m told: “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you … More
What Would You Do If You Could Bring Conciliation?
This is a review of the book “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism” … More
The Barley Soup Recipe
So this was a tasty dinner tonight: barley soup, from a recipe a friend gave our family for Christmas (along … More
New Year, New Labels
In thinking about the last year, I’ve struggled to place myself theologically. I am raised Protestant, became a Christian through … More
Feats of Clay
Our heroes are flawed. Our villains have moments of redemptive grace. We live in a complex world, where we cannot … More
Come, Desire of Nations, Come
Come, Desire of nations come,Fix in us Thy humble home;Oh, to all Thyself impart,Formed in each believing heart! Merry Christmas, … More
Does History Matter?
I’m involved in life, like many people, and one thing that fascinates me is how we forget our past when … More
What Is the Place of Jonathan Edwards As an Example to the Church?
I’m in an interesting discussion in a book group, in which we’re reading Jemar Tisby’s book “The Color of Compromise” … More
For I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel—Except the Hard Parts
I saw this on the NPR website this morning, and it sparked a reaction in me. https://www.npr.org/2018/12/09/674995075/slave-bible-from-the-1800s-omitted-key-passages-that-could-incite-rebellion On display now … More