400 years ago, in the fall of 1621, a group of religious dissenters from England had just made it through a time of terrible hardship in a place they called Plymouth. The truth was that they wouldn’t have made it all if not for the help of an original inhabitant of the land, a Native … Continue reading What We Bring to the Table
Julius Jones. Kyle Rittenhouse. Ahmaud Arbery. Staying engaged with the struggle for equity and justice can feel like riding a roller coaster of emotions. We might experience a brief sense of euphoric victory, only to plunge into a deep valley of disappointment and even despair. Through it all, how do we keep going? Where can … Continue reading Commitment
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, we’ve increased our virtual communication and decreased our in-person (embodied, incarnate) interaction with others. We’ve grown accustomed to seeing one another in “fragmented” ways — as faces without noses and mouths, or as floating heads in Zoom boxes. Even as children are vaccinated and new COVID treatments emerge, making … Continue reading Covenant Incarnate
On this day (“Decoration Day”), 150 years ago, Frederick Douglass gave a short speech entitled “The Unknown Loyal Dead” at Arlington National Cemetery. In that speech, Douglass pushed back against those who would make heroes of dead Confederate soldiers. He reminded his listeners that, instead of honoring the dead just because they have shown bravery … Continue reading The Unknown Loyal Dead
