“The one thing that would be dishonorable for us is to bring all this attention to the assassination of Dr. King and not have a resurrection of the efforts and the unfinished business dealing with systemic racism, systemic poverty.”  Rev. Dr. William Barber II Fifty years ago today Martin Luther…

  I was in Washington, DC Monday through Wednesday of this week, part of a faith leaders delegation through Mennonite Central Committee.  We were there to learn about and lobby for just immigration policies, specifically a clean Dream Act.  We were a group of mostly pastors, mostly non-white, from around…

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the Schooler Institute on Preaching at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio.  It was led by the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney who drew on her expertise in biblical interpretation and womanist hermeneutics to challenge and inspire attendees to take seriously our…

  Leviticus 25 declares a Sabbatical year for Israel, one every seven.  It was to be a year of rest and renewal for the people (including hired laborers and slaves), the land (including agricultural fields), and animals. Mennonite Church USA has its own Sabbatical guidelines.  It suggests pastors be granted…

  “The first clue, lesson number one from human history on the subject of nonviolence, is that there is no word for it.” This is how Mark Kurlansky begins his book Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea.  He goes on to note that every language has a word for…