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November 4, 2011
Give Them Something to Eat

Thomas L. Shanklin reflects on the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in light of Jesus' teachings of radical hospitality shown in Matthew 14:15-18.

"When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.' Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat.' They replied, 'We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.' And he said, 'Bring them here to me.' "
-- Matthew 14:15-18 (from "The Feeding of Five Thousand," NRSV*)

September 6, 2011
Bad Air, Bad Fires, Bad 9/11 Choices

The Obama Administration wimps out on saving the environment while drought-fueled wildfires blaze through Texas. Meanwhile, the mayor of New York City sets off his own sparks by refusing to include clergy in the 9/11 commemoration.

Faith & the Common Good Sept. 6, 2011

Cough, cough, hack, gasp! That's the sound of the TPC Editor's asthma in the midst of Dallas' Grade F-quality air, which bodes to get worse after the Obama Administration's latest environmental faux pas.

September 6, 2011
Deny Them Their Victory

The National Council of Churches' 2001  interfaith statement “Deny Them Their Victory: A Religious Response to Terrorism” has become a historic expression of America's breadth of belief, including noted denominational leaders, theologians,  scholars, prominent pastors and everyday believers from both major and minor religions.

As part of its observance of the tenth anniversary of the Sept., 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, The National Council of Churches has revived a statement of pastoral concern and peacemaking signed by nearly 4,000 people of faith in the weeks after the attack.

August 31, 2011
Fear, Inc.

A new report from the Center for American Progress outlines the forces and funding behind Islamophobia in the United States.

By Wajahat Ali, Eli Clifton, Matthew Duss, Lee Fang , Scott Keyes, Faiz Shakir

August 31, 2011
Hurricane Irene Aftermath; Deep into 'Dominionism'

Church disaster agencies kick into gear to aid victims of Hurricane Irene. Meanwhile, two religion experts provide a deep look at the reality of Christian 'dominionism' and its possible influence on the 2012 presidential election.

Denominational disaster relief agencies are gearing up to help those communities devastated by the massive inland floods caused by Hurricane Irene, later a tropical storm. The New York Times reports that Irene could rank among the nation's top 10 costliest storms. The news outlet also has some truly stunning photographs of the power of rushing water to wash away homes, businesses and entire towns.

August 23, 2011
Pipeline Protest Continues

Arrests continue in the Tar Sands Action demonstration at the White House as people of faith and environmental activists urge President Obama to deny a license to the Keystone XL Pipeline from the Canadian tar sands to U.S. refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.

The Rev. Jim Antal, Massachusetts Conference Minister for the United Church of Christ, was one of 65 people from across the United States and Canada arrested at the White House Aug. 20, 2011, the first day of a two-week sit-in aimed at pressuring President Obama to deny the permit for a massive new oil pipeline. More than 2,000 more people are expected to participate in the Tar Sands Action by joining in daily acts of civil disobedience through Sept. 3.

August 22, 2011
Faith and Politics

As we look ahead to what promises to be a long, heated, complex election season, the director of a Chicago-based social justice coalition lists some of core reasons why faith and politics do mix.

Reprinted with permission from PCG's newsletter

August 22, 2011
Putting Their Bodies on the Line

Opponents of a proposed oil pipeline through America's heartland are risking arrest for the next two weeks in daily sit-ins at the White House.

More than 100 activists, including people of faith, have been arrested since Aug. 20 at an ongoing sit-in outside the White House seeking to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from crossing the United States. Some 2,100 people, including actress and environmental activist Darryl Hannah, have signed up to participate in the daily demonstrations through Sept. 3.

August 11, 2011
True Christian voters don't politicize the Bible

As contentious debates over values and the 2012 election heat up, it’s essential that the voices and concerns of most people of faith are not drowned out in an attempt identify “faith based” voting with a narrow agenda.

Reprinted with the author's permission from Des Moines Register.com

July 21, 2011
Budget Crisis: Who's Left Behind?

Religious leaders urged President Obama and senior advisers to protect the nation's vulnerable in any federal budget deal during an unusual 40-meeting White House meeting.

 Christian leaders seeking to protect the nation's vulnerable amid America's fiscal crisis urged people of faith to contact their federal representatives July 21 as rumors swirled that President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner were close to a budget deal.

July 21, 2011
White House Meeting

Lutheran Bishop Mark Hansen invites the Rev. David Beckmann of Bread for the World to get on the bus taking religious leaders to a meeting with President Obama at the White House.

July 19, 2011
Join the Tar Sands Action in Washington

Protesting the Tar Sands Project, calling Texas Gov. Rick Perry to true repentance, and seeking the spirituality of Harry Potter are part of today's report on Faith & the Common Good.

 

Christians, other people of faith and concerned citizens continue to stand up to the special interests that are holding the nation hostage to actions that seriously threaten the common good. Here are some of the latest developments:

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As the nation broils in triple-digit heat, a new grassroots effort has emerged to stop a development that could accelerate global warming even faster: the Tar Sands Project in Canada.

June 17, 2011
The GOP’s Problem with Islam

The June 13 Republican presidential debate has raised the spectre of religious and civil persecution against U.S. Muslims. Progressive Christians must lead the resistance against any political assault on the citizenship and loyalty of American Muslims.

On April 16, 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., arrested on charges of parading without a permit, sat in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama,  and began reading an open letter published in the local newspaper.

Titled “A Time for Unity,” the missive, signed by eight local white clergy members, urged Dr. King and his fellow “outsiders” to cease their efforts toward integration. They accused the Civil Rights marchers of being agitators promoting the possibility of violence in Alabama.

June 14, 2011
Faith & the Common Good June 14, 2011

A new three-days-a-week feature gleans the latest news and information on ways that beliefs are influencing public issues and policies.

May 31, 2011
The Jemima Code

In cracking "The Jemima Code," Toni Tipton-Martin wants Americans to remember their African American women cooks for their cultural contributions as well as for their pancakes and biscuits.

AUSTIN, Texas — In the cafeteria-turned-classroom at UT Elementary School, Toni Tipton-Martin struggles to keep six restless boys focused on hot cocoa, the day's nutrition lesson. She starts with a store-bought cocoa mix, guiding the students through the list of "all those crazy ingredients" — the tongue-twisting list of scary-sounding additives and preservatives — before explaining how they will use four simple ingredients to make their own.

May 21, 2011
Two Views on a Public Dispute

The public dispute between Sojourners magazine and the Believe Out Loud campaign over the former's refusal to publish the latter's ad on behalf of LGBT rights has flared and simmered for two weeks. Here, Jim Burklo urges Jim Wallis to show courage in his public stance, while Frederick Schmidt contends that the flap shows the deficiencies of Progressive Christianity as a whole.

May 13, 2011
Leaving Faith Organizations out in the Cold

Through a month-long fast this spring and continued effort, faith leaders are advocating for political leaders to do the right thing with the federal budget and spare millions of vulnerable Americans from deep budget cuts that threaten their well-being and lives.

Reprinted with Permission from Center for American Progress

May 4, 2011
50 States United for Healthy Air

All Americans have a right to breathe clean, healthy air. That's the simple, powerful message that is being presented to Obama Administration officials and elected officials on Capitol Hill this week by doctors, nurses, faith and tribal leaders, social justice advocates and affected citizens from all 50 states.

All Americans have a right to breathe clean, healthy air.

That's the simple, powerful message that is being presented to Obama Administration officials and elected officials on Capitol Hill this week by doctors, nurses, faith and tribal leaders, social justice advocates and affected citizens from all 50 states.

May 3, 2011
Osama bin Laden Reaction

Faith leaders and religion journalists alike weigh in on the significance of and response to the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden at the hands of a U.S. special-operations force.

Compiled by TPC

Following public jubilation at news that a U.S. special operations team had killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, religious leaders across America issued sober reflections on the spiritual significance of the military action and public response.

The following excerpts come from statements and columns issues by religious leaders and journalists.

April 29, 2011
Picking the pockets of the poor

Between 1947 and 1979 the income of the poorest 20 percent of people in the United States grew by 116 percent. From 1979 until 2008, however, the poor's income shrank by 4 percent while the rich earned a 73 percent increase. God frowns on this picture.

Between 1947 and 1979 the income of the poorest 20 percent of people in the United States grew by 116 percent. The lowest income growth during those 32 years took place among the richest 5 percent. Their income grew by 86 percent. In other words, the poor gained a little on the rich.

Just 400 people have as much wealth as half of the population.

This changed dramatically from 1979-2008. During those 30 years, the poor saw their income shrink by 4 percent while the rich gained 73 percent, far more than the rest of the population.

April 29, 2011
Ten Real-World Commandments for Americans

 

The public debate about the federal budget is an opportunity to reflect on our values as a nation. Do we follow the law of love, or the way of greed? 

1)  Thou shalt not separate social from personal responsibility: thou art thine own keeper, and the keeper of thy brothers and sisters, too.

2)  Thou shalt provide all children with basic survival needs for health, food, shelter, and safety even if it means bending the rules.

3)  Thou shalt honor thy aged fathers and mothers by guaranteeing them comprehensive health care and a livable minimum pension and by paying their caretakers a living wage. 

April 11, 2011
Over the Mountain

If America is to get over its mountain of economic and social problems, Americans must discard the false gospel that individual achievement equals success and regain its historic sense of community sacrifice.

I walk in the Hollywood Hills most evenings after work. Along the way, I almost always encounter tourists. They park their rented cars on Beachwood Drive, at a certain spot near our apartment where they can get a good view of the sign. Many of them pose for a picture with their hands lifted up: the photographer lines up the shot so that it looks like they are holding up the Hollywood sign on the mountain behind them. For at least a moment, the tourists indulge in the fantasy that Hollywood is their town.

March 7, 2011
Movement Grunt

We live amid terrible times, and the times have made us into hardened people who forget to gasp at the casual structural violence with which we are complicit. Now may be our moment to emulate theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

March 4, 2011
'Change the Politics of Hunger'

It's time for Christians to tell federal and state legislators to focus on reducing poverty rather than merely slashing spending to cut government deficits, says the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.

The head of one of America's most influential hunger ministries has urged Christians to become advocates for the nation's poor and hungry against a backdrop of proposed cuts in federal and state programs that would harm disadvantaged people, especially children.

January 24, 2011
Appreciating Howard Zinn

Just over two years ago, I read my first Howard Zinn book. The book was A People's History of the United States and it taught me a lot about the struggles of Native Americans, African Americans, women, war resisters and workers to overcome prejudice and fight for their rights in this country.