Each week I send
out a weekly e-mail of my thoughts to folks in my church. I include in
it what I found worth reading in the past week. Here's some stuff I found meaningful to read this past two
weeks (since I didn't sent out any Thoughts last week due to Holy
Week)::
- On June 12, MORE2 (Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity) will hold their annual banquet. This year the guest speaker is
Rev. Dr. William Barber, a Disciples of Christ minister from North
Carolina who is leading the "Moral Mondays" movement there to stand up against state government cuts to aid for the poor. He is an incredible speaker--here's a video preview. Also, check out this profile of him in Mother Jones Magazine and another one by Bill Moyers.
- You may have read about the discovery of an ancient manuscript
that may state Jesus had a wife. There is no evidence from any reliable
historical sources that Jesus did have a wife, but it is interesting to
think about what difference it would make if Jesus had been married? I
found this essay which
was sparked by the so-called "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" and addresses
views of sexuality and women in the history of Christianity to be worth
reading. Of course, I think Stephen Colbert's take on "Jesus' wife" is worth consideration as well.
- Easter
came on April 20 this year, which happens to be the 15th anniversary of
the massacre at Columbine High School in LIttleton, CO. In that 15
years no meaningful gun control legislation has been passed by the federal government.
- During Holy Week we once again remembered the political machinations of Pontius Pilate--his form of pandering to a bloodthirsty political base continues today.
- In
case you missed the story I shared a while back about the statue of a
homeless Jesus erected in front of a church in North Carolina which
upset the church's wealthy neighbors, here is some more about the story. Expect for this story to appear in a future sermon.
- The Archbishop of St. Louis told MO politicians to learn from Pope Francis' example and care for the poor of Missouri--Medicaid Expansion was his suggestion on where to start.
- The NY Times had a story today about the important improvements in working conditions for migrant workers in Florida
who pick most of the tomatoes consumed in the US. The United Church of
Christ supported this important justice effort, and CCCUCC's own Erin
Balleine worked directly on it when she was on staff for the national
UCC.
- If you've been in my office, you hopefully have seen my collection of tacky Jesus stuff. Here are a few items I'd like to add to my collection.
- Did you know that most camera film cannot actually capture skin colors other than Caucasian? This is a story worth reading by anyone who wonders what institutional racism looks like and/or by anyone who is interested in photography.
- This article asks "Can You Question the Resurrection and Still Be a Christian?"
If you heard my Easter sermon, you know my answer to this question is
"yes," even though I personally believe in it. Read what others think
about the question.
Keep up with things I find worth reading by following me on Twitter and Facebook.
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