d r a f t 'No Kings' rally at Illinois Statehouse, Springfield, Oct. 18 (photo Debi Edmund). When the Trump regime first announced it would send “military troops” (whatever they meant by that) to Chicago, the reaction from Capitol Fax readers in Illinois was immediate and withering. Subscribers to the state government newsletter include lawmakers, state agency officials and … Continue reading Why George III gets a bum rap: Trump’s comic-opera tyranny flirts with state terror and gives real kings a bad name
‘If I am only for myself, what am I?’: No Kings placard raises moral imperative. If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
No Kings rally, Illinois State Capitol, Oct. 18, 2025 (screenshot, Debi Edmund). In the past 65 years, I have probably joined, watched and/or covered literally hundreds of rallies, lobby days, demonstrations, political speeches, festivals, street fairs and other outdoor events. Saturday's No Kings rally in front of the Illinois State Capitol was one by far … Continue reading ‘If I am only for myself, what am I?’: No Kings placard raises moral imperative. If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
Trump’s military photo ops in US cities bring back memories of Jim Crow, civil rights movement — but with a twist
Tennessee National Guard at Chinton High School, 1956 (Public domain, PICRYl). An offhand remark on a recent podcast about National Guard members patrolling the streets in Washington, DC, sent me down memory lane. The memories aren't particularly happy, but, in an odd way, they give me hope for our future at a very dark time … Continue reading Trump’s military photo ops in US cities bring back memories of Jim Crow, civil rights movement — but with a twist
‘Waiting for the spark’: Christian authors prepare to resist Jim Crow (Señor Cuervo?), Trump’s incipient fascism
Kristin Du Mez CONNECTIONS, Substack ['about' page]. For the past eight to 10 months, I've drawn comfort and inspsiration, in the root sense of the word, from a podcast featuring historian Kristin Du Mez of Calvin University and three other scholars of religion. They collaborate on a (more-or-less) weekly podcast called the Convocation Unscripted, where … Continue reading ‘Waiting for the spark’: Christian authors prepare to resist Jim Crow (Señor Cuervo?), Trump’s incipient fascism
David Brooks discusses ‘moral injury’ inflicted by Trump’s cruelty and bullying (notes for spiritual direction, July ’25)
David Brooka on PBS News Hour, March 3, 2025 (quote at 5:40). Screen shot. Editor’s (admin’s) note: A copy of my email, with necessary links and edits, in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’d been journaling on since our last meeting and, more to the point, … Continue reading David Brooks discusses ‘moral injury’ inflicted by Trump’s cruelty and bullying (notes for spiritual direction, July ’25)
Moral injury and Trump 2.0: Are you on the bus? Off the bus? Or thrown under the bus with Black and brown people?
Google News directory, news items, July 7, 2025, 11:08 a.m (CST). A week after President Trump was re-elected, Psychology Today posted an article to its website noting that the outcome "reflects a moral injury for many -- a psychological wound caused by betrayal of deeply held values." Explained Mary Ann McDonald of Holy Cross College in … Continue reading Moral injury and Trump 2.0: Are you on the bus? Off the bus? Or thrown under the bus with Black and brown people?
Church historians sparking resistance to Trump regime’s cruelty, emerging autocracy (spiritual direction April 2025)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8KbfUJslr2Q Kristin du Mez and Jemar Tisby react to DEI ban (Convocation Unscripted). Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited copy of email I wrote in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’d been journaling on since our last meeting and, more to the point, helping me focus over … Continue reading Church historians sparking resistance to Trump regime’s cruelty, emerging autocracy (spiritual direction April 2025)
Israeli law professors warn partisan crackdown on pro-Palestinian students threatens ‘prelude to persecution’ of Jewish, other progressives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt_8BmsFZzU Passover seder at protest camps, Penn and Swarthmore, April 28, 2024 (WPVI-TV Philly). Editor's (admin's) note, April 15. The essay by Itamar Mann and Lihi Yona of Haifa University is detailed, and closely reasoned -- difficult to paraphrase -- and I've tried several times to work up a post. But events keep getting ahead … Continue reading Israeli law professors warn partisan crackdown on pro-Palestinian students threatens ‘prelude to persecution’ of Jewish, other progressives
Timothy Snyder sees antisemitic, fascist parallels in Trump’s tactics against Ukranian president, Palestinian student
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t39_pRTAni4 Washington Post, Feb. 28, 2025 (YouTube). Editor's (admin's) note. This post started out journaling about Timothy Snyder's warning about the Trump regime's flirtation with antisemitic and Russian fascist tropes. As Snyder commented on similar tropes in Trump's attempt to deport a Palestinian activist at Columbia, it morphed into my thoughts on what I believe … Continue reading Timothy Snyder sees antisemitic, fascist parallels in Trump’s tactics against Ukranian president, Palestinian student
‘Up against a shark, what can a herring do? Be wise, compromise?’ But with Trump’s wannabe Russian empire? Nyet! (1 of 2)
Classes in Oslo after Nazis closed the schools, 1943 (Nasjonalarkivet CC BY). Editor's (admin's) note. I began this post a couple of weeks ago when President Trump made it clear he was backing fascist Russia against Ukraine and our (former?) NATO allies. I was reminded of a whimsical line from the Broadway production of Sound … Continue reading ‘Up against a shark, what can a herring do? Be wise, compromise?’ But with Trump’s wannabe Russian empire? Nyet! (1 of 2)
Gov. Pritzker warns GOP dog whistles inevitably lead to Nazi-style racism unless ordinary citizens speak out against it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS66O1C7Gp4&list=RDNShS66O1C7Gp4&index=1 Pritzker's State of the State address (excerpt), Springfield, Feb. 19, 2025 (NBC Chicago). Finally! We're starting to get some pushback from Democrats against the creeping authoritarianism of the Trump regime. Some of it's coming from Illinois, too, and I couldn't be prouder of my adopted state. In fact, I think it's the best thing … Continue reading Gov. Pritzker warns GOP dog whistles inevitably lead to Nazi-style racism unless ordinary citizens speak out against it
Presiding bishop urges Lutherans to stand up for basic Christian ethics in the face of government hostility to churches, migrants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnho5l8iNoU Presiding Bishop Eaton's statement on ICE raids in churches, Feb. 14, 2025 (ELCA). Welp, I guess I've got my marching orders now. At least that's the way I choose to interpret Friday's pastoral message from the presiding bishop of my Lutheran denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on the Trump regime's threatened crackdown … Continue reading Presiding bishop urges Lutherans to stand up for basic Christian ethics in the face of government hostility to churches, migrants
Spiritual journal, Feb. 2025: Uff da! Trump’s ‘efficiency’ experts are going after the Lutherans now; bishops respond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liqz0VdZG1E Bishop Eaton: 'Our call to love our neighbors as ourselves remains steadfast.' Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director today in advance of our session for February, archived here so I can go back later and see what I was thinking about when I posted it. Taken together, these … Continue reading Spiritual journal, Feb. 2025: Uff da! Trump’s ‘efficiency’ experts are going after the Lutherans now; bishops respond
How do you react to abuse without becoming a hater yourself? A ‘nasty’ Episcopal bishop gives us a role model
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNfrbAztlcs What these paradoxes of opposites are all about is a phenomenology in which it is part of the very nature of passionate conflict to turn one into his own enemy. “We become what we hate” is an old yoga maxim. And in watching the conflict of the Irish Troubles, the Dublin yogi, George William … Continue reading How do you react to abuse without becoming a hater yourself? A ‘nasty’ Episcopal bishop gives us a role model
What can a Jewish novelist from the Bronx teach a lapsed mainline Protestant in Tennessee? The things that really matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqudmZ5H3iw Editor's (admin's) note. I began this post a couple of weeks ago, and I was just about finished with it when I went in the hospital for a week. During that time, I did a lot of reading. (What else can you do when you're strapped to a hospital bed?) So I lost my … Continue reading What can a Jewish novelist from the Bronx teach a lapsed mainline Protestant in Tennessee? The things that really matter
Is Trump a wannabe theocrat? It’s complicated. How should people of faith react? That’s complicated, too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4HrySysWAo Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Nov. 6, 2024 Standing in front of a tapestry at her office the day after President-elect Trump won the 2024 election, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton videotaped a somber, nuanced message. Presiding bishop of my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Eaton doesn't always speak for me on all issues. … Continue reading Is Trump a wannabe theocrat? It’s complicated. How should people of faith react? That’s complicated, too
Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden — abstract and presentation script from October 2020
Note: A copy of the abstract and notes I used when I presented my paper "Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860" over Zoom at the Conference on Illinois History, Abraham Lincoln Public Library and Museum Springfield, Oct. 7, 2020. As I said in an email at the time, it was "probably … Continue reading Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden — abstract and presentation script from October 2020
Swedes in Chicago: A mise en scène in 1848 and a potential tie-in (?) with Glissant?
d r a f t For the futures file as I rework my paper "Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden" -- More information on John Lewis Peyton, whose description of northern European immigrants I quoted in the original paper, including an important correction on his background. Turns out he was more of a blueblood than I … Continue reading Swedes in Chicago: A mise en scène in 1848 and a potential tie-in (?) with Glissant?
Historians, including Ken Burns, cite historical parallels between today, the slavery crisis of the 1850s and the anti-Semitism of the 1930s
d r a f t More quotes for my Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden project — Two disturbing historical parallels in print this week, both suggesting that America faces a more difficult crisis -- more accurately a series of cascading crises -- now than it did in the runup to the Civil War. It's hard to know … Continue reading Historians, including Ken Burns, cite historical parallels between today, the slavery crisis of the 1850s and the anti-Semitism of the 1930s
Research notes: Cite for Rushdie’s creolization quote; right-wing dog whistle du jour featuring assault on Rushdie
Two very different items popped up last night when I did a Google search on keywords Salman Rushdie and creolization. They are: A 2001 article on "Creolization and the Lessons of a Watergoddess in the Black Atlantic" by Alex van Stipriaan that cites a Rushdie quote: "Mélange, hotchpotch, a bit of this and a bit … Continue reading Research notes: Cite for Rushdie’s creolization quote; right-wing dog whistle du jour featuring assault on Rushdie
Spiritual direction, August 2022
Editor’s note. Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director in advance of our monthly meeting for August. I email her every month, mostly to focus my mind before we meet, and I archive them here so I have a record of issues I’ve dealt with over time. Being able to consult them … Continue reading Spiritual direction, August 2022
Creolization: Jingoism v. jambalaya in France (with excerpts from my historical papers on the subject)
France 24, Feb. 15, 2022 Voilà! Turns out an obscure academic term I use in my historical writing got to be a political talking point in this year's French elections. The word is "creolization" (créolisation in French), and it's used by cultural anthropologists to describe the cultural blending in creole societies like those of the … Continue reading Creolization: Jingoism v. jambalaya in France (with excerpts from my historical papers on the subject)
Research notes: Salman Rushdie, post-colonial theory, creolization and me
Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rushdie.JPG A grab bag of short takes ... I also have a chaotic and unedited collection of "Notes and Quotes" -- my term for research notes -- on the postcolonialist author Salman Rushdie, who was recently stabbed by an Iranian-American youth, and some of the themes raised by his fiction -- and … Continue reading Research notes: Salman Rushdie, post-colonial theory, creolization and me
Futures file (Notes & Quotes): Iowa’s nativist ban on foreign languages during World War I
Some first-rate quotes below, from a post on Patheos by a biographer of Swedish-American aviator Charles Lindbergh, on the anti-German hysteria that spilled over and left some Swedish, Norwegian, Czech and other immigrant churches unable to communicate with their parishioners during World War I and its immediate aftermath. I presented a paper on the hysteria, … Continue reading Futures file (Notes & Quotes): Iowa’s nativist ban on foreign languages during World War I
‘Conviviality at the Crossroads’: Open-source studies from Malmö on creolization, hybridity, etc.
Link here to open-source copy on Springer Nature Switzerland AG website Woo hoo! I found a new book. It's available online under a Creative Commons license, and finding it was like Christmas in July -- with Easter, St. Paddy's and the annual Jordbruksdagarna (ag days) festival at Bishop Hill, Illinois, all rolled into one. Forgive … Continue reading ‘Conviviality at the Crossroads’: Open-source studies from Malmö on creolization, hybridity, etc.
What can Roger Williams and Swedish Lutherans of the 1850s tell us about the culture wars? A research proposal
Alonzo Chappel, "Landing of Roger Williams," 1857 (Wikimedia Commons) “I have to write to discover what I am doing. Like the old lady, I don't know so well what I think until I see what I say; then I have to say it again.”― Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor, quoted in Goodreads. … Continue reading What can Roger Williams and Swedish Lutherans of the 1850s tell us about the culture wars? A research proposal
Olof Krans: ‘Wizard with a brush’ at Swedish-American colony in Bishop Hill
Swedish postage stamp features Krans at right (https://czeslawslania.org/sw1986/). Three paintings by Olof Krans have been donated by the Merle and Barbra Glick estate to the Bishop Hill State Historic Site, in Henry County near the Quad-Cities. Merle Glick, who was active in numerous civic and community institutions in the Peoria area including the Peoria Riverfront … Continue reading Olof Krans: ‘Wizard with a brush’ at Swedish-American colony in Bishop Hill
Buffalo massacre shows how widespread and dangerous white Christian nationalist conspiracy theories are becoming
Two articles by scholars published in the wake of the mass murder at the Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo struck me like Thomas Jefferson's fire bell in the night. The scholars are Samuel Perry, of the University of Oklahoma, and Philip Gorski, of Yale; they have written extensively about white Christian nationalism -- the … Continue reading Buffalo massacre shows how widespread and dangerous white Christian nationalist conspiracy theories are becoming
Fukuyama on Russia, Trump, ethno-nationalism, religion and other threats to the liberal world order
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwuMMmUCw98 Last month I posted a rather incoherent item saying: (a) I thought some important tectonic plates were shifting with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Ukrainian resistance to being reabsorbed into a post-Soviet Russian empire; and (b) it might somehow provide a context for writing up some of the historical research I've done in … Continue reading Fukuyama on Russia, Trump, ethno-nationalism, religion and other threats to the liberal world order
For the futures file? Another look at ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ in light of new circumstances
d r a f t In memoriam, Oley the Cat, ca. 2006-March 13, 2022. LTK Seems like the tectonic plates are shifting again, in my life and in the world at large ... In ways that may give a new context for my study of the church-planting stage of Swedish-American immigration and the foundation of … Continue reading For the futures file? Another look at ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ in light of new circumstances
Oh, joy! Are the ‘culture wars’ taking us into a new civil war? or sectarian conflict like in Northern Ireland?
Battle of Chickamaugua, lithograph, ca. 1890 (Wikimedia Commons). Here's a cheery note: If civil war comes to America as Barbara Walter of the University of California San Diego and other scholars are now predicting, it won't involve armies marching out to Gettysburg and Chickamauga in blue and gray uniforms -- it'll be more like the … Continue reading Oh, joy! Are the ‘culture wars’ taking us into a new civil war? or sectarian conflict like in Northern Ireland?
19th-century Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden: Applying a Japanese discernment concept to a historical research project
With an awkward footnote preserving a middle-of-the-night scratch outline on how to further revise my ALPLM paper 'Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860.' A useful discernment or decision-making technique I learned in a class for Dominican lay associate candidates -- it's called ikigai, and I wish I'd known about it when … Continue reading 19th-century Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden: Applying a Japanese discernment concept to a historical research project
Östervåla psalmodikon pix
d r a f t Parked here (and cross-posted to my other blog) till I can figure out what to do with the pix: https://www.facebook.com/peter.ellertsen/posts/2923906727870354 Embedded content from facebook.com can't be previewed in the editor. And here's a link to Marilyn's post: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.demay.96/posts/873207133331978
George Will on ‘dyspeptic moments’ in history of 1790s, 1850s and today, ‘status resentments’ and culture wars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vofmvlyww8 A couple of incisive comments by conservative op ed columnist George Will, who's been making himself widely available for interviews on the publication of his new book (actually a collection of his Washington Post columns), titled American Happiness and Discontents: The Unruly Torrent, 2008-2020. Kirkus describes it as an "overstuffed collection of the conservative … Continue reading George Will on ‘dyspeptic moments’ in history of 1790s, 1850s and today, ‘status resentments’ and culture wars
Notes & quotes: Political coverage in Hemlandet in 1850s, Lincoln-Douglas debate in Galesburg, election of 1860
d r a f t Formatting stripped out -- i.e. no itals, etc. Unedited William C. Beyer, "Active But Critical Non-Partisanship: A Swedish-American Newspaper Editor and the Political Realignment of the 1850s," Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly, 30, no. 4 (1979) 242-56. https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/npu_sahq/id/4135/rec/1. "It is true: the middle way is a small thread, quite difficult to … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Political coverage in Hemlandet in 1850s, Lincoln-Douglas debate in Galesburg, election of 1860
Smithsonian article on Know Nothing Party, class, nativism of 1850s
Anti-immigrant cartoon showing two men labeled "Irish Wiskey" and "Lager Bier," carrying a ballot box. (Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo) Excerpts from a 2017 article by Chicago free-lancer Lorraine Boissoneault: "[...] At its height in the 1850s, the Know Nothing party, originally called the American Party, included more than 100 elected congressmen, eight governors, … Continue reading Smithsonian article on Know Nothing Party, class, nativism of 1850s
Robert Jones of PRRI on white Christian grief, anger; need for a ‘new story about who America is and where we’re going as a country that is sort of faithful to its past’
d r a f t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QURLbHWOjSU An author’s eulogy for ‘White Christian America’ | PBS NewsHour | Aug. 31, 2016 Blurb by PBS NewsHour: The demographic makeup of America is undergoing a visible change, and with it, America’s culture -- dominated by White Christian culture -- and power structures are shifting, too. That’s the premise … Continue reading Robert Jones of PRRI on white Christian grief, anger; need for a ‘new story about who America is and where we’re going as a country that is sort of faithful to its past’
Mireille Delmas-Marty: A French jurist advocates ‘reciprocal creolization’ to protect cultural diversity from globalism
Another potentially rewarding context for creolization! A French legal scholar named Mireille Delmas-Marty has written a couple of articles building on the work of French Caribbean poet Edouard Glissant and suggesting creolization -- by which I think she essentially means negotiating differences among different cultures -- as a means of ensuring cultural diversity in a … Continue reading Mireille Delmas-Marty: A French jurist advocates ‘reciprocal creolization’ to protect cultural diversity from globalism
David Brooks speculates on Jeremiah, Jewish history and ‘creative minorities’ in a diverse, polarized America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq1tosBXgTE The segment with David Brooks' discussion of 'creative minorities' begins at 43:00. Editor's (admin's) Note. I posted this to Facebook with this note: "A new post to my spirituality blog. On an unusually thought-provoking op ed piece by David Brooks, one of the New York Times' house conservatives, in which he suggests a new … Continue reading David Brooks speculates on Jeremiah, Jewish history and ‘creative minorities’ in a diverse, polarized America
Tucker Carlson says the quiet part out loud, echoes ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory, nativism of 1850s
Anti-Irish cartoon by Thomas Nast, 1871 (Wikimedia) Fascinating profile of Tucker Carlson today on the Washington Post website by Michael Kranish, a national political investigative reporter for the Post who has written bios of Trump, Mitt Romney and Thomas Jefferson. Quotes sources who know the man, ranging from Al Sharpton to Bill Kristol, to make … Continue reading Tucker Carlson says the quiet part out loud, echoes ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory, nativism of 1850s
David Brooks (and Martin Marty) on shared stories, the facts of history and American civil religion
In a remarkable op ed piece heading into the 4th of July weekend, at a time when Americans can't agree on factual matters as whether the 2020 election was fraudulent (spoiler alert: it wasn't) or scientific matters like whether vaccination can wind down the Covid-19 epidemic (it can), David Brooks of the New York Times … Continue reading David Brooks (and Martin Marty) on shared stories, the facts of history and American civil religion
Yiddish author’s prayer jotted down on scrap paper brings joy — and a call to do better — in dark, divisive times
Memorial to Bashevis Singer in Biłgoraj, Poland (Wikipedia, Creative Commons) Discovered while I was looking for something else: A remarkable prayer by Nobel Prize-winning Jewish-American author Isaac Bashevis Singer. I was reading coverage of the struggle to form a new governing majority in Israel's parliament, and I was pulled right in by a headline that said … Continue reading Yiddish author’s prayer jotted down on scrap paper brings joy — and a call to do better — in dark, divisive times
Whitehead and Perry: (white) Christian nationalism, Jan. 6 riot, Jim Crow election laws a fundamental ‘threat to a pluralistic, democratic society’
An op ed piece by sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry uploaded yesterday to Time magazine's website connects some important dots. Authors of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States (Oxford, 2020), they conclude white Christian nationalism is "fundamentally a threat to a pluralistic, democratic society." Here's what I shared to Facebook … Continue reading Whitehead and Perry: (white) Christian nationalism, Jan. 6 riot, Jim Crow election laws a fundamental ‘threat to a pluralistic, democratic society’
James Davison Hunter on today’s ‘culture war’ — and why I worry about the runup to the Civil War in the 1850s
https://theweek.com/cartoons/983971/political-cartoon-mcconnell-mccarthy-jan-6-gop A couple of disconcerting long-form articles on the news websites this weekend. They're very different. One is an interview with the scholar who coined the term "culture war" and the other is a news-feature story on this month's shambolic election "audit" in Arizona. But they both show how desperate our times are getting (imho), … Continue reading James Davison Hunter on today’s ‘culture war’ — and why I worry about the runup to the Civil War in the 1850s
Tucker Carlson’s ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric, white Christian nationalism and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol
Let's connect some dots that could help bring a couple of disparate strands of my immigration history project together. (Spoiler alert: I think some of the difficulties Swedish Lutheran immigrants experienced in the 1850s were similar to those confronting Buddhist, Hindu or Sikh immigrants today, and I think the "great replacement theory" of today is … Continue reading Tucker Carlson’s ‘replacement theory’ rhetoric, white Christian nationalism and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol
Notes & quotes: Andersonville history, diversity; link to PDF file of 1928 congregational history of Immanuel
Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, "Welcome to Andersonville," Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, http://www.andersonville.org/the-neighborhood/ A neighborhood on Chicago’s north side, Andersonville is known for its Swedish roots, historic architecture, and bustling urban main street, Clark Street. When you arrive in Andersonville, you feel you have arrived someplace special. While our roots are Swedish, we are also recognized … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Andersonville history, diversity; link to PDF file of 1928 congregational history of Immanuel
Supreme Court’s drift to right-wing fundamentalism alarms ACLU, Jewish temple in Philadelphia
Editor's (moderator's) note. In early November the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case brought by a Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia seeking to opt out of the city's requirement that social service agencies serve clients irrespective of race, creed or sexual orientation. It was one of the very first cases heard after … Continue reading Supreme Court’s drift to right-wing fundamentalism alarms ACLU, Jewish temple in Philadelphia
Notes & Quotes: Detailed paraphrase from Hemlandet and texts of America letters in an old Swedish historical society collection
d r a f t An early historical society founded in Chicago in 1905. Moved to St. Paul, Minn., in 1920 and continued annual meetings there until 1934, when it disbanded and its collections were donated to the Minnesota Historical Society. See historical note to its description of the Swedish Historical Society of America's records … Continue reading Notes & Quotes: Detailed paraphrase from Hemlandet and texts of America letters in an old Swedish historical society collection
‘Swedes in Roger Williams Garden’: Main outline and links
D R A F T Working title: Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden: Church, State and Community in Swedish Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860 Link here for earlier outlines and notes HERE for Oct. 23-Jan. 24HERE for Jan. 25-April 7 ** INSERT A (Dec. 17, 2021): ** Scratch outline, from notes I jotted down at 3:57 a.m. during a midnight snack, on … Continue reading ‘Swedes in Roger Williams Garden’: Main outline and links
University of Chicago study of Jan. 6 insurrection: White ‘fears of … losing out’ fueled Trump supporters’ violence
D R A F T Alan Feuer, who wrote up the study for the New York Times, from WaPo's op ed piece, observes in passing, "Other mass movements have emerged, he said, in response to large-scale cultural change." He brings an interesting perspective to his analysis. According to his bio, he "[...] covers courts and … Continue reading University of Chicago study of Jan. 6 insurrection: White ‘fears of … losing out’ fueled Trump supporters’ violence
Notes & quotes: ‘How Our Lady of Guadalupe Became Lutheran’
Luisa Feline Freier, "How Our Lady of Guadalupe Became Lutheran: Latin American Migration and Religious Change," Migraciones internacionales [Tijuana], 5, no. 2 (July-Dec. 2009) http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665-89062009000200006. xxx [Luisa Feline Freier is a Professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from … Continue reading Notes & quotes: ‘How Our Lady of Guadalupe Became Lutheran’
New York Times op ed lit review, links to polarization studies, ‘exhausted majority’
Thomas B. Edsall, "We See the Left. We See the Right. Can Anyone See the ‘Exhausted Majority’?" New York Times, March 24, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/opinion/Democrats-Republicans-left-right-center.html. xxx Morris Fiorina, a political scientist at Stanford, argues in a series of essays and a book, “Unstable Majorities,” that it is the structure of the two-party system that prevents the center — … Continue reading New York Times op ed lit review, links to polarization studies, ‘exhausted majority’
An old classroom teacher’s unpublished op-ed piece on immigrants, Henry Clay and common heritage at Clayville historic site
Broadwell Tavern at Clayville, Pleasant Plains, Illinois Editor's (admin's) note: I found this draft of an op ed piece last night when I was clearing old files out of my hard drive. It was dated July 28, 2017, and I don't remember where I submitted it for publication. Illinois Times? Wherever it was, it didn't … Continue reading An old classroom teacher’s unpublished op-ed piece on immigrants, Henry Clay and common heritage at Clayville historic site
Trump court theocrats open door to frivolous lawsuits in Georgia Gwinnett College case
"Uh oh" (as I said this morning on Facebook). "Linda Greathouse, longtime Pulitzer Prize-winning Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times, explains how the theocrats on the Trump court have opened the door to a very narrow brand of fundamentalist bigotry" in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski: Her lede: Anyone who still needs proof of how … Continue reading Trump court theocrats open door to frivolous lawsuits in Georgia Gwinnett College case
Notes&Quotes: Religion News Service article on Capitol violence; also, ‘Heathens condemn storming of Capitol after Norse religious symbols appear amid mob’
Jack Jenkins, "Capitol violence brewed from nationalism, conspiracies, and Jesus," Christian Century, Jan. 25, 2021 https://www.christiancentury.org/article/news/capitol-violence-brewed-nationalism-conspiracies-and-jesus. [...] While not all participants were Christian, their rhetoric often reflected an aggressive, charismatic, and hypermasculine form of Christian nationalism—a fusion of God and country that has lashed together disparate pieces of Donald Trump’s religious base. “A mistake a … Continue reading Notes&Quotes: Religion News Service article on Capitol violence; also, ‘Heathens condemn storming of Capitol after Norse religious symbols appear amid mob’
A Lenten meditation on covenants, a Christian nationalist lynch mob, green bananas and a book proposal
Editor's (admin's) Note. Second of ___ Lenten meditations based on lectionary readings on the covenants of Noah, Abraham and Moses. This one takes off from the covenant of Abraham, makes a quick stop in Puritan New England and deplanes in today's central Illinois. Clearing skies over Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, November 2012 Mark 8 … Continue reading A Lenten meditation on covenants, a Christian nationalist lynch mob, green bananas and a book proposal
Wide-ranging Catherine Brekus interview with PBS on conversion, frontier revivals, normative Protestantism, lasting influence of ante-bellum evangelicals; press release on ‘chosenness’
Catherine Brekus is Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America at Harvard Divinity School and in the Department of American Studies. It's in the supplemental material to the PBS series God in America, six 60-minute documentaries that aired in 2010; executive producer, Michael Sullivan. Interview was conducted June 23, 2009. Name of interviewer not … Continue reading Wide-ranging Catherine Brekus interview with PBS on conversion, frontier revivals, normative Protestantism, lasting influence of ante-bellum evangelicals; press release on ‘chosenness’
Robert Baird — historical notes & quotes
Robert Baird, Religion in America, Or, An Account of the Origin, Progress, Relation to the State, and Present Condition of the Evangelical Churches in the United States: With Notices of the Unevangelical Denominations. New York: Harper, 1844. Google Books. [99, of first generation of New Englanders] They could have maintained silent, personal, individual communion with their … Continue reading Robert Baird — historical notes & quotes
Webinar on Christian nationalism after riot at U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6 (and Philip Gorski’s metaphor of rioters as apples, oranges and fruit cocktail)
D R A F T https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmgWHBoGBi8 BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), Jan. 27, 2021 How can we respond when we see our faith and democracy under siege? On January 27, 2021, the Christians Against Christian Nationalism movement presented this webinar to explore how Christians are identifying and responding to the dangers of Christian … Continue reading Webinar on Christian nationalism after riot at U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6 (and Philip Gorski’s metaphor of rioters as apples, oranges and fruit cocktail)
Yumpin’ Yimminy, I’m Swedish (at least 9% of my DNA is, according to Ancestry.com)
My DNA map. Orange and umber areas, in New England and Norway, have the most matches. If they've heard a low rumbling noise around Valhalla cemetery on Staten Island lately, it's probably my Norwegian grandfather. Debi and I just got an update from the spit tests we did with Ancestry, com, and I'm 9 percent … Continue reading Yumpin’ Yimminy, I’m Swedish (at least 9% of my DNA is, according to Ancestry.com)
Scratch outlines (Jan. 25 – ) ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’
Working title?: Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Church, State and Lutheran Theology Community in Swedish Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860 Link HERE for earlier (Oct. 23-Jan. 24) outlines and notes. *** Scratch outline for discussion chapter [March 20] Andersonville - Ebenezer and Immanuel on North Side – Augustana in Andover (2017 service, capsule history of Aug., orphanage … Continue reading Scratch outlines (Jan. 25 – ) ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’
Notes & Quotes: Article on Joe Biden’s faith in The Washington Post
Screen grab of the Post's website this morning. Seen today on the Washington Post website (the second Sunday after Epiphany, no less!), a perceptive article on President-elect Joe Biden's Catholic faith that raises some of the same issues I hope to touch on in my expanded study of cultural issues in the old Swedish-American Augustana … Continue reading Notes & Quotes: Article on Joe Biden’s faith in The Washington Post
Notes and quotes: Korean-American U.S. Rep. helping clean Capitol rotunda after mob action by Trump supporters
Color for expansion of paper on Swedes in Roger Williams' garden? Money quote: “It’s so hard because we don’t look at each other and see each other as Americans first, whether it’s race or ethnicity or religion or political party that’s getting in the way of us being able to have that shared identity that … Continue reading Notes and quotes: Korean-American U.S. Rep. helping clean Capitol rotunda after mob action by Trump supporters
Op ed: structural, political incentives to partisanship ‘post-Trump’; updated by ex-DHS official on Christian nationalism
Grist for discussion part of a larger study of "Luther's dear angels in Roger Williams' garden?" An opinion piece just as the first Congress was sworn in after Trump lost the Nov. 3, 2020 election, suggesting GOP strategy to undercut incoming Biden administration on economic recovery for partisan reasons ... comments within hours of its … Continue reading Op ed: structural, political incentives to partisanship ‘post-Trump’; updated by ex-DHS official on Christian nationalism
Is noodling on the dulcimer a spiritual discipline? English folksingers nudge me to try it after this ‘festering boil of a year’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGThVwKowks "Sweet Bells," Yorkshire pub carol performed by GreenMatthews Instead of New Year's resolutions, I'm dealing with hunches and nudges this year. Besides, I know myself and most of my resolutions don't make it past the first weekend in January. But hunches? Sometimes I act on them, and lately I've had several clamoring for my … Continue reading Is noodling on the dulcimer a spiritual discipline? English folksingers nudge me to try it after this ‘festering boil of a year’
Canned fish at Christmas, the ‘most charitable construction’ and Luther’s catechism: Notes on a Norskie heritage
Editor's note: While I was looking for other posts to link to my year's-end spiritual formation review, I came across this draft. Apparently I started it just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit town, and I never got back to as my concerns and priorities shifted dramatically. It looked like it was worth salvaging, so I … Continue reading Canned fish at Christmas, the ‘most charitable construction’ and Luther’s catechism: Notes on a Norskie heritage
Quotes from Eric Norelius: Pietist Norskies in Chicago and Swedes in Minnesota
D R A F T Excerpts from Early Life of Eric Norelius, a Lutheran Pioneer, 1833-1862, trans. Emeroy Johnson (Rock Island: Augustana Book Concern, 1934. "a Norwegian chapel that stood out on the plain on the north side. The service was conducted by a former acquaintance of mine, Mr. Rasmussen, who had been in Columbus. … Continue reading Quotes from Eric Norelius: Pietist Norskies in Chicago and Swedes in Minnesota
Krister Stendahl’s ‘holy envy,’ who gets to go to heaven and Luther’s dear angels in 19th-century Chicago: New perspectives on an ongoing research project
D R A F T Krister Stendahl prays at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, April 22, 1993 (C-SPAN). As I move on from my presentation on 19th-century Swedish immigrant churches for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, I've been cleaning my office -- sort of like clearing the decks for a sea battle in the … Continue reading Krister Stendahl’s ‘holy envy,’ who gets to go to heaven and Luther’s dear angels in 19th-century Chicago: New perspectives on an ongoing research project
Odds and ends: Swedes in Illinois’ Civil War regiments in Quad-City Times; review of ‘Swedish Immigrants in Lincoln’s Time’
New working title? -- Luther's Dear Angels in Swede Town: Redemption and Table Fellowship in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860" --- Tom Emery, "Q-C area Swedes played role in Civil War," Moline Dispatch-Rock Island Argus, Sept. 21, 2013 https://qconline.com/news/illinois/q-c-area-swedes-played-role-in-civil-war/article_da991c6f-a524-50cc-b062-9b88d120b296.html. VERBATIM EXCERPTS: Dr. Dag Blanck, director of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock … Continue reading Odds and ends: Swedes in Illinois’ Civil War regiments in Quad-City Times; review of ‘Swedish Immigrants in Lincoln’s Time’
Scratch outline — ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ (pinned here for easy reference, other posts below)
Rough notes and outlines for a research project ... Working title?: "Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Acculturation Inclusion and Community in Swedish Immigrant Churches, 1848-1861″ -- or -- "Luther’s Dear Angels in Swede Town: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860-1861″ ... potentially expanding the presentation I gave at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in … Continue reading Scratch outline — ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ (pinned here for easy reference, other posts below)
WaPo story on civil religion
Important update (imho) on the issue, at a time the culture wars were just beginning ... Keith Richburg, "America Already Has a Civil Religion," Washington Post, Sept. 8, 1985 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1985/09/08/america-already-has-a-civil-religion/89818518-9e27-45bd-814a-fbae9981a823/. Article by Keith Richburg, then of the Washington Post (educated at Michigan and LSE, longtime foreign correspondent and later director of the Journalism and Media Studies … Continue reading WaPo story on civil religion
Debriefing ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ — notes and a copy of the script for my Oct. 7 ALPLM presentation on acculturation and creolization
Presenting my paper to ALPLM's virtual Conference on Illinois History. Some ideas and observations that came to me presenting my paper, "Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden: Acculturation in Immigrant Churches, 1848-1860" at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum's annual Conference on Illinois History. Plus a couple of pictures -- including a very nice picture … Continue reading Debriefing ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’ — notes and a copy of the script for my Oct. 7 ALPLM presentation on acculturation and creolization
Augustana Synod outtakes — cut during final edit, paper for ALPLM on ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’
CUT FROM CONCLUSION: In quite a different context, folklorist James Leary suggests the multi-ethnic dance bands of the 1940s and 1950s in the upper Midwest created a “creolized, regional repertoire” out of Norwegian, Swedish, German, Slavic and “Scandihoovian” musical licks. “Here,” he proclaims, “reside North Coast creoles.” I am sure that L.P. Esbjörn, Paul Andersen … Continue reading Augustana Synod outtakes — cut during final edit, paper for ALPLM on ‘Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden’
‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
Proposal for the paper I'm scheduled to present next month at the 22nd annual Conference on Illinois History sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Conference program and registration information are available HERE. Sessions will be conducted by Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My session will be from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 … Continue reading ‘Swedes in Roger William’s Garden’
‘Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
What can the "whitest denomination(s) in the US" do about institutional racism in this time of pandemic and racial reckoning? Quite a bit, actually. At least more than you'd think, according to the Rev. Lenny Duncan of Vancouver, Wash. Mission development pastor at a Lutheran church in Vancouver, Duncan is the author of Dear Church: A … Continue reading ‘Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
Augustana: Notes, quotes and a 5-paragraph theme-style outline
Jenny Lind Chapel, mother church of Augustana Synod, Andover, Ill. I write because I don't know what I think until I say it. -- Flannery O'Connor xxxx Scratch outline Intro: What do the ethnic synods have to teach us in the 21st century? Folk church -- Swedish example Luther -- prince's responsibility to subjects, Christmas … Continue reading Augustana: Notes, quotes and a 5-paragraph theme-style outline
Notes for future reference on AHMS book on Scandinavian free churches, perceived ethnic traits
Notes from an 1884 book by an official of the American Home Missionary Society who wanted to solicit immigration from Scandinavia -- it came to me in a pretty roundabout way, a summary in the JSTOR Daily newsletter by free-lance writer Livia Gershon, "How Churches Helped Make Scandinavians 'White',” JSTOR Daily, June 30, 2020 https://daily.jstor.org/how-churches-helped-make-scandinavians-white/ … Continue reading Notes for future reference on AHMS book on Scandinavian free churches, perceived ethnic traits
Notes on ‘melting pot’ from America’s website
By Cecilia González-Andrieu, a professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif., and a contributing writer for America. Excerpts: We know ourselves heirs of a promise that transcends the brief span of our individual lives; the promise of the resurrection. At the same time, we know that we will get there not … Continue reading Notes on ‘melting pot’ from America’s website
Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
Selected Documents: Dealing with the Organization of the First Congregations and the First Conferences of the Augustana Synod and their Growth Until 1860, Vol. 1, ed. I.O. Nothstein, Augustana Historical Society Publications, 10 (1944): 92. Chicago-Mississippi Conference Minutes, Chicago, January 4-9, 1854. 90 [92] Thereupon the following question was acted upon: "What shall be the … Continue reading Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
Luther on church, Anabaptists (copy)
Notes on my post at https://hemlandssanger.wordpress.com/2019/08/23/note-luther-quote-on-anabaptists/ on Luther's quote about the church as a "little flock of the faint-hearted, the feeble, and the ailing, who feel and recognize the wretchedness of their sins" in his sermons on John 1-4. Copied here from Hemlandssånger, Aug. 23, 2019 for convenient reference ... --- Screen shot Aug. 23, … Continue reading Luther on church, Anabaptists (copy)
Spiritual direction — January and February
Editor's note -- copy of email sent to my spiritual director this morning, updating and summing up the past month and a half. Posted here, along with earlier updates, so I can tabs on the direction I'm taking as it evolves. Hi Sister -- A quick note to confirm our appointment for 2:30 p.m. Monday … Continue reading Spiritual direction — January and February
Theology, shmeology: When is an answered prayer like a kick in the pants?
Picking up on a thread -- more like an internal dialog -- that started last month when I was reading a copy of James Hazelwood's new book, Everyday Spirituality, in the doctor's office. Hazelwood is the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's New England Synod, and he had some interesting things to say … Continue reading Theology, shmeology: When is an answered prayer like a kick in the pants?
Ebenezer Scrooge, Luther’s sermons and Swedish-American history: A New Year’s resolution (of sorts)
On the way back from visiting family in the Quad-Cities on Christmas Day, we tuned in to the public radio station from Champaign. As we zipped down Interstate 155 from Peoria to Lincoln and onto I-55 toward home, they aired a dramatic reading from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. A 45-minute dramatic reading was the … Continue reading Ebenezer Scrooge, Luther’s sermons and Swedish-American history: A New Year’s resolution (of sorts)
Herding cats: Not just for cowboys and ad agencies — it worked in Copenhagen for pastors and music directors, too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=60&v=vTwJzTsb2QQ&feature=emb_logo So when I should have been working on my article about church polity in Swedish-American Lutheran congregations in the 1850s, or thinking about getting it off the back burner at the very least, I drifted into one of those clickbait websites for animal lovers (called Pawpulous), and got to watch what I think must … Continue reading Herding cats: Not just for cowboys and ad agencies — it worked in Copenhagen for pastors and music directors, too
‘A harvest, crop of things sown’: White nationalist violence brings back memories of civil rights backlash, prize-winning editorial in The Atlanta Constitution
President Trump checked all the right boxes – well, some of the right boxes – after a self-identified white nationalist allegedly shot 22 people to death in El Paso to persuade “the Hispanic population … to return to their home countries.” Ignoring any echoes of his own earlier Twitterstorms urging migrants and "American-born congresswomen of … Continue reading ‘A harvest, crop of things sown’: White nationalist violence brings back memories of civil rights backlash, prize-winning editorial in The Atlanta Constitution
Taking stock of spiritual formation — over the month of May and the past year
[Copied from my other blog Hemlandssånger, June 8.] Copy of email I sent to my spiritual director this morning, archived here as: (1) a record of issues we've been taking up along the way; and (2) a reminder of my overall direction so I can consult it when I need to get off of tangents … Continue reading Taking stock of spiritual formation — over the month of May and the past year
Ordinary Time 
