https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMG2IsXMskw 'I've Got Oil in my Vessel,' traditional gospel blues, NC fiddler Joe Thompson, 1997. Editor's (admin's) note. Second of ___ (I'm shooting for four) Advent meditations, prompted by a parish workshop exercise in which we were asked to craft a personal mission statement. My spiritual director suggested I operationalize it by asking myself: Who, … Continue reading What can a white spiritual mutt learn from the Black church in a time of neofascist ethnic cleansing? (Advent 2 of __?)
Why George III gets a bum rap: Trump’s comic-opera tyranny flirts with state terror and gives real kings a bad name
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?
A hard punch in the gut: Trump’s military photo ops trigger memories of racial violence (spiritual direction, October ’25)
Memorial to first Black students at Clinton High, Clinton, Tenn. (Wikipeda CC BY-3.0). Editor’s (admin’s) note: An lightly edited and expanded copy of my email in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’ve been journaling about (or, in this case, why I haven’t been jouirnaling) since … Continue reading A hard punch in the gut: Trump’s military photo ops trigger memories of racial violence (spiritual direction, October ’25)
Early Catholic missions to Potawatomi people in northern Indiana, southern Michigan — misc. references
d r a f t Kevin Kilbane, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Their presence drew the first Europeans to what is now northern Indiana. They played roles in the founding and growth of parishes and institutions such as what became the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College. They held strong in their faith … Continue reading Early Catholic missions to Potawatomi people in northern Indiana, southern Michigan — misc. references
Primary sources on Potawatomi Trail of Death in central Illinois, Sept.-Oct. 1838
Memorial at Fulton County Courthouse, Rochester, Ind. (Chris Light, Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0). In September and October 1838, a band of Potawatomi Indians from northern Indiana crossed central Illinois under an armed guard of Indiana state militia. Their forced removal was known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death, and it was part of the Indian … Continue reading Primary sources on Potawatomi Trail of Death in central Illinois, Sept.-Oct. 1838
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
How does a ‘man of unclean lips’ respond to Trump’s authoritarian bigotry? (spiritual direction notes, August ’25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQcW0SrubUk Ruth Ben-Ghiat on How to Resist Authoritarianism | The Civic Forum | Aug. 15, 2025 Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited copy, with links added, of my email in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’ve been journaling about (or, in this case, why I haven't been … Continue reading How does a ‘man of unclean lips’ respond to Trump’s authoritarian bigotry? (spiritual direction notes, August ’25)
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)
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
‘We all have to step up’: A Christian scholar’s New Year’s resolve to fight back as Trump 2.0 threatens people of faith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9zLuXn8ws Kristin DuMez at Dayspring United Methodist Church, Oct. 21, 2014 (Good Faith Media). Normally I'm not very big on New Year's resolutions. I don't know I won't get hit by a bus tomorrow, and I don't have the attention span to follow through on them anyway. But after reading a Substack piece by Kristin … Continue reading ‘We all have to step up’: A Christian scholar’s New Year’s resolve to fight back as Trump 2.0 threatens people of faith
‘We’ve been here before’: A voice of Black lived experience as an openly racist administration prepares to take power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONN0BkwMF1g Mavis Staples, 'I'll Be Bested" (video by YouTube user biamaku, March 25 2012). Debi and I belong to a group affiliated with the Dominican sisters known as the Associates' Anti-Racism Committee (AARC for short). It's an offshoot of SDART (pronounced "ess-dart," an acronym for the Springfield Dominican Anti-Racism Team), an initiative that's succeeded in … Continue reading ‘We’ve been here before’: A voice of Black lived experience as an openly racist administration prepares to take power
Finding hope in an evangelical mission’s party during the dark days of aparthied in South Africa (Sundays@6 journal 7)
Mandela Family Museum, Soweto, Johannesburg (Wikimedia Commons). Coming up Sunday is the seventh and final session in the current series of the online adult faith formation group Debi and I co-facilitate for our parish church. It wraps up our discussion of a book on healing the divisions caused by political discord, and it couldn't come … Continue reading Finding hope in an evangelical mission’s party during the dark days of aparthied in South Africa (Sundays@6 journal 7)
‘Nones and nuns’: Walking (the talk) with the Dominican sisters on racism and social justice (discernment journal 4 of 4)
Dominican associates, Sacred Heart Convent, Springfield, May 1, 2022. Background mosaic shows Sts. Dominic Guzman, Catherine of Siena, Thomas Aquinas and other Dominicans. Lasr of four journals based on my answers raised by "discernment questions" sent to Dominican Associates in advance of an Aug. 24 retreat at the motherhouse in Springfield, Today's concern Associate Life, … Continue reading ‘Nones and nuns’: Walking (the talk) with the Dominican sisters on racism and social justice (discernment journal 4 of 4)
A twofer for spiritual direction: ‘By their fruits — and (harmonica) toots — shall ye know them’; intersectionality, too
Ameya Deshmukh, 'Squirrel' (Wikimedia Commons). Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director in advance of our session for March. I’ve been writing these for several years now, primarily in order to help me focus my mind before we talk. It’s not a record or an agenda of our sessions. (Often enough, … Continue reading A twofer for spiritual direction: ‘By their fruits — and (harmonica) toots — shall ye know them’; intersectionality, too
A blast email on white supremacy, anti-Semitism and a prize-winning editorial in Atlanta — ‘it’s complicated’ (Sundays@6)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euT1j7FUeHY A blast email Debi and I wrote for Sundays@6, our online adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield, for the seventh session of a book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism” by Jemar Tisby. In it I quoted a 1958 editorial by Ralph McGill, … Continue reading A blast email on white supremacy, anti-Semitism and a prize-winning editorial in Atlanta — ‘it’s complicated’ (Sundays@6)
Sundays@6: Lutheran missions in Jim Crow days and on the rez, ‘marked by parsimony and limited to acts of mercy’
Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1918 (Wikimedia Commons). In chapter 6 of The Color of Color of Compromise, titled "Reconstructing White Supremacy in the Jim Crow Era," Jemar Tisby continues to develop his theme that racism is infinitely adaptable to changing historical trends. Not only did the Southern white planter class cling to the "Lost Cause" … Continue reading Sundays@6: Lutheran missions in Jim Crow days and on the rez, ‘marked by parsimony and limited to acts of mercy’
Sundays@6: Lutherans in the Civil War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzSFgOSeqxs Satirical song about Germans commanded by Union Gen. Franz Sigel of St. Louis. Two things stand out in Jemar Tisby's treatment of the Civil War in The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism. The first, and most obvious: It was always about slavery, and that fact "has not … Continue reading Sundays@6: Lutherans in the Civil War
Sundays@6: How the Lutherans’ first African American pastor in Philly got shafted by the church he loyally served
Link HERE to order Jehu Jones icon by Mary Button. Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to participants in Sundays@6, our online adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield, for the fourth session in a book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American … Continue reading Sundays@6: How the Lutherans’ first African American pastor in Philly got shafted by the church he loyally served
How white churches (including most Lutherans) split on slavery and self-segregated as the Black church grew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWqkk4Ha70 Black History in Two Minutes (or so), narrated by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out today to participants in Sundays@6, our online adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church, Springfield. Sunday will be the third session in a book study on “The Color … Continue reading How white churches (including most Lutherans) split on slavery and self-segregated as the Black church grew
Sundays@6: How did a 1493 papal bull influence white Americans’ relations with African and indigenous people?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gF7ULVrl4&t=14s Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) elder explains lasting effects of 1493 papal bull. Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out today to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, for the second meeting of our online adult faith formation book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the … Continue reading Sundays@6: How did a 1493 papal bull influence white Americans’ relations with African and indigenous people?
Sundays@6: New parish book study on American churches’ history of complicity in systemic racism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNmm9cvmxmY&t=21s Trailer for video series on same content (Zondervan) Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I are sending out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the first meeting an adult faith formation book study on “The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's … Continue reading Sundays@6: New parish book study on American churches’ history of complicity in systemic racism
Lots of performative anti-antisemitism at House GOP hearing, but little substance on surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcczLSlUDAM&t=387s Rep. Foxx says students call for 'infada-, infina-, uh, for genocide' (HCEW). STEFANIK (played by Chloe Troast). So, Penn lady, will you say you are anti-anti-anti-anti-antisemitic? MAGILL (played by Heidi Gardner). Can you tell me how many 'anti's' that was? STEFANIK. I will not. MAGILL. You're asking us questions that seem very unfair. STEFANIK. Oh (giggles), thank … Continue reading Lots of performative anti-antisemitism at House GOP hearing, but little substance on surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia
How a straight white cisgender male learned to stop worrying and wrap his head around intersectionality
"Intersectionality," Milliann Kang et al., (CC-by-4.0 UMass Amherst). Within intersectional frameworks, race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability, and other aspects of identity are considered mutually constitutive; that is, people experience these multiple aspects of identity simultaneously and the meanings of different aspects of identity are shaped by one another. -- Milliann Kang et al., Introduction … Continue reading How a straight white cisgender male learned to stop worrying and wrap his head around intersectionality
Sundays@6 — Of ‘Caste,’ race, anti-Semitism, a German memorial at Bergen-Belsen and the (white) church’s complicity in American racism (week 7)
Mass grave at Bergen-Belsen camp. Inscription says, "Here rest 1,000 dead, April 1945."Memorial stones are placed on monument in observance of Jewish tradition (note Israeli flag). Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the seventh meeting an … Continue reading Sundays@6 — Of ‘Caste,’ race, anti-Semitism, a German memorial at Bergen-Belsen and the (white) church’s complicity in American racism (week 7)
Sundays@6: Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste,’ avoiding fake news and the consequences of our racial pecking orders (week 6)
Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the sixth meeting an adult faith formation book study, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets over Zoom Sunday evenings … Continue reading Sundays@6: Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste,’ avoiding fake news and the consequences of our racial pecking orders (week 6)
Sundays@6: ‘Caste,’ apartheid, Jim Crow and military occupation, in the US and the Occupied Territories (week 5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa6igKc1M9s Christmas Lutheran Church, where Debi and I attended services (al-Jazeera). Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the fifth meeting an adult faith formation book study, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We … Continue reading Sundays@6: ‘Caste,’ apartheid, Jim Crow and military occupation, in the US and the Occupied Territories (week 5)
Sundays@6, week 4: Of ‘Caste,’ alpha wolves, underdogs and intersectionality
Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the fourth meeting an adult faith formation discussion of the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets over Zoom … Continue reading Sundays@6, week 4: Of ‘Caste,’ alpha wolves, underdogs and intersectionality
Sundays@6, week 3: ‘Caste,’ Faulkner’s dictum, Florida’s K-12 learning standards and the lessons of history
Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out last month to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, in advance of the third meeting an adult faith formation discussion of the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets … Continue reading Sundays@6, week 3: ‘Caste,’ Faulkner’s dictum, Florida’s K-12 learning standards and the lessons of history
How do traffic stops in Illinois confirm Isabel Wilkerson’s thesis in ‘Caste’? (2nd week, Sundays@6)
Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out last week to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, promoting the second meeting an adult faith formation discussion of the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. We call the group Sundays@6, and it meets over Zoom … Continue reading How do traffic stops in Illinois confirm Isabel Wilkerson’s thesis in ‘Caste’? (2nd week, Sundays@6)
Sundays@6: Email for discussion of ‘Caste’ (week 1)
Lightly edited copy of a blast email Debi and I sent out last week to members of our congregation, Peace Lutheran Church of Springfield, who expressed an interest -- or who we thought might be interested! -- in an adult faith formation discussion of the book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson … Continue reading Sundays@6: Email for discussion of ‘Caste’ (week 1)
‘Caste’: Promo for Sundays@6 faith formation book study group
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR3rEp_KiC4&t=230s Editor's (admin's) note. Lightly edited copy of a blast email I sent to prospective members of the online Sundays@6 adult faith formation group at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. (The group meets via Zoom Sundays at -- when else? -- 6 p.m. First meeting is at the end of September, and this message previews … Continue reading ‘Caste’: Promo for Sundays@6 faith formation book study group
Citing Luther’s Small Catechism, Missouri Synod president condems white Christian nationalism as ‘evil’
#MAGA Hat Jesus, Jan. 6, 2021 (photo Tyler Merbler, Flickr/Creative Commons) Edited copy of a blast email I sent to participants in "Sundays@6," an online adult faith formation group that Debi and I facilitate for our ELCA Lutheran parish church about the Missouri Synod's official statement on white Christian nationalism as contrary to Christian doctrine … Continue reading Citing Luther’s Small Catechism, Missouri Synod president condems white Christian nationalism as ‘evil’
Does Senator Warnock’s re-election testify to the transformative power and witness of the Black church? I think it does
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-oS1ycq9RM Segment on the 'Morning Joe' program, Dec. 7, 2022 Growing up down South in civil rights days, I was able to watch the transformative witness of the Black church in action. I watched it from a safe distance -- my home town was middle class and lily-white -- but when the high school in … Continue reading Does Senator Warnock’s re-election testify to the transformative power and witness of the Black church? I think it does
Édouard Glissant and creolization — misc. links (Notes & Quotes)
d r a f t "[...] we are all in relation with each other and we all have a chance of making our voices heard." -- Celia Britton, "Edouard Glissant" [obit], The Guardian. xxx Poetics of Space – Archipelagos and Wanderings special ed. of Karib: Nordic Journal for Caribbean Studies https://www.karib.no/collections/special/poetics-of-space-archipelagos-and-wanderings/ Collection launched: 25 Feb … Continue reading Édouard Glissant and creolization — misc. links (Notes & Quotes)
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
CNN newsletter highlights disconnect between ‘culture war,’ real-world problems in a time of real war
In my email on March 23, from CNN Reliable Sources <reliablesources@newsletters.cnn.com>, after this headnote: Oliver Darcy here at 10:47pm ET on Wednesday, March 23. Here's the latest on Reuters, BuzzFeed News, Fox, Meta, "Wheel of Fortune," Spotify, "Real Housewives," and more... [...] this item, which is too good to clean out of my inbox and lose forever. Darcey … Continue reading CNN newsletter highlights disconnect between ‘culture war,’ real-world problems in a time of real war
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?
Op ed piece connects important dots between Jan. 6, white Christian nationalism and uproar over ‘CRT’
A very useful op ed piece on the New York Times' website today connects the dots between former President Trump's violent assault on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021; white Christian nationalist fears of being replaced and persecuted by non-Christian immigrants and secular society; and the past year's hysteria over "Critical Race Theory" and other … Continue reading Op ed piece connects important dots between Jan. 6, white Christian nationalism and uproar over ‘CRT’
Notes & quotes: Heather Cox Richardson
Verbatim quotes from interviews with Heather Cox Richardson of Boston College pointing up parallels between the 1850s and the crisis of American democracy today ... also the parallel between Christian nationalism and "illiberal/Christian democracy" in Hungary today Mass Humanities (interview) "What Was at Stake in Our History," interview with Michelle Wilson, Mass Humanities, Aug. 24, … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Heather Cox Richardson
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
Notes & quotes: Replacement theory and racial subtext to Trump’s speech ‘revving up’ Jan. 6 rioters; Kenneth Woodward article on evangelicals
Charles Blow: Blow's lede, "On Jan. 6, as Donald Trump was revving up the rioters who would attempt an insurrection at the Capitol, just a short distance away, he said to them: 'We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore'." It is yet another … Continue reading Notes & quotes: Replacement theory and racial subtext to Trump’s speech ‘revving up’ Jan. 6 rioters; Kenneth Woodward article on evangelicals
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’
Theologian N.T. Wright rethinks ‘multi-ethnic, polychrome, mutually supportive’ early church, justification by faith
"Century Marks," Christian Century, April 21, 2021, p. 8. We're still quarantining magazines as they come into the house, and when I was going through them last night, a billboarded pull quote from British theologian N.T. Wright in a back issue of Christian Century jumped up off the page, snuggled up to me and wanted … Continue reading Theologian N.T. Wright rethinks ‘multi-ethnic, polychrome, mutually supportive’ early church, justification by faith
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
Jon Meacham: Constitution a ‘Calvinist document’; thoughts on George Floyd murder verdict, civil rights movement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHnaxA1YZko The morning after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, Jon Meacham weighed its significance on MSNBC's Morning Joe program. The network's blurb on YouTube is as good a summary as any: "Historian Jon Meacham discusses the new movement for racial justice, and he discusses the verdict in the … Continue reading Jon Meacham: Constitution a ‘Calvinist document’; thoughts on George Floyd murder verdict, civil rights movement
‘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
‘This is a harvest … of things sown’: White nationalist violence at the Capitol Jan. 6, in El Paso in 2019 and the South in 1958
Clinton (Tenn.) High after 1958 bombing. UT-Knoxville Digital Collections. As we build to a national reckoning on extremist violence, and the former president's role in stirring it up, I'm clearing the decks -- OK, more accurately, going through the random stuff saved to my hard drive -- for an ambitious rewrite of my paper on … Continue reading ‘This is a harvest … of things sown’: White nationalist violence at the Capitol Jan. 6, in El Paso in 2019 and the South in 1958
Charlayne Hunter-Gault on making history, and the obligation to keep making it when no one seems to learn from it
History is often defined as what happened in the past, and, as my journalism professor said on the first day of class, “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” -- Charlayne Hunter-Gault On the 60th anniversary of the day she and another Black student desegregated the University of Georgia at Athens, … Continue reading Charlayne Hunter-Gault on making history, and the obligation to keep making it when no one seems to learn from it
Notes on a review of an important new book about Faulkner, the Civil War and race (with a tangent on grad school in English at UT-Knoxville in the ’60s)
What Faulkner recognized was the ubiquity of such struggles over identity and their centrality to the American experience—the way that the question “Who am I?” is always connected to the question “Who are we?” -- Casey Cep, review of Michael Gorra, The Saddest Words: William Faulkner’s Civil War, The New Yorker, Nov. 23, 2020 I … Continue reading Notes on a review of an important new book about Faulkner, the Civil War and race (with a tangent on grad school in English at UT-Knoxville in the ’60s)
After the tumult, a moment of peace … and a moment for peacemakers
St. John's Episcopal-Lafayette Square in background. Business Insider, Nov. 7, 2020. It's been quite a week for peacemakers! Sunday, Nov. 1, was All Saints' Day, and the assigned gospel reading was the version of the Beatitudes in the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Including this (which isn't in Luke's version): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for … Continue reading After the tumult, a moment of peace … and a moment for peacemakers
No Norwegian Jesus in Pastor Lenny’s decolonized Lutheran church? Uff da!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APMu32sC2nM&t=5s So we're reading the Rev. Lenny Duncan's Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US for an online book study group in my ELCA parish. We're the "whitest denomination" of his title (although I have to wonder if the Old Order Amish aren't kinda white, too), … Continue reading No Norwegian Jesus in Pastor Lenny’s decolonized Lutheran church? Uff da!
‘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
Ordinary Time 