https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7_EpZMIv_Q Cardinal Pizzaballa in Bethlehem, Forbes Breaking News, Dec. 24, 2025. Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited 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 journaling much) and, more to the point, helping me … Continue reading Navigating wartime complicity and atonement in Gaza and Trump’s America (spiritual journal Dec. 2025)
‘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
‘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
You think a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich? Baloney! Here’s reason to hope Anglo-American law can survive Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATrOEdcu230 Chris Hayes, 'All In with Chris Hayes,' Aug. 27, 2025, MSNBC. NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised [unlawfully dispossessed] of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful … Continue reading You think a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich? Baloney! Here’s reason to hope Anglo-American law can survive Trump
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)
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
‘Let me tell you a story’: Awkward truths about prodigal son(s), empire, pigsties and the interpretation of parables
Jacob Jordaens, 'Prodigal Son,' 1640 (Wikimedia Commons). Luke 15:1-3, 11ff. (NRSVue). Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable [...]:11 “There was a man who had two … Continue reading ‘Let me tell you a story’: Awkward truths about prodigal son(s), empire, pigsties and the interpretation of parables
‘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
Of Trump’s ‘Gulf of America,’ twilight years, Comrade Gromyko’s rubber donkey and the moral purpose of satire
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GdE4_nbxcw8 Desi Lydic, 'Donald Trump is holding up a mirror to the American people' (The Daily Show). “Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind reception it meets with in the world, and that so very few are offended … Continue reading Of Trump’s ‘Gulf of America,’ twilight years, Comrade Gromyko’s rubber donkey and the moral purpose of satire
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
‘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
‘A reality where there is no we’: Social justice and the common good after a bitter election: Spiritual journal, November
Demonstrators in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021 (*Photo: Gregory Starrett, CC BY-ND). Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director today in advance of our session for November. 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 … Continue reading ‘A reality where there is no we’: Social justice and the common good after a bitter election: Spiritual journal, November
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
Trump and the prophetic vision of Elijah, an Old Testament scholar, a center-right political pundit and a Chicago ward boss
'Elijah in the Desert,' Agustín Salinas Teruel, 1885 (Wikimedia Commons). 1 Kings 19 (NRSVue): 4 But [Elijah] himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than … Continue reading Trump and the prophetic vision of Elijah, an Old Testament scholar, a center-right political pundit and a Chicago ward boss
‘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)
Revisiting a spiritual mutt’s surprising faith journey — Dominican discernment journal (1 of ?)
Daniel van den Dyck, St. Dominic and Cathars, ca. 1650 (Wikimedia Commons). I have to write to discover what I am doing. [...] I don’t know so well what I think until I see what I say; then I have to say it over again. -- Flannery O'Connor (Quote Investigator). This month I'll be taking another … Continue reading Revisiting a spiritual mutt’s surprising faith journey — Dominican discernment journal (1 of ?)
Notes & quotes — ELCA’s Sumud (Arabic for ‘steadfastness’) initiative
d r a f t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy9cjJcpNiA&t=250s Intro posted April 8 to YouTube. See ELCA website at https://www.elca.org/sumud. Have you heard of Sumud (formerly Peace Not Walls)? Share about this new initiative from the ELCA for justice in Palestine and Israel. Stay connected by LIKING and FOLLOWING us on Facebook (ELCA Sumud) and Instagram (@ELCASumud). xxx … Continue reading Notes & quotes — ELCA’s Sumud (Arabic for ‘steadfastness’) initiative
‘When everything is antisemitic, nothing is antisemitic’: Why partisan crackdowns on free speech backfire. (It’s complicated.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFAcHMO488&t=971s “[...] Now He Says the Term Is Being Weaponized,” PBS, May 1, 2024. “Look,” said Cohen, pointing to his bloody nose swollen three times itsnormal size, “what that sonofabitchy bird did. It’s a permanent scar.”“Where is he now?” Edie asked, frightened.“I threw him out and he flew away. Good riddance.”Nobody said no, though Edie … Continue reading ‘When everything is antisemitic, nothing is antisemitic’: Why partisan crackdowns on free speech backfire. (It’s complicated.)
An aging hippie reflects on student protests, in the 60s and now, and the lessons of Passover in wartime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U75KcMUjMyI 'Seder in the Streets to Stop Arming Israel,' Brooklyn, April 23, 2024. What's an aging hippie to do? Coverage of the student protests over US support of Israel's conduct in Gaza brings back so many memories of the anti-war movement of the 1960s, it ought to come with a trigger warning. Most of the … Continue reading An aging hippie reflects on student protests, in the 60s and now, and the lessons of Passover in wartime
Scary headlines distract from student protesters’ Passover service, message of support for Gaza
Shabbat service Friday at Gaza protest, @TheIndypendent, New York City. Over the weekend as the Passover holiday neared, the headlines blared. "Anti-Israel Protests RAGE At Columbia, Biden CONDEMNS Anti-Semitism on Campus" (The Hill), read one. "Columbia University campus security concerns ahead of Passover," said another (ABC News), in more modulated tones. And a third, "Rabbi … Continue reading Scary headlines distract from student protesters’ Passover service, message of support for Gaza
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
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
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)
‘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
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
A prayerful reaction to the US Supreme Court’s facilitation of white Christian theocracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWIvkGWmEVA Matthew 5 (NRSV). 5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut … Continue reading A prayerful reaction to the US Supreme Court’s facilitation of white Christian theocracy
‘Overzealous prosecutors’ and judicial chutzpah — threats to freedom of religion in post-Roe America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHKf-9oPMO0 Posted to B'nai Jeshurun YouTube channel, May 23, 2022 Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, veteran Supreme Court watcher Dahlia Lithwick warned that the "fear of overzealous prosecutors" would set the tone of debate over the rights of women under strict abortion bans in "post-Roe America." Speaking a month before Dobbs v. Jackson Women's … Continue reading ‘Overzealous prosecutors’ and judicial chutzpah — threats to freedom of religion in post-Roe America
Proclaiming the ‘E Word’ on the Z App — walking the talk as the SARS-CoV-2 variants shape an uneasy new normal
Debi and I recently finished co-facilitating a six-week book study on evangelism for our parish church -- over Zoom no less -- and it was a pleasant surprise. The book, Reclaiming the 'E' Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity, is by Kelly Fryer, an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who … Continue reading Proclaiming the ‘E Word’ on the Z App — walking the talk as the SARS-CoV-2 variants shape an uneasy new normal
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
‘Unraveling of America’: Viral article in Rolling Stone on COVID, individualism and the inevitable decline of empires
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJJTAz5ux-c I just want America to be the America of my dreams, growing up as a boy in Canada. And that was the America of Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln and the Grateful Dead. -- Wade Davis, interview, PBS, Aug. 17, 2020 This video of an interview with an Canadian anthropologist popped up, courtesy of a … Continue reading ‘Unraveling of America’: Viral article in Rolling Stone on COVID, individualism and the inevitable decline of empires
‘Let’s take care of it’: (Mostly) Lutheran resources on Laudato Si’ and ELCA’s 1993 statement on Caring for Creation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vjxWnFnKFo (YouTube, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Nov. 5, 2021) The power of God is present at all places, even in the tiniest tree leaf. Do you think God is sleeping on a pillow in heaven? ... God is wholly present in all creation, in every corner, behind you and before you. -- Martin Luther … Continue reading ‘Let’s take care of it’: (Mostly) Lutheran resources on Laudato Si’ and ELCA’s 1993 statement on Caring for Creation
Preach, sister! Michigan state senator returns fire after GOP culture warrior’s rhetoric gets nasty and personal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT7DkOzeLaM Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow on Morning Joe, April 20, 2022 (MSNBC). Can I get a witness? Sometimes you see a flickering of light in the darkness, a little sliver of hope you can cling to like a rock in a weary land. And so it came to pass that a Michigan state legislator … Continue reading Preach, sister! Michigan state senator returns fire after GOP culture warrior’s rhetoric gets nasty and personal
Episcopal survey research shows disconnect between gospel message and public perception of Christians
Something to file away for when we do the book study on Reclaiming the ''E'' Word: Waking Up to Our Evangelical Identity after Easter at Peace Lutheran -- A recent Ipsos survey commissioned by the Episcopal Church shows the "popularity of Jesus’ teachings and the ways Christians are often perceived as failing to live up … Continue reading Episcopal survey research shows disconnect between gospel message and public perception of Christians
Putin, Trump, Fox News and white Christian nationalism — a common thread in Ukraine and US ‘culture wars’
Слава Родине https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGXHw7sX4e8 Stephen Colbert's parody of Russian TV (Cyrillic letters spell the English word "Bestie"). When Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin claimed "the west’s 'cancel culture'” victimizes “an entire thousand-year-old country, our people” on March 25, American pundit Robert Reich of Cal-Berkeley noted it "was the third time in recent months Putin has blasted … Continue reading Putin, Trump, Fox News and white Christian nationalism — a common thread in Ukraine and US ‘culture wars’
Links to a copy of my James Agee article and his Time magazine cover story on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
d r a f t Editor's (admin's) note: Miscellaneous notes and quotes for possible later use, on James Agee, the staff writer for Time magazine who did the cover story in August 1945 on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the end of World War II. In his spot news story, he had a prescient … Continue reading Links to a copy of my James Agee article and his Time magazine cover story on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Thoughts, prayers, wisdom from the Talmud and acting against ‘the enormity of the world’s grief’ in wartime
Screen grab of meme shared to my Facebook news feed, Oct. 29, 2021. For several months I've been wanting to jumpstart my prayer life, but until last week I never would have thought it would involve the heartache of praying for peace in Ukraine in the face of a failed World War II-style blitzkrieg that … Continue reading Thoughts, prayers, wisdom from the Talmud and acting against ‘the enormity of the world’s grief’ in wartime
Laudato Si’, climate change and intersectionality: Not really somebody else’s problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d51EtDceF38&t=106s An ongoing discussion of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' is changing the way I think about intersectionality. It first came up several weeks ago in a Zoom dialog on the Laudato Si' Action Platform. The dialog, conducted by the Springfield Dominican Sisters' action program committee, would have been held at the motherhouse. It was … Continue reading Laudato Si’, climate change and intersectionality: Not really somebody else’s problem
Paraphrase of Talmudic scholar who fled the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE hits home in another time of apocalypse
Screen grab from my Facebook news feed, Oct. 29, 2021 Here's something that's been on my mind for quite a while now. I started writing something on it when the this meme popped up in my Facebook "memories." It's a paraphrase of a saying in the Talmud by Rabbi Tarfon, a second-century Jewish sage whom … Continue reading Paraphrase of Talmudic scholar who fled the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE hits home in another time of apocalypse
‘They wanted a king, what they got was bread’ — some preliminary thoughts on the feeding of 5,000 and the Eucharist
Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha in Galilee. John 6 [NRSV]. [...] 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they[c] sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who … Continue reading ‘They wanted a king, what they got was bread’ — some preliminary thoughts on the feeding of 5,000 and the Eucharist
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
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
Of teacher-bashing, political vitriol … and a cure for invective in Luther’s catechism
Editor's (admin's) note. I'm sharing an email message to a family member replying to a blast email headlined "Everyone Wants Kids in School -- Except for the People Who Are Supposed to Be Teaching them!" [Bang mark in the original.] We've gone round and round before about what I perceive as teacher-bashing, and this time … Continue reading Of teacher-bashing, political vitriol … and a cure for invective in Luther’s catechism
Notes & quotes: ELCA teaching document on civic engagement, church-state relations; background in 2014 article
D R A F T A couple of resources that are right down my alley as I struggle with the conceptual framework for an expanded study of how Swedish immigrant churches in Chicago and the upper Midwest adapted in the 1850s to an essentially Protestant American culture where churches were voluntary associations not supported by … Continue reading Notes & quotes: ELCA teaching document on civic engagement, church-state relations; background in 2014 article
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 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
Ordinary Time 