Category: Challenges
Will We Pray After the Election, Too?
Like many religious persons, I have watched this presidential election with particular interest. As far as religion is concerned, this election has posed interesting dilemmas, perspectives, and... Read More
Why My Vote On Gay Marriage Shouldn’t Count (And Neither Should Yours)
I live in Minnesota. On Tuesday we will be voting on (among other things) whether or not to amend our State Constitution to include the following: Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid ... Read More
The Spirituality of Phone Banking by Martha Schwehn
I have heard it said that church basements are the places where things really get done, where budgets and outreach strategies are birthed after long and tedious meetings, where soup kitchens and quilt... Read More
The Ballot as Daily Bread: Voting No on Voter ID
Every Sunday, right before we receive Holy Communion, I pray the Lord’s Prayer with my church. In general, I think it’s hard to pray in a humble and honest way during an antagonisti... Read More
“Blood in the Soil: Liberating Space, Identity and Farm Workers in the United States” by Patrick Reyes
From the perspective of my parents’ union, I come from a long line of wealthy, middle-class, white Protestant Americans on my mother’s side, and Chicano Catholic farm and manual labor working-clas... Read More
Jesus, The Bible, and Foodstamps: Can a Christian Be Against The Welfare State?
Conservative and liberal Christians disagree about a lot of things, but I think the two camps are basically in agreement when it comes to the morality of social safety net programs like TANF (Temporar... Read More
The Notion of Interfaith Understanding by Diane Johnson
It is quite intriguing to contemplate this question of whether or not Halloween is a holiday. Let’s put aside the mythical and overabundant images of happy children in skeleton costumes, disgrun... Read More
Food Stamp Challenge: Great! And, Do I Have To?
Over the High Holidays, my rabbi asked our congregation to participate in a week-long Food Stamp Challenge—to limit our food spending to the equivalent of “food stamp” benefits, $31.50 per perso... Read More