poverty

I just came across this article describing how Michigan Republican party officials are planning to challenge the votes of individuals on whose houses have been foreclosed. It's obvious that this tactic is designed to suppress the votes of people who are facing economic challenges and it also appears that they are disproportionately African American in the districts in question. Since I’m not an expert in US/Michigan law regarding voter eligibility, I can’t comment on the legality of the matter. But, even if this sort of challenge is technically within the bounds of the law, I’m sure many of you agree with me that this is an immoral attempt to suppress the voting rights of some of the more vulnerable members of our society. I wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention so that people can be made aware that this may happen and be prepared for such challenges in swing states and districts. If anyone is involved in voter registration efforts in Michigan (and probably other critical states), it might be worthwhile preparing those you register for this sort of thing, so that even if challenged they will be able to vote.

Stories about division and conflict among religious groups are hardly news because they are all too common. So examples of diverse religious groups joining efforts are all the more important because of their rarity. The call to reduce greenhouse gas production 80% by 2050 should be old news by now, but the current support for that effort from religious groups in Massachusetts is noteworthy because of the remarkable diversity of the groups involved. From Unitarian Universalists to Quakers, from mainline Protestants to the Armenian church and beyond Christianity to Jews and Muslims, religious organizations within the state have found common ground and formed the Massachusetts Interfaith Climate Action Network, calling upon believers to take up the cause of caring for the planet with a religious zeal.

Last weeks call was very productive and I appreciate everyone's passions for economic justice. I learned a lot, especially about the role of unions and the power of certain right wing religious groups to try to undermine more progressive Christian denominations and churchgoers. In an earlier post a few weeks ago, Benj noted how churches should do more to help the poor. Here are some ideas that I brainstormed for ways for Crossleft to do that.

If your enemy is hungry feed him” “ Romans 12:20

I know that many of you out there are likely planning your own event to observe the upcoming anniversary of the Iraq War, but I would like to invite you to join the Summit Interfaith Peace Coalition in what we hope will become at least a statewide movement in NJ, but who knows how far it could spread. No matter what your plans we ask that you incorporate a food drive into your observance. If the peace groups can reinforce the same theme that we choose to spend money on bullets and bombs and neglect to feed our children I think at the very least we can get some good media attention.

The Summit Interfaith Peace Coalition, of which Pax Christi Summit is a member, is reorganizing. Instead of monthly vigils and peace walks we will begin meeting monthly to promote a broader agenda of peace and justice. Our first meeting is this Thursday January 10th at 7:00 pm at the Unitarian Church at the corner of Waldron and Springfield Avenue in Summit.
On the Agenda is the planning of the annual observance of the anniversary of the Iraq War.

I can't resist the Hebrew prophets. So here's another in this series of riffs on the assigned readings for Sunday services at my church. Here's my take on the one I'll be reading on the Second Sunday in Advent -- December 2, this year: Isaiah 11: 1-10. And I'm afraid it's turned into something of a sermon. But even a lector can indulge in a bit of exegesis.

This is a famous passage -- about lions and livestock lying down together, and a little child shall lead them. It's a vision of a highly stylized utopia, a "version of pastoral", built on very different principles from the normal, natural world.

At one level, it harkens back to the ideal of the Garden of Eden -- carnivores no longer eat meat: "the lion shall eat straw like the ox". The former predators and the former prey shall lie down together and all are tame enough to be led by a child.

WAWA Blog August 30, 2007

Sentinels, Hurricane Kat and Iraq

If it keeps on raining, the levee's gonna break
If it keeps on raining, the levee's gonna break,
Some people are still sleeping
Some people ARE WIDE AWAKE.-Bob Dylan, 2006 "Modern Times"

It has been two years since Hurricane Katrina blew in and exposed that the empire has no clothes. What happened in the Big Easy was foretold five years ago in a five-part series in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

I’ve been wondering lately, where are the prophets? Are there any real prophets cut from the same cloth of an Elijah who confounded the evil King Ahab or a John the Baptist who called out the sins of Herod? Are there any among the fundamentally conservative or the progressively liberal wings of Christianity who are willing to break political ranks and speak truth to power?

Prophetic messages delivered by prophet-like people make us squirm.

We don't like "in your face" challenges, especially when they call us to task, suggest that we change and/or do things in a completely different way.

Recently, a note from SoJo mail, the list serve for Sojourners magazine and community, shared this quote with everyone:

"There is no dearth of Christian service today. But because much of it is service without prophetic compassion, it is powerless to bring about a radical change in individuals and society." Vishal Mangalwadi, quoted in "Cry Freedom", by Charles Ringma.