Gay AND Christian . . . Welcome!

Last updated on: May 16, 2012 at 6:35 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

So very excited about a new blog that Kimberly Knight is hosting as part of the Progressive Christian Channel on Patheos called Coming Out Christian. I don’t know Kimberly really well, but I do know her to be a thoughtful, passionate and strong voice in conversations about justice, technology and faith in Jesus Christ. I can think of few people who would be better at gathering people together for meaningful conversations about being gay and Christian in the United States. This snippet... Read more

Religion and Media: An Interview with Mark Hoffman

Last updated on: May 15, 2012 at 7:59 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

As part of the launch of a new Religion and Media Concentration in its Master of Arts in Religion program at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, I was asked to interview one of their profs as part of their Religion and Media blog tour. I have no real connection to Luther Seminary, but this looks like a great program and I always think its a good idea to engage people in conversations about media and religion. — From the program description “We... Read more

Why Romney’s High School “Prank” Matters

Last updated on: May 14, 2012 at 6:58 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

[Photo by Austen Hufford] As some of you heard, last week the Washington Post reported a story about presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, and his participation in an incident that many are calling “bullying.” Taking place in 1965 while a student at Cranbrook School, Romney, along with a group of friends, held down fellow classmate, John Lauber, and cut off his hair with a pair of scissors. “He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” an incensed Romney told Matthew Friedemann,... Read more

The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Recent Round of Layoffs

Last updated on: May 11, 2012 at 3:12 pm By Bruce Reyes-Chow

As some of you may have heard by now, my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has gone through another round of lay-offs at our national offices. There will be plenty of time to debate the motivations, ramifications and the overall future of our denomination’s institutional structure, but at this moment we grieve for and with friends and colleagues who have lost their jobs. No matter what one feels about the institution or its strategic directions the folks who lost their jobs today... Read more

Bruce’s Friday Five v5.11

Last updated on: May 11, 2012 at 8:29 pm By Bruce Reyes-Chow

My Friday Five is somewhat of a mishmash of stuff I have recently seen around the interwebs, some of which I actually kept track of and others, I just remembered upon the writing of this post. Enjoy. ONE | If you don’t mind people sneaking furtive glances at your chest to see what the heck is printed on your t-shirt, celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by picking up a shirt from Bok Choi Apparel. And yes there is a BALUT shirt . . .... Read more

Grace Ji-Sun Kim – Mother’s Day: I Can Only Imagine

Last updated on: June 7, 2012 at 8:26 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

As part of my Guest Blogging Series, this week I am glad to welcome back Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim as she muses on Mother’s Day. Grace received her M.Div. from Knox College and her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. She is an Associate Professor of Doctrinal Theology and the Director of the Master of Arts in Theological Studies program at Moravian Theological Seminary and the is the author of two books, The Grace of Sophia: A Korean North American... Read more

Metta World Peace and Racism in the NBA

Last updated on: May 8, 2012 at 8:36 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

Colorlines recently posted interview by Jamilah King as he sat down with David Leonard, author of After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness. Leonard, professor of Ethnic Studies at Washington State University, is challenging the notion that race plays no factor in sports and that actions taken by the NBA regarding individual players as well as the entire league, smack of racial profiling and racism. He uses the example of Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, to illustrate his point. If you do not... Read more

Job Creation in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Part II

Last updated on: May 7, 2012 at 8:53 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

[Photo By CarbonNYC] Last week as part of the new blog from The Presbyterian Leader, I posted my first contribution, Job Creation in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Lifting up an idea from soon-to-be seminary Graduate, Jack Jenkins, that post was not meant to be the first of many parts, but after further conversations, I decided to add another idea into the mix: ministry incubators. It is important to note that none of these incubators should be used to take advantage of unemployed church workers, ordained or otherwise.... Read more

Jan’s Open Love Letter to Her North Carolina Kin

Last updated on: May 7, 2012 at 8:23 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

[Photo by stephenmeszaros] One of my favorite people in the world is, pastor and friend, Jan Edmiston [blog|twitter]. Unless she has a secret life – which could be entirely possible – I don’t believe that Jan has won any world championships, saved anyone from a burning building or beat out a bunch of other people on some reality show. What she has done and does that IS remarkable is to embody a beautiful version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in her living,... Read more

Job Creation in the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Last updated on: May 7, 2012 at 8:19 am By Bruce Reyes-Chow

[image by .aditya.] It’s been about 15 years since I have had to do it, but a year after leaving my last church, I have finally updated my Personal Information Form (PIF) – For you non-Presbyterians, a PIF is our resume – While I would love to turn this post into a “Back in my day PIF’s allowed for answers longer that 1,500 characters!” rant, I shall restrain myself. As I get ready to submit my PIF to places where I feel... Read more