To celebrate the five year anniversary of Project TURN’s classes inside NC prisons, School for Conversion recently hosted an open mic night for alumni at a local cafe in Durham, NC. Ben Theimer, a Duke Divinity student, shared this reflection about his TURN experience and laughter in prison. By Ben Theimer How do we make sense of laughter?  We all know its liberating power, but we also know its debilitating sting. On the one hand, laughter has the cumulative strength... Read more

Not long ago I was talking with a journalist about religious movements and my hope for the future of faith in North America. “You know,” I said, “the movement that grabs my attention is really pretty small—a dozen or so folks at its core, most of them not spectacular. Only one of them is published. A few of them used to have good reason to kill one another. But somehow they’ve stayed together. And this new life they’ve found with... Read more

It’s Moral Monday again here in North Carolina, where I’ll be joining thousands who refuse to be silent while corporately funded extremists remake government to serve the interests of the few instead of the good of the whole. That’s why we are here. But the people who are leading us are what make me happy to be here. “The glory of God,” one ancient church teacher said, “is the human fully alive.” I don’t know many people more fully alive... Read more

By Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II Nearly a year ago, we joined together in moral witness against the extremist assault on North Carolina’s working families and the poor, our state’s unemployed, the hundreds of thousands without healthcare and our embattled public schools. Despite the state constitution’s mandate that citizens have the right to “assemble to consult for the common good” and “apply to the General Assembly for redress of grievances,” the General Assembly authorities ordered seventeen of us arrested... Read more

On April 20th of this year, clergy from across North Carolina sent an appeal to state leadership: in light of last year’s controversial legislation and unprecedented moral protest, let us sit down and reason together, we said. But as the General Assembly’s short session begins today, North Carolina’s elected leaders have refused to hear the cries of those directly affected by their policies. This morning, the Moral Movement in North Carolina will hold a press conference at 9am to announce... Read more

Patheos turns five years old today. Having an almost-five-year old at home, I have a special place in my heart for all the wonder of new life, struggles of learning to walk, and glories of a new personality that the first five years of life can bring. Making it to five is a big deal. But I’m also exciting to celebrate Patheos because their work on the web is what allows me to stay in touch with you via The... Read more

At 6:23pm yesterday, the state of Oklahoma initiated its effort to kill Clayton D. Lockett. Twenty minutes later, after being declared unconscious by a physician, Lockett cried out, “Oh man,” writhing in pain. Addled by this unexpected display of pain, one of the executioners said, “Something’s wrong.” Soon after, the window to the observation room was covered and media were escorted out of the room. A state official later reported that Mr. Lockett died of a heart attack at 7:06pm.... Read more

A year ago today, Moral Mondays began in North Carolina. When 17 people were arrested at the General Assembly on April 29th, 2013, Rev. Nelson Johnson of Faith Community Church in Greensboro, North Carolina said, “It is my hope and my belief that this will spark a broader movement.” A graduate of A&T University, Rev. Johnson knew well the story of four students who sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter February 1st, 1960, sparking a nationwide sit-in movement that... Read more