By David A. Sánchez I have always loved baseball. Growing up on the mean streets of East Los Angeles, baseball was the one activity that kept me away from the pitfalls many young Latino males face on a daily basis. Summer days were spent—sunrise to sunset—in makeshift sandlots in the shadows of Dodger Stadium, fielding bad-hop grounders and striping screaming line drives. It was our neighborhood pastime. On the occasion when enough coins were scraped up to venture into the... Read more
By Rev. Susan Sparks When I want to remind myself of the power of prayer, I go to the Astor Place Kmart on the lower east side of Manhattan. Sure, I could read Kierkegaard or Augustine, but I prefer the Kmart. Specifically I favor an area in the far back corner of the basement. It is devoid of windows or natural light with a back wall of clear glass that faces the dungeon-like dark tunnel of the Number 6 subway... Read more
By Rev. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, Ph.D. In the days following George Zimmerman’s acquittal, I have been thinking of the Book of First Samuel, in which God tells King Saul to destroy the Amalekites as punishment for their inhospitality toward Israel (1 Samuel 15). The command is not a pretty one. This edict does not portray God as a loving, merciful Creator of all. Although Saul is the newly minted king of Israel and has all rights, privileges, power pertaining to this... Read more
By Sister Carol Perry On a Sunny Afternoon It is a lovely late afternoon in the little village of Bethany on a hilltop outside Jerusalem. This is a delightful place to visit because it offers a breeze above the valley. But Jesus stops here often for more than that. He knows he has friends in the persons of Martha and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus. This day, as the family of Bethany looks down the road, they see Jesus and... Read more
By Eric D. Barreto The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 is so familiar that to some it probably starts to verge on a cliché. Even people who have never read the Bible, let alone the Gospel of Luke, know the image of compassion embodied by the Samaritan who takes the risk to help a stranger in the midst of great trouble. In fact, the notion of a “Good Samaritan” has a cultural cache almost entirely separate from... Read more
By Rev. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, Ph.D. “If you love somebody, set them free. Free. Free. Set them free.” Of all the songs to come to mind during this Independence Day weekend, this one rings in my head. Sting, the artist, did not have America’s freedom celebration in mind when he coined these words. Honestly, the song has little to do with patriotism; it is more of a ballad of love lost and letting go. Nonetheless I dare to invoke it,... Read more
By Rev. Dr. Karyn L. Wiseman In the Methodist tradition in which I was I raised, there is a concept of perfection. We “strive for perfection” in loving each other and loving God. It is not about avoiding all mistakes. It is about growing in love for neighbor and being hospitable to all we come in contact with. This is the point of our theology: as we grow in faith and love, we become closer to God. In the end,... Read more
By Raj Nadella They have many labels. Undocumented immigrants. Illegal Immigrants. Illegal Aliens. Wetbacks. Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, recently suggested that most of them are “drug mules.” Some have even called them “terrorists.” But few are known by their real names or treated as people with real lives. Most of them live at the edges of the society, under inhuman and dangerous conditions, and often separated from their loved ones. For some it may be a choice. However,... Read more
By Anthony Hatcher The Puritans sailed to these shores 400 years ago seeking freedom of religion, but freedom of their religion only. Earlier this year, a group of North Carolina lawmakers, apparently channeling the Puritans, tried to establish Christianity as the state religion. Their action was prompted by a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU noted that some county commissions and other governmental boards around the state opened meetings with prayer. While these various boards had... Read more
By Eric D. Barreto A recent Pew poll revealed a significant shift in American families. Four in ten of this country’s households now rely primarily on the income of women. This is both good news and bad. For many women, new opportunities are allowing them to be the primary bread-winners in their families. In some careers, women are chipping away at the very real glass ceiling so many have and continue to face. Our efforts towards equality have made some... Read more
On Scripture - The Bible
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