Relating, Creating, Transforming
On Monday, we journeyed to Bartram’s Garden in West Philly to work with City Harvest at Sankofa Community Farm. Our service-learning session was organized and led by Repair the World. The PA Horticultural Society City Harvest program taps into the skills and energy of urban gardeners and entrepreneurial growers to make fresh, nutritious produce more […]
Read MoreThis week I am facilitating an alternative break program with students from Messiah College students through Interfaith Philadelphia. During the week the students and I will visit five faith communities, participate in four service-learning projects, and learn about religious pluralism, interfaith cooperation, and identity. On Sunday [day 1], we were fortunate enough to visit Philadelphia […]
Read MoreLuke 6:27-31 Have you heard of the law of reciprocity? How about the golden ratio? In essence, the law of reciprocity is the social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action, rewarding kind actions. Reciprocity means that in response to friendly actions, people are frequently much nicer and much more […]
Read MoreLuke 4:21-30 Dear Readers, Quick question, and please be honest. Are you hearing any prophetic words, seeing any prophetic justice-action these days that are reaching across lines of difference, welcoming the marginalized, and standing up to hate and injustice and privilege? Are you? If so, please share in the comments. And now…Luke’s version of Jesus’ […]
Read MoreLuke 3:15-17, 21-22 Water is essential for life. Without water, we die. Without water, there is no life. Period. Look around the world right now and you’ll notice that there are far too many people who struggle to survive…because they don’t have access to drinking water. 844 million people don’t have clean water. (WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring […]
Read MoreI recently had a conversation with my friend, Lucas Mangum, the author of FLESH AND FIRE, MANIA, ENGINES OF RUIN, GODS OF THE DARK WEB, and WE ARE THE ACCUSED. The collection, Engines of Ruin, was just released in paperback on January 5 (the Kindle edition has been out since December). Lucas’ newest novel We […]
Read MoreZephaniah 3:16-17; 19-20a You know it must be Advent if on the in later December we’re reading from another minor Hebrew prophet, in this case Zephaniah. It would be a stretch to say that many people know the book of Zephaniah well [Jewish or Christian alike]. Though, come on–I mean, he was the son of […]
Read MoreBaruch 5:1; 7-9 The Inclusive Bible Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. For God has ordered that every mountain and the ancient hills be made low and the valleys lifted up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk […]
Read MoreJeremiah 33:14-16 During this time of year for Christians, called Advent, Hebrew prophetic literature is what is often read leading up to Christmas Eve. I wonder, though, do most Christians know what they are reading? Do they know that these prophets were telling the story of the Jewish people? Do they know that none of […]
Read MoreLet’s take a brief look at the concept of Gratitude across world religions [this by no means doing justice to each tradition]: Judaism: The first and last prayers of the day are of gratitude. For the Jewish people, all things come from Yahweh and thus their lives are filled with this recognition. A prayer is […]
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