The Pastoral is Political: Beyond Civility

I’ve recently become aware of an organization called The National Institute for Civil Discourse because they launched a “Golden Rule 2020” campaign on November 3. Many mainline denominational leaders participated in the gathering that led to this campaign and subsequently endorsed it. As a result, in my social media feeds, people I respect offered very… Read More

The Pastoral is Political: Beyond Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice

Earlier this year, I had an encounter that shook me in a powerful way. I was speaking on a panel of religious leaders at a sexuality education conference. I was by far the most progressive person on the panel. A woman who worked at an abortion clinic asked about finding chaplains, as so many of… Read More

The Pastoral is Political: Why Kavanaugh Should be Held Accountable

As a person of faith, I believe that the world can be better than it is. That’s the hope that religion gives us – that we can transcend self-interest and care for those around us as we care for ourselves. It is from this perspective that I want to shift the paradigm as we talk… Read More

Pastoral is Political: Jesus Christ Superstar

Every year, there’s something in Holy Week that resonates particularly strongly for me. This year, it was the words of those complicit religious leaders.* “We have no king but Caesar.” When I talked about this with the senior pastor and our intern after the Good Friday service, I tried to distance myself from those words.… Read More

The Pastoral is Political: Waiting for Justice

Advent is by far my favorite liturgical season. This time of quiet reflection and expectant waiting, with the multiple meanings that it carries is always a rich one for me personally. The themes of a fertile darkness where things grow and change, the eschatological hope for justice through God’s realm on earth, and all of it… Read More

Not an “Issue”

One of the hardest parts about being a person of faith committed to justice is when basic human dignity is made a political issue. Transgender people are not an “issue,” and their humanity is not up for debate. Transgender people, like all other people, are human beings, created in the image of God, deserving of… Read More

The Pastoral is Political: Critical Thinking

Last week was a rough one in the United States. The Republican National Convention displayed for all the world to see just how easy it is for us humans to be persuaded by appealing to our fears and prejudices. And the Democratic National Convention is starting off under a similar cloud this week. Last week,… Read More

Pastoral is Political: Casting Out Fear

Last week a colleague from Australia asked me via Facebook a question that I imagine a lot of non-U.S. folks are asking about the United States these days. “What is going on over there?” She was referring to the bills in Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas and now Mississippi that basically criminalize being transgender and (in… Read More