A number of months ago, I did some Googling. Maybe it was because of some actions or tweets by Kim Kardashian regarding her Armenian advocacy or appropriating another culture. Or maybe I was just curious to figure out where the word Caucasian originated. Either way, I found this article: “How Armenian Americans Became ‘White’: A… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Who is My Neighbor?
Disturbing defendants are our neighbors, too. Read More
The Pastoral is Political
Playing in the Fields of Hope I’ve been playing in church for a long time, mostly with children, sometimes with adults. I learned a new game, “God’s Musical Chairs,” from Jeff Doucette, pastor at Enniskillen & Tyrone United Church in Bowmanville, Ontario. We are members of an online international church called CASA. God’s Musical Chairs… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Footprints in the sand
Ten years ago I lived on the foothills of the Santa Ritas, a small mountain range in southern Arizona. Backyards were separated by deep rocky crevices called arroyos, ancient pathways for rain water that runs off the mountains during the summer monsoon season. The arroyos are vital to the environment, providing greenery for food and… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Called to Serve and Protect
Children in cages, concentration camps, and jails – hungry, abused and scared as hell. Young people shackled by and to the (in)justice system via electronic monitoring and/or criminal records that hold them back like the proverbial ball and chain. Families grieving yet another child lost to senseless gun violence – their gifts, dreams, and promise… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: We Can Protest
Sometimes it’s hard to love our neighbours. In June 2016, forty-one year old Jo Cox was shot and brutally stabbed to death in broad daylight by a white supremacist. Why? Jo was a fervent supporter of the UK remaining in the European Union. She had only been elected as a UK Member of Parliament elected… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Pastor as Preacher
I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how to preach without being political. When the latest tragedy: be it gun violence, a natural disaster or the latest racist incident comes to pass I can’t not address it. Just picking the text for the day is a political act. Am I contending with the… Read More
The Pastoral Is Political: The First Pride Was a Riot
As Alicia T. Crosby reminded RevGals last week, the first pride was a riot. In her beautiful description of being a barrier between hate speech and pride celebrations, Crosby asks us about how we assure safe space for LGBTQ+ folx: How are you positioning yourself between people experiencing oppression and those calling for and actively… Read More
The Pastoral is Political: How To #MakeLoveLouder In Protest and Pride
How are you positioning yourself between people experiencing oppression and those calling for and actively engaging in their subjugation? How are you reflecting and affirming the sacred beauty present in those experiencing marginalization?
I ask these questions because I think it’s necessary for us to consider how we are physically, materially, and politically oriented as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus. Read More
The Pastoral is Political: Our Transgender Children
“Sasha” (not her real name) has just finished the third grade. She began her school year with the name given her at birth, a name reflecting that she was originally gender identified as “male.” By the end of the year, she had chosen a new name, and we were referring to her by her preferred… Read More
