The peace that we share when we turn and shake hands
Is simply the peace that our Savior commands.

Fast from fear and feast on love.

Fast from violence, feast on peace.

This part of American history “is not taught in schools,” said Jolynne Locust Woodcock of the Oglala Lakota, Cherokee, and Northern Cheyenne Nations and another member of the Four Winds community. Nor do people discuss “what happened, who died, [or] at whose expense this country exists. It’s not acknowledged that we’re still alive, that we are a living, breathing, heartfelt bunch of people.”

My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now.

What do climate change, the novel coronavirus, and the Earth’s population explosion all have in common? They comprise a Biblically-sized Armageddon calling for an equal Biblically-sized rebirth of sacred consciousness, this time from the deep feminine.

The world will now be faced with a time of moral testing as Covid 19 spreads from pole to pole. The early response of hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer is not an encouraging sign predicting whether our better angels will be revealed or our fearful, selfish demons.

O Christ, we remember the things that you did,
The lessons you taught us, the way that you lived.

Yazzie Min performing “Taste” at Sofar London on November 15th 2018.

In the desperate final days of Bonhoeffer’s life, he wrote from prison about the futility of trying to talk to stupid people about facts, as many of his neighbors and fellow church folk simply rolled along with the Nazi movement. M. Scott Peck defined evil as a kind of “militant ignorance,” a refusal to deal with the known facts of reality.

One of the lessons I remember from my study of U.S. history in high school is that the United States is protected by two oceans on our east and west coasts. Europe’s problems could not negatively impact our nation because we were separated by 3,000 miles of ocean. Our northern and southern borders are secure because we have friendly neighbors.

“Warren never reached out to us, seems never to have visited a Black church in Cambridge, never asked for Black support, just took it for granted. All of that would be constructive advice for Elizabeth if she were to consider another presidential run, and for a Senate re-election too,” a Cambridge resident emailed to me wanting to remain anonymous.

Let’s face it—the bad news just keeps on coming.  An impeachment trial as divided as the country; wars and rumors of wars; rising nationalism around the world; an ever-growing gap between rich and poor; and our species headed for extinction as we destroy the planet. 

In his speech, Mr. Barr perpetuates long held inaccuracies now resembling truth.  Using a broad brush to call the Founding Fathers, Christians (and let’s not forget Founding Mothers), is inappropriate. 

Changing the world vs/and changing ourselves. Today we consider the remarkable life of Eleanor Roosevelt who was first lady during the New Deal, WWII, and was our first ambassador to the United Nations.

In Mystical Activism, we each hold the power to change the world right where we are. To call these “end times” is not hyperbole.

Singer/songwriter Christian McIvor serves as the Minister of Music & Worship at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC.  He writes progressive Christian songs centered around themes of love, justice, compassion, and community that are intended for both solo/small group and congregational use in worship. 

If God is the source of Love, let us worship God by loving. If God is the ground of being, let us worship God by having the courage to be more fully human; the embodiment of the Divine.

Our scholars and audiences seek understanding about the history and faith of religious people and culture—but not just for the sake of knowledge. Faith And Reason challenges faith to confront injustice in our world. Today, that means taking a critical look at the injustice right in our own backyard.