On Jul 30, 2010 ⋅ No comments
7/30 I admit that as I prepared to moderate the panel on Common Values: Building Bridges with People of Faith to Win Progressive Change at Netroots Nation, one of my assumptions was that progressives might be uncomfortable sharing their “tent” with people of faith. I heard these same thoughts from the panelists the night before […]
On Jul 27, 2010 ⋅ No comments
Washington Post On Faith:
For society, the most important thing is to support an interfaith couple -- just as we would any other couple -- as they make the promise to love and cherish one another. An interfaith marriage can only thrive in a society that values tolerance. And by the same token, the bonds of interfaith marriage strengthen the tolerant fabric of American life.
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On Jul 23, 2010 ⋅ 6 comments
7/23 Settling in at the Netroots Nation conference where I will moderate a panel tomorrow is a challenge for me today. In this progressive community I am distinctly a person of faith, and I am acutely aware of how long it has been since the progressive religious voice has had a champion in the American […]
On Jul 16, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments
7/16 The 219th General Assembly — a roller coaster ride, if there ever was one — has barely been written in the Book of Life as I participate in the annual gathering of some of the most faithful Christians I know: gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Presbyterians who deeply feel a call from God to […]
On Jul 13, 2010 ⋅ 11 comments
7/13 This summer it will be my great honor to moderate a panel at the progressive bloggers’ conference, Netroots Nation, on the topic of Building Bridges with People of Faith to Win Progressive Change. As moderator, it will be my role to share insights and advice on how progressive activists can connect with people of […]
On Jul 9, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments
7/9 It’s been a typical week at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly, full of intense conversations, raucous reunions with friends not seen since the last General Assembly, long meetings with complicated procedures, and above all, a shared desire for the church to embrace our deeply held convictions about God’s will for us. As I […]
On Jul 2, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments
7/2 For the third time, service on the board of More Light Presbyterians takes me to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), this year, in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Today I am working at the More Light booth, greeting friends, blessing rainbow scarves upon the shoulders of former strangers, now sisters and brothers, […]
On Jun 25, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments
6/25 I had the immense privilege last Sunday to preach at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Knowing that their pastor, Chester Topple, identified the church as “fiercely Presbyterian,” I began the sermon by asking this wonderful congregation, “What is the essential quality of being Presbyterian?” The first one of many to […]
On Jun 11, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments
6/11 Arcane errors in the translation of 16th-century German religious texts are not typically something to get worked up over. So why is the restoration of the Heidelberg Catechism — a topic before our General Assembly this summer — so important to many in the PCUSA, myself included? This is a question that even I […]
On Jun 4, 2010 ⋅ 6 comments
6/4 As I watched the historic steps taken last week toward the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – the policy that bans GLBT people from serving openly in our country’s military – I was reminded of the Presbyterian Church’s policies concerning those called to serve the church. Successful service in the military and the […]
