Why “Just Elders”
Why “Just Elders” I have been a community organizer since 1972. I consider myself in the tradition of Saul Alinsky. I love the philosophy, the methodology and the effectiveness of this type of organizing. I have seen it do amazing things all over the United States, in Africa and in Great Britain. I think the…
Read MoreWhat if…?
April 16, 2017 After a set of dreary, gray days laced with rain showers, this Easter morning is brightly sunny, warm and burgeoning with hope. In a curious way, this transformation stands for me as a metaphor for the past several months and for my longing for a resurrection of American citizens to an era…
Read MoreSpeech Creates
How we speak is important. The idea that speech creates is at the core of our faith. God speaks and there is life. Jesus spoke and created a community that has endured 2000 years. We speak and communities are created or destroyed. I am worried about the kind of communities Christian speech is creating today.…
Read MorePre-Retreat Trumpdom Reflections
Yesterday morning I received an email alert from a newly formed activist group in Milwaukee with a long list of things we simply have to do in the next several days to resist Trump else we are surely doomed. Why is it that I felt obligated and exhausted rather than energized and called by God?…
Read MoreIt began on the Hiawatha, Milwaukee to Chicago, Train….
It was the conversation that Dennis Jacobsen and I enjoyed for years. For years we took the train to Chicago to attend meetings of a national clergy caucus. Like us, these clergy led their congregations into faith-based community organizing. Our conversations on the train were challenging and stimulating. Then we moved on to other phases of our journeys. Though I was over 70 years…
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