The Red Tent | Presbyterian Voices for Justice

New Book coming out this Good Friday, March 29

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:21:50 -0500

Only Say the Word: Affirming Gay and Lesbian Love

by Dr. Alan McManus

(Ropley, England: Christian Alternative, 2013)

A former Franciscan friar, Dr. Alan McManus holds degrees in Church History/Practical Theology and Religious Studies. He has taught languages at home and abroad, and Religious, Moral & Philosophical Studies in Scotland. He has published articles on political philosophy and WW1 remembrance in "Citizenship, Social and Economics Education." He is a member of Affirmation Scotland.

Foreword by the Rev. Lindsay Biddle, Chaplain of Affirmation Scotland

“In Only Say the Word: Affirming Gay and Lesbian Love, Dr. Alan McManus offers a unique queer interpretation of a few traditional Christian stories. He raises questions that require moving beyond the surface understandings, and he provides a deeper, fresh view of how these stories can be read.

“As a gay Catholic McManus speaks to his own faith and spirituality in his journey toward personal acceptance and his search for acceptance for himself and other gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and transgender persons within the Church. In slightly more than one hundred pages the author engages the reader in a conversation that will continue beyond the final chapter.”

Jim Wallis: Pastors- It's Time to speak out for the common good

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:24:30 -0500

Pastors: It's Time to Speak Out for the Common Good

Politics at its best serves the common good — far above any one interest or political party. And right now in Washington, we see that playing out as we continue to reach accord on immigration reform. But when it comes to our budget debate, partisan ideology and special interests are winning out over the common good.

The ever-looming “sequester” that was never supposed to happen goes into effect tomorrow. Billions of dollars will be cut from domestic and military spending without any plan or strategy; jobs will be lost and people will suffer. Public frustration is growing with our elected officials, while they continue to argue over the role of government instead of governing responsibly. The press discusses who wins and loses in the polls, but it is clear that it is the common good that is losing.

On the other hand, immigration reform is being discussed, at the same time with the same political players, in a very reasonable and hopeful way. On that important policy change, bipartisan work is going forward to shape legislation that could pass both houses of Congress.

Pseudoscience about gender differences won't solve the science gap

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:01:53 -0500

By Susan Perry | 02/14/13

CC/Flickr/Jeremy Wilburn

The blog was well-intentioned, but giving parents gender-stereotyping tips isn't going to solve the science gender gap.

A lot of myths about gender brain differences get bandied about in the media, but a recent Guardian blog post aimed at helping parents get their daughters interested in science was so gob-smacking silly, it could be read as an Onion spoof.

The article overflowed with outdated gender stereotyping, as can be seen in these three back-to-the-‘50s examples from the article’s list of parenting tips:

Have her read instructions and recipes aloud. When she eventually performs science experiments this will help her break down the steps involved. It also helps with deconstructing more elaborate math problems down the road.

Research shows that as girls get older they retain their mathematical and scientific abilities when applied to domestic scenarios. So make your domestic scenario more mathematic and scientific. Shopping is filled with math problems, particularly if your daughter wants something that is too expensive.

She's a Little Old Lady from Pasadena!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 08:30:02 -0500

Sandra Mader of Pasadena, California turned out to be our 1000th lucky "liker" on Facebook!

She lives at the end of the Rose Parade route where they park the floats for a couple of days "visit" after the parade.

As promised, here is a snapshot of how Sandra uses her voice for justice in her own words:

My work for justice has been mostly outside the church! During my 40+ years as a public school educator (high school English/ESL teacher, librarian, special ed. administrator) I focused on full inclusion of all kids, especially the recent immigrants who brought such richness to their ESL classes, in all facets of the life of the school.

I was inspired as a child by Eleanor Roosevelt to see value in all God's children and to raise my voice, literally and figuratively, for their protection and support. I was reminded this weekend of the importance of her words when I heard the St. Olaf Choir singing an original setting of E.R's "Evening Prayer"....."deliver us and save us from ourselves." A timely petition!

I'm a volunteer docent at Huntington Botanical Gardens leading discovery tours for elem. school students, Adaptations in a Changing World. The children give me weekly "sermons" to the beauty of God's creation with their smiles and words...."I feel so connected here."   "I want to bring my mom here to see these colors." "This feeds my soul."

At First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood (home church for 30 years), I've been a member of Hollywood Mass Choir, an intergenerational, interdenominational, multicultural gospel choir, singing the good news throughout Los Angeles in churches, homeless shelters, civic events - and our annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert bringing together many people to experience the message of peace and justice that MLK embodied. I dream of a church where, "We'll walk hand in hand....and "We shall all be free."

I am blessed to be the moderator of Presbytery of the Pacific's Committee on Ministry where we are trying to live into being, "pastor, counselor and advisor to the teaching elders and congregations" in our portion of Los Angeles County. I was presbytery moderator in 2008 - and worked through the 3 moderator chairs.

The joys of my life are my 2 grandchildren, David a soph. electical engineering student at California Polytechnic Univ. at San Luis Obispo and Rachel a high school sophomore in a special ed class in Pasadena. I have a special place in my heart for all those "special" kids who struggle to be respected and included in school and in our churches.

In Spirit and Truth- PCUSA Blog

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:18:54 -0500

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

The Time Has Come!

Guest Blogger: Rev. Dr. Arlene Gordon, President of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus (NBPC)

On January 24, 2013, Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary made an astounding announcement that will change the course of history for women in the military announcing the elimination of ground combat exclusion and suggesting a plan to move forward to eliminate all gender based barriers. The announcement, in my opinion, is a wake-up signal to the church and calls the church to also re-examine it's stance on women in ministry.

Ironically, this announcement came between theMartin Luther King, Jr. holiday celebration and the beginning of Black History Month. What a more appropriate time to raise the issue considering the journey of black clergywomen within the PC(USA). As we look to Committees on Representation for answers to why more black clergywomen are not being called to serve congregations within the PC(USA), a few troubling questions arise for me. How are Committees on Representation working with local judicatories to assure equal consideration of women in congregations and, particularly, black clergywomen or does that fall beyond COR boundaries? Has the time come for the church to pay more attention to the increasing number of black women in ministry who never receive a call? Why is it still an issue in these critical times in the life of our congregations to see a black women called as Senior or Associate Pastor?

Much Ado About Nones

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:11:24 -0500

Weekly messages about leadership, discipleship, theological education, and contemporary culture
from Michael Jinkins, President of Louisville Seminary

January 29, 2013

Getting the Facts Straight about "Nones"

Recently I read an essay in the New York Times referring to the much discussed sociological category of "nones." That particular essay completely misread recent studies implying that "nones" are non-believers, even agnostics or atheists. I was just about to produce a blog on the subject when my colleague and friend Matthew Myer Boulton, President of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, posted his excellent blog, which he has given me permission to share with you (below). After reading Matt's blog, I felt it would be largely redundant to write my own. I want to thank Matt for his insightful comments and his willingness to appear as a guest blogger this week on "Thinking Out Loud."

Those who would like, may refer back to the blog I wrote when the Pew Study about the "nones" was originally announced or read the related news stories that followed publication of that blog.

American Baptists take on gun violence

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:07:16 -0500

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013SOCIAL ISSUES

American Baptists take on gun violence

By Bob Allen

American Baptist Home Mission Societies directors approved a statement intended to equip churches to take action on reducing the impact of guns on American life.

Directors of American Baptist Home Mission Societies unanimously adopted a statement Jan. 23 recommending 10 measures aimed at combating gun violence in the United States.

The measures, approved during a two-day retreat in Atlanta, include a ban on assault weapons, requiring criminal background checks for sales at gun shows, strengthening regulations of gun dealers, required reporting of lost or stolen guns to law enforcement, and restoring firearms research funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Clifford Johnson

“We want to provide the tools for local churches to take action,” saidClifford Johnson, president of the board that oversees the domestic mission arm of American Baptist Churches USA. “This will be a board of action. If we are to be true to our history, we have to speak out on issues like gun violence.”

Sojourners: A Call for a New Social Contract

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 09:42:13 -0500

A Call for a New Social Covenant

In the past 20 years, the world has witnessed the death of social contracts. We have seen a massive breakdown in trust between citizens, their economies, and their governments. In our own country, we can point to years of data painting a bleak picture of the confidence Americans have in any of our traditional institutions.

Former assumptions and shared notions about fairness, agreements, reciprocity, mutual benefits, social values, and expected futures have all but disappeared. The collapse of financial systems and the resulting economic crisis not only have caused instability, insecurity, and human pain; they have also generated a growing disbelief and fundamental distrust in the way things operate and how decisions are made.

This week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, we are looking to the future and asking “what now?” At a Saturday session — “The Moral Economy: From Social Contract to Social Covenant” — a document will kick off a year-long global conversation about a new “social covenant” between citizens, governments, and businesses.

Rev. Judy Lee Hay, a South Wedge icon, gives last sermon Sunday Pastor's path shaped neighborhood toward revitalization

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:11:38 -0500

Pastor Judy Lee Hay delivers her sermon as she is set to retire from the Calvary St. Andrew's Presbyterian Parish in the South Wedge on Sunday. Hay, a staunch advocate for the neighborhood, will offer her last sermon this Sunday. / KRIS J. MURANTE//STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Written by

Sean Dobbin

Staff writer for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Rife with gang activity and strewn with vacant houses, the city’s South Wedge in 1973 was a dying neighborhood.

Forty years later, its real estate is among the most sought-after in the city, and its vibrant business district just welcomed its newest boutique: The Little Bleu Cheese Shop.

And in between, at nearly every step along the way, was Rev. Judy Lee Hay.

Hay, 66, of Rochester, will give her final sermon on Sunday. After 40 years as an advocate, steward, and champion of the South Wedge — as well as a pastor at Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Parish church — Hay is retiring to spend more time with friends and family.

But thanks in part to her efforts, the neighborhood she’s leaving behind is a different place.

Addressing blight

Like many city neighborhoods, the South Wedge of four decades ago was being abandoned by families who were flocking to the suburbs. The recently-completed Inner Loop served to cut off the business district from downtown, and about 120 houses were vacant, including about 25 percent of the homes in the northernmost section of the South Wedge.

Hello from PCUSA Women"s Ministry Staff...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:19:00 -0500

January 16, 2013

Hello Everyone:

I wanted to greet you in the new year and share a few things with you. And, I hope that you will share something with the rest of us.

There are two new staff in Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries/PW. Rv. Nancy Benson-Nicol is the Associate for Gender and Racial Justice. You will perhaps recognize her name as the editor of the current HORIZONS Bible Study. She begins work on February 4. Nancy’s work “will include leading ‘Building the Beloved Community’ (antiracism) trainings, following up on General Assembly referrals assigned to the Office of Gender and Racial Justice, and the development programs and ministries at all levels of the church that implement the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s policies of becoming an inclusive, diverse, and racially just church.”

The other new person is Kate Carlisle, the Associate for Young Women’s Leadership Development. Her work will include “setting new directions in young women’s leadership development ministries. Along with other new young adult staff at the Presbyterian Mission Agency, this mission and ministry directly links to the 2013-2016 Mission Work Plan’s directional goal to ‘engage and join with young adults in reforming the church for Christ’s mission.’”

Sermon Helps for Epiphany 2C

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:05:58 -0500

It's a miracle fluid!

Praise the Lord!

Wisdom Hymns for Proverbs texts

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:38:28 -0400

Hymn to a Capable Woman

Sermon from East Liberty Church 7/1/12

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:18:36 -0400

July 1, 2012 (General Assembly Sunday)

TEXT: Micah 6:6-8

TITLE: O Church, What Does the Lord Require of You

Sparks of insight are always triggered by something. Something precedes every flash of inspiration. For example, a group in our church watched the documentary “Race: The Power of an Illusion.” We learned how race is a sociological category, not a biological fact. There are far more genetic differences between people considered to be of the same race than there are between people who check different boxes under race on the census form. Which leads me to ask, how would I live differently if race truly didn’t matter, if race wasn’t a factor in so many daily interactions?

A different example. I recently read a speech given several years ago by Václav Havel, the former Czech president. In it he said this: “Today we live in a world with a single global civilization.” At first that didn’t make sense. But then I thought about how bound together we are with every other nation on this planet. We are intertwined through economics and politics and shared information. We have come to understand that the Greek monetary crisis and China’s undervalued currency, the fiscal policies of Germany or the uprisings in Syria directly affect us here in America, in Pittsburgh, in East Liberty. One suicide bomber from an obscure village in Yemen can impact millions of lives today. Which leads me to ask, how would I live if geography and national borders truly didn’t matter, if my priorities were shaped by the needs of my global family?

New Book: America and Its Guns

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:28:08 -0400

America AND ITS GUNS

A Theological Exposé

by James E. Atwood

Foreword by Walter Brueggemann

James Atwood contends that the 30,000 gun deaths America suffers every year cannot be understood apart from our national myth that God has appointed America as “the trustee of the civilization of the world” and even “Christ’s light to the nations.” Because these purposes are noble, and we are supposedly a good and trustworthy people, violence is sometimes “required” and gives license to individuals to carry open or concealed weapons, which “save lives” and can even be “redemptive.”

Atwood, an avid hunter, cautions that an absolute trust in guns and violence morphs easily into idolatry. Having spent thirty-six years as a Presbyterian pastor fighting against the easy access to firearms, one of which took the life of a friend, he uses his unique experience and his biblical and theological understanding to graphically portray the impact guns have on our society. He documents how Americans have been deceived into believing that the tools of violence, whether they take the form of advanced military technology or a handgun in the bedside stand, will provide security. He closes with a wake-up call to the faith community, which he says is America’s best hope to unmask the extremism of the Gun Empire.

Why Are Young People Leaving Evangelical Christianity?

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:15:23 -0500

Why Are Young People Leaving Evangelical Christianity?

by Julie Rodriguez (reprinted from Care2.com)
February 23, 2012

A new five-year study on the Millennial Generation (those born between 1982 and 1993) has just been released by the Barna Group, a Christian research firm. It shows that young Christians – particularly those interested in scientific and creative fields – are leaving their churches. This is particularly true of more conservative congregations.

But why? The Barna Group has identified six major factors that are driving young people away from religion:

Young adults and teens see their churches as overprotective, saying “Christians demonize everything outside of the church,” and that their churches ignore “the problems of the real world.”
Many find their connection to Christianity to be shallow, saying that church is boring, or that their faith “is not relevant” to their career or interests. 20% even stated that God seemed to be missing from their church experiences.
Reason number three is a big one – many young adults feel a strong conflict between their religion and science. A full quarter of those surveyed believe “Christianity is anti-science,” and 23% have become frustrated with debating creationism vs. evolution. Three out of ten believe that their churches are out of step with the modern, scientific world. The research further goes to show that young Christians interested in science are struggling to reconcile their religious beliefs with their profession.
Many also see their church’s views on sexuality as simplistic and judgmental. Most young Christians are just as sexually active as their non-Christian peers, despite holding more conservative attitudes regarding sexuality. 17% say they feel judged in church because of their sexual decisions. 40% of Catholics between 18 and 29 believe that the church’s teachings about sexuality and birth control are out of date.
Many young Americans believe that Christianity is not open-minded or tolerant towards those of other religions. 29% feel that they are being forced to choose between church doctrine and their friendships.
Finally, many of those surveyed admitted that they were unable to express doubts within the church. They felt unable to ask questions and receive satisfactory answers. 18% stated that their faith did not help them cope with depression and emotional problems that they experience.

In an article for Alternet, Elanor Bader interviewed some former evangelicals to get their take on the results. Brittany Shoot, a writer and activist, spoke about her own experience moving away from her church:

“When I was a child I was told that someone I cared about was HIV-positive. I somehow learned that he was gay and had contracted the virus through sex. There was such shame around the diagnosis. I knew that I shouldn’t tell anyone he was sick because they might shun me. Even as a kid I thought, ‘something is wrong here.’” Later, when Shoot was in high school, a friend disclosed his homosexuality. “You didn’t come out in the Christian culture we lived in,” she says. “He didn’t feel safe; we also knew that no church in the area would love and protect him.”

The next time you are called a "#$%^*$ liberal"...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:57:25 -0500

This quote is actually a debate scene written by Lawrence O'Donnell for the TV show West Wing. These words were spoken by Jimmy Smits to Alan Alda during their "presidential debate". This was shown on The Last Word that aired on 2/2/12.

The Red Hand Campaign

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:34:20 -0500

How to make Red Hands

MARK KOENIG

The Red Hand Campaign asks nation states to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and make clear their commitment to ending the use of child soldiers. The goal is for every country in the world to ratify the optional protocol by 2012, the tenth anniversary of when it took effect.

To take part in the Red Hand Campaign:

Create red hand prints on paper (using finger paint, drawing an outline, using red paper, or in some other way) and then add their names, hometowns, and a message.
Send your red hands to the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations will deliver the red hands to the UN missions.
Share your activities! Tell the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations how you have made Red Hands.

CATEGORIES: Child soldiers , Children, Human Rights, Human Trafficking

TAGS: child soldiers, children, human rights, red hand campaign, red hands, trafficking, united nations

Purpose

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:33:28 -0500

Welcome to the Red Tent! This is a PV4J original idea created in response to the Big Tent events held by the PCUSA, where many voices were not invited to represent under the Big Tent. This is a safe space to share your passion for peace and justice issues. Send your contributions to the webweaver and watch for your post to appear. You may send as an attachment (Pages or Word) or paste your text in the body of your email. Your webweaver will extract and publish it!