I grew up in a sub-culture that was a bit famous for not being very good at listening. When people think of evangelicals, a lot of times they think of things like “intolerant”, and “judgemental.” Most evangelicals don’t think of themselves in those terms. We think we’re loving, but unfortunately that love hasn’t often been communicatedContinue reading “The Listening Life”
Category Archives: Social Justice
Loving your neighbor starts with noticing your neighbor.
Don’t give up chocolate for Lent this year, said Pope Francis. Give up indifference to the poor. “Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience.”Describing thisContinue reading “Loving your neighbor starts with noticing your neighbor.”
Black History Month
It’s black history month in America, and too often that just means token quotes from Martin Luther King Jr (selectively chosen for their inoffensiveness) pop up on Facebook. So this month I’ve been educating myself about awesome black women in American history , and there’s a lot of them. There’s Katherine Johnson of HiddenContinue reading “Black History Month”
On confusing Jesus with the Statue of Liberty
“People are confusing the Statue of Liberty and Jesus…But in fact while the real historical Jesus did urge compassion for those in need, but he also said, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.’ In other words, support government with your taxes because they have a legitimate function like protecting citizens. Those of usContinue reading “On confusing Jesus with the Statue of Liberty”
What worked for me in 2016
There’s this thing that a lot of bloggers (also ) I follow do at the end of the year– reflect on “what worked” and what didn’t. It’s a great tool to reflect over the past year and integrate new things into the year ahead. Since things have been pretty serious around the blog the past fewContinue reading “What worked for me in 2016”
The violence of nonviolence
“Get up, boy!” the voice hissed in my right ear. I could feel the chair shake as the person stood behind me and tried to forcefully shake me out of my chair. “He said get up, you filthy ***. This place ain’t fer your kind.” The counter to my right banged sharply in my leftContinue reading “The violence of nonviolence”
Canoes & the upside-down ways of a coming king
I’ve been thinking about those tiny canoes, dancing in front of giant USS nitro. It happened at Christmas, in 1971. The USA was bombing women, children, and hospitals in Vietnam. The Quakers wanted to do something about it. But what could one small group of Friends do in the face of an entireContinue reading “Canoes & the upside-down ways of a coming king”
The Table
We had communion at church last week. At my church we all line up, and walk down to the front to receive the bread and wine. On Camino, we did this as weary, dirty, pilgrims with the dust of the day’s hike still on our faces. On Sunday, I did it as a weary, worn-outContinue reading “The Table”
Advent: What to do with the waiting
Advent is almost upon us. That time of the year when we Christians mourn the dark and wait for the light, thankful for the Jesus who came, and longing for him to come again and set everything that is broken to rights. I think there will be lots of longing this year. But I hope weContinue reading “Advent: What to do with the waiting”
I get it. So now what?
Some people read my first post and were confused or hurt. I tried to address that in this post. Others of you read it and were like- “Yeah, I get this! But what can I do about it?” I’ve tried to gather together some resources and some things I’ve learned about racial reconciliation into oneContinue reading “I get it. So now what?”
Stephanie Ebert 