We are all gathered in a small chapel for our normal good Friday service, the candles are lit, the incense is ready, but then Ta-Nahesi Coates stands up in the middle of the service, faces the congregation, and begins to speak: “When a black man dies, everyone wants to talk about forgiving the killer.They want to weave hisContinue reading “Good Friday: The Day God Dies (or Ta-Nahesi Coates, Miroslav Volf & N.T. Wright have a conversation about bodies)”
Tag Archives: racism
That Saved a Wretch Like Me
We’re heading into the bloodiness of Holy Week in just a little while. Good Friday looms at the end of Lent, this horrible black, silent day where we actually contemplate the slow suffocation of a Palestinian Jew on a cross. Uh, depressing. I’d much rather skip it and get to the chocolate Easter eggs onContinue reading “That Saved a Wretch Like Me”
An Uprooting
But we can’t receive that grace if we don’t think we need it. For reconciliation and restoration to occur, we have to acknowledge there’s a problem… The question is not, “What is Jesus telling black people in this moment?” The question is, “What is Jesus telling me in this moment? Me, a white person?”
Nation Building: Our country, not “this country”
I’ve been out of the loop on the #Zumamustfall campaigns that spread across South Africa at the end of last year calling for the removal of our corrupt president (protestors are pointing to things like Nkandla, the mansion Zuma built with tax payer money- protest chant is simply “Pay back the money!”) I’ve been out ofContinue reading “Nation Building: Our country, not “this country””
Ok, so I’m racist. Now what?
There’s an article going round on the Huffington Post right now, talking about how racism isn’t just having prejudiced feelings towards people, or saying nasty things about people of another race. It has to do with a bigger system that shapes the way the world works, and who has access to privilege and power, andContinue reading “Ok, so I’m racist. Now what?”
Pea Soup and Brene Brown
I always picture “shame” like the pea-soup green fog that descends on the town of Chewandswallow in the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It kind of rises up inside of you and hovers around you like an icky blanket and of COURSE every rational human being would want to avoid it. You’d beContinue reading “Pea Soup and Brene Brown”
What my car break-down taught me about racism
So, I’m coasting backwards down this winding hill (luckily there were no cars behind me) so I can pull of on a side dirt road. As I reverse into this dirt road, David starts yelling something unintelligible, and then I realize it’s the word “STOP!” so I stop, but not before our two back wheels are in a HUGE ditch.
Stephanie Ebert 