On Being with Dying: A Story of Squirrels and Little Girls
At an evening party some friends of mine threw last spring, two friends came up to me and asked for my help with an infant squirrel they’d found in their yard that seemed nearly dead. I quickly followed them to the basement where they’d placed the squirrel in a box with some leaves and well-meant [...]
It Looks Like the World Is Going to Hell: Global Warming and the Question of Hope
As part of the interfaith environmental work I am blessed to be able to do, I visit with people in congregations around the state about caring for the environment. In these conversations, I am almost always asked some variation of this question: “Where do we find hope?” Anyone working on environmental issues today must wrestle with this question of hope and purpose–and if people are unable to find a meaningful answer, they won’t be able to stay engaged for very long. Without some kind of deep wellspring, the struggle of facing the world’s troubles is too frequently, too much.
Why Count the Omer in Sadness?
After the joyful Seders and family gatherings have ended and we have entered more deeply into the Passover holiday, I often feel jarred by the Counting of the Omer. Traditional Jews mark this time before Shavuot through abstinence: foregoing weddings, cutting one’s hair and even listening to music. Instead, they devote themselves to internal work [...]
“Coming Out Jewish”
Trembling slightly, I pulled the folded paper out of my pocket and opened it. I held it tightly; I needed that paper. On it were the printed words that would guide my dry mouth and racing thoughts through the next few minutes. As I walked to the microphone in front of the faculty, staff and [...]
Contributing Scholars
Nate KratzerNate is currently the social justice minister and youth director at Third Lutheran Church in Louisville, KY. He is pursuing a Masters in Public Policy at the University of Kentucky. He frequently does research and writing for the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Programs, and he blogs at: http://faithandpublicpolicy.wordpress.com/
Marvin Lance WiserOriginally from Tennessee, once a sojourner in Latin America and then California, now a CIRCLE fellow and MDiv student at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts, with concentrations in Hebrew Bible, the Ancient Near East, and Interfaith Studies.
Diane JohnsonI am currently a student at Pacific School of Religion where I am pursuing a M.Div with a focus on spirituality and social change. I am founder and President of Mmapeu Management Consulting, a national management consulting firm focused on individual and organizational capacity building, leadership development and strategic visioning with social sector organizations. I am most interested in the nexus of sacred activism, social change, and movement building.