Why I Bother: Voting as a Young American
Last week, I was pleased to be an audience member in the first taping of a new series on why Texans have one of the lowest rates of civic participation in the country. This particular taping was specifically focused on young people and was appropriately titled, “Why Bother: Voices of a New Generation.” A wide [...]
The Truth of an Alleged Lie
In the midst of last month’s Chik-fil-A blow-up, I wrote a piece which attempted to clarify the particular reason so many LGBT people were actually upset. It wasn’t Cathy’s opinion about “traditional marriage,” it was his millions of dollars which were donated to anti-gay organizations. In my post, I wanted to highlight the correlation between [...]
An Unexpected Turn
In my last post I struggled with my place in and expectations of the church. A few months later and now I am a youth director and justice associate at a local church. Funny how life works. As a UMC lesbian graduating from seminary in Texas, working in the church didn’t seem like much of [...]
Whose Values?: The post-Prop 8 Equality Movement
On Tuesday, a critical victory came in the national movement toward LGBT equality, as a federal appeals panel ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Prop 8, which was a voter created amendment to the California state constitution, has been the face of the marriage equality fight for the past several years since its passage in November [...]
The Value of Discomfort: Why I won’t make peace with my Parsha
I have encountered many mitigating interpretations of the most painful texts in my Torah portion (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13), some more rigorous and thoughtful than others. However, academically and religiously, I ultimately find all of these somewhat unsatisfying. And personally, despite all these interpretations, the verses still hurt.
Assert Your Authority
If on Rosh HaShanah we gain a picture of what can happen when we submit blindly to authority, Yom Kippur is our opportunity to choose another path.
The Embarrassment of Faith
My friend Jen is a rabbinical student. Her rabbinical school advises students not to shout their future vocation from the rooftops in delicate settings, such as airplanes, thanks to the unfortunate reality of human lameness. The rabbinical school would rather their students, if asked about their occupation, tell people they are in the education business. [...]
Beyond Borders: Gender, Nature and the Rabbis
Last week I heard Dr. Joy Ladin speak at our local community shul. Dr. Ladin is a professor of English at the orthodox institution Stern College at Yeshiva University and the first out trans professor at a religious institution. In her talk, Dr. Ladin spoke about these categories that humans create. All of us have bodies, she said, some we don’t have words for. The mistake we make is that if we don’t have words for it we say that it is outside of humanness.
Dethroning Your Bully God
February’s State of Formation topic is bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. The recent and ongoing campaign is to impress upon the victims of bullying the message that “it gets better.” Which means, there can be a happy life after bullying, if you can just endure the present torment. You can check out [...]
Boo and the Big Bad Bully
Last Halloween, the Internet went viral with the story of a preschool boy who wanted to dress as Daphne for Halloween. His mother supported the plan, but the child—given the ghostly pseudonym Boo—was concerned about a potentially negative reaction from his peers. His mother said not to worry, but the boy continued to have concerns. [...]
Contributing Scholars
Honna EichlerHonna is the Managing Director at State of Formation. She has a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary and works in Chicago, IL.
Victoria LarsonVictoria is a student at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and a candidate for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Her sermons, vocational reflections, and occasional harassed anecdotes about her German Shepherd mix can be read at lutheranmoxie.wordpress.com.
Tim BrauhnTim received his MA in International Studies from the University of Denver in 2009. He is an (inaugural) alumnus of the Faiths Act Fellowship, a program of the Interfaith Youth Core and Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Tim is a consultant in the interfaith and social media spheres, and currently serves as Director of Operations for The 1010 Project, a Denver humanitarian agency.