Monthly Archives: May 2018

May17

Imago Dei

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No! Just no!!!!

Today the President of the United States said: “these aren’t people. They are animals” referring to immigrants.

I am so angered and sickened by this, I don’t even know what to say about it except.. it is absolutely despicable, horrific, and downright evil. History has shown us the evils of how this kind of dehumanizing moved nations toward slavery and genocide. This is sinful and it is outright evil. And the scary part is how a person in such power making such horrific claims can influence many on how they view and treat others.

No! No! No!

We have GOT to call this out for what it is and be a part of ending it!!!

To be silent is to be complicit.

And as a Christian and a person of faith, a huge part of our faith is to claim the imago dei in ALL humankind: to see that ALL humanity was created good and in God’s image… was beautifully and wonderfully made in the image of God. To deny this is un-Christian.

May10

Guest Post at Conversations on the Fringe: “Lessons on the Ascension: From my very wise 6th-12th grade youth”

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ascension
Today is Ascension Day. Ever wonder what it is all about and what it means for us today?
 
We can learn a lot from my youth!
 
Check out some thoughts on the Ascension from many of my wise 6th-12th graders from over the years in my post at Conversations on the Fringe:
 
As Steve (who was a 7th grader when he preached) explains in his sermon: “[Jesus] calls his disciples to be his witnesses, not just witnesses, but witnesses to the ends of the earth. Now, what do you really think it means to be a witness? These disciples had seen some pretty amazing things and I think Jesus wanted these disciples to tell people what they had seen… So how [does this] form us in our lives today? To me, the end’s of the earth is at our Care for Real food pantry, which is only a few blocks away from here, where we are witnesses of God’s love when we help all of these hungry people get food and feel loved.”
 
As Ngbarezere (who was a freshman when he preached) proclaims: “Jesus said ‘And you will be my witnesses…’ How are we witnesses? With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be Jesus’ witnesses to all people – to follow in Jesus’ footsteps of loving the oppressed and standing up for justice and equality.”
 
And as Luz (who was a sophomore when she preached) shares: “I know at one point I was confused like the disciples, about how Jesus could just leave us, but honestly, he never did because he’s in you, and you and even you. Our Christ is everywhere.”
 
– You can read the rest here on my guest post at Conversations on the Fringe.