A friend of mine shared this extraordinary video on Facebook recently, about a man in India, Narayanan Krishnan, who has followed his heart into a ministry of feeding and care-taking of some of the most desperately poor and vulnerable people in his home city. For me, watching it brought a host of emotions. It brought [...]
Posts under ‘Society’
Bishop Senyonjo’s Courage
A quick heads-up that Religion Dispatches has an article on Union alum Bishop Christopher Senyonjo currently running on their site. For those who do not know, the Bishop has been the sole voice of religious support for the LGBTQ citizens of Uganda. He has been doing a great service both in Uganda and in the [...]
The Revolution Has Been Televised
Contrary to the old saying, the Revolution has indeed been televised. Al Jazeera, despite Mubarak’s shut-down of both new and old media, has carried live coverage of a peaceful revolution in Egypt. This is a great day. Twenty-one years ago today, Nelson Mandela was freed from Victor Verser Prison: this too was televised. The media [...]
W&C finds Religion in the News… no really.
This seminarian is no different from anyone else. These have been disturbing, nonsensical days that I can hardly begin to make meaning of one way or the other. When I don’t understand–especially when phrases from the middle ages pop up in present political rhetoric–I look to the wiser ones that have gone before me. So [...]
God Is Gay
It’s National Coming Out Day today. We’ve also heard a lot lately about LGBTQ teen suicides. If you haven’t yet, I implore you to read Rev. Dr. Patrick Cheng’s Huffington Post article on the suicides, Rev. Irene Monroe’s Huffington Post article on bullying and homophobia and spend some time in thoughtful reflection on what your [...]
The Middle Class Dilemma: More or Enough?
Two seemingly unrelated stories led off NPR’s Morning Edition today. One was the story of an Arizona family who decided not just to live within their means, but to live within their needs. The other, more vexing story, was about an obscure bit of financial jargon: “Quantitative Easing.” For all you normal people out there, [...]
You Don’t Look Like Rosa Parks
Tuesday’s New York Metro newspaper headline about the Park51 center read “You Guys Don’t Look Like Rosa Parks To Me”. The article was slightly less pugnacious, but the question remained about Ms. Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dr. King and the current predicament not only of the Park51 center but of Muslim believers in America [...]
Old Religion vs. Civic Religion
Over the weekend, the Wall St. Journal reported about a conflict between the Hopi people and a ski resort. At issue in this conflict is the plan from Arizona Snowbowl (the resort) to use recycled water to make artificial snow in an expansion into land that the Hopi and several other indigenous peoples believe to [...]
Guest Writer Pia Chaudhari: On “Good Grief”
Guest writer Pia Chaudhari is a Ph.D. candidate at Union in Psychiatry and Religion. In response to the New York Times Op-Ed of August 14, 2010 titled ‘Good Grief ‘by Allen Francis, I wish to share my relief in Dr. Francis’ defense of the sacred rituals of mourning and the process of grief and its [...]