My Best Life

3 mins read

This is a poem which imagines the author in multiple past and present lives, particularly as a dachshund in the royal court of Fernando and Isabella. The poem explores the nature of prayer against the backdrop of human atrocity.
Before the first daisy petal of light
And before the rooster’s belated announcement of a new day Dawn always had her own melody. Back then, dawnsong mingled with my badger dreams And called me to my four paws To bark my morning prayers into the waiting east
Sounding pure love into the silken ears of God. Back then, there were always dachshunds In the

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I Will Not Rest: A Reflection for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

11 mins read

As we celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on this day, it is imperative to remember not only his triumphs for humankind, but also his trials and tribulations that taunted him along the journey. As a scholar of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Leadership Institute and a former Harrisburg School Board Member and City Councilmember, it is wrong for us to rejoice in a leader’s success without celebrating the loss and setbacks they endured to become resilient. We cannot continue to rejoice in the victory while neglecting the emotional and physical sacrifice that not only King had to bare but the faithful few who believed in his dream. It is no secret that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was viewed unfavorably in many eyes of Americans (including people of color) before he was assassinated.

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The Gun Epidemic

It was very disheartening for me to learn that so-called Christians keep and even carry guns in the USA. In

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  • Witness and Recovery on Long Island: An Interview with Mike Smith

    24 mins read

    Chris:We were asked by the General Assembly of the church to look at the Doctrine of Discovery to understand its implications historically and the contemporary damage that it continues to do. I don’t think there is any more historic perspective among the Native American Presbyterians than yours and that of

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  • Syria: The Burden of Memory

    22 mins read

    Does the name Mohammed Mossadegh ring a bell for you? For your congregation?  It did not for the New York Times when it published the article “The Tension between America and Iran, Explained”.  A major boulevard in Tehran is named for this historical figure of the 20th century, but in

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  • The Trilemma of Settler Colonialism

    18 mins read

    The words “settlers” and “territories” harken back to the earliest stories that came from the Europeans who sailed to the “New World.” They have complicated histories which go back to our nation’s original sins of slavery and the genocide of indigenous peoples. But Americans don’t have a monopoly on these

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  • Part 1: Integration of Native Voices in Education- An Interview with Elona Street- Stewart

    25 mins read

    Lee:                                                      Elona, please introduce yourself to the Unbound audience and tell us a little bit about the work you are doing. Elona:                                                   Well, my name is Elona Street-Stewart. Delaware Nanticoke is my tribe, and I am the Synod Executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies here

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  • Part 1: Environmental Justice and Native Peoples – A Conversation with Doreen Simmonds

    14 mins read

    Lee:                                                       Doreen please introduce yourself and tell us about yourself and what kind of work you’re doing, just so we can get to know you a little bit. Doreen:                                                 Uvafa Nutaaq, Utqiabvigmiu. Aapaga Samuel Simmonds, aakaga Martha Afupqana Simmonds, suli Hester Tugli Simmonds. Translation: My name is Nutaaq,

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  • Reverberations of Conquest

    12 mins read

    Scrawled on a page of my Choctaw Hymn book is the Choctaw version of Matthew 7:7, “Hvsh asilhhakma, hvch ima he; hvsh hoyokmvt, hvsh ahayucha he; hvsh soko hakma, hvchin tiwa he oke.” Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will

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Matthew 23:23

1 min read

Jesus said to the crowds… “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.” New Revised Standard Version   Back to Table of Contents

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A Social Creed for the 21st Century Video

1 min read

Check out our video on Vimeo: Toward a NEW Social Awakening, The Social Creed Or watch the video right here: [kaltura-widget uiconfid=”535″ entryid=”0_466vp691″ width=”400″ height=”330″ addpermission=”” editpermission=”” align=”center” /] A Social Creed for the 21st Century

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Close Enough to Get Hurt

12 mins read

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary It is not enough to say ‘Ain’t it awful,’ you have to get close enough to get hurt. By Alex Becker   Read and print as PDF.   This phrase—spoken during a sermon in Louisville Seminary’s Caldwell Chapel in 1994 and posted on the steps leading up to that chapel—tipped the

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Discovering the Doctrine of Discovery

Published on
17 mins read

It was in August of 2013 that I traveled to New York City with the Faith and Politics Institute (FPI) and a group of Congressional Representatives on what was described as “Becoming America”: a pilgrimage to celebrate the immigrant story and the role immigrants played in the creation of the United States. As the photographer

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