Lee Catoe:I have a question about the performative aspect of scripture and how Matthew’s audience would receive it. If not everyone could read this text and performance was a way in which people received it, how does the front-loaded translation you gave evoke a more active participation—if it does—for both
MoreMargaret Aymer in Dialogue on Matthew 25: Part 2
Iosso: Are there other places in scripture where we see the identification between God and the poor, or the least of these? This reversal of expectation, that unveiling, that sense of, “Oh, there’s God where we don’t expect God to be?” Do other texts come to mind? Because I think the
MoreMargaret Aymer in Dialogue on Matthew 25: Part 1
Dr. Aymer spoke to the staff of Compassion, Peace, and Justice (CPJ) ministry unit of the Presbyterian Mission Agency via cellphone Zoom from outside Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary where she is professor of New Testament. This was part of a meeting of all CPJ staff, including deployed staff, reflecting on
MoreWhite Progressives, God is Calling Us to Sit Down.
This past week, I sat in a training meeting of about 300 people – all of different experiences and expressions. Racial equity training lead by two amazing black women was on the agenda. Hours of data about the black experience in the United States were presented to us, offering surprising
MoreOn November 20, 2019, the Presbytery of Hudson River formally transferred the title of the former Stony Point Presbyterian church and associated property to the Sweetwater Cultural Center, a newly formed organization dedicated “to promote the education, health and welfare of indigenous or native peoples and to preserve their cultures
MoreThe Solution to Homelessness is a Conversion Experience
Many good-hearted people of faith are at the forefront of the fight against homelessness in the United States. In fact, without the involvement of religious communities, few if any resources for neighbors struggling with homeless would exist. Soup kitchens, overnight shelters, daytime resource centers, treatment programs, and permanent housing are
MoreChris: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
MoreWhen I returned to Agua Prieta in 2017, I attended a bilingual Bible study with the members of the Presbyterian binational ministry, Frontera de Cristo. Frontera de Cristo members often cite the verses of Ephesians 2:13-20: “For he [Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one
MoreThe first time that I crossed the US/Mexico border from Douglas, Arizona, into Agua Prieta, Sonora, I remember a welcome sign on the side of the highway: Bienvenidos a Mexico. The border wall, a slotted metal cage that stretches miles across the desert, was painted on the Mexico side with
MoreWho is my neighbor? The Border Wall in Nashville
On Saturday morning, August 10, I woke up to the sound of eviction: the thunder of bedroom furniture and family possessions ejected into a metal container parked in our driveway, the rattle of a chainsaw through the walls tearing carpet from floors. As neighbors, we shared a wall with Charles
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