Racism, Belhar, and the Church in South Africa South Africa is a deeply wounded society. More than 340 years of racist colonial
Keep Reading
In 2010, the Reformed Church in America General Synod adopted the Belhar Confession as one of its doctrinal standards. This was a monumental decision for the denomination, as the most recent standard before Belhar was adopted hundreds of years ago. The
Keep Reading
Confrontation and Confession in Charlottesville The events in Charlottesville this weekend remind me how dangerous it can be to be proud of your identity. In the midst of that ultimately violent confrontation, I was proud to see Presbyterian clergy among the many people of faith standing up to the massed
More
In March 1948, theologian Reinhold Niebuhr graced the cover of Time. His appearance came at the end of two decades in which Niebuhr had risen to cultural prominence not just as a religious thinker, but also as one of the country’s foremost political leaders. Mainline Protestantism was riding high, and
More
“I didn’t know church could be like this,” said Sam, a teenager who had come to an event in Fellowship Hall. That Sunday after worship, we had Anna Baltzer speaking about why, as a Jewish-American, she had come to be an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, part of her national
More
Watering down the LGBTQ/Q Apology Overture at GA222 I never thought “collateral damage” was a term I’d identify with as a church-lady. I was wrong. I was baptized as a young girl in a Presbyterian church that would become my family’s spiritual home for the next fifteen years. I remember
More
The General Assembly Acts for Justice and Liberation in Palestine and Israel “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” -Amos 5:24 The 222nd General Assembly PC(USA) took place from June 17-25, 2016, in Portland, Oregon. I was fortunate enough to attend and serve as a
More
Thoughts on Who We are as the PC(USA) and What that Might Mean Going Forward While doing reflections in seminary, I learned the importance of naming your social location, so here goes: I am a white, straight, married, cisgendered female. I am a mother to an adventurous 15-month old daughter,
More
The Adoption of Belhar and the Public Naming of Abuse The moment was simply stunning. With no verbal form of disagreement or dissent, the 222nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to adopt the Belhar Confession. With this landslide vote, the Belhar Confession will be added to the
More
Reflections on Unity, Reconciliation and Justice This useful companion to the Belhar Confession, published by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, weaves together Scripture passages and the Confession’s timely themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. Written by a diverse collection of scholars, theologians and church leaders, it is the perfect resource for
More
White privilege means waking up in the morning with the ability to decide whether or not racism will be a part of your day. Just ask people of color who teach their black sons how to interact with police so that they can stay alive. Or who listen to well-meaning
More
At the end of 2015, with South Africa’s summer and “festive season” in full swing, a real estate agent from Durban took to social media to complain about the crowded and unkempt state of a local beach. The commentator, a middle-aged white woman, expressed her dismay using highly insulting racist
More
Unbound Social