A lot is right with the world …

January 20, 2014

Yesterday, millions of people gathered in thousands of churches where preachers preached good sermons, musicians presented good music, people practiced peace, hugs, and handshakes, hearts were warmed and filled with God’s love, and kids were treated as important. Sure, there are a lot of problems in the religious world, but it’s important to remember how many good things happen week by week in local churches around the world. I know that was the case at my home church yesterday.
Today honors Dr. King who set an example and proclaimed a message that has changed many of our lives. Yes, our nation still harbors deep levels of unacknowledged racism, but today is a good day to be thankful for people like Dr. King who call us to reconciliation and relationships. And today is a good day to rededicate ourselves to joining in that ongoing movement of peace.
Last week, Walmart joined the Fair Food Program, which I’m still so thrilled about, wondering if Publix will be the next to join.
My friend Aaron Niequist (who hails from the same denominational neighborhood I come from) wrote a beautiful post (linking to another great post from Jeff Calliguire) here.
Kudos to CCDA for focusing attention on the crisis of mass incarceration. Learn what they’re doing here:
http://www.ccda.org/blog/12-blog/354-locked-in-solidarity
And learn more about mass incarceration here and here.
Friends in the Boulder, CO, area:
I’ll be part of a public panel with Steve McIntosh, Bruce Sanguine, Morgan McKenna, and Ross Hostetter at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1128 Pine Street, Boulder, CO 80302. (On the corner of Broadway and Pine, downtown Boulder). The event will feature an open-ended discussion followed by questions and comments from the audience. This interactive public event will be held on Tuesday evening, January 28, 2014, from 7– 9 PM. If you live in Colorado’s front range, this should be a fascinating evening.
http://www.firstcong.net/calendar.html
Friends in the San Jose area, I’ll be speaking at a great event there next week (learn more here), and the following weekend I’ll be in Lafayette, CA.