Interested in advanced studies in theology & culture, peace & justice, or reconciliation?
For several years, I've been a guest lecturer at St. Stephen’s University. I'm always impressed with their students who are studying at the intersection of theology, culture, peace, justice, and reconciliation.
SSU has launched a new referral program for the 2023/24 academic year that gives new students a discount in their tuition, and they’ve designated me an official SSU Ambassador to encourage students to enroll in any of the academic programs they offer in Theology & Culture, Peace & Justice, and Reconciliation Studies. SSU is a close-knit learning community and graduate school of theology, peace and reconciliation, and their mission “is to prepare people, through academic, personal, and spiritual development, for a life of justice, beauty, and compassion, enabling a humble, creative engagement with their world.”
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So, here's what you can do.
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Apply online at ssu.ca/application (it’s free and takes only a few minutes)
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When you get to the question at the end of the application that says, “How did you hear about SSU and our programs?” choose “Through an SSU Ambassador.”
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Then, in the field that pops up and says, “Enter the Ambassador Code you were given,” enter MCLAREN-SSU2023, and then submit your application — And that’s it! When you're invoiced for your courses, your discount will be applied to the total.
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Some conditions apply; email andrewklager@ssu.ca for specific details.
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And if you'd like to learn more about SSU and its programs, visit the links below:
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0 Comments2 Minutes
A reader writes: Changed my theology …
A reader writes:
I have been reading Seeking Aliveness for my devotions. The book has literally changed my theology and my perspective of Jesus. I especially liked your analysis of Jesus taking the apostles for a “field trip” to Phillipi. I had always liked the passage when the event is considered with the significance of the place, Peter’s statement became more profound. I also was challenged by your treatment of John the Baptizer. I had never considered how he had sacrificed his lifestyle to initiate a new lifestyle ...
For folks who may be curious, Seeking Aliveness is an adaptation of We Make the Road by Walking. WMTRBW presents an overview of the Biblical story in 52 short chapters, creating a weekly study for a year. Seeking Aliveness breaks the weekly readings down into daily readings.
0 Comments1 Minutes
A Father’s Day Gift
Andy Gullahorn is one of my very favorite songwriters ever. Here's a song that is so worth sharing today.
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A Reader Writes: Out of Isolation and Into Conversation
A reader writes:
I’ve been giving select people copies of Faith After Doubt. Last night I had dinner with a youngish fellow who entered perplexity at the time he left ministry.
He said to me “I had no idea, I thought my wife and I were the only ones”. That kind of isolation still shocks me since you and I have been in the conversation so long.We then talked about how badly there is a need for “safe spaces just to talk”.It reawakened my sensitivity to how many out there are not even aware the conversation is going on.Your work is bearing good fruit.
0 Comments1 Minutes
If you shop at Publix, Kroger, or Wendy’s, you might relate …
I live walking distance from a newly remodeled Publix grocery store, and it's a great store. Their motto, “Where shopping is a pleasure,” fits my experience to a T ... except in one important area.
According to their Corporate Sustainability Statement, Publix is committed to enhancing corporate ties to the communities they serve, and Publix guarantees that they“will never knowingly disappoint” customers like me, and that if my purchase does not give me “complete satisfaction,” they will cheerfully refund the full purchase price.
I was a pastor for twenty-four years and since then, I have worked to serve communities of faith by encouraging and supporting their leaders. Over my years in Christian ministry, I have come back again and again to the basics, like loving my neighbor as myself and doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. Growth in my faith has led me to take seriously all the details of my life … a harsh word spoken here, an expression of impatience or unkindness there, a purchase that unintentionally caused needless harm either to the environment or other people.
That last one is where my complete satisfaction and shopping pleasure at Publix are tarnished. I wish Publix would help customers like me be more responsible shoppers by using their powerful economic footprint to seek justice and show kindness to our neighbors who work in the hot sun to grow and harvest our food, day after day, year after year.
We Floridians have been shocked over recent years by repeated reports of human trafficking among local farm workers. We know these workers contribute directly to Publix profits and to our own dinner tables. We wish Publix would use their clout to make a difference, especially because doing so would reflect their corporate values … and the Christian values of the founder’s family.
Take the case of Bladimir Moreno. He was recently prosecuted, along with three of his colleagues, in a severe case of abuse of farmworkers.
Back in 2016, two workers escaped from a forced labor operation in Pahokee. Moreno and his crew kept these workers against their will behind barbed wire and under constant surveillance, working for extremely low pay. They only escaped by hiding in the trunk of a car.
This one case in Pahokee would be serious enough, but the six year investigation that ensued revealed that Moreno had similar operations in Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Indiana. A report from Attorney General Kristen Clarke of Florida’s Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, concluded that Moreno and his associates “exploited their victims’ vulnerabilities and immigration status, promising them access to the American dream but then turning around and confiscating their passports and threatening arrest and deportation if they did not endlessly toil away for their profit.”
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has been a champion of farm worker rights, safety, and protection for decades, and Moreno’s case was not the first they have had to address, but the thirteenth. Here’s what I appreciate most about the CIW: they don’t just point out problems. They create workable and highly celebrated solutions like the Fair Food Program that protect workers through the supply chain so that shoppers at participating companies can have a clean conscience about what they buy.
That’s where Publix could take a very small step that would be a giant leap forward for justice and kindness in Florida and beyond. They could join the CIW’s Fair Food Program. Many other companies, from Walmart to McDonald’s to Taco Bell, have joined. That means that their customers don’t have to feel a pang of conscience every time they buy a tomato or watermelon from their stories. Publix, along with Kroger and Wendy’s, have been holdouts from joining the program, and that just doesn’t make sense to people like me.
In the end, Moreno and his associates pled guilty to the charges that were brought against them. But we all know there will be another Bladimir Moreno next month or next year, exploiting more vulnerable farm workers. Publix, Wendy’s, and Kroger could take a simple step to make things better ... for farm workers and for us shoppers.
I hope they will soon.
0 Comments5 Minutes