Before the birth of Christ, there was the promise of peace. In 31 BCE, Octavian won the battle of Actium, defeating Antony and Cleopatra and ending nearly 100 years of civil war. After this, he declared himself Caesar Augustus and was proclaimed as: Bringer of Peace, Savior of the World, Son of God, God from […]
The Angels and Us
The feast of St. Michael and All Angels seems like a good time to remind us that angels aren’t here to do our work for us. Angels are messengers (from the Greek angelos) of God’s word. It’s up to us to hear that message and put it into action. Injustice is our responsibility to correct. […]
Poverty News Round Up
[Jesus said,] “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” – Luke 14:33 I do not know what to make of this week’s Gospel. I do know that we cannot afford to continue ignoring it. On one level, it is surprisingly straightforward. Following Christ will cost […]
Remembering The Unpopular MLK Jr.
Today will be largely dedicated to remembering the popular Martin Luther King Jr., the one that everyone supports as a national hero. This revisionist history is unfortunate, because it obscures the deeper vision of King, a vision that remains unpopular to this day. First, to the polling data from Gallup: From 1963-1965, King was, at […]
The Most Important Word in the Bible
Over the weekend my Dad pointed me to an article by Sara Miles on the most important word in the Bible. You might think the word is ‘Grace,’ or ‘Love,’ or ‘Jesus,’ but Miles argues that the word is ‘with.’ As in, Emmanuel, God with us. Or, ‘The Lord be with you,’ ‘And also with […]
Poverty News Round Up
To paraphrase Karl Barth, one should preach with a Bible in one hand, and a newspaper in the other. To make that easier, we’re continuing to bring you the top stories in poverty for the week, and we’ve added some brief commentary based on the Revised Common Lectionary for each week. As always, leave a […]
North Carolina Faithful Engage in Civil Disobedience in Response to Budget Cuts
Faithful Alternatives to Sequestration – A Message to Congress
This message was sent to Congress today on behalf of the Interreligious Working Group on Domestic Human Needs. It is with great concern over the effects of the sequester that I write to you today. These budget cuts will harm real people; they are not an academic exercise and this is no laboratory for testing […]
Response in Time of Tragedy
While the Poverty Initiative blog usually hosts information all about poverty all the time, I thought it was important to use every means of communication available to the National Council of Churches to get the word out about how we’re responding to the tragedy in Newtown. Please see a message from the transitional General Secretary […]
A Labor Day Sermon by Rev. Michael Livingston: Best Seat in the House
Best Seat in the House James 2:1-10, 14-17 Rev. Michael Livingston; Director of Public Policy, Interfaith Worker Justice Delivered at the United Methodist Chapel at 100 Maryland Ave NE Washington, DC on September 5, 2012 I’ve got a new friend. Her name is Vernell Livingston. I met her last October at the fall mobilization for […]
