Meet the Baptist Peacemaker’s new platform.
Y perdonen que yo ponga el dedo en la llaga. Pero si BPFNA pretende reimaginar la solidaridad tiene también entonces que darse cuenta de que las mismas personas que durante siglos han sido cómplices y beneficiarios del debacle de las comunidades y pueblos históricamente minusvalorados no pueden ahora venir a decirle al mundo que van a arreglar lo que ellos mismos destruyeron. Quienes históricamente han gozado de todos los mecanismos de la colonización, abriéndose espacio en el mundo con poca o ninguna resistencia no pueden ser quienes ahora también le digan a las personas históricamente minusvaloradas y empobrecidas cómo es que se soluciona el mundo.
And forgive me for putting my finger on the wound. But if BPFNA intends to reimagine solidarity, then it must also come to terms with the fact that the very people who for centuries have been complicit in, and beneficiaries of, the abuse and oppression of historically devalued communities and peoples cannot now come and tell the world that they are going to fix what they themselves destroyed. Those who have historically enjoyed all the mechanisms of colonization, making room for themselves in the world with little or no resistance, cannot be the ones who now also tell historically devalued and impoverished people how the world is to be repaired.
La guerra y los asesinatos de Trump y Netanyahu, se sienten y viven diferente desde quienes estamos en el Sur Global. Siempre hemos sido víctimas de invasiones, bombardeos y amenazas de USA, sin importar si el que lo hace es Demócrata o Republicano. No importa si la guerra es por petróleo, por democracia o en nombre de Dios. Los golpes son diferentes si vives en el país que los da, o en el país que los recibe.
The war and murders perpetrated by Trump and Netanyahu are felt and experienced differently by those of us in the Global South. We have always been victims of invasions, bombings, and threats from the USA, regardless of whether the perpetrator is a Democrat or a Republican. It doesn't matter if the war is for oil, for democracy, or in the name of God. The strikes are different depending on whether you live in the country delivering them or the country receiving them.
My goal with kids’ singing in worship is to incorporate their voices as members of the leadership, rather than setting them off on their own. While they’re certainly adorable, I try not to make their cuteness the main focus; my hope is to show them they have a voice in the song of the community, rather than to put them on display to delight the grownups (though if the grownups are delighted, that’s a bonus!)
Two thousand years ago, the soldiers were given orders. Slaughter any Hebrew child under the age of two. Not the ones who were children of families who have been insurrectionists. But everyone. Everyone from a certain race, from a certain demographic. It was intended to induce and produce terror. How do you stand up to terrorists?
The disciples are mesmerized, dazzled by the supernatural images of these three. And it made them not think straight. It made them consider preposterous things, like building booths for each of them, like audaciously asking to be at the right and left hand of power. I imagine Peter James and John thinking, we can be just like them—admired, maybe even feared.
We are created by God as unique people, carved out differently for different life purposes, with different talents, and different skills. We are each like unique puzzle pieces that God needs, in order to complete the full picture of the kin-dom of God. When one piece goes missing, the whole picture cannot be complete. Each of us has a unique calling. God created us so uniquely and creatively that each of us has something that we can do, and should do, although very small, to contribute in building God’s beautiful world together.
And now, the call extends to us: to open our churches and hearts to compatriots returning to our lands. Let us expand our tent—becoming open, safe communities of sanctuary in Jesus’ name. Committed to sowing peace through compassion and mercy. Singing for peace, singing for life, lifting our voices for others—even in the midst of storms.
Our faith can be expressed in different ways. Throughout the history of the church, one of the most important ways of transmitting and capturing that faith that comes to life has been through the liturgy. Of Greek origin, liturgy means “work of the people.” In its classical sense, liturgy was interpreted as a public service. However, when this service was related to the religious sphere, liturgy referred to official worship given to the gods.
In classic German style, there’s a long word used to describe efforts to work through and overcome the past as the nation reckons with the Holocaust and other Nazi war crimes: Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung. After attempts toward the denazification of the government and other cultural institutions amid the post-war rebuilding and reconciliation, this process of working through the past has included the reappraising of academics, corporations, and others who supported the Nazi regime. Such reflection has also included painful but necessary looks at the actions of church leaders.
Before thinking about the digital platforms for our Church, it is worth reflecting on the virtual space that we want to build, the objectives that we will have for this project and the characteristics that we would like our page to have. If possible, consult with members of the congregation about what type of information they would like to find on the page and in what format (text, video, image).
On a recent visit to Cuba I heard Pentecostal worshippers speaking in tongues and singing coritos, songs that are a part of every Latino evangelical worship service. I prayed the Lord’s Prayer shoulder-to-shoulder with Catholics, Nazarenes, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and others in an ecumenical service attended by hundreds in Havana. I talked openly with pastors about Bible translations with pastors. I worshiped at both registered and unregistered congregations, prayed before meals in homes and restaurants, and nearly broke noise ordinances with loud worship music. When I preached a sermon in the presence of Communist leaders, I felt no threat of harm or silencing.
