In the midst of the recent deluge of neighborhood violence in the city and cries from the community for action, Saint John’s United Church of Christ (UCC) is working with its partners to try to answer the question, “What is the church doing?” with “The Beloved Community: Equipping the Saints for the Work of Justice,” an ecumenical conference that will provide practical tools and information that citizens and communities of faith can put into action immediately.  The event will be held November 5-9^th at Saint John’s UCC, 4136 North Grand Boulevard, at the corner of Grand and Lee Avenue.  It includes two worship experiences, a play by The Black Rep, three separate ministry institutes, a discussion on faith and politics and two community service opportunities.  Conference partners and supporters include the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the UCC, The African American Pulpit Journal (Memphis, TN), The Black Rep, Washington Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church,…

Sitar player Imrat Khan of India will appear at Saturday's Festival of World Sacred Music. Photo courtesy Gitana Productions.

“There is something in music that transcends and unites. This is evident in the sacred music of every community . . . music that expresses the universal yearning that is shared by people all over the globe.” His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Music from many of the world’s faith traditions will be played at Saturday’s St. Louis Festival of World Sacred Music,  Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union Blvd. in the city’s Central West End neighborhood.

The festival begins at noon. The last performer takes the stage at 7 p.m. Artists appearing include both local favorites and musicians with worldwide followings.

“Every culture creates music that is sacred, music that
expresses universal emotions. The Festival of World
Sacred Music reflects our commitment to global healing, by bringing
together international and local musicians who represent diverse
spiritual and religious interests,”…

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on regulatory reform, Friday, Oct. 9, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Hey Mom.  Sometimes there’s a reason for falling asleep with the television on.  This morning I was awakened by the voice of Congressman-turned-Talk Show host, Joe Scarborough, sharing the news that White House Press Secretary Joe Gibbs awakened President Obama this morning to inform him that he had won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace.  That’s worth a little extra electricity.

What followed was a little more challenging.  ”Morning Joe” then began to discuss with Mika Brzezinski, Lawrence O’Donnell and Savannah Guthrie his views that the President hadn’t earned the award.  The dialogue mentioned the possibility of the prize being given to put political pressure on the POTUS as he makes decisions about troop levels in Afghanistan.  And early Associated Press reporting suggests the award being given to Obama as a “slap at President George W. Bush…

Last week was a case study in theological theory meeting practice for me.  On Sunday, I shared information with our congregation on the intent of President Obama’s Health Care proposal, reminding them that the United Church of Christ declared support for H.R. 676, an early and more progressive effort calling for a single-payer, universal health care system in our summer General Synod in Grand Rapids.  On Monday, I stood with the leadership of the Saint Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition and a representative from Organizing for America to declare support for the president’s Health Insurance Reform and invite others to pray for our elected leadership.  On Wednesday (the day Senator Max Baucus unveiled the Senate Finance Committee plan) at our church’s mid-week Bible study we reflected on the prophetic vision of Isaiah chapter 1 that the responsibility of the people of God extends beyond worship to “defending the fatherless…pleading for the…

Since President Obama is the world’s most powerful church “seeker” (he still hasn’t found a church home since his split with southside Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ), The New York Times provides an interesting overview of the pastors who now advise the President on pastoral and spiritual matters.

It is an intriguing group. They would all be considered what we would broadly define as evangelicals. But they defy stereotypes. They represent a wide spectrum in political beliefs and could hardly be called politically conservative, even though their theology certainly would be.

They represent what has historically been some of the hallmarks shared between American evangelicalism and the Black church: theologically conservative, politically progressive. By “history,” I mean the same strains of evangelical faith and action that propelled the anti-slavery and women’s enfranchisement movements, not its more recent incarnation in the “religious right.”

As the Times points out, though, they would certainly represent conservative views on…

A Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life study released today reports the following:

Compared with other racial and ethnic groups, African-Americans are among the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, with fully 87% of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another. The analysis also finds that nearly eight-in-ten African-Americans (79%) say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 56% among all U.S. adults.

These are among many findings of the new Pew Forum analysis detailing the unique nature of religion in the African-American community. Other highlights include:

· A large majority of African-Americans who are unaffiliated with any particular faith (72%) say religion plays at least a somewhat important role in their lives; nearly half (45%) of unaffiliated African-Americans say religion is very important in their lives, roughly three times the percentage who says this among the religiously unaffiliated population overall (16%).

· African-Americans express a…

Dignity of Man ourfatherswillcommunications.com

Setting the scene: It began with a fall and a slightly sprained ankle: my better half got up and steady again — with the help of the local fire department — and went to bed.

Then came the back pain, followed by severe sciatica, alleviated by heavy- duty pain pills.

The next few days brought more falls, more  fire department rescues and then an accidental overdose of pills — no one person’s fault, just old-fashioned miscommunication.

Then pneumonia, an ambulance, a hospital and suddenly talk of end-of-life decisions.

With the help of numerous prayers (thanks in great part to Noreen McCann’s e-prayer tree) and the right medicine (Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Delaney) , within 24 hours the patient turned himself around and was, in the words of his doctor, “progressing on all fronts.”

A week at a skilled nursing center followed, then home before Christmas into a new world of 24/7 nursing-aides…

www.time.com

Some years ago, when FIRST THINGS was new, I met Diane, a young Episcopalian woman affiliated with the Institute on Religion and Democracy. We got to talking about FIRST THINGS, our favorite monthly magazine.

Diane was in the habit of reading the longer articles first, then rewarding herself with Fr. Richard John Neuhaus’ various commentaries in his While We’re At It section.

I jumped immediately to Fr. Neuhaus’ pages. It was like sitting down with an old friend.  He saw right through sham and he consistently skewered woolly-headed thinking with wit and grace.

AP reporter Rachel Zoll, writing for The New York Times tries to get it right today by describing Fr. Neuhaus’ life as moving from left to right:

A native of Canada and the son of a Lutheran pastor, Neuhaus began his own work as a Lutheran minister at St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church in a predominantly African-American Brooklyn neighborhood. He was active in…

Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Bobo, Sr. - Candidate for NBCUSA, Inc. President

The Rev. Dr. Ronald Bobo, Sr., pastor of West Side Missionary Baptist Church of North St. Louis and Florissant, recently declared his candidacy and began a campaign to become President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated.  This religious organization has the distinction of being the largest body of African American Christians in the world.  As a matter of fact, with an estimated 7.5 million members, it is the largest collection of African Americans on the globe.  The group has been led by The Rev. Dr. William Shaw of Philadelphia, PA since 1999.

“Change” for Bobo is a call to return to the Convention’s 1886 founding purpose, focusing on collective Missions and Education.  This fits well into his own ministry focus and service, which includes terms as Chair of the Foreign Mission Board for the Missionary Baptist Convention of Missouri and the Evangelism and Education…

Okay.  So, mixing the faith and politics, I was a BIG TIME Obama supporter!  Bumper sticker, buttons, voter registration drives and even an Obama action figure for my son (yes, I said action figure).  But, something continues to dog me about the movement for change that elected him to serve as our 44th P.O.T.U.S.  It seems that many were in search of a messiah, not a president. 

Clearly, folks don’t think he’s Jesus or any second coming.  But, consistent with the more traditional Judeo-Christian (Hebrew Scriptures/Old testament) concept of a promised, prophet-king as son of God who would care for the widow and the orphan, instituting God’s reform agenda, many believe the President-Elect fits the bill.  My caution for this (small ‘m’) messiah is that this role is never completely filled in this realm.

The good King Hezekiah comes closest in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament tradition.  This youngster on the throne gathers a team…

Rev. John Nunes, president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, and others (me included) attempt to explain how well-intended government programs developed during the “war on poverty” initiatives help to destroy the urban black family, community, and especially low-income black men. Nunes also explains from the New York Times Magazine how there is no evidence that any government program made any improvement in any urban area anywhere. As a matter of fact, the welfare programs of the 1960s made matters worse in the black community.

Pope John Paul II explains how the intervention of the state can be a detriment of both economic and civil freedom when it assumes too much responsibility beyond the capabilities that are proper to it. The intervention of the state, as Rev. Nunes explains, should give us pause because government is ill-equipped to deal with the holistic needs of the human person…

AP Photo

The sexual lives of Normandy High School students have become the talk of the world. From India to the Great Britain, the world is buzzing with the startling news that up to 50 students in my neighborhood’s high school may have been exposed to HIV infection. While the details of how the virus may have spread are inconclusive at this point, we’re all aware, in most cases, that the virus spreads predominantly through drug use and sexual activity.

Since the St. Louis area is racially self-segregated, and Normandy High school is predominantly black, one of the most alarming outcomes could be possible stigmas connecting any stereotyped sexuality inferences associated with blacks. Let’s be clear: if the virus entered the high school because of sexual activity, this story will be one more fundamentally about adolescent sexual morality than cultural stereotypes.

Many of you will remember “The Lost Children of Rockdale County” documentary on…