Posts by Editer User

Rev. Marian Boyle-Rohloff, Pastor, West Side Moravian Church, Green Bay, WI; Co-Chair, Gamaliel National Religious Leaders’ Caucus; Member, Gamaliel affiliate, JOSHUA   A song that’s resonated with me from childhood on up is Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”  The song conjures up a vision of this land being a place for everyone, as…

Rev. H. J. Coleman, Jr., Pastor, World Outreach Campus Church, Saginaw, MI; Member, Gamaliel affiliate, The Ezekiel Project   It is appropriate for religious leaders to turn to a tried and true posture in times like these.  Throughout scripture we have seen that in times of great challenge, or in advance of elevation, there is…

Rev. Cynthia Owen Jarrold, National Policy Director, Gamaliel   The year 586 B.C.E. resulted in a crisis of unbelievable proportions for the people of Israel.  Jerusalem lay in ruins, and the people were carried as captives to Babylon, exiles in a strange land.  The structures that defined the social, religious, and political life of the…

Rev. David Bigsby, Pastor, Upper Room Ministries Missionary Baptist Church, Glenwood, IL; Chair, Gamaliel Council of Presidents; Member, Gamaliel Board of Directors   We face difficult decisions daily.  In the sacred scripture below, we find guidance for our conduct. In the midst of this storm, it becomes crystal clear that our actions must be (just)…

Sr. Carol Johannes, OP, Pastoral Minister and Spiritual Director; Former Prioress, Adrian Dominican Sisters; Friend of Gamaliel, Ann Arbor, MI Spiritual guides tell us that one of the greatest enemies of the community of believers is fear.  Fear can make us unfree, unhappy and unholy.  Unfortunately, fear is alive and well in today’s world.  It…

Rev. David Carl Olson, Lead Minister, First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, Co-chair, Religious Leaders’ Caucus, Gamaliel affiliate, BRIDGE Maryland, Inc.   There is an America in my head and heart which is only partly true. “Land of the free” may describe some of my country at some time; but heeding too closely to the myth…

Dr. Stephen D. Jones, Co-pastor, First Baptist Church, Kansas City, MO, Member, Gamaliel affiliate, MORE2   One challenge of an interfaith movement is how to state our faith in ways that do not offend others of different traditions.  We certainly need to remain true as to our faith.  Yet, can we speak in ways that…

Rev. Dr. Ray Pickett, Rector, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary; President, Gamaliel affiliate, Genesis, Oakland, CA   COVID-19 has disrupted our lives and posed enormous economic, social, and spiritual challenges.  After seven months of sheltering-in-place, what I am longing for is face-to-face connection with other people.  The Greek word for “righteousness” from Jesus’ Beatitude is actually…

Reirin Gumbel, Resident Priest of the Milwaukee Zen Center, Member of Gamaliel affiliate, MICAH Peace Statement from a Buddhist Perspective Understanding the true nature of reality, we realize that all beings are interdependent. We cannot afford petty fights for dominance any longer, but have to recognize the dangers that threaten all of us. We must…