40 Días de Oración

Imam Christopher Caras, Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, PA    America has a history of uniting through hatred and fear. In just a century, we have battled fascism, communism and terrorism, but now we cast the suspicion and hatred against each other. The uneasiness many Americans felt going into election night four years ago has only…

Associate Elder Dorla Coleman Bonner, Season of Change Ministries (Elder Corey Lex Cunningham, Pastor), Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, City of Kalamazoo, MI, Member of Gamaliel affiliate, ISAAC    As I reflected on the Common Prayer I was drawn to the phrase – weaver of the warp and weft of history. I love the…

Rev. David Gerth, Executive Director of Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU), Gamaliel affiliate in St. Louis, MO, Co-Chair of Gamaliel State Directors’ Table   Exodus 17:1-17  Give us water to drink. We are thirsty. We need water. We’re dying here.    In the ash-covered lands of the U.S. West’s deadly fires, the earth itself cries out,…

Sister Cheryl Liske, OP (Dominican Sisters of Adrian, MI), Coordinator of Gamaliel Training Department, Member of Gamaliel affiliate MOSES, Detroit, MI   In my morning paper I read that a federal appellate court reversed a lower court’s decision that gave Florida felons the right to vote regardless of outstanding legal financial obligations:  a decision that…

Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin, Former CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches, Minneapolis, MN   We give thanks and praise that God makes of us one humankind, turns chaos into creation, slavery into freedom, wilderness into community, exile into covenant, suffering into servanthood, hopelessness into promise.  While we so often tear at those relationships, dishonor…

Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Pastor, Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, Detroit, MI Prelate, Michigan  North Central Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Churches of God in Christ, Member, General Board, Churches of God in Christ                                                 How many lives must America lose before it makes changes? It is untenable that anyone…

Mary Gonzales, Retired Associate Director of Gamaliel, Founder of Gamaliel and Pilsen Neighbors Community Council, Chicago, IL   This is a time when many of us are depressed about the ugly divisions in our country, the blatant racism, and the oppression of the working class.  It would be easy for us to dip into despair…

Pardeep Kaleka, Executive Director, Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, WI [Pardeep is a leader in the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, where in 2015 seven members, including Pardeep’s father, were killed by a white supremacist gunman.]   This year has been a very difficult year for so many as we have been forced to humble ourselves and think…

Rev. Charles H. Coleman, Sr., Ph.D., Pastor, New Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, Saginaw, MI, and Co-chair, Gamaliel National Religious Leaders’ Caucus   As we are coming to the national election of 2020, I ask that all of us reflect on both our responsibility to vote and the necessity of our participation in…

Pastor Mary Martha Kannass, Hephatha Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI Hepatha Lutheran Church is a member of Gamaliel affiliate MICAH   Walk with us, Lord Jesus, as we walk into the voting booth, as we walk to the mailbox, as we mark our ballot, as we cast our vote, so that we do not walk away…