The red, white and blue lights flashed in the mirror and the familiar sting of fear crawled through my stomach. “Not today,” I thought. “Please, don’t let it be today.” The lady riding in the passenger seat of my vehicle whispered to me, “Just stay calm.” Her short, curly, gray hair had been …
No Indictment is Outrageous, Even if Wilson is Innocent
No Indictment. The announcement broke the suspense, if not the tension. 108 days after Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson, St. Louis Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced that the grand jury had determined that there was no probable cause to indict Officer Wilson in the August 8th death on …
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Reflections on Ferguson in Poem Form
As I thought and prayed about Ferguson today I found myself at a loss for words – but yet so many thoughts, hard to contain. I do not know how to express them all. Yet – as a pastor, I do not want to be silent upon these matters. I do not want my church to be silent upon these matters. For my faith …
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Immigration, Ferguson, and the Importance of our Lens
I returned a phone call to a friend recently who proceeded to tearfully share her burden for a young man who had been incarcerated and recently released. This young African American man returned to society with a strong desire to change his life. Yet even with the help of my passionate and …
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A Kingdom Response to President Obama’s Speech on Immigration
I am created in the image of God. I am a follower of Jesus. I am an American citizen. I am the daughter of an immigrant. These are markers of my identity and my perspective has been shaped by these strong realities. For years, I have been learning about immigration as an issue and have also been …
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Emmett Till, Michael Brown—and hope
I met the mother of Emmett Till in 1995 when she visited our church in Chicago—Mamie Till traveled unceremoniously with a group of children from her neighborhood. She never ceased talking about the tragic murder of her son Emmett in Money, Miss., in 1955. As a young mother, she courageously used the …
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Visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Ave: A great cloud of witnesses
Reflecting on the past 12 years that I’ve been involved at a national level in trying to change our broken immigration system, I have often felt alone. I vividly remember many instances when I called or visited prominent pastors to discuss my concerns about our current immigration policy, only to be …
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Locked in Solidarity: Report on Mass Incarceration Rally
On January 21st, association members gathered nationwide to prophetically demonstrate God's love for communities decimated by mass incarceration. "Locked in Solidarity" created relational space to stand with the incarcerated, formerly-incarcerated, their families and loved ones. Neighbors exchanged …
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