Here in the US, it feels like a particularly important and urgent moment in our politics. Or, as our president often calls it, an “inflection point.” At this critical juncture, the Century is partnering with Faith and Reason to host an online conversation called Confronting White Christian Nationalism. This free event will feature a panel of experts—Gary Dorrien, Obery Hendricks, and Grace Ji-Sun Kim—who will explore the Christian faith and the role that it can play for those committed to democracy, peace, and social justice. You can learn more and sign up for the Zoom event here.
We also have new content that engages with themes relevant to this moment. There seems to be a crisis of religious identity in our society, a disconnect between those who embrace pluralism and those who insist on some sort of enforced Christianity. Amy Peterson, an Episcopal priest, writes about her friendship with a Jewish poet. Many of us struggle with waiting—waiting for an election, or waiting for the world to be more just. Yolanda Pierce writes about the spiritual dimensions of waiting.
Our video of the week is a chat with Eric C. Garner, whose church faithfully lived through a cataclysm when a local dam broke. It may be helpful for those who feel cataclysm in the air. Plus scroll down for more great content.
Email me: Are you in a season of waiting? What are you waiting for?
What does a Christianity look like that is not deeply tied to racial injustice and White Christian nationalism, forces captured in the images of the January 6, 2021 insurrection? With a national election just around the corner, how might Christians live into a richer narrative that underscores the nonviolent legacy of Jesus?
Eric Garner chats with Jon about a dam break in Minnesota, the biblical figure Noah, and how Garner’s church embodied a vision from the prophet Ezekiel.
“If God is present in the rising of the sun and the going down of the same, then God is also present in the darkness, in those moments when we wrestle with the evidence of things not seen.”
