Hello, all! Elizabeth Palmer here, filling in for Jon while he takes a few days off.
I’ve noticed lately that many people of faith are learning to practice what I call hermeneutical generosity—trying to see the world from another person’s perspective. We have three new articles this week about various ways of broadening our vision to include the experiences of people who are different from us. One is about theology, one is about ministry, and one is about political life in community with one another.
Raúl Zegarra, in a tribute to his teacher and mentor Gustavo Gutiérrez (who died last week), writes about how Gutiérrez slowly but steadily—and despite much opposition—opened the eyes of the church so it could perceive Christ’s presence among the poorest, most suffering people of the world. Julian DeShazier makes a persuasive case that the revitalization of youth ministry depends on congregational leaders embodying equity principles. And Jeannine Marie Pitas offers a report on three nonprofit organizations that are working to help everyday people have respectful conversations across the political divide.
“Many youth ministries have trouble getting young people through the door—a marketing problem. But what’s more important is what we do once they arrive—an equity problem.”
“Rather than isolating myself among the like-minded, I am called to engage with difference. We can all draw lessons from the work of such initiatives as Untying Knots, The People’s Supper, and Braver Angels.”
“Lore Ferguson Wilbert’s fragmented reflections, like the forest she so clearly loves, invite readers to join the spaces in between the thoughts and topics she addresses.”
