New sites for faith, art, peace & justice

There's a new blog emerging called Episcopal Cafe. Episcopal Cafe intends to feature inspiring reflections, beautiful art, and engaging perspectives from across the country.

Also, a new site Global Good has been launched by the Episcopal Church today in observance of Earth Day 2007. Global Good is intended to be a tool to support involvement in the Episcopal Church's top churchwide mission priority peace and justice ministries framed by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Pray for victims of and an end to violence

Please pray for all affected by the horrific violence at Virginia Tech.

God of life,

Every act of violence in our world, in our communities, destroys a part of your creation.

Stir in our hearts a renewed sense of reverence for all life.

Give us the vision to recognize your spirit in every human being, however they behave.

Make possible the impossible by cultivating in us the fertile seed of healing love.

May we play our part in breaking the cycle of violence. AMEN


The prayer above is adapted from a prayer on the St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace website. You can read the original here.

There are a number of significant theological reflections over at "OnFaith" worth reading about this tragedy. Including Desmond Tutu, Marcus Borg, John Chane of Washington D.C. and N.T. Wright.

Also, the God's Politics blog is a good place to find helpful commentary and inspiration. I was particularly moved by the words of Diana Butler Bass and Shane Claiborne.

Inspiration

Grace Cathedral is a busy place as are all Episcopal churches during Holy Week (the week preceding Easter) but the Cathedral is getting extra visitors right now because of a beautiful and deeply inspiring piece of art that has been on a pilgrimage around this country --- the Keiskamma Altarpiece from Hamburg, South Africa. A wonderful video has been put together which you can view here. Check out the official Keiskamma website for further details. If you are in the Bay Area this is definately something worth viewing up close.

you were strangers...

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a Passover Seder at my friend Hillary's place in Oakland. What a gift and honor to participate in this holy and beautiful meal celebrating God's liberating love and care for the oppressed. As we read from the Torah particularly the words calling the people of God to remember that they were strangers and must care for the stranger as they care for themselves, I recalled the recent ICE raids in Marin County and the continuing struggle for immigrant rights throughout this country. People from my church have participated in vigils calling for an end to these unjust raids and recently Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California stood with other clergy from a variety of religious traditions calling for compassion and justice. You can read about this here and view a video here.

“The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [Leviticus 19:33-34]

"Justice, justice shall you pursue" [Deuteronomy 16:20]

“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” [Exodus 22: 21]