National Council of Churches Podcast

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists: Rabbi David Saperstein - Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Erica Littlewolf - Program Coordinator for Indigenous Visioning Circles, Mennonite Central Committee Mohamed Elsanousi - Executive Director, Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers Moderators: Jim Winkler - NCC Min. Christian Watkins - NCC

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists Dr. Loida Martell - VP of Academic Affairs and Dean and Professor of Constructive Theology, Lexington Theological Seminary Dr. Heidi A. Miller - Director and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, Pfeiffer University Moderator: Min. Christian Watkins - NCC  

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists: Derrick Lewis - National Field Organizer, NAACP Youth and College Division Abigail Scholar - Executive Director, Central Washington Justice for Our Neighbors Rev. Dr. Shazetta Thompson-Hill - Associate Pastor, Christian Chapel Temple of Faith, Fort Worth, TX Moderators: Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq. - NCC Min. Christian Watkins - NCC  

Part of the Faith & Fire Conversation Series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Chaos." Panelists: Rev. Dr. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas - Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, Canon Theologian at Washington National Cathedral Rev. Dr. Stacey Cole Wilson - Executive Minister of Justice and Service, Baltimore-Washington Conference, United Methodist Church Moderators: Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq. - NCC Min. Christian Watkins - NCC

NCC's "Faith & Fire Conversations" series "Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis”  Panelists: • Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards: New Testament at North Park Seminary and author of “Might from the Margins” • Christian Brooks, MDiv, MSPPM: Representative for Domestic Issues, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Office of Public Witness • Rev. Noel Anderson: UCC elder and Grassroots Coordinator for Church World Service • Sara Benitez: VP of Organizing and Campaigns, Faith in Public Life Moderator: Min. Christian S. Watkins, Justice Advocacy & Outreach Manager, National Council of Churches

Episode 3 of the Faith and Fire Conversations series “Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis” Panelists Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, President and CEO of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer InstituteAmanda Tyler, Exec Director of Baptist Joint CommitteeRev. Dexter Udell Nutall, Sr. Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, Washington, DC  

Episode 2 of the Faith and Fire Conversations series “Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis” Panelists Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer - General Minister and President, United Church of Christ Rev. William H. Lamar, IV - Sr. Pastor, Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, DC

Episode 1 of the Faith and Fire Conversations series “Chaos or Community: Courageous Conversations During Crisis” Panelists Reuben Eckels - Church World Service Rev. E. Michelle Lederer - General Committee on Religion and Race, United Methodist Church Rev. Dr. Angela Ravin-Anderson - Wheeler Ave. Baptist Church, Houston, TX

On Wednesday we celebrated Earth Day, a day that has been celebrated every year since 1970 on April 22nd.  It’s a day for raising awareness of human activity’s negative impact upon the earth and is a day for political action and civic participation as well.  It’s the culmination of an entire month of focus on the environment, and for people of faith, it has a special significance as a day of reverence for God’s creating and sustaining work. Creation Justice Ministries has committed itself to its theme for 2020,  “The Fierce Urgency of Now.” We know we have ten years to take action to avert the most catastrophic damage to the life-sustaining climate God blessed us with, and entrusted to our care. This is Earth Month, and my guest is the executive director of Creation Justice Ministries, Shantha Ready Alonso.  Shantha is a tireless advocate among faith leaders in the US, and today she will reinforce just how fiercely urgent our collective action on behalf of the planet is.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered nearly every aspect of life in the US and around the world.  Every institution is affected, and the church is no exception. Colleges have sent students home, cleared out the classrooms, and are adapting to an online-only world.  Churches have, for the most part, closed their doors on Sunday mornings and are struggling with how to maintain the kind of community life that congregants depend on. We are now in Holy Week, in what most of us are experiencing as week 4 of social distancing, and we are being told that things are about to get much worse. Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer is the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.  He’s also the chair of the governing board of the National Council of Churches, and as such, is well-positioned to give us a macro-view of the way things are unfolding.  John also has a faith with boundless energy and hope, and I know you’ll hear that in his voice today. It’s a little of what we all need during these difficult times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered nearly every aspect of life in the US and around the world.  Every institution is affected, and the church is no exception. Colleges have sent students home, cleared out the classrooms, and are adapting to an online-only world.  Churches have, for the most part, closed their doors on Sunday mornings and are struggling with how to maintain the kind of community life that congregants depend on. As we embark upon a series of conversations in which we will attempt to understand how this adaptation is taking place, my guest today is a pastor and leader in Washington DC who had already taken steps to connect people beyond those gathering in the sanctuary.  Rev. Dr. Christopher Zacharias joins us to describe how he and his congregation are adapting to offer ministries when the beautiful building his congregation normally gathers in is now off-limits. If you’re struggling with this challenge also, you’ll want to listen in today.

As we ponder the horrors of the massacre of 49 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, we have to reckon with the fact that home-grown hatred and extremism has gone global.  One of the great things about working with other faith groups is that we get to see how others view their mandate to fight hatred and extremism through the lens of their faith. Simran Jeet Singh is one of today’s most influential Sikh thinkers.  Simran holds graduate degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, and he is the author of “Covering Sikhs,” a guidebook to help journalists accurately report on the Sikh community.  Today we get to speak together about bias, advocating for each other, and the need for humility in a society where we feel that we have to know everything.

Stop and think about it for a second: if you were to encourage churches to work together, wouldn’t it make sense to be reading the same translation of the Bible together?  This has been one of the hallmarks of the ecumenical movement for decades, and this is receiving a special amount of attention. For the first time in 30 years, the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is getting an update. My guest today is Roy Medley, former head of the American Baptist Church, former chair of the National Council of Churches Governing Board, now working with the NCC, Friendship Press, and the Society of Biblical Literature to develop an update to the foremost scholarly translation of the Bible, the New Revised Standard Version.  This is a historic, ambitious work, and Roy is going to bring us up to date.

This week’s podcast is an encore presentation of my interview with Dru Johnson, author of “Human Rites: the Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments,” which is to be released on Thursday, February 21.

The quote goes like this: “The Death of Christianity within the United States has been a slow process, and it may very well be in its final throes.  So I say, let the dead bury their dead.” Professor and speaker Miguel De La Torre has a new book out, and this always-challenging author is critiquing a Christianity that he says has sold its soul to white nationalism. His book is called, “Burying White Privilege,” and it’s as much as an invitation as it is a scathing critique.  It’s up-to-the-minute like reading today’s newspaper and ancient like reading Jeremiah or Amos. Get ready for a challenging and intense conversation.

How has your life been most changed, and where has God been most visible to you in that change?  Social science suggests that relationships are the most likely to change our point of view, and if we are limited in the kinds of people we are in a relationship with, we’re more likely to see things as we always have. My guest today is Max Finberg.  Max is here to tell us how his life and perspective has been changed through relationships, and how a set of intentional relationships are helping change views on race.  You could say that in his own way, he and the Repentance Project are awakening, confronting, and transforming, and he’s here to talk about it today. You’ll want to listen to the end of this episode.

Greetings from the 2019 government shutdown!  As I record this podcast, we’re in the middle of the longest government shutdown in history.  The central issue of the shutdown is immigration, and the central object is a wall. My guest today is Noel Anderson, Grassroots Coordinator for Immigrants’ Rights for the United Church of Christ and Church World Service.  I’ve got big questions about this shutdown, and Noel is the person I go to whenever I have questions about immigration policy. He’s going to walk us through this minefield of divided politics and help us get to the root of the crisis unfolding here in Washington.

Aside from going to church every Sunday, which I’m sure you do, and eagerly participating in the liturgy and ceremonies of worship, what are some other rituals you participate in on a regular basis?  The author of “Human Rites,” spelled R-I-T-E-S, would like you to think about the rituals we live by, what they mean, and how they function in all aspects of life. My guest today is Dru Johnson, a professor and author with a fascinating biography and a new book entitled, “Human Rites: the Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments.”  His book comes out in February, but I was able to see an advance copy and have the conversation you’re about to hear. I found him to be an especially engaging guest who offers something new to this very old conversation.

Tomorrow is election day!  And many are saying that this is the most consequential election in modern history. Today we’re once again hearing from our guest host, LaKesha Womack, as she interviews Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, Founder of Grace and Race Ministries, and a former head of the Washington office for the National Council of Churches.  Brenda has devoted her life to the work of racial understanding, healing and reconciliation, and in the context of the issues we are wrestling with in this election, there may not be a better person to hear from today. So if you’re standing in a long line waiting to vote, put your earbuds in and enjoy this conversation between LaKesha Womack and Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell.  If you have already voted, pass this along to someone who has not. And if you haven’t planned on voting, get out there and exercise your civic duty.

Over the past few weeks we have been holding webinars, with mixed success, designed to help us learn better ways of getting out the vote.  Our host for these webinars, LaKesha Womack, has interviewed experts on state and local elections, the importance of the Supreme Court, and has hosted a town hall at our Christian Unity Gathering.  Due to some technical problems encountered along the way, we’ve shifted gears and are having the last of these conversations here. So this week, a treat for you: LaKesha is our guest host, and today she interviews Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, one of Washington’s most powerful faith leaders and the first female Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus.  And of course you already know LaKesha; she was a guest on this podcast just a few weeks ago. Get ready for an important conversation that you’ll want to share with others as we all get ready for election day, Tuesday, November 6th.

Awaken, confront, transform: that’s what we’re talking about when we say “ACT to End Racism.”  Awakening to racism means listening to the difficult truths and confronting the racism in ourselves and our institutions. My guest this week is Rev. Dr. David Anderson Hooker.  David has spent most of his career transforming conflicts in some of the most difficult spaces on the planet.  He’s not only the guest of this podcast, he’s also our keynote speaker for the Christian Unity Gathering, October 14-17.  David is full of practical ways for churches to be part of God’s transforming work. He’s also one of the more enthusiastic and inspiring guests I’ve had on this podcast.

What’s the most important thing you can do between now and November 6th? My guest today is LaKesha Womack, founder of the Womack Consulting Group, and leader of a series of webinars hosted by the National Council of Churches this fall.  What’s the most important thing you can do between now and November 6th? You can make sure you’re registered to vote, get educated, join with others to make sure your congregation is educated, and most of all, VOTE.  Oh, and you should join the webinars LaKesha is leading.

Last weekend marked the first anniversary of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, that took the life of Heather Heyer along with two police officers as well.  In Washington, DC, where a rally was being planned by those who carried out the “Unite the Right” rally last year, tensions were high. But Charlottesville was prepared for the worst. This week we will debrief with Rev. Phil Woodson, a United Methodist pastor in Charlottesville who was an eyewitness to the events that have been unfolding over the entirety of the past year.  Phil will reflect on what’s taken place over the past year, what’s different from last year, and where white supremacy is showing up today.

When it became clear that the families crossing into the United States from Mexico were being separated as part of a “zero-tolerance” policy, an outcry ensued that forced President Trump to backtrack.  Did he really shut down this inhuman policy, or did it just get worse? Today we will hear from Rev. Aundreia Alexander about her trip to McAllen, Texas, to see for herself what is going on there, and to offer a prophetic witness with other leaders in the faith community.  We will also talk with Matt Hawthorne of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, and we’ll discuss this country’s use of indefinite detention and how that connects with the crisis at the border today.

It’s going to be a long time before we stop talking about the ACT to End Racism rally that took place in April, the launch of a multi-year initiative to end racism in our selves, our churches, and our institutions.   On today’s podcast we begin sharing some of the powerful speeches that made up the program on April 4th.  If you were there, you’ll remember the amazing spirit that overwhelmed us all. If you weren’t able to be there, get ready to hear some of what was said from the podium that day.  It will be long remembered as a great day in the life of our nation and our churches, but get ready, it’s only the beginning.

Quick: when you are out in the city or on an airplane and notice someone wearing a turban and a beard, what is your first thought?  How much do you know about the fifth largest monotheistic religion? My guest today is Gurwin Ahuja, founder of the “We Are Sikhs” campaign, a national campaign to help build awareness around a faith community most of us don’t know much about.  Gurwin has been a guest on this podcast before, and he’s one of my favorite people: an energetic activist working to help us all understand each other better.  If you find yourself wanting to know more about the neighbors around you, please stay with me and listen in.

When justice-seeking is at the center of one’s spirituality, community can sometimes be hard to find.  That’s why a group of people set out to build that community, or at least give it a good, encouraging boost, by holding a festival in the mountains of North Carolina called “Wild Goose.” In today’s podcast, I speak with Brian McLaren, speaker and author of several books.  Brian is also one of the founders of the Wild Goose Festival, which the National Council of Churches is a proud sponsor of.  If you’re looking for a place where spirituality, justice, music, and art are the focus, listen in to this conversation.

In today’s deeply divided society, it seems the church is not immune.  Even as we in the National Council of Churches seek to find common ground among our 38 member communions, we are aware that churches within our fellowship are dealing with deep divisions of their own.  Is there an ethic or set of practices that might be helpful in times like these? My guest today, Dr. James Davis of Middlebury College, comes to speak with us today about his book with the title of “Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church.”  We will talk about his book, the inspiration for it, and how a recovery of this ethic might help bring about good in the world beyond the church.

In late July we heard from Phil Woodson, a pastor in Charlottesville, Virginia, who alerted us of a major action there on August 12.  Today Charlottesville has become synonymous with the violence that erupted there as counter-protesters clashed with the “Unite the Right” rally.   My guest today is a long-time friend who attended because she believed she was called to be there.  There are many people we could have on this podcast to speak about their experience in Charlottesville, but Rev. Annette Flynn is noteworthy because she is one of a handful of clergy across the United States that simply answered a call to be there.  Her story is one of simple, clear, passionate faith, and I hope it inspires you today. It sure does inspire me.

As it seems to become more and more difficult to have discussions that cross party lines, the faith community has resources that could be models for every kind of difficult discussion.  Going far beyond the typical models of dialogue, Gwynne Guibord is bringing people together from different faiths in Southern California. In this episode I speak with Dr. Guibord, director of a center that is partnering with the National Council of Churches on two new high-level dialogues between Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus.  We will speak with Gwynne today to learn more about her center, what’s unique about her approach, and how encountering another faith can deepen our own.

As the war in Afghanistan continues into its 16th year, the United States continues down a course of continual warfare and blank-check funding of the American military.  Use of force often seems as though it’s both a first and last resort.  But the little-known US Institute of Peace maintains an important place in the American diplomatic sphere. As the federal budget debate gets underway, the US Institute of Peace’s funding is on the chopping block.  Today we will talk with Rev. Michael Neuroth, Policy Advocate for International Issues in the Washington office of the United Church of Christ.  Mike will fill us in on this important institution, its Christian beginnings, and how its future can be bolstered by people like you.  If you believe in peacemaking, listen carefully to what Mike has to say.

After hinting at it for weeks, President Trump this week announced his plan to do away with the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, over the next six months, as he urges Congress to take up the matter of replacing it with solid legislation. Activists fear that Congress, with an already full agenda, will not be able to act, and as many as 800,000 persons will be at risk.   Today we talk with Rev. Noel Andersen with Church World Service. Noel has been working for years with immigrants and offers many key insights into DACA, the Dream Act, and the state of limbo President Trump’s latest decision leaves these young people who, for the most part, have never known any home other than the United States.

In recent months the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, has become a rallying point for groups on the farthest right reaches of American politics.  Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, and alt-Right groups are protesting the decision by the Charlottesville City Council to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, and this weekend a rally is scheduled in which these racist groups will converge. This week we will speak with Rev. Phil Woodson, Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Phil has had a front-row seat to the disturbances that have taken place over the past months, as First United Methodist Church faces the statue of Robert E. Lee that’s been at the center of the controversy.  A call to clergy across the nation has been issued, and if you’re hearing this in time, I hope you’ll consider coming to stand in solidarity with the clergy of Charlottesville. Visit: www.congregatecville.com

In July 2012, three protesters, an 84-year-old Catholic nun among them, broke into a secure facility in Oak Ridge, TN, where the United States stockpiles its highly enriched uranium.  The break-in, in which fences were cut, slogans were painted, and human blood was poured on the facility’s walls, is widely known to be the most damaging and embarrassing incident in the US’s nuclear program’s history. In this episode, we speak with Dan Zak, a Washington Post reporter who originally covered this story in 2013, and recently published his book entitled, “Almighty: Courage, Resistance, and Existential Peril in the Nuclear Age.”  It’s August, and if you haven’t had your vacation yet, buy this book and get out on the beach right away.  You’re in for a moral, ethical, and theological thriller of the highest order. This is an encore presentation of this podcast, originally published a year ago.  The book, "Almighty," is now available in paperback.

The weather is warm and it’s finally gardening season.  Traveling through just about any community, you’ll see community gardens springing up everywhere, and churches are getting in on the act also!  More than just a hobby, more and more congregations are seeing community gardens as a way of improving the lives of the poor. My guest this week is Nathan Hosler, director of the Washington Office of the Church of the Brethren.  Nate will share with us what he has seen churches doing in the way of community gardening in spots across the globe.  You’ll also hear about an unexpected encounter we had a short time ago in the strangest of places.  Get your gardening gloves on and listen carefully.

Many people think that the National Council of Churches is a top-down structure, but it’s not.  The ecumenical movement is just that: a MOVEMENT, and it’s made up of people who believe that we’re better off focusing on our commonalities more than on our differences. Today we will talk with Don Anderson, head of the Rhode Island Council of Churches. Don is one of our most active leaders within this fellowship that we call the ecumenical movement.  In our conversation with Don, we will learn what ecumenism looks like on a more local level.  Don’s enthusiasm is contagious and I hope you enjoy this conversation.

While the nation was focused on the firing of FBI Director James Comey, a few other major news items were swept under the rug.  One of those was a mishap at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a legacy of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Today we will talk with Paul Carroll, program officer of the Ploughshares Fund, a foundation concerned with ending the threats posed by nuclear weapons.  I ran across an article about the recent Hanford accident in which Paul was quoted, and thought he would be a perfect guest for us today.  Aside from the looming threat of a new nuclear arms race, the legacy of nearly 80 years of nuclear technology poses its own challenges.

Have you ever considered that riding a bicycle might not be just a good way to exercise and get around town, but it might also be a good spiritual practice?  Biking in the city may seem difficult and even treacherous to some, but author and ecumenist Laura Everett believes biking might be a key to unlocking a new awareness of God in the city. Today we will talk with Laura Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, and author of “Holy Spokes,” a treatise on finding God in the things we often see as ordinary and profane.  Forgive me if I’m a little too enthusiastic about this topic: I’m an avid bicyclist and a city-dweller, and I’m excited to hear Laura sharing my enthusiasm and taking it to the next level.  As you will hear, finding God in the city is as easy as riding a bike

During Ecumenical Advocacy Days, a delegation from the National Council of Churches in Korea came to visit the United States and meet with Senate offices and the State Department.  Their message?  Koreans, from both the North and South, are terrified of war. In this episode, we will talk with three leaders from the National Council of Churches in Korea about what’s going on in the Korean Peninsula today and how it affects regional and global peace.  You’ll hear about their audacious plans for a permanent peace between North and South, and how powerful interests in the US are making things worse, not better.  With tensions on the rise and nuclear weapons on the table, I think you’ll find this to be one of the more important discussions we’ve had here.

April is almost over, but it’s not too late to talk about Second Chance Month.  Even a body as divided as the US Senate unanimously declared April as Second Chance Month, a month to focus on ways to help people pick up their lives again after a period of incarceration. This week we will talk to Craig DeRoche, Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Public Policy for Prison Fellowship.  Prison Fellowship is promoting April as Second Chance Month, and Craig will talk to us about his organization, the legacy of its founder Chuck Colson, and how the United States can solve its mass incarceration problem.

Here is the audio recording of the NCC's pre-gathering event, "A Time to Break Silence."  Below is the workshop description: Christians gathering at the 2017 Ecumenical Advocacy Days will be lifting their voices in response to what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the three triplets of Materialism, Militarism, and Racism. What is the theological basis for this message when it comes to the struggle against these evils? Sponsored by the National Council of Churches, this pre-event will analyze the Christian foundations of our common work to create the “Beloved Community” where the social, political, and economic rights of all are respected and people are able to realize their full potential as children of God.  Speakers: Rev. Dr. Kenneth Q. James, Pastor, Memorial AME Zion Church (Rochester, NY) Rev. Dr. Reginald D. Broadnax, Pastor, Mt. Olive AME Zion Church (Durham, NC), Professor and Chair of Religion, Clinton College (Rock Hill, SC) Rev. Dr. Shannon Craigo-Snell, Professor of Theology, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Rev. Dr. Leslie Dawn Callahan, Pastor, St. Paul’s Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA)

The power of the march has been clearly demonstrated over the past few months with huge marches gathering in Washington, DC and New York City.  But the real power has come when those marches take place across all the other cities in America, where a real nationwide movement is demonstrated.  Coming up soon is the People's’ Climate March, April 29th. This week we talk to Fletcher Harper from Greenfaith about the march, climate change, and the role of the faith community in solving the biggest challenge facing our planet.  Get our your walking shoes and find the march near you!

In the days leading up to Holy Week, a chemical weapon attack against civilians has taken place in Syria, and the United States has attacked a Syrian airbase in retaliation.  As cable news pundits celebrated the US attack as “beautiful” and “spectacular,” is there a particularly Christian way of viewing the violence in Syria? In this episode, we will speak with two of the most well-regarded voices in the field of Christian Ethics today.  Dr. David Gushee, professor at Mercer University and President of the Society of Christian Ethics joins us today, as well as Dr. Stanley Hauerwas of Duke University.  You might imagine these two leading thinkers differ on important points, but you’ll be interested to know where they agree.  Get ready for a thought-provoking conversation.

When we first started this podcast, we took a look at the problems that were occurring in Flint, Michigan, where the water has been unusable for years.  A year later, things are improving, but the problems for Flint’s water aren’t over yet. This week we’ll talk with Ryan Cumming of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America about Flint, corruption, clean water, and how the churches have made a difference.  Big problems require big solutions, and the churches have a role to play.  Over a year ago we recorded a podcast in which we heard about the desperate situation concerning the drinking water in Flint.  Churches were helping in all kinds of ways, including delivering trucks of bottled water and assisting in shelters.  As the crisis dragged on, I’m grateful that several of our NCC member communions got involved in ways that changed the broken systems that created the problem and kept it going.  

Since January, a rash of surprising and disturbing anti-Semitic incidents have taken place across the country, with Jewish centers being threatened and cemeteries vandalized.  What’s behind this upsurge in anti-Semitism? Rabbi Jack Moline is the Director of the Interfaith Alliance, a national organization that stands on the front line fighting against hatred and bigotry.  Jack has been observing this uptick in anti-Jewish sentiment but has a surprising perspective on the relationship between anti-Semitism and other forms of bias against minority groups. Jack speaks to us today about this recent phenomenon and what we can do about it.

The world’s various divisions seem to be growing and getting worse.  Jesus once said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and as people become more divided, perhaps those who have been struggling the longest might have the most to teach us. Today we’ll talk again with Mae Cannon, director of Churches for Middle East Peace, who brings with her two guests who have embarked upon a “Pilgrimage to Peace,” touring across the US to bring their message of hope from the conflict-ridden Middle East to houses of worship here. We will talk to them about how their experience, as friends from across the divide, might inform life here in the divided States of America.

As we wrap up our series on “the way forward,” we will talk about a subject that touches nearly everyone in the nation: health care.  How will Congress and the President deal with the long-threatened repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and what are the ramifications for the poor across America? Our guest today is Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic lobby for social justice.  Simone is an important faith leader in the US and has been on the leading edge of the health care debate for many years.  We will talk to her about her organization, her work on reforming the health care system, and what she sees as the short- and long-term steps needed to insure quality, affordable healthcare for everyone.

As we continue to consider the way forward, how will President-Elect Trump and Congress deal with issues of poverty?  How will the churches continue to advocate for the poor across America? My guest for this important podcast is the Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune, Director of the Ecumenical Poverty Initiative, an organization dedicated to empowering and mobilizing the faith community to speak and act to end the scandal of poverty in the United States.  We will talk about the issues connected to poverty, how Jesus taught us to seek justice for the poor, and how churches can be involved in anti-poverty work.  It’s a complex issue with a very simple imperative.  

The Constitution guarantees religious liberty in this country.  Over the past few years, the debate has intensified over what religious freedom actually means. What does religious freedom mean today, what is the agenda behind the debate about it, and what does the future hold for this bedrock American value?  My guest today will talk about religious freedom from an historically Baptist perspective, how the discussion is changing, and what a Trump presidency is likely to mean to those who work to guarantee religious liberty for all Americans.  Holly Hollman will talk with us today in the latest episode of our discussion of “the way forward.”

The response to 9-11 by the Bush Administration included harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, placing prisoners in tiny enclosed spaces, slamming them against walls, sensory deprivation, and a host of other cruelties that were condemned by the world as torture.  The US Senate published a report almost two years ago that condemned these practices in the harshest of words.  But President-Elect Donald Trump stated in his campaign that the US would do things much worse than the Bush-era torture practices if he were elected. Ron Stief is the Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, an interfaith coalition that works to end all kinds of torture, from cruel and degrading treatment of combatants to the inhumane practice of extended solitary confinement, which the UN classifies as torture.  What does the new political reality mean to the torture debate?  We’ll talk to Ron to see if we can find out.

With President-Elect Donald Trump’s famous campaign promise to build a wall between the US and Mexico and to deport millions of undocumented persons, it would seem that immigration was front and center, but today’s guest sees things differently. My guest is Wendy Feliz, Communications Director for the American Immigration Council.  Wendy is here because of her involvement in several high-level discussions about how this issue will shake out over the next several years.  In America, this nation of immigrants, there’s a strong backlash against immigrants taking place today, and with all such issues, it’s complicated.  Wendy is here to help us sort things out as we continue to look at “The Way Forward.”