Peace

Jim Wallis 10-21-2011

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After almost nine years and nearly 5,000 American fatalities, President Obama announced today that, "the coming months will be a season of homecomings. Our troops in Iraq will definitely be home for the holidays."

Cathleen Falsani 10-17-2011

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After an hour or so of echoing statements of faith, prayers and petitions aloud and in unison, when the hundreds-strong crowd began to disperse, I caught up with one of the event's organizers -- the Rev. Michael Ellick of New York City's Judson Memorial Church.

Standing at the top of a flight of stone stairs at the west end of the park, looking down on the massive crowd as it moved through the rabbit warren of tarpaulins, lean-tos and the occasional portable sukkah (it is Sukkot, after all) below, I turned to the vaguely weary clergyman and asked, "So ... what now?"

A TV reporter broadcasts from the NY protests last week/Photo by Tim King for Sojourners

I had seen people my age start successful businesses, become pop-stars and even play a key role in partisan political campaigns, but I had never seen them develop and sustain a social movement.

Sure there have been more focused shifts around issues like educational equity, LGBT rights or global poverty that my generation has had a hand in shaping, but nothing that quite had the look or the feel of what I imagined the anti-War or Civil Rights movements of the 1960s to have been. I assumed we -- my contemporaries ( I'm 27) -- simply didn't possess the interest or the will-power to accomplish something that big.

I was wrong.

Heather Wilson 10-09-2011

On the crest of that hill, mourning the violence Kabul had suffered, I stumbled upon a patch of vibrant wild tulips growing at my feet, and was reminded that, even in this place of bloodshed, beauty and life returns.

Today, may we remember the life, hope, and courage that remains in Afghanistan.

Jim Wallis 10-06-2011

The new movement called Occupy Wall Street now has spread across the country, from the very seats of our political and financial power and our largest cities, to suburbs and small towns. In some communities small groups of a few dozen have formed and in some cities thousands have gathered.

In each instance, no matter the size, people's frustrations, hurt and feelings of being betrayed by our nation's politicians and economic leaders are clear and they want to be heard.

We will likely see images and hear things that will offend us and some that will inspire.

We'll hear demands that we agree with and some that we don't.

And that's OK.


Ms. Maathai's life and work are examples of the truth of the adage, "Nothing is more powerful than a made up mind." She made up her mind that planting trees is a way to make life better for rural women and for all of humankind. She wanted to plant one tree for every person in Kenya. An the Green Belt Movement has planted tens of millions of trees.

the Web Editors 10-06-2011

Fist.PosterThis poster originally appeared in the inaugural issue of The Post-American magazine in the fall of 1971. The Post-American was the original name of Sojourners Magazine. The name was changed to Sojourners when the intentional community that founded the Sojourners organization relocated from Chicago to Washington, D.C., in 1975.Sojourners

The text of the poster is based on Jesus' own words in Matthew 25:37.

They are words and ideas that are as relevant and revolutionary today as they were when Jesus first uttered them more than 2,000 years ago.

Cathleen Falsani 10-05-2011

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

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Indie music darling, Jeff Mangum, who rarely plays in public, surprised #OccupyWallStreet protesters in New York City earlier this week with an impromptu concert. A New Jersey singer-songwriter pens two songs for revolutions. And an order of Catholic nuns offer free mp3 downloads of a protest song inspired by the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

Anne Marie Roderich 10-05-2011

800px-US_Navy_101108-N-8977L-001_Sara_Ukley,_a_morale,_welfare_and_recreation_fitness_instructor,_teaches_yoga_during_a_health_fair_and_aerobic-a-thonJust a few days after I returned from my respite in the mountains, Israeli forces killed eight Turkish nationals and one American on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Protests erupted all over Israel and Palestine.

In the midst of this tragic chaos I found myself visiting my yoga center more often than usual, hoping to find another glimpse of the peace I had tasted so vividly just a few days before. Perhaps these wise, centered people could offer a perspective that would look forward to a vision of understanding, or reconciliation -- a vision too often missed by politicians, military officials, media, and even activists.

James Colten 10-05-2011

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Let’s face it — while lawmakers are picking their own battles in Washington, they aren’t fighting on the ground in Afghanistan. Winning elections has become more important than implementing winning foreign policy strategies that would end the war and bring our service men and women safely home.

And it’s my generation that’s being sacrificed.

the Web Editors 10-04-2011

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From the official statement by #OccupyWallStreet: "As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power."

the Web Editors 10-04-2011

A truck bomb has killed at least 70 people in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, including a crowd of young students applying for scholarships to study abroad.

the Web Editors 10-04-2011

This Friday, October 7, 2011, marks 10 years since the United States invaded Afghanistan in the name of the "War on Terror." Sadly, this summer President Obama announced he'll continue our military presence in the country until 2014, and Congress has agreed to follow his lead.

Where do we go from here?

Cathleen Falsani 10-04-2011

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The U.S. Supreme Court is set to begin hearing oral arguments this week in one of the most important church-state cases in decades. In Hosanna-Tabor Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the court will consider whether a Lutheran school in Michigan is subject to a federal law banning discrimination based on a disability.

the Web Editors 10-04-2011

What's more obscene? Thirty-thousand children dead in Somalia in three months? Or the world standing by and letting it happen?

Shane Claiborne 10-03-2011

Today (Oct. 4) Christians around the world celebrate the life of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the bright lights of the church and one of the most venerated religious figures in history.

The life and witness of Francis is as relevant to the world we live in today as it was 900 years ago. He was one of the first critics of capitalism, one of the earliest Christian environmentalists, a sassy reformer of the church, and one of the classic conscientious objectors to war.

the Web Editors 9-30-2011

UPDATES: Earlier today (Friday, Sept. 30), the Iranian Embassy in the U.K. issued the following statement regarding Pastor Nadarkhani:

Lisa Sharon Harper 9-30-2011
Dear Herman, On September 28, you actually called African-Americans "brainwashed" for their support of the Democratic Party.
the Web Editors 9-30-2011
TEN YEARS. THOUSANDS OF LIVES. BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.