Don I had been at work a few hours taking care of the neonates in the newborn nursery at the Dispensary of Naval Air Station Albany GA. I was working the afternoon shift and as I recall I was getting ready to take the infants out to their mothers on the OB ward. That’s when the … Read more
James Cone’s powerful book, ‘The Cross and the Lynching Tree’ is the reason I’m in this course. I don’t remember who recommended it to me earlier this spring but reading became a metanoia for me. It is the reason that I enrolled in this course. I knew very little about lynchings. I read little about … Read more
Surrender, White People!: Our Unconditional Terms for Peace by D.L. Hughley My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of the best books I’ve read on the history of racism in America. Much of the factual data presented in the book was news to me and my undergraduate major was American History. DL Hughley … Read more
It’s been my privilege for the past couple of weeks to be a student once again. I’m auditing a course at nearby Houghton College and thanks to this pandemic and social distancing we are using Zoom. Race and American Christianity is the title of the course and our professor is Julian Armand Cook. i love … Read more
Liberating Tradition: Women’s Identity and Vocation in Christian Perspective by Kristina LaCelle-Peterson My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an incredibly thorough and well documented book that should be required reading for anyone interested in the role of the Christian church in keeping women from being fully accepted as leaders in society.
Thus begins the Declaration of Independence that we Americans celebrate on July 4th. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.- Thomas Jefferson When Jefferson penned these words … Read more
I’m at St. Mary Parish in Arcade, NY for Eucharistic Adoration and I’m facing a statue of St. Joseph. I’ve come here many times but today I’m struck by the flesh tones of the statue. I grew up in this parish. I served Mass here on this altar many times and I never really appreciated … Read more
This afternoon I returned to Mount Irenaeus for the first time in over three months. It’s been the longest absence in the past twenty plus years of my life. It was Sunday March 8, 2020 when I last walked the grounds here. That Sunday was the first time that we didn’t share a hug at … Read more
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi My rating: 5 of 5 stars Excellent! A must read for anyone who’s serious about understanding America’s original sin. The author pulls no punches regardless of which side of the color line you are on. He exposes the problem … Read more
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone My rating: 5 of 5 stars Absolutely incredible book about the crime of racism in America. The book is scholarly and full of references. This is one of the most compelling narratives of the spiritual significance of the sin of racism in America. I highly … Read more
