Life @ the Corner of Faith & Justice

 As have many of you, I have been in conversations recently about the various issues of our current social moment. Of course there are many and varied opinions about what can or can't be done, and some of the most recent conversations have been filled with pain, anger and hopelessness.   At this point, I have been working vocationally to address the issues of poverty & racism for nearly 30 years; and when I reflect on where we are now verses where we were 30 years ago, I can not only see progress, I also have HOPE that many of the changes we need to see are likely to be realized over the next 5-10 years.  While I understand the fear, anger and frustration people feel at what appears to be evidence that nothing has changed (I often feel it too...) I still have HOPE.  Why HOPE? For me HOPE is not a Pollyannaish emotion that does not see the reality of the pain and hurt people are experiencing. My HOPE is informed first, by an understanding of the complexity of the issues that con

The Story of the River Babies (A Short Parable) One summer in the village, the people in the town gathered for a picnic. As they leisurely shared food and conversation, someone noticed a baby in the river, struggling and crying. The baby was going to drown!  Someone rushed to save the baby. Then, they noticed another screaming baby in the river, and they pulled that baby out. Soon, more babies were seen drowning in the river, and the townspeople were pulling them out as fast as they could. It took great effort, and they began to organize their activities in order to save the babies as they came down the river. As everyone else was busy in the rescue efforts to save the babies, two of the townspeople started to run away along the shore of the river. "Where are you going?" shouted one of the rescuers. "We need you here to help us save these babies!" "We are going upstream to stop whoever is throwing them in!" Saving the babies is Social Work ...