The Frequency and Fear of Mass Shootings Have America On Edge. When Will They Stop?

The Truth Is The Light

Rev. Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., Columnist

Based on biblical text: Romans 12:3, ”For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” As the body of Christ, we stand on the principle of “Love Thy Neighbor.” “Love thy neighbor” is a principle we wear as a banner of affirmation to our Christian way of thinking. However, to love our neighbor, we must learn to tolerate our differences. We are challenged to love our neighbor without liking what he or she represents, does, or thinks. Despite our differences, there is common ground on which we can all stand. The common ground is treating each other with respect due as human beings. There are certain common decencies we should all be afforded. A reason we find “loving thy neighbor” difficult could very well be that we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think! It is when we put ourselves on a higher plane than our neighbor, that we fail to acknowledge their basic rights as human beings. As Christians, we need to remind ourselves not to be so high and mighty when it comes to common decency. Paul admonishes us, “Don’t think too highly of yourself.” Later, in his letter to the fledgling church in Rome, Paul challenges, “Do not claim to be wiser than you are” (Romans 12:16). We can be so puffed up with pride and arrogance that our vision becomes clouded by our air of superiority. It is then we risk thinking we are better than anyone else. Unfortunately, then we stop listening. Listening is the key to peace. The truth is, humility goes a long way to resolving differences. A humble person is more inclined to listen to another person and consider another person’s viewpoint. This behavior is a sign of respect. The prophet Amos asked, “Do two walk together unless they have made an appointment?” (Amos 3:3). Humility reveals much about us. Humility demonstrates our willingness to put someone else above us. Humility helps us extend the same courtesy to someone we desire. Jesus taught us, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged” (Matthew 7:1). As Christians, we are called to share the gospel and leave judgment to the Lord. We are personally responsible for our own soul’s salvation. We are commanded to share the gospel with others, understanding the decision is theirs, not ours. That is why Paul told the church at Corinth, “But let a man examine himself” (1 Corinthians 11:28). We must examine ourselves. Do I think more highly of myself than I ought to? Do I need to come down off my high horse? Is my head in the clouds? It is a good idea sometimes to ask a friend we can trust to be honest with us. We should not get angry at the answer. Instead, we are challenged to humble ourselves and work to fix it. If we truly desire an effectual relationship with humankind, we need not be so high and mighty. The Reverend Dr. Charles R. Watkins, Jr., is the pastor of James Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina.

The Frequency and Fear of Mass Shootings Have America on Edge. When Will They Stop? James B. Ewers, Jr., Ed.D., Columnist Numbers give us a perspective. They don’t lie. We use them in almost every facet of our lives. Probably more so today than ever before in our lifetime. There are some that we gladly accept and others we cast an alarming eye at. What are numbers telling us about our nation today? Let’s look and see. Numbers-wise, Covid-19 has been with us for over two years. It has taken the lives of many of our family members and friends. According to reports, over one million people have passed away from this deadly illness. Since the vaccines, we have seen a significant drop in new cases and deaths. Do you still wear your mask? We do. Pain at the pump has become a commonly used expression. It is fitting because of the price of a gallon of gas. The numbers that glare at us at the filling stations simply make us shake our heads. It was just a few years ago that we gave a casual wink at the cost. Now our eyes are wide open. The average cost for a gallon of gas is now $4.69. Some states are higher as it depends upon where you live. We found gas just recently for $3.99. What a bargain! Owning a home is a part of the American dream. It has always been that way. Just last year, the interest rates were more manageable. Now, they are climbing and hovering around 6% in some areas. Again, the numbers matter. A number that is disheartening and disappointing to talk about is the number of mass shootings that have occurred during this period. A report in the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit, says there have been 314 mass shootings in this nation so far this year. Hate, mental health, copycat, and not valuing life are all reasons why we are seeing these heinous crimes committed. This same report says that more than 22,000 people have died because of gun violence this year. We have come to a point in our beloved country where we watch where we go. Being in a crowded area has now almost become a recipe for instant disaster. Parades and outdoor celebrations have become favorite targets for these would-be killers. The 4th of July has always been a holiday filled with joyous activities of all kinds. This 4th of July was tragic and life-ending for some citizens in Highland Park, Illinois. At a parade, seven people were killed and forty-six people were injured by a lone gunman. Robert Crimo III, the shooter, now faces seven charges of firstdegree murder. He was shooting his victims from a rooftop with a high-powered assault rifle. He is twenty-one years of age. What kind of vile and vicious thoughts build up in a guy of that tender age? We will probably never know the answer to that question. Now this community outside of Chicago is left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives. R. Thurman Barnes, the assistant director of Rutgers University’s New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and faculty member at the Rutgers School of Public Health, said, “In a country like ours, we have a lot of guns.” He added, “And when you have as many guns as we have which we have more guns than people, you’re going to have more gun violence in all of its forms.” Sometimes, it seems as if we are waiting for something to happen to us. That cannot be our only course of action. Stronger gun laws aree a course of action that more Americans want now. ❏ ❏ ❏

I Am Somebody

Rev. Dr. Maxine Thomas, Columnist

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

We are living in a world where corruption and violence, like an untamed beast, stalk the land by day and night. Police officers shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to policing those who are black and brown. Blacks are killing blacks not only with guns but also by refusing to support black businesses. Drug wars are claiming the lives of our young black brothers. Babies are having babies. People are raping, robbing, and killing. And the list could go on and on. And so it is that Satan wants you dead. God would have you know that your real enemy is not a person in the flesh, but it is Satan who, through unclean and manipulative spirits, seeks to destroy our lives. The Bible says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). There is a spiritual war going on. But I’m so glad that there is a word of hope. For while Satan wants to kill and destroy us, sabotage our visions, and nullify our dreams, Jesus came that we might have life, not only eternal life in the sweet by and by, but life in the right here and now. My friend, God loves you, and God wants you to live a victorious life. God does not want us to live powerless and defeated lives. You do not have to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. God does not want you to be filled with anxiety moving in and out of cycles of depression. When you repented of your sins and asked Jesus to come into your heart, you accepted Jesus by faith. You received eternal life by faith. God also wants you to accept his abundant life in your daily living. You are somebody! You may not have the money to eat steak every night, to eat at the finest restaurants, or to lodge at the finest hotels. You may not have been educated at Duke, Yale, or Harvard University. Maybe you are separated, widowed, or still just waiting for Mr. or Miss Right to come along. God wants you to know that you are somebody. He has invested something wonderfully divine in your life. You are created in his divine and holy image. You are his wonderful love creation. There is nobody quite like you, and nobody can do what God has given you to do quite the way you can do it.

You are a royal child of the king! You are somebody! Beloved, the Prince of Peace lives inside of you. Therefore, you can live at peace with your neighbor and yourself. Whatsoever state you are in, you can learn to be content (Philippians 4:11). The Holy Spirit lives on the inside. You can make it!

Exhale

As I behold the splendor and beauty of a love so divine, without hesitation, I let go of the pain of my past as I embrace peace for today. ❏ ❏ ❏

At Lambeth, Anglican Communion Abandons Vote on Same-Sex Marriage

Catherine Pepinster

The prejudice felt by gay people over same-sex marriage is the new racism, according to the head of the Episcopal Church of the United States. In an interview with Religion News Service on Tuesday (Aug. 2), Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said that in the United States, “the issue of gay people and their rights is equivalent to a struggle in our time to the one over race.” He went on to say all Christians in the United States need to stand in solidarity with gay people over same-sex marriage.

Curry was speaking in the aftermath of a key debate at the Lambeth Conference around the issue of samesex marriage. The conference, meeting for the first time in 14 years, was supposed to be an attempt to bring the Anglican Communion together to pray, listen, and discuss issues that affect the church and the world, such as discipleship, climate change, and poverty. More than 650 bishops registered to attend, including more than 100 from the Episcopal Church. They represent some 85 million Anglicans worldwide. However, documents produced in advance of the conference, which runs through Monday, had provoked outrage among those belonging to the liberal wing of the church. Those documents referenced the entire Anglican Communion being wholly opposed to same-sex marriage. The protests forced Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to amend the statement to recognize that some provinces support same-sex marriage. In response to the amendment, bishops from the Global South announced they would refuse Holy Communion from bishops with gay partners and those who support same-sex marriage.

The point-counterpoint protests over the past week have underscored the growing divisions between the bishops in the West who support gay marriage and those in the Global South who oppose it — and the increasingly tenuous cooperation that Welby, as archbishop of Canterbury, has forged. Welby wrote to those attending the conference in advance of Tuesday’s discussion, describing same-sex marriage as “this matter on which we are so divided.” And during the debate Tuesday — held behind closed doors, with the media banned — he recognized the predicaments faced by both sides and the intractability of an issue on which everyone views a change of heart as unthinkable, according to a transcript released by the press office. Moreover, Welby acknowledged that, for many present, to alter their position would make them a victim of derision, contempt, and attack in their countries.

Welby affirmed that the 1998 Lambeth Conference 1.10 resolution, which rejects homosexuality as incompatible with scripture, had not been rescinded. Even so, he said he would not punish provinces that back same-sex marriage nor seek to discipline or exclude them from Communion. There was no vote on the Human Dignity document, but Welby’s address gained a standing ovation from the Communion and was hailed as drawing out some of the toxicity of the issue. According to Curry: “There was some movement on the willingness of the bishops to respect our differences but at the same time hold fast to our respective convictions. I think that is a healthy thing because for people to be able to stay in relationship with profound differences is a kind of diversity. And we think diversity is a good thing.” Welby said during his address that those who challenged traditional teaching “have not arrived lightly at their ideas that traditional teaching needs to change. They are not careless about scripture. They do not reject Christ. But they have come to a different view on sexuality after long prayer, deep study, and reflection on understandings of human nature.” It was an approach Curry welcomed while also stressing that in the United States, clergy like himself had changed their views on same-sex unions through pastoral encounters with couples who wanted God’s blessing on their relationship and family.

After the closed-door discussion on the Human Dignity paper, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town told journalists there had been “robust discussions and long and sustained prayer. We could sit in a room and listen to a diversity of views and reflect together” — a far cry from the situation before the Lambeth Conference when bishops first received their draft of conference documents, called Lambeth Calls. Those documents included the statement: “It is the mind of the Anglican Communion as a whole that same-gender marriage is not permissible.” The amended statement now notes that while many provinces ban same-gender marriages, other provinces “have blessed and welcomed same-sex union/marriage after careful theological reflection and a process of reception.”

This week’s Lambeth Conference, though, has a very different mood from the last Lambeth Conference 14 years ago. Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York and the second most senior clergyman in the Church of England after the archbishop of Canterbury, ...continued on p5

The Questions We Must Ask

George Pratt, Contributing Writer

When considering the present moment, there are critical questions that are necessary for oppressed peoples to ask and attempt to answer. The present time has revealed that while disenfranchised communities have experienced progress in the United States, populating and receiving acclaim in various industries and sectors, oppressive, unjust, and exploitative systems still pervade the lives of many black, women, indigenous, and queer folks. Sometimes, children and elders as populations and social identifiers in the American consciousness are excluded from mainstream conversations concerning injustice. As unique groups with different interlocking oppressions, they too must be named when calling the role of those who are the least of us living at the margins and fringes of society. As we experience the blows and abrupt shifts that this everyday life brings, accompanied by mass acts of violence from lone gunmen and the state, we must collectively think about our health, spirit, survival, and future. The reality of today has left masses of people vulnerable in different ways than in the past. While minoritized and subjected groups have always mitigated the terrors of simply existing and safely gathering in their institutions, presently, more people are being forced to rethink their wellbeing. We live in a society where we have become desensitized to the fact that gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers. In 2022, women in America find themselves negotiating their bodily autonomy and integrity with an androcentric government, being reduced to second-class citizens. It still proves true today; black people are not safe anywhere. Not in our homes, churches, grocery stores, parks, colleges and universities, hospitals, or any location we frequent. Danger is eminent everywhere. Historically excluded and marginalized people know all too well the plight of struggle that is never ending and is absent of escape. However, this has never prevented us from creatively carving out ways to find and share the joy and leave room for hope. As agents of hate anticipate and attempt to conjure dark days ahead, we must think seriously and deeply about fostering healthy environments of genuine love and support among each other while resisting the global imperial powers that seek to keep us bound. We must encourage one another to dream beyond current conditions to imagine a world where we know freedom and begin to actualize it. We must begin living out liberation and linking our struggles with others to triumph as the victors of our own salvation. The reality is that we must navigate these waters while being good and gentle to ourselves, handling our bodies with ease and care. As communities, we must contemplate how we will continue to build familial bonds, forge kinship ties, invest in friends and loved ones, and establish safe spaces where our sources of peace and pleasure are protected. We must live whole, healthy lives, coming to create our own Canaan though it may not flow with milk and honey presently.

George Anthony Pratt currently serves as the parliamentarian for the Connectional Young People’s Divison. He is a member of Saint Paul, Jacksonville in the Eleventh Episcopal District. He attends Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia double majoring in history and religion.

There Is Always Hope-Don’t Give Up

Dr. Michael C. Carson, Columnist

“...but God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So then, remember that at one time you gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-6,11-13). What is a life without hope? It’s a life devoid of expecting that something good is going to happen for you. It is a life with no “pregnant expectations” of a better day coming. It’s a life of grieving and not feeling adequate enough to compete in life. Living without hope is like a child who cannot look at a situation believing something wonderful is about to happen.

A life without hope is one not excited about facing tomorrow because “tomorrow will be just like today.” Living without hope is believing you

...continued on p11

recalled the tensions of the last Lambeth Conference over same-sex marriage. “This time, people aren’t threatening to leave. They are threatening to stay,” he told RNS on Wednesday. For some supporters of gay unions, the lack of a decision in favor of same-sex marriage was a blow. But Mary Glasspool, an assistant bishop in New York and the first married lesbian bishop in the Anglican Communion, acknowledged there was progress of a kind. “The human dignity call was as good as it could get at this stage. We felt like we were treated as human beings rather than as an issue. The archbishop of Canterbury had a high-wire act to perform, and he succeeded. He didn’t fall off. I felt he was at his finest in keeping the Communion together, to listen,” she told RNS on Wednesday. Out of the 42 Anglican provinces, those that have accepted same-sex marriage include the Episcopal Church in the United States; the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil; the Anglican Church of Canada; the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia; the Scottish Episcopal Church; and the Church in Wales. On Wednesday, the 650 bishops attending the Lambeth Conference left its base in Canterbury to travel to London for a day at the archbishop of Canterbury’s London home, Lambeth Palace, to discuss climate change. Welby said, “over the last few years, there is no doubt about the climate emergency for all of us.” And he warned that climate change would lead to food and water shortages, resulting in wars over supplies and causing what he called “a savage downward spiral” that would most affect people in the poorest parts of the planet. The Lambeth Call paper on the environment highlighted that the Anglican Communion’s churches are involved in every part of the environmental emergency: “We are the people facing devastation in disaster-stricken communities. We are all the polluters, especially in wealthy countries. We are people living in poverty and on the margins. We wield power and influence.”

...From At Lambeth p4 The bishops heard from Kenyan environmental activist Elizabeth Wathuti, who said people in Africa were on the front line of the climate emergency and they are “drowning in empty promises.” She insisted faith leaders could influence politicians to do more. The Lambeth Call urged Anglican provinces to advocate for the poorest communities suffering the adverse effects of climate change. Welby said the Church of England was aiming to disinvest from companies that are not pushing for carbon dioxide emissions to fall to net zero. He was also highly critical of oil companies such as Shell that have posted record profits when people across the world are facing historic energy price hikes. “Their windfall is causing indescribable hardship for people in the poorest countries and hardship for the poor here (in the U.K.) to have to heat or eat,” he said. The bishops also watched a tree being planted in the Lambeth Palace Garden to mark the launch of the Communion Forest initiative, with trees planted across Communion provinces. ❏ ❏ ❏

Refl ections on the Massacre of the Buff alo 10 & Racism

Antoine M. Thompson

The moment I learned of the shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, I was shocked and saddened, which turned to anger and then to disgust. I knew many of the persons killed and even campaigned door to door with Kat Massey and gave her a ride home in my car. In fact, going to the site of Tops was beyond painful. The massacre of the Buffalo Ten took the lives of innocent people, shattering the lives of their families and the community. The massacre shed a much-needed national spotlight on the severe neglect of the area, far beyond the fact that there was only one major supermarket in the neighborhood–Tops on Jefferson Avenue, located in Buffalo’s Black Belt.

In the late 1990s, as a young 27-year-old activist and community leader, I attended numerous neighborhood meetings and forums about bringing a supermarket to the east side of Buffalo. For many years, residents tried to start a food coop called “Our Market.” While the plan for the food co-op was unsuccessful, their persistence would lead to Tops opening on historic Jefferson Avenue in 2003.

Jefferson Avenue was once the economic and cultural center of Buffalo’s black community in zip code 14208. According to the United States Census, over 75% of the zip code’s residents are black, with a high concentration of black churches and black-led institutions. As a result, this area is vote-rich for candidates, often providing the boost needed to elect black candidates to the school board, city council, mayoral office, state legislature, and judgeships. It is not uncommon to see political leaders, clergy, and business leaders shopping or campaigning at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue. In fact, this is the very neighborhood where I launched my political career as a Buffalo council member and New York state senator.

Racism, Redlining Rampant in Buffalo and Around Tops

Anyone that googles black and Buffalo will quickly learn that black residents top many of the worst lists for health issues, homes with lead paint, and racial disparities in homeownership and business ownership.

There are only two banks in 14208, despite all the political influence in the neighborhood. As a result, residents struggle to access mortgages to purchase a home, and those that do get approved often get outbid by out-of-town investors and speculators who seek to make residents renters. According to data from Compliance Tech, black homebuyers in Buffalo are twice as likely to be denied a mortgage loan compared to white homebuyers. Housing rehabilitation loans and grants from the public and private sectors are also difficult to obtain, driving residents to surrender their properties in housing court, tax foreclosure sales, or investors. A quick drive or walk down Laurel or Landon, streets adjacent to the Tops on Jefferson, shows the need for an infusion of public and private assistance to help property owners fix roofs, porches, and siding and perform general upkeep on countless homes. This problem of disinvestment is not unique to black Buffalo; it is a national crisis.

Time to Restore Hope

Many black residents in Buffalo have been waiting for Buffalo’s so-called social and economic renaissance to reach areas like 14208. Since 2004, Buffalo’s public and private sectors have invested over $10 billion. Unfortunately, as one of the most politically powerful areas of Buffalo and the state of New York, 14208 is lagging in investment and economic growth. Hopefully, Jefferson Avenue will not be left behind like it was after the riots in 1968 following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today, just as it was back then, many hearts are heavy, spirits are broken, and the community is weary. It is time for leaders to offer a bold vision to restore hope and deliver results that transform lives, families, and communities. In the 1970s, it was the Jefferson Commercial Urban Revitalization Area (CURA); in the 1990s, it was the Jefferson Renaissance. I ask now, “What’s the bold vision this time?”

Antoine M. Thompson is a native of Buffalo, a former NYS state senator (Buffalo, New York), and a former Buffalo city/common council member. He is also a freelance writer and expert in green business, housing, and urban policy.

Love, Service, and Forgiveness: Christian Core Values for Challenging Circumstances

Rev. Dr. Jason Curry, Columnist

The mission statement describes the “what” of the organization. The core values of the organization describe the organization’s “how.” For example, the mission statement of a local automobile dealership could be to “provide the best sports cars with the lowest prices.” The core values of the dealership could state that the corporation’s employees value honesty, diversity, and safety. Challenges or disputes often arise within or between the organization and those it serves when the organization begins to fail at achieving its mission or embracing its core values.

The mission of the church can be expressed in the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20), and Paul and Barnabus were working together to accomplish that mission. The author of the book of Acts stated that Paul and Barnabus agreed to disagree regarding an effective strategy for accomplishing that mission (i.e., encouraging people to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior). Luke writes in Acts 15:39-40 that “Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and set out.” He further describes their interaction as “sharp”–meaning contentious–in Acts 15:39. Even though Paul and Silas disagreed regarding a strategy, they expressed their love for God and each other by avoiding violence and continuing with the mission. As such, I would submit that the success of the early church in winning souls for Christ grew out of this same understanding and embracing of the church’s mission as well as its core values over personal perspectives.

Love is a Christian core value (see Mathew 22:37-39). Inasmuch as they continued to minister to people and bring others into the Christian fold, they rendered an invaluable service to humanity. Service is a Christian core value (see Mathew 23:11). Theologians have argued that Paul’s statement in Colossians 4:10 is evidence that Paul forgave Mark for his inadequate work ethic. Forgiveness is also a Christian core value (see Matthew 6:14-15). It is safe to say that the modern church would not exist today if members of the early church relinquished their responsibility of embracing the church’s mission and core values.

For certain challenges among Christians and non-Christians to be effectively resolved, those who know Christ must embrace the church’s core values with renewed faith and energy. Therefore, let us embrace the mission and core values of the church universal and local churches so that we may continue pivoting from surviving to thriving. ❏ ❏ ❏

The Urgent Need for Evangelism

Rev. Dr. Aliston Thomas, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, M. Div.

I often share with the disciples where I serve that “The church does not have a growth, but rather an obedience problem.” You see, Jesus was very clear in Matthew 28:16-20 when he gave the Great Commission. While Matthew 16:18 affirms that not even the gates of Hades will prevail against the church, I believe Jesus is referring to the “organism” (the Holy Spirit), not the “organization” (the denomination or ecclesia). God intends that the organization follow the organism, not the other way around. Recently, I read an article entitled “The Death of Evangelism: Seven Unacceptable Responses” by Dr. Thom S. Rainer, founder and chief executive officer of Church Answers. This article caught my attention for several reasons. First, while attendance increased at some churches due partly to the pandemic, generally, churches, particularly those belonging to major denominations, are on the decline. This article caught my attention because it challenged conventional thinking regarding the reasons for the lack of evangelism and outreach. In summary, this article asserts that it is not only up to the denomination, pastor, ordained clergy, and Evangelism Committee to spread the good news of Jesus the Christ – as believers, we are all evangelists. Yes, the pastor or spiritual leader sets the tone, but true, effective evangelism is everyone’s responsibility. A third reason this article caught my attention is that it offered hope for revitalization and restoration. While not explicitly stated in this article, it reminded me of the instructions God left us in Acts 2:40-47. We later learn in Acts 4:4, “…those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”

In essence, the church grew because of their obedience to consistently and fervently practice spiritual disciplines (prayer, studying God’s word led by the Holy Spirit, fasting, meditating, fellowship, sharing, evangelizing, and the like) consistently and fervently. Consistently and fervently practicing spiritual disciplines results in the formation and further development of God, who is love, in us. This inner spiritual formation thus further enables us to love ourselves and others, even our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). Effective, sustained evangelism and church growth require unconditional love (John 13:34).

Recent events in our society (the Covid-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the war in Ukraine, mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo, New York, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and other tragedies) are a cry for believers in Jesus the Christ to tell an often dark and dying world about a loving and living God who offers peace, joy, and hope. This message of hope is not intended to be preached and taught in the four walls of a building but to all nations. “Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 to GO! The command in the scripture is to go and make disciples. Jesus, himself, came from heaven to earth to reach us, and it is God’s heart that we would do the same. So not only are we called as the hands and feet of Christ, but we are also called and commissioned to go out and act upon his mission.”

The Rev. Dr. Marcellus Norris Executive Director, Department of Church Growth and Development African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Aliston Thomas serves as God’s servant as pastor at Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Edward Waters, Allen University Attain Full SIAC Membership

Steven J. Gaither, HBCU GameDay

Both Allen University and Edward Waters University (EWU) have taken a big step forward in their moves to become full members of Division II athletics and The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has approved both universities’ applications to move to Year Two of their transitions up from the The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to Division II.

The Division II Membership Process is a threeyear process in which an institution is required to show the Division II Membership Committee a commitment to the Division II model. Both Allen University and Edward Waters University will move into Year Two of a three-year transition into Division II. Year Two will allow both universities’ varsity sports programs to compete fully at the NCAA Division II level.

Edward Waters University first announced its intentions to move to Division II and the SIAC at its football media day in 2019. Three years later, the changes in the Edward Waters program have not gone lost on players like defensive back Dartrelle Rolle. “It feels great, to be honest, because when I came, it was an NAIA school and seeing the change from when we got here — seeing the new stadium, coming in the conference — new teams you have to play against,” he said, “It feels really great to be honest.”

Likewise, Allen University linebacker Gary Bourrage said he’s excited to be a part of the SIAC. “It’s an honor to be a part of a great conference, a great HBCU conference,” Bourrage said during SIAC Media Day. “I feel the HBCU football is so amazing. So, I’m just happy to be a part of it.” ❏ ❏ ❏

This Supreme Court’s Dangerous Vision of “History and Tradition”

I am from Mississippi. We know what the euphemism “history and tradition” means. And we know where it will lead. — White Too Long by Robert P. Jones

I am guessing most of you, like me, are reeling from the flood of political news over the last few weeks, including stunning hearings by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2022, Capitol riot and the tidal wave of decisions by the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS).

This column is a bit longer than usual—a longer form pieced for the long weekend. But it is relevant not just in light of recent news but also as we think about who we are as a nation ahead of Independence Day.

To kick things off today, just a quick reaction to Wednesday’s January 6th House Committee Hearings, which featured Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Her testimony contained startling new revelations, even in light of what we had already learned about former President Trump’s character and personal conduct over the last five years. We learned that the favored president of the white Christian right: • Declared that Mike Pence, his own vice president, deserved to be hung for ...continued on p8

...From This Supreme p7 fulfilling his constitutional duty. • Assaulted the head of his presidential Secret

Service detail for trying to keep him safe and away from the U.S. Capitol Building during the riot. • Attempted to have the magnetometers disabled before his speech on January 6th so that the crowds supporting him could bring in weapons. (Hutchinson testified that she overheard Trump saying, “I don’t f-ing care that they have weapons.

They’re not here to hurt me.”)

• Regularly threw dishes against the wall and overturned tables in the White House dining room when he received news he disliked from his senior staff.

These revelations are disturbing, if not surprising. But what I want to focus on today is the conservative supermajority on this U.S. Supreme Court, half of whom the former president described above appointed.

In just the last week, SCOTUS has attacked three standards that have stood for nearly half a century. It has taken a hammer to the wall of separation between church and state, allowed a southern state to weaken the voting power of African Americans, and called into question the right to privacy that secured a right to legal abortion (as well as same-sex marriage, access to contraception, and potentially even interracial marriage). As troubling as these decisions are, there is an even more dangerous common thread connecting them: This Court is systematically erecting a new judicial standard based on an invocation of “history and tradition” rooted in a vision of a mythical 1950s white Christian America.

First, in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a 6-3 conservative majority voted to side with a public school football coach who held Christian prayers on

the field immediately after games. As Religious News Services’ Mark Silk notes, the majority opinion in this case “begins with a lie,” claiming that “petitioner Joseph Kennedy lost his job as a high school football coach in the Bremerton School District after he knelt at midfield after games to offer a quiet personal prayer.” Legal arguments aside, Kennedy’s prayer was neither quiet nor personal. One look at a photograph of the events in question clearly shows a public school football coach (a government employee) leading a very public prayer on the fifty-yard line of the football field (a government-owned facility) while fans are still in the stands and while he and the players are still in their public school provided uniforms.

The disingenuousness of the conservative justices’ description of the facts of the case is bad enough. But the majority had a larger agenda. It took the opportunity to run roughshod over the “lemon test,” a legal test that has guarded church-state separation since 1971. This longstanding guide held that any government conduct must meet three criteria: 1) It must have a clear secular purpose, 2) It must not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and 3) It must not create an excessive governmental entanglement with religion. In addition to the lemon test, the Court also ignored Reagan appointee Sandra Day O’Connor’s 1984 ”endorsement test” that proposed a standard of whether “a reasonable, informed observer” would perceive an act as a government endorsement of religion. Instead, the conservative majority on the Court replaced those previous legal tests with the ambiguous idea that Establishment Clause cases “must be interpreted by ‘reference to historical practices and understandings.’” If public prayers at public schools have long historical precedents, the new logic goes, they deserve less scrutiny.

If this new test takes hold, it (by design) will unravel 50 years of church-state jurisprudence at both the federal and state levels. By pegging Establishment Clause logic to “historical practices and understandings,” the Court not only allows excessive entanglement of government and religion but—because the dominant religion in the U.S. has historically been Christianity— it simultaneously privileges Christianity over other religions. If the Christian Coach Kennedy had been Hindu Coach Patel, it is highly unlikely that this case would have been filed or even granted certiorari by this Court. Ultimately, the new standard does not protect religious liberty; it privileges Christian religious expressions over others.

Second, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court also allowed a Congressional redistricting map drawn by Louisiana Republicans to remain in

place. They took no action on Ardoin v. Robinson, even with the midterm elections on the horizon, despite a lower court’s determination that the Republican scheme likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because the redistricting seems to dilute the voting power of African Americans, specifically. The black population of Louisiana is 33%, but the new map pushed most African Americans into only one of six districts, essentially reducing their relative representation by half.

This past February, the Court allowed a similar map drawn by Alabama Republicans to stand. The Court has indicated it will revisit these cases in October— after these racist and partisan redistricting schemes govern the outcomes of the 2022 midterm elections.

Finally, the same 6-3 conservative majority voted not just to uphold a Mississippi law that bans virtually all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy (and has no exceptions for rape or incest), not just to overturn Roe v. Wade, but also to undermine the very idea that a right to privacy exists in the Constitution.

When I published that column, I received pushback about my concerns that this broadside attack on a right to privacy would put protections for samesex marriage, access to contraception, and even potentially interracial marriage at risk. But Justice Thomas, in his concurring opinion, explicitly put each of these rights (with the notable exception of interracial marriage) in the crosshairs, arguing that the Court should reconsider these landmark cases and “correct the error” they represent in his view.

I am also struck by the blatant dishonesty of the recently-appointed conservative justices. Each of them was asked about their stance on Roe and whether they understood it as standing precedent and settled law. Each equivocated, and none had the integrity to declare their clear opposition, which is now laid bare in this ruling. Here is Justice Alito’s flat condemnation of Roe from the recent decision:

Stare decisis, the doctrine on which Casey’s controlling opinion was based, does not compel unending adherence to Roe’s abuse of judicial authority. Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. Had Alito and the other conservative justices had the courage of their convictions at their confirmation hearings, at least some Republican senators like Susan Collins—and the six in ten Americans who oppose overturning Roe—would have thought twice about handing them lifetime appointments to the nation’s highest court.

Beyond the substance of these three rulings, I am deeply troubled by an underlying theme that has received less attention. There is a peculiar and slippery invocation of history and tradition by the conservative justices, which is doing some heaving

conceptual lifting. I have already cited the reference to “historical practices and understandings” in the Bremerton case. Here is a similar reference to “the history and tradition” from the Dobbs case:

Guided by the history and tradition that map the essential components of the Nation’s concept of ordered liberty, the court finds the Fourteenth

Amendment clearly does not protect the right to an abortion. Until the latter part of the 20th

Century, there was no support in American Law for a constitutional right to obtain an abortion.

No state constitutional provision had recognized such a right. Until a few years before Roe, no federal or state court had recognized such a right.

Nor had any scholarly treatise. Indeed, abortion had long been a crime in every single State. This concept of “history and tradition” is an unreliable arbiter of constitutional rights. It begs at least two thorny questions: “Whose history?” and “Which traditions?” The answer to these questions gives content to the concept of “the Nation” evoked here.

History is what we see when we look over our shoulders, always necessarily standing in a particular place. It consists of the stories we tell ourselves to understand who we are. And like all stories, the beginnings are important. The “once upon a time” sets the stage and determines what counts as the “happily ever after.” (This is why the recent battles between 1619 vs. 1776 have been so intense.)

In the Dobbs case, the conservative majority of the Court tells us, fairly explicitly, where they see the anchor of the nation’s history: somewhere before “the latter part of the 20th century.” This vantage point determines the stories (history) and the practices (tradition) that count as normative and warrant the protection of the law.

We have fairly strong evidence from public opinion data indicating more precisely where political conservatives today believe this historical marker should be placed.

...continued on p9

Weathering The Storm Of Climate Change

Dr. Betty Holley, Contributing Writer

Over the last decade, hurricanes have intensified, wildfires have burned stronger, and heat waves have baked our cities. These events can only get worse in the next decades. Unfortunately, most faith communities are not ready for these climate-driven disasters. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its report on April 4, 2022, stating emphatically that the evidence is clear. The climate crisis has arrived!

The IPCC is the United Nations’ body for assessing the science related to climate change, established in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications, and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. Thousands of people all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. The IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, all over the world, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. They tell us that to prevent the worst effects of climate change on our local and global neighbors, we must make unprecedented changes in the next decade.

Upon reflection on the scriptural passage found in Genesis 6:16-18 and 21, it seems odd that the writer of Genesis chooses to include God’s carpentry measurements in a story with as epic proportions as Noah and the ark. What does it matter that the ark had to be constructed using cypress wood to very precise specifications? What does it matter that the inside and outside had to be covered with pitch? God in God’s awesomeness needed Noah, his wife, and three sons to “weather the storm.” God in God’s awesomeness needed the two of every kind of animal to be able to “weather the storm.” God, in God’s awesomeness needed the plants to be used to feed Noah’s family and all the animals for an entire year, or whenever the rain stopped, to “weather the storm.”

In the passage, God directed Noah to use cypress wood because this type of wood would not rot and was waterproof. Today, we use cypress wood to build caskets, bridges, stadium seats, railroad ties, ships, and other things that need to be able to weather storms. God directed Noah to cover everything, inside and outside of the ark, with pitch to make sure the ark was waterproof to be able to weather the storm. God may be revealed through this passage that the way we build our structures and the materials used to build them matter, especially with all the floods we are having in this 21st century. In the face of an oncoming flood, Noah and his ark played the role of a shepherd, guiding God’s people and God’s creation through a transformation into a new kind of community. In the transformation, the building of the ark was not an afterthought but integral to the success of the mission. Without a structurally-sound ark with enough space and facilities for all the creatures, the kind of transformation that occurred through the ark would have been impossible. God needed everything in the ark to be able to weather the flood to enable the presence of future generations of humankind and other kinds on earth at this very moment. The climate crisis presents disasters that will challenge, threaten, endanger, and transform communities around the world. Yet, churches can become arks of resilience in the face of these disasters, preparing our buildings, like Noah prepared the ark. The physical structure of our buildings indeed matters-always, but especially now.

We need to become like Noah and his use of pitch, symbolically, spreading the word about the climate crisis inside and out of every place where God’s people gather. We must waterproof everyone and everything we meet and greet to enable people to weather the storm of climate change. Who will you help weather the storm of climate change? ❏ ❏ ❏

...From This Supreme p8 The conservative justices, all appointed by Republican presidents, give expression—and legal power—to views widely shared by rank and file Republicans. In PRRI’s 2021 American Values Survey, 70% of Republicans believed that “American culture and way of life has changed for the worse since the 1950s,” a view shared by only 52% of independents and 36% of Democrats.

This invention of 1950s America as a legal fulcrum in the highest Court in the land should send a chill up our spines. This version of “history and tradition” evokes a falsely idyllic vision of white Christian America, a land that mythically existed before the troubles of racial integration and equal rights for non-white Americas, women’s liberation, LGBTQ equality, the exodus of young people from traditional religious congregations, and dramatic demographic change.

Throughout the Trump years, the phrase “saying the quiet part out loud” has captured the disbelief of many Americans at the normalization of all sorts of bigotry by political leaders. Moreover, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has just explicitly told us, in published decisions, that their ideal vantage point for evaluating the history and traditions of the United States is 1950s America and that this perspective will replace long-established legal tests and guidelines based on legal principles.

This new legal weapon is likely to proliferate. On Monday, the first business day after the Dobbs ruling, an appeal filed in Alabama picked up this logic, arguing that the state has the authority to outlaw therapies for transgender minors because they are not “deeply rooted in our history or traditions.”

Both the MAGA-driven attacks on the U.S. Capitol that were encouraged by Trump and the radical actions of this Supreme Court are reminders that the unfolding agenda is a nostalgia-fueled gambit to drag the country back to the 1950s, particularly with regard to issues related to religion, race, and gender identity and sexual orientation. As a result, we are seeing in real-time naked attempts to restore the old hierarchies of Christians over nonChristians, white over non-white, and straight, cisgender men over all others. This vision is not driven by a commitment to the Constitution and democracy but by an imposition of a vision of the country as a divinely ordained promised land for European Christians.

We must see these developments for what they are: expressions of raw political power by a desperate white Christian minority whose belief in its divine righteousness has unmoored it from its democratic commitments. And we must grasp the danger they represent for everyone else.

I will close with this final thought. As most of you know, I’m from Mississippi. I can’t help but read these discussions through my home state’s history lens. We know what a euphemism like “history and tradition” means. And we know where it will lead. ❏ ❏ ❏