Beyond Diversity:

Courageous Conversations about Race

A two-day seminar hosted by The United Church of Canada

and presented by the Pacific Educational Group

When:                       April 16 - 17, 2013

See "Beyond Diversity" blog

Online Registration Now Available!

www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1955&EID=13818

Earlier this month, the progressive Christian publication Sojourners, chose not to run an ad campaign encouraging churches to welcome and fully include LGBTQ people. The campaign included a video, depicting a lesbian couple and their son being met with both suspicion and welcome when they visit a new church, is part of the Believe Out Loud coalition’s Mothers Day campaign. http://www.believeoutloud.com

Please, let's keep this conversation respectful.

Yesterday a story was related to me. I won't go into the story but it started out "A drunk Indian woman approached me..............." If it were a Chinese woman I would presume it would be "A drunk Chinese womaan..........." but if it were a white woman, it would be said ."A  drunk woman approached me ...." with no reference to race.

I have heard "My neighbour has two cars." but on the other side of me "My East Indian neighbour has two cars."

Sojourners has posted a provocative article from their May 2010 issue asking, "Is the Emerging Church for Whites Only?" The discussion about this article on Sojourners' website, as well as several other blogs, raises important questions and insights about diversity and the emerging church. Through these conversations, roiling at times, some potential new directions and areas of growth are beginning to emerge. And as they do, more attention is being given to the reality that the emerging church is more than just what is happening in North America and bigger than the handful of well-known writers and speakers who are associated with the movement.

"Is the Emerging Church for Whites Only?"
By Soong-Chan Rah and Jason Mach, with responses by Julie Clawson, Brian McLaren, and Debbie Blue.

Sojourners has also posted a number of additional responses on their God's Politics blog, including Shane Claiborne, Soong-Chan Rah, Jarrod McKenna, and Julie Clawson.

Other blogs dicussing the article:

Tony Jones: Emergent's White Problem.

Tall Skinny Kiwi: The Future

Any thoughts on this.  Does the church have any position on such an event?

 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/burning-cross-ignites-racial-tension-in-nova-scotia/article1480350/

from buying ownership in the Rams Football Team.

Will the football players quit if he buys?

Will the other owners turn him down?

Do you think that with all his racist comments and racist remarks about blacks and football players , in general, he should be able to own a football team?

Would you support him in his endeavor?

February is Black History Month and, with Barack Obama’s inauguration as the U.S.’s first Black President, it’s time to ponder what that means for Canada.

We Canadians like to think we’re a tolerant people – even though we have a checkered history with Aboriginals, Jews, and Japanese-Canadians. Still, we can be smug about our history when we compare it to the southern U.S.’s slavery and segregation because much of our history is different.