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Desperately Needed: Your Prayers for our Nation

When I am afraid, I will pray. Who said that?  It doesn’t matter because today our nation needs for every one of us to be praying like we’ve never prayed before: Pray for a safe inauguration for President-elect Biden and Vice President- elect Harris and the wisdom for them to lead us through these difficult times . . .  Pray for safety for our Senators and Representatives and   [Read More …]

Gemstones in the Sun: An interview with the founder

Rev. Diane Ford Dessables is the founder of Gemstones in the Sun (GITS), an online blog where people of color (POC i.e., the Indigenous, descendants of slaves and immigrants of color) share their experiences with beliefs, shifting values, and resources. Through Gemstones in the Sun, Dessables also convenes spiritual support groups called Gemstones in the Sun Freedom Circles for POC to work   [Read More …]

Your instructions for 2021 are . . .

“Give them something to eat yourselves.”   Mark 6:37, The Jerusalem Bible Across the U.S.A. the pandemic has robbed people of their jobs.  Without an income it is hard to feed your family. Here’s a frightening statistic from Feeding America, the country’s largest food bank program:  “In the United States currently, 1 in 9 people struggle with hunger.”   Jesus   [Read More …]

Do you have a generosity gene?

In the end, being generous is an affirmation of hope in the future.   Mark V. Ewert, The Generosity Path: Finding the Richness in Giving Is there a generosity gene? While some people are born generous, for most of us giving is an acquired trait.  Either we had parents who showed us by example the importance of helping others less fortunate, or we had to discover the joy of   [Read More …]

Giving thanks when times are tough

“The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.”     Marcus Aurelius Thanksgiving may be very tough this year unless we make this holiday a time for truly Giving Thanks. As I sat down to write this I found myself thinking about a time in my life when giving thanks for anything was very difficult.  Our 16-year-old son was dying, his medical bills were fast approaching   [Read More …]

Growing food and seeking justice

How a Baltimore pastor is organizing Black farmers and Black churches for food security and freedom Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III is the senior pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, Md. He joined the Faith & Money Network’s 2017 “Trip of Perspective” to Haiti to make cross-cultural connections between faith and money. In this story, Brown shares how a garden he planted on his   [Read More …]

Wanted for America: The Gift of Healing

 Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Rainer Maria Rilke   How can all of us from every walk of life and every state in this great nation heal the great divide that is tearing us apart, and how can we learn to appreciate each other’s point of view and love each other despite our differences? When answers seem to be non-existent,   [Read More …]

Giving Circles – Giving Ripples

“It made a difference to this one . . .” I do not know who first told the story of the little boy who was throwing starfish stranded on the sand back into the ocean.  What I remember is that when he was asked what difference did it make when he couldn’t help all of them, he picked one up, threw it back into the water and said, “It made a difference to this one.” And so it is that our   [Read More …]

Social investing: Putting your money where your values are

When Christians discuss financial stewardship, the conversations usually focus on questions of giving:  How much should we give and where should we give it? As important as these questions are, they generally address our assets only up to the 10% tithe. What about the other 90%? Does God’s claim on all that we are, and all that we have, require that we at least look at how we might put   [Read More …]