intersections

Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast

I am deeply honored to be making some brief comments at the Martin Luther King, Jr Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.

More information here: http://www.cocosouthla.org/node/788

Religious Minimalists

On Wednesday morning we awoke to learn that the US Ambassador to Libya had been killed in the violence which is now spreading across the Middle East in response to a video made by a Christian “charity” in Los Angeles. Many of you know that I am very active in the interfaith community in Los Angeles. One of the groups I am most proud to be a part of is the Abrahamic Faith’s Peacemaking Initiative. We had a regular meeting planned for Wednesday morning, but in light of these events, our meeting began with a press conference. Below, as best I can remember, is what I said at that press conference, held at the Muslim Public Affairs Council. News coverage of the press conference can be found here.

Today, along with my friends in the interfaith community, I am saddened by the tragic death of the US Amabassador to Libya, his staff, security personnel and others who were the victims of senseless violence.

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Today we have been reminded that violence comes in many forms. It is not just the physical violence which is so obvious but also rhetorical violence that threatens the peace of our countries and the world. We have also, unfortunately, seen that all of our Abrahamic faiths—Jews, Christians and Muslims are culpable in these tragic events.*

We sometimes refer to these individuals as religious extremists who carry out this violence—both words and deeds of violence—and I understand why we refer to them this way. But they are not extremists. They are minimalists. They are not people who take their faith seriously but rather people who have a thin veneer of faith that covers their political, cultural and other agendas. Some will say that the problem here is religion in general, but we in the interfaith community in Los Angeles believe that the more seriously we take our faith, the more peaceful and compassionate we become. The problem today is not people who take their faith too seriously, but those who do not take their faith seriously enough.

And so we stand together before you today to say that our three religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—stand for peace. The core of our religions is peace. Those who carry out acts of violence as we have see these past two days do not represent Islam, Christianity or Judaism, and we hope that the testimony of our friendship bears witness to this conviction.

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*It has since come to light that the filmmaker is not an Israeli-American, as previously reported, but a Coptic Christian.

2011 Year in Review

I can't believe another year has passed into history. It's been an incredibly busy twelve months, full of milestones and new ventures, for me and my family. This brief update will give you a little idea in words and images, what we've been up to this year.

Family

Urban life is a little insane. There is always too much happening in too little time and space, but we can never complain of boredom. Elysabeth made an enormously courageous decision to start a new career this year. She is currently enrolled in the Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica. She began the one year program in  September and is looking forward to putting her considerable artistic ability to work styling hair. In February she also had a solo exhibit of her new paintings in Silver Lake. You can see her paintings here, and even purchase one!

Zoe started 6th grade this year in a new school - Renaissance Arts Academy - where in addition to her regular studies she is studying modern dance. On June 4th I had the amazing privilege of baptizing Zoe!

Sophie started 3rd grade this year at Franklin Elementary where she's been since Kindergarden and excelling in all her subjects! After school she continues to learn the piano.

Ministry

My ministry at the Hollywood Adventist Church is as rewarding as ever. This year we had the remarkable experience of partnering with a dozen or more Muslims from the nearby Islamic Center of Southern California and having some inspiring conversations about our respective faiths. On the 10^th Anniversary of September 11 we had the privilege of hosting Imam Jihad Turk, from the Islamic Center, to speak about peacemaking in our world.

Needed: Prophetic Voices for a Just Economy

Last week I spent three days in Washington, D.C. with clergy from the PICO National Network. PICO is a congregation-based community organization that is working for justice in our communities. The clergy work toether, locally and nationally, to give a prophetic tone to our voice as we speak and act for justice. Yesterday I posted some reflections at The Huffington Post about my time spent with these faith leaders as we think about where we're at as a nation. You can read a portion below or click here to read the whole thing at the Huffington Post.

"How do you respond when you see this chart?"

That was the question Scott Reed, Executive Director of the PICO National Network, asked a room of about 25 pastors and rabbis who had gathered in Washington, D.C. for the first meeting of the new National Clergy Leadership Council.

"How does it feel to be faith leaders during such a time?" he asked.

A few people had seen this already during a presentation by Josh Bivens, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute and author of the recent book, Failure by Design: The Story Behind America's Broken Economy, but it was brand new to me. It took me, and others, a few minutes to digest what we were seeing here. One by one we commented about what we thought caused this. We tried to explain it, justify it, and rationalize it. Then Scott said something that stopped me cold in my tracks. <keep reading>

 

Also, if you haven't checked The Hillhurst Review in a while (or ever) I have posted several reviews there in the past couple of months. Stay tuned for new reviews in the coming days including a new book by Miroslav Volf called Allah and a helpful book for faith leaders in multicultural settings, Churches, Cultures and Leadership, by Mark Lau Branson and Juan Martinez.

The Hillhurst Review launches

This week my friend, Syd Shook, and I launched a new website called The Hillhurst Review. From our About page:

The Hillhurst Review is a space where peoples of faith can be challenged and inspired. A multimedia, journalistic combination of reviews, interviews, opinion and creative pieces from across the globe provides a platform that breeds new insights and new friendships. We seek to give readers the opportunity to encounter extraordinary thought and stories and the people whose life and faith incite them.

We begin with an interview with an extraordinary doctor, sometime known simply as The Gaza Doctor. Syd and I sat down with Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish just over a week ago and spoke to him about his new book, I Shall Not Hate. I first met Dr. Abuelaish in July 2010 at a small gathering of interfaith leaders who are concerned about the way people of faith can affect peace in the Middle East, and specifically Israeli-Palestine. I was struck by his humility and grace. Later that evening I listened as he briefly told the heart breaking story of losing three of his daughters and a neice in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008. That night I pre-ordered his book which was published in the US until January 4, 2011.

During our interview last week we learned that he has again been recommended for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. I highly recommend his book to you, no matter what your position on the conflict in Israel and Palestine has been, or whether it is a completely new topic for you.

Our complete interivew with Dr. Abuelaish is available at The Hillhurst Review. I also wrote a piece for The Huffington Post about this interview and his book. You can find that piece here. An excerpt can be found here, below the fold.

Al Tirah! Fear Not!

We are drowning in a culture of fear in America. The message coming daily from the cable news networks is, "Be afriad. Be very afraid!" Yes this is contrary to the a dominant biblical theme: "Fear not!" As my friend Sharon Brous, Rabbi of the IKAR community here in Los Angeles, says in this new video, the Torah is littered with command, "Al tirah," on God's lips. The opposite of fear, in scripture, is love. Instead of closing our hands in fear we are told to open our hands in generosity and compassion (See Deut. 15:7-10).

Jesus echos this long standing tradition when he says,"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:32). John, the beloved disciples of Jesus, toward the end of his life, penned these powerful words,

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

In this video, Sharon has reminded us that Jews - and Christians following in the same tradition - have a different vision and calling than others. Our lives should be a demonstration to the world that there is a better way - the way of generosity and love.

Perfect love casts out fear!

Fear not!

Al tirah!

Budrus - opens Friday in L.A.

Last night I had the privilege to attend a private screening of a new documentary called, Budrus, with my wife, Elysabeth, and Leslie Foster. It is the story of how the tiny village of Budrus, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, resists the take over of their land by the Israel, for the construction of the separation barrier. The route of the new fence runs directly through their ancient cemetery and would mean the destruction of 3,000 olive trees, which has been the source of the Budrus' survival and identity for generations.

It's an amazing story about the power of community organizing and, once again, the way women have a unique power to change the world. After the screening, director Julia Bacha said that after seeing her earlier film, Encounter Point (equally amazing!) people asked, 'Where is the Palestinian Ghandi?' The implication, she said, is that if nonviolent methods of resistence were employed the conflict would end. They wanted to show one example of the success of such methods, but also point out that nonviolent resistence alone will not change the situation. These methods work when the international community is paying attention. So, please, pay attention to this film!

This film opens Friday at the Laemmle Music Hall for a limited, one week engagment. Click here to check show times and buy tickets. I highly recommend you see this film while it's in town. No matter what your perspective is, it will challenge your views of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, stereotypes about Hamas and Fatah, and most of all, inspire hope in the power of ordinary people to change their social situation.

The trailer is below. Visit their website for more information.

L.A. Faith Leaders Support Muslim Center in NYC

Here's some of the press coverage of the interfaith event I was a part of in support of Cordoba House in NYC...

Interfaith Statement Supporting President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg on Religious Freedom | MPAC
We, the people who seek to preserve America's open society, following in the footsteps of the founders of our great nation, in order to form a more perfect pluralism, stand in solidarity to guarantee the right of Muslim Americans to build a house of worship like any other American, at any location according to local ordinances and U.S. law, principally the constitution of the United States which guarantees that there will not be an established religion in our nation and that all chttp://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a00d8341e80fc53ef00d8341e80fe53ef/post/composeitizens will be free to exercise their religion. [Read more...]

Southern Calif. interfaith coalition supports ground zero Muslim center | 89.3 KPCC

L.A. Faith Leaders Support Muslim Center in New York | LA Times
Standing near a poster that read, "An attack against one is an attack against all," about 30 representatives of various faiths gathered Friday outside a central Los Angeles mosque to announce their support for an Islamic center planned near ground zero in New York.

[snip]

Those assembled included representatives of the Catholic Church, various Jewish organizations, United Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Seventh-day Adventists, Quakers and a pastor from the First AME Church, among others. The Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council released a statement in support of the Islamic center that was signed by 71 religious leaders in Southern California. [Read more...]

Interview with Jihad Turk & Rabbi Jonathan Klein | CNN

California interfaith leaders back 'ground zero' Islamic center | CNN

Solid thinking on the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque"

I was really pleased to see that a fellow Seventh-day Adventist and a man I greatly respect, James Standish, brought some clear thinking to bear on all the crazy controversy about the mosque being proposed for Lower Manhattan, near the site of the former World Trade Center, in a Washington Post "On Faith" piece entitled, "The great 'Ground Zero mosque' hoax."

I really hope this will get widely recirculated among the people in the pews of Seventh-day Adventist Churches because this represents solid Adventist reasoning on the subject. Here are some excerpts. Click here to read the whole thing!

Don't Give the Government Power to Ban our Houses of Worship

But there is a second disconnect. Americans have the right to build our houses of worship wherever we choose, as long as we lawfully purchase the land and build to code. Indeed, in 1998 the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was passed to ensure this right is robustly protected. Do we really want to give the government the right to pick and choose which religions get to build where? Do we want Evangelicals banned from building new churches in neighborhoods where they are an unpopular minority? Do they want the majority to be able to decide where Mormon churches can be built, or Synagogues or Adventist Churches, or Catholic? We are all minorities somewhere in this country. Do we want the majority to be able to squelch our plans to build a house of worship?

Where is the fear of intrusive government when we need it? Where is the dedication to the First Freedom found in our Constitution when it really matters?

Stop Damaging American Security

The so called "Ground Zero" controversy has no doubt effectively raised the profile and filled the coffers of the politicians and advocacy organizations misleading the public. Scapegoating unpopular minorities is generally an effective way to gain power and influence. But it comes at a price. In this case, the price is not only the integrity and credibility of the individuals and organizations that raced to jump on this bandwagon. It is deeper and it is broader. This controversy has done much to stoke hatred against American Muslims at home and in the process, has made peaceful Muslims around the world doubt our commitment to equality and liberty. In so doing, these attacks on American Muslims gives fuel to violent Islamic radicals.

The politicians and NGOs that have stoked the "ground zero" mosque hoax should be seen for what they are - security charlatans. Their intolerance weakens our society and our allies, while strengthening our enemies.

Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice

This is an important video from my friends at the Muslim Public Affairs Council here in Los Angeles. I have the privilege to work alongside some of these leaders like Dr. Maher Hathout in some interfaith peacemaking initiatives. Have a look...