It was a real gift to preach in Redding, CA in July. What a great community, with a history of LGBTQ+ inclusion. After preaching this sermon, I was told by a couple in the church that they were ready for my sermon because they had watched the Netflix stand up special Nanette by Hannah GadsbyContinue reading “Sermon on how to make life easier for folks on the margins”
Category Archives: race
Could your church help your community find hope in the wake of the election?
Last weekend, people started reaching out to me because they were afraid, and they didn’t want to stay that way. They didn’t want to rage or burn things down; they wanted to find a way to contribute to their community, to help others overcome fear. So with the help of a PHENOMENALLY gifted intern, theContinue reading “Could your church help your community find hope in the wake of the election?”
In response to anti-Muslim rallies this weekend: an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America
This Friday and Saturday, anti-Muslim rallies were organized all across the country, including rallies that encouraged people to show up armed. The campaign is, in a word, sickening, and in a hyphenated word, un-American. OK. Two last words, one of which is hyphenated: unequivocally un-Christian. It is so important for us to learn about one anotherContinue reading “In response to anti-Muslim rallies this weekend: an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America”
A litany on resurrection and Demouria Hogg
At the Wild Goose Festival in Charlotte, NC two weeks ago, I presented a workshop called “Who Killed Demouria Hogg: On race, faith and not seeking the ‘perfect victim.’” I talked about the respectability politics of the church that stops the church from publicly mourning losses that are complicated. I only know Demouria Hogg throughContinue reading “A litany on resurrection and Demouria Hogg”
Nonviolence, privilege and grief. Thoughts on South Carolina and a child I love.
This morning I sat down to write a letter to a beloved recent teen in my life, a newly minted thirteen-year-old. We go to protests a lot, and museums where we learn about farm workers and the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement. This beloved recent teen has been to hell and back, andContinue reading “Nonviolence, privilege and grief. Thoughts on South Carolina and a child I love.”
A call to action for the church(es) after #AMEshooting
I sat with a lump in my throat as the people around me stood and waved their hands, singing “How Great Is Our God,” because while I believed it to be true, I was not ready to sing it and was both inspired and puzzled by the dozens around me who could not just singContinue reading “A call to action for the church(es) after #AMEshooting”
Race traitors, Rachel Dolezal and Allyship
“So I never really fit in anywhere as a… as a…” “..as a race traitor?” I asked, immediately worrying I had stepped over the line. “THAT’S IT!!!!” she exclaimed with a mixture of enthusiasm and relief. “That’s what I’ve always been; a race traitor!” I had just heard my blonde White friend sharing the storiesContinue reading “Race traitors, Rachel Dolezal and Allyship”
That guy from Duke and the model minority myth
In Ohio, there’s a phrase we’d use to talk about Professor Jerry Hough: “God love him.” It’s different than the Southern “Bless his heart,” which has a little bit of syrup and a little bit of venom, and is sometimes used to a person’s face. In Ohio, as my friend Tami pointed out, we sayContinue reading “That guy from Duke and the model minority myth”
In honor of May Day, an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America
Today is a day that historically acknowledges workers and the struggle for basic human dignity for low-wage workers. Since around 2006, it has particularly lifted up the ways in which immigrant workers deserve greater dignity than our society affords them. In honor of workers, here is an excerpt from chapter two of Pre-Post-Racial America: SpiritualContinue reading “In honor of May Day, an excerpt from Pre-Post-Racial America”
“An Obnoxious Peace”
Preached April 26, 2015 at Rockefeller Chapel, Chicago IL, dedicated to the people of Baltimore. In the days following the Michael Brown verdict, that cold Thanksgiving week, there emerged a debate among my friends regarding the uprisings happening in my hometown and around the country. I called it the debate of the Kings. That is,Continue reading ““An Obnoxious Peace””
Sandhya Rani Jha 