A recent Journal Star editorial began by observing that “our national discourse has devolved to an abysmal level.” This is but one voice in a nationwide chorus of concern troubled by this decline. What are its consequences? What can be done it? We in the church have a role to play. These issues will be Read more
February 26-April 1 The season of Lent means to form us as Easter people by confronting candidly the timeless frailties and failures that led to the tragic sorrow of Good Friday in the light of Easter’s resurrection hope for this world as well as the next. In much the same way a requiem affirms life Read more
What better follow up to our reflections on civil discourse and the opportunity if not responsibility for Christians to “lead in the rejuvenation of healthier public conversation” than to read and discuss Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham City Jail? What better model could there be for that leadership than this classic not only Read more
January 28, 2012 9 am – 3 pm (includes a light lunch) 8:30 Registration – Coffee and Donuts A Call for Civility in American Public Life Session I: Civility and its Opposite in the 2012 Presidential Campaign This session will explore definitions of political civility, argue that civility is an American virtue, and observe Read more
We Presbyterians have been involved in politics from the beginning. John Calvin was a lawyer who became a preacher, and then mixed politics and pulpit to shape church and city. When John Knox came to Geneva, Switzerland, he described Calvin’s city as the closest thing he had ever seen to heaven on earth. Then John Read more
On Wednesday evenings from January 4 to February 8, at 6:30 pm in the Lounge, let’s get together to read and discuss In Defense of Civility, by James Calvin Davis. Davis writes, “I believe that religion can participate-perhaps even lead-in the rejuvenation of healthier public conversation.” He develops this conviction historically, theologically, and philosophically exploring Read more
