The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.
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Voice of the Day: Charles Marsh
"Over and above all movements for social justice is God's movement, [which is] the creative origin of any movement toward human liberation and solidarity." - Charles Marsh
Prayer of the Day: Legislators
God, open the hearts of legislators around the world to feel the needs of all people. Tune their ears to the voices that are seldom heard, and direct their eyes to those who have become invisible. Amen.
BREAKING: In DC, Trayvon's Parents Call for Calm as Charges Loom
Appearing at the Rev. Al Sharpton's fourth annual National Action Network convention in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon, the parents of Trayvon Martin -- Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton -- called on their supporters and others who are anxiously awaiting a special prosecutor's announcement later today about charges in the shooting death of their son, 17-year-old on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., to remain calm no matter the outcome.
Afternoon News Bytes: April 11, 2012
Envoy To Syria Seeks Iranian Help As Cease-Fire Deadline Nears – Social Conservatives Don't Rush To Romney After Santorum News – Evangelicals React To Santorum's Decision To Suspend Presidential Bid – Predicting The Latino Vote In 2012 – Is Marriage A Poverty-Buster? – Out Of Africa (And Elsewhere): More Fossil Fuels – Erased: Why Tens of Thousands of Haitian Youth Do Not Officially Exist – Sudan Vows To Retake Heglig Oil Fields From South Sudan – Condoleezza Rice: 'I Don't Know When Immigrants Became The Enemy' – Whose Capitalism Is It Anyway? – Allen West: 80 Communists In The House – With Our Future On The Line, The Time To Invest In Kids Is Now (OPINION).
Prayer of the Day: Broaden My World View
God, broaden my world view, that I might see you in people unlike me and in places where I dare not go. Help me to embrace all the different experiences and paths that have lead my brothers and sisters in Christ to you. Amen.
Verse of the Day: Obeying in Absence
"Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for [God's] good pleasure." - Philippians 2:12-13
Voice of the Day: Kathleen Norris
“For grace to be grace, it must give us things we didn't know we needed and take us places where we didn't know we didn't want to go. As we stumble through the crazily altered landscape of our lives, we find that God is enjoying our attention as never before.” - Kathleen Norris, from Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
Rick Santorum Drops Out of GOP Presidential Race
Rick Santorum addresses the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, June 17, 2011. Via Shutterstock
Rick Santorum, candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination, has ended his run for the GOP presidential nomination, he announced at a news conference from a hotel in Gettysburg, Pa., today (Tuesday).
Despite winning primary contests in 11 states, failure to win any of the three primaries last week in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia heaped pressure on Santorum’s campaign.
Sen. Santorum, accompanied at the podium by his wife and several other family members, explained to journalists gathered at today’s press conference that the recent hospitalization of his young daughter Bella, who has a rare genetic disorder, had impacted his decision to end his campaign.
Afternoon News Bytes: April 10, 2012
Food Stamps Helped Reduce Poverty Rate, Study Finds – Heroic vs. Homegrown Entrepreneurs? – Obama Candidate Sketches Vision For World Bank – Religion and Politics Are Inseparable: Get Over It (OPINION) – Birthrate For U.S. Teens Is Lowest In History – Success In A Land Known For Disasters – Anti-Poverty Group ONE Pushes For G8 Food Deal – Mali Coup Leader Rejects Possible Ecowas Intervention – Now This Is Interesting: A Climate Prediction From 1981 – WaPo/ABC Poll: U.S. Public Opposes Military Action Against Iran; Supports Diplomacy And Sanctions – Two Suspects Confess In Oklahoma Shootings, Police Say.
Prayer of the Day: The Needs of All People
O Lord, baptize our hearts into a sense of the conditions and needs of all people. Amen. Taken from a prayer by George Fox
Voice of the Day: Augustine of Hippo
"Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives, room too for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it." - Augustine of Hippo
Verse of the Day: Maintain Jusitce
"Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed." - Isaiah 56:1
Afternoon News Bytes: April 9, 2012
Federal Funds To Train The Jobless Are Drying Up — When The Almighty Talks Back — Study: 'God Gap' Present Among Latinos Also — Cardinal Dolan: 'Government Is Intruding' Into Faith — Obama Needs 'Strong, Moral' Point Of View On The Poor — More Children Living (And Lacking) In High-Poverty Areas (OPINION) — Rick Warren: ‘God Hates War, But God Loves Every Soldier’ — Peace Corps Leaves Mali, New U.S. Travel Warning Issued — Sacred Spaces: Arabic Christians Find A Home In The U.S. — Can Coffee Kick-Start An Economy? — What Happens If Afghanistan Shuts Down The U.S. Drone Program There? — The Other Arab Spring — What Bipartisanship Looks Like
Verse of the Day: Love Your Enemies
"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High." - Luke 6:35
Voice of the Day: Felipe and Mary Barreda
“We discovered that faith is not expecting that the Lord will miraculously give us whatever we ask, or feeling that we will not be killed and that everything will turn out as we want. We learned that faith is putting ourselves in [God’s] hands, whatever happens, good or bad. [God] will help us somehow.” - Felipe and Mary Barreda, Common Prayer - A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
Prayer of the Day: New Life
Praise be to God, who brings the dead to life, who makes the blind see and the lame walk. Help me, Lord, to bring the good news of amazing grace and new life to your world. Amen.
President Obama on Passover, Easter: 'Common Thread of Humanity'
In his weeky address, President Obama said in part:
"For millions of Americans, this weekend is a time to celebrate redemption at God’s hand. Tonight, Jews will gather for a second Seder, where they will retell the story of the Exodus. And tomorrow, my family will join Christians around the world as we thank God for the all-important gift of grace through the resurrection of His son, and experience the wonder of Easter morning.
"These holidays have their roots in miracles that took place thousands of years ago. They connect us to our past and give us strength as we face the future. And they remind us of the common thread of humanity that connects us all.
"For me, and for countless other Christians, Easter weekend is a time to reflect and rejoice...."
Verse of the Day: Be Holy in Every Aspect
"Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when you were ignorant. But, as obedient children, you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. It is written, 'You will be holy, because I am holy.'" - 1 Peter 1:13-16 (Common English Bible)
Prayer of the Day: Good Friday
Voice of the Day: G.A. Studdert Kennedy
“[God] if he, the Christ, were Thy Reveler / Truly the First Begotten of the Lord, / Then must Thou be a Suff’rer and a Healer, / Pierced to the heart by the sorrow of the sword. / Then must it mean, not only that thy sorrow / Smote Thee that once upon the lonely tree, / But that today, tonight, and on the morrow, / Still will it come O Gallant God, to Thee.” - G.A. Studdert Kennedy from, “The Suffering God”