Inside Story

What do you do when viciously expressed political views begin to drown out the good news? In December, Sojourners hosted a diverse group of Christian leaders to discuss how to raise up a clear alternative to the Religious Right. The articles in our special cover package grew out of and continue this vital discussion. In the meantime, organizing continues among different groups who want to counter threats by the new Washington leadership to solve our nation's problems by punishing the children of the poor. Religious leaders met in January at the historic Alex Haley farm in Tennessee around these issues. And in early February, Sojourners helped convene a discussion among evangelical leaders at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. In "We're in the Forgiving Business," assistant editor Aaron Gallegos writes of the tough but hopeful work being done by the women and men of Barrios Unidos. This organization, based in Santa Cruz, California, has been working with young people to counter gang violence for 18 years. Researching the article gave Aaron a chance to visit home territory in a couple of ways. He lived in Santa Cruz for 10 years before moving to D.C. And his father and grandfather were involved in gangs in East Los Angeles, where Aaron was born. This issue debuts our new expanded format, with more pages for a wider variety of "Feature" articles, a longer "CultureWatch" section, and greater flexibility. As mentioned in our previous issue, Sojourners will now be coming to you every other month. This will give us time to produce a larger magazine as well as other projects, such as study guides and curriculum packages. Be on the lookout for varied forms of sojourning!