Inside Story

OUR COVER ARTICLE, "Is Marriage Obsolete?," by Elizabeth McAlister, has its origins in one of those "highway" conversations, where you dig into the stuff of life while rolling over the interstate. A couple of years ago, Jim Wallis and Liz were riding back together to the Washington-Baltimore area following a peacemaking retreat in Pennsylvania. They began talking about some of life's most basic challenges: living out one's sexuality in accord with principles of nonviolence, committed relationships between individuals and within communities, and raising teen-agers to be safe, healthy, and whole. Their talk provided the initial inspiration for Liz's article. This issue may mark the first time that a Superior Court judge helped provide the material for one of our articles (see "Dear Judge Wynn..." on page 26). We should note that when Judge Patricia Wynn handed down a sentence requiring that defendants write a letter explaining their actions, she gave them 30 days in which to do so. When we invited her to submit her explanation for administering this sentence, we only gave her three days. Judge Wynn called in asking for an extension, explaining that since she was in court all day and had school meetings, etc. in the evening, she wouldn't be able to meet our deadline. Being all too familiar with having too much to do, we of course gave her the extension. Just this once. Congratulations to the children's program participants at our sister ministry, the Sojourners Neighborhood Center, who have just published their first poetry chapbook, The Voices of Children: Stories From Our Future. If you would like to make a donation and receive a copy of this work, contact the Sojourners Neighborhood Center, 1323 Girard St. NW, Washington, DC 20009.