Blog

Being Dust: Ash Wednesday’s Gift

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return. ~Genesis 3:19 Ash Wednesday is a tough gig. Reminding people they are dirt isn’t the best marketing strategy in a society who would like to forget our troubles. And troubles we have. It’s not like we need more to feel crappy about right now. Just the Monday morning post-Super Bowl vitriol that people spew towards the players, entertainers, coaches, commercials, or gambling decisions that let them down or … Read the full post

Blindness, Lethargy, and White Supremacy–New FAR Blog Post

With Black History Month fast approaching, it is fitting to investigate the latest call to get rid of it. This investigation may seem futile to some feminists/womanists since we know denials of racism are part of life in white supremacy patriarchy. As a feminist theologian, however, I’ve got nothing in my tool kit if I lose my hope for redemption and transformation. The following is my attempt to not give up on the possibility that white supremacy culture can be dismantled. White patriarchy has all kinds of messengers of its narrative—not just white men of privilege, but anyone who has … Read the full post

Concussions and Sports Justice

Sunday 3/20 4:30pm
The Lafayette Theater

A screening of the powerful documentary “The Business of Amateurs” created and produced by former University of Southern California football player, Bob DeMars.

The movie will be followed by a panel discussion with Bob DeMars and other tireless advocates of sports reform: two Purdue University Engineers from the Purdue Neuro Trauma Group doing cutting-edge concussions research, an attorney and former NC Supreme Court Justice who advocates for players rights all over the country, a social worker who has dedicated her work to the well-being of athletes, and a high school football coach who is committed to making the game safer for athletes.

Hear from some of our panelists before the event! Listen to podcasts full of information you won’t hear in media coverage about concussions and the urgent need for change in how we understand them and treat them on Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century.

If you can’t join us, but want to support the event, please visit our gofundme site. Even the smallest amount of support can help us make this event happen and be free and open to the public.

Welcome back to church, Donald!

Apparently, Donald Trump ventured into a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for worship on Sunday and heard The Rev. Dr. Pam Saturnia preach on the lectionary passage for the day, 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a. He couldn’t have picked a better day to attend in times such as these. The passage for this particular Sunday was all about difference and all about beloved community. It sounds like Pastor Saturnia used it as a chance to talk about welcoming immigrants—a providential choice no doubt given the unexpected visitor to her congregation. Apparently Mr. Trump was especially taken with Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians about … Read the full post

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the White Church

Anyone sensitive to the present moods, morals, and trends in our nation must know that the time for racial justice has come. –Martin Luther King, Jr. August 5, 1962 Almost 54 years ago Dr. King wrote “The Case Against Tokenism,” a short essay published in the New York Times magazine. Its eerie resonance with America’s continued struggle with race hits me this year more than ever. 2015 was a year of wake up calls and reality checks on matters of race. Far from being a problem of our past, racism is an open wound of our present. It is a … Read the full post

WBAA Community Voices–First Post on Sports Justice

The NPR station in West Lafayette, IN, WBAA, begins a new “Community Voices” series. I will be the monthly contributor about issues in sports. My blog post on paying collegiate athletes is up. Take a look here and join the conversation.

A Word About Christmas

If you had to write down five words to describe Christmas, I wonder what they would be. If you are a Christian, I hope one of those words is Jesus. For anybody who lives in the U.S.A., Santa Claus may be one of the words. Family, presents, tree, or food might be on your list. You may even list wonder, manger, and miracle. But, what if you could just use one word, just one, to describe Christmas? What if you only had one chance to distill it down to its very essence? What would your word be? Courage. That’s the … Read the full post

An Event on Concussions and Sports Justice

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, March 20 at 4:30pm at the Lafayette Theater, John and I are hosting a screening of the powerful new documentary, The Business of Amateurs, created by former USC football player, Bob Demars. Following the film we will have a panel discussion on concussions and issues of justice in sports with Bob Demars and Purdue engineers doing ground breaking research on concussions.

If you can, please help us raise the funds to cover the costs of this important event.

Learn more here.

Peace,

Marcia

Power to the Players!

Saturday evening, many of the University of Missouri football players took a stand against racism at their school. They said no more football until the University President resigns because of his failure to address both the overt and systemic racism that has repeatedly reared its head at UM. I hear a lot of white people (especially of the male variety), expressing “concern” and even anger that players would have the audacity to make such demands. They say they should have their scholarships revoked if they refuse to participate in team activities and games. This kind of reaction is just the … Read the full post

New Book Released on Racism and the Church