Archive for the ‘Dispatches from the Religious Left’ tag
A Dramatic Book Launch in New York City
Amidst the frenzy of the election and the meltdown on Wall Street it can be hard to capture people’s attention when a new book comes out.
Indeed. There are book launches every day in New York City — the publishing capital of the world. But there are few that feature a 50 member gospel choir singing and clapping in celebration of a bold effort to launch a national discussion of what it would take to have a powerful religious movement for social justice in America. But that is just what the dramatic launch event for Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America to be held in an historic New York church will be like.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Middle Collegiate Church
50 East 7th St.
New York, NY
212-477-0666
The historic Middle Collegiate Church, in the heart of NYC’s East Village dates back to 1628 — and today is as contemporary, dynamic, and progressive a congregation as there is in the country. The event will kick-off with the church’s famous gospel choir — followed by conversation with Dispatches contributors, including former New York Times war correspondent and best-selling author Chris Hedges; Rev. Debra Haffner, Director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing; Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, Associate Minister for Missions, Social Justice and Community Action at Middle Collegiate Church — and book editor Frederick Clarkson. The event will be moderated by the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church.
(There will be a video of the event posted later on the church web site.)
Writers’ Voice
Host Francesca Rheannon of Writer’s Voice discusses Dispatches from the Religious Left with contributor Leo Maley and me, focusing on models for political organizing — notably that of Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts and the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry. This Friday at 4:30 PM, on WMUA-FM at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Dispatches from the Religious Left Arrived from the Printer Today!
Robert at Ig Publishing tells me that the book arrived today — which means that both free standing and cyber bookstores will have it soon too, if they do not already.
I also did my first official book-related radio interview yestderday on Spiritually Speaking — an hour long discussion with Rev. Linda Anderson on WVKR, 91.3 FM in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Would Sarah Palin Ban My Book?
In honor of Banned Books Week, and in light of her crafty attempts to ban books at the Wasilla Public Library back in the day… it is worth thinking about.
I would guess that she would try to axe Dispatches from the Religious Left from library shelves — what with all of discussion of sexuality — especially marriage equality - not to mention reproductive justice and fierce, convincing advocacy of religious pluralism and separation of church and state. It’s enough to make book banners and book banner wannabes pretty hot under the collar.
I discuss this in more detail over at Talk to Action:
Marshall Ganz at Amherst College Oct 6th
A social movement tells a new “story.” Learning how to tell that story, what I call public narrative, is an important leadership practice.
Public narrative comprises three overlapping kinds of stories: a story of self, a story of us, and a story of now. A story of self communicates values that call one to action. A story of us communicates values shared by those in action. And a story of now communicates the urgent challenge to those values that requires action now. Participating in a social movement not only often involves a re-articulation of one’s story of self, us, and now, but also marks an entry into a world of uncertainty so daunting that access to sources of hope is essential. Telling one’s story of self is a way to share the values that define the people we are—not as abstract principle, but as lived experience. We construct stories of self around choice points—moments when we faced a challenge, made a choice, experienced an outcome, and learned something. What is utterly unique about each of us is not a combination of the categories (race, gender, class, profession, marital status) that include us, but rather, our journey, our way through life, our personal text from which each of us can teach.
A Review from Gay City News
Launch Event for Dispatches from the Religious Left — Oct 14th in NYC!
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Middle Collegiate Church
50 East 7th St.
New York, NY
212-477-0666
The historic Middle Collegiate Church, in the heart of NYC’s East Village dates back to 1628 and today is as contemporary, dynamic, and progressive a congregation as there is in the country. The event will kick off with the church’s famous gospel choir – followed by conversation with Dispatches contributors, including former New York Times war correspondent and best-selling author Chris Hedges; Rev. Debra Haffner, Director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing; the Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, Associate Minister for Missions, Social Justice and Community Action at Middle Collegiate Church – and me. The event will be moderated by the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church.
Discussing my Interview
Some early reactions to the interview: Pastordan at Street Prophets posted an excerpt from my interview at Religion Dispatches. Everyone immediately wanted to know whether he agreed with me. And Digby at Hullabaloo gets it that some Democrats have been “snowed… into believing that [Rick] Warren was some kind of bridge, when he is actually a Trojan horse.” And: “The real religious left, you see, is quite unabashedly liberal. They care about thing like …. Peace. Equality. Justice. Things that don’t go down well with the parochial aristocracy of the Village.”
Anastasia Pantsios
Contributor Bio for Dispatches from the Religious Left:
Anastasia Pantsios is a Cleveland-based writer and photographer who has covered pop music, the arts and politics. Her photos have appeared in such magazines as Rolling Stone, the Village Voice the New York Times, on record covers and in numerous books. She was a contributing editor to the Billboard Encyclopedia of Record Producers (1999). She was associate editor of the alternative newsweekly Cleveland Free Times , from September, 2003-July, 2008, where she covered subjects ranging from the Religious Right in Ohio to election reform to the local music scene. She has a master’s degree in technical theater and scene design from Case Western Reserve University and is member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Cleveland.
My Interview with Religion Dispatches
The online magazine Religion Dispatches has an interview with me, conducted in anticipation of the publication next month of Dispatches from the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America. The piece covers a lot of ground about me, about the book, and about some aspects of the current state of the Religious Right.
