Meditating Towards A Whole New World

When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.
Thich Nhat Hanh

There's a free/donation Shakti meditation on Sunday, August 19 at 10am with Kundalini Yoga guru Steven Sadleir. Join us.

2482 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA (Just off the 55 fwy).
By donation. Everyone is welcome. Bring a friend.

Let's Kill The Death Penalty

To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.
Desmond Tutu

The death penalty is a poor person's issue. Always remember that: after all the rhetoric that goes on in the legislative assemblies, in the end, when the deck is cast out, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country.
Sister Helen Prejean

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.
Jesus of Nazareth (John 8:7)

This November, voters will have the opportunity to organize and mobilize and to cast our votes for a more humane and fiscally prudent criminal justice system in California. On Thursday, June 21, Witness To Innocence will be making an appearance at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Los Angeles at 6:30. Witness is dedicated to giving voice to former death row prisoners who were wrongfully convicted by states. It is well known that the sentencing involved with the death penalty is racist (black and brown men are overwhelmingly overrepresented) and far more expensive than life-in-prison (due to the appeals process and the mandating of one prisoner per cell). CA has more than 700 prisoners on death row and the state has killed 13 prisoners in the past 23 years, costing the state an extra $4 billion.

Join us next Thursday as we listen to the testimonies of death row survivors!
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A 2007 study of death sentences in Connecticut conducted by Yale University School of Law revealed that African-American defendants receive the death penalty at three times the rate of white defendants in cases where the victims are white.

My Mind Was Changed: A Workshop For LGBT Equality

I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice...But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’...I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.
Coretta Scott King

On Saturday, June 9, the Progressive Christians Uniting's LA office is coordinating with the Pacific School of Religion in the Bay Area for a webinar for clergy, faith leaders and other professionals:

During this workshop, entitled “My Mind Was Changed” – A New Way to Talk with Conflicted Christians about People Who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender and using the Communications Toolkit, we will share what we believe to be the most powerful approaches to helping conflicted Christians to move from a place of standing against LGBT equality to standing for it, in church and state. To succeed, we must give conflicted Christians the emotional space to work through their discomfort and root the discussion in core Christian beliefs. So, we hold close to our hearts John 16:12-13, where Jesus says to his disciples: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Come to this workshop to learn new ways to understand, talk with, and listen with curiosity to conflicted Christians in your congregation and community of faith. This Breakthrough Conversation is designed for clergy, faith leaders and other professionals who work with Christian audiences and will focus on sharing effective messages based on the latest research on the topics of LGBTQ inclusion and welcome in faith communities, talking about marriage equality from a religious perspective and defending the FAIR Education Act in our public schools.


Register here for $15 and PCU will reimburse anyone who joins them in LA AND will provide lunch at 12:30pm. Webinar starts at 1:45. Email Sean Patrick Coady at spcoady@pcu-la.org to RSVP for PCU event. Here's a map to the PCU office in downtown LA.

Urban Roots

We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it.
Wendell Berry

Come out and join us this Friday night at the Great Park in Irvine for a 7:45pm screening of Urban Roots. I still haven't seen the movie, but here's how The Great Park's website describes it:

Urban Roots follows the emergence of urban farming in Detroit. The film shows dedicated Detroiters working tirelessly to fulfill their vision for locally-grown, sustainably-farmed food, setting an example for community engagement as a solution to the problems posed by a collapsing local industry. Following the inspiring stories of several agricultural programs, Urban Roots shows that the people tilling the soil and picking the harvest have fantastic stories to tell.


We'll be tailgating from 6:30 on. See you there.

The South OC Action Network (SoCAN)

[The reign of God] is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.
Luke 13:19

…in the midst of the injustice, God is planting mustard seeds of deliverance —in Jesus’ actions, in the deeds and practices of the community of disciples, and in what God is doing beyond our awareness…
Glen Stassen & David Gushee, Kingdom Ethics (2003)

This new blog is an extension of EasyYolk, a blog dedicated to a robust, progressive, postmodern & prophetic Christian witness. Over the past 30 months, EY has been committed to a "conversion of the imagination" (a phrase borrowed from Duke Divinity's Richard Hays) in regards to how "the way of Christ" is perceived and actualized in our world.

EY posts tend to be long and (hopefully) thought-provoking. Readers tend to need a focused 15-20 minutes and a cup of coffee. This kind of information and educaton are, indeed, vital, but more and more, I've realized that my wife and I and other close friends of mine are desiring tangible opportunities to particate with God in the healing of our world. We are yearning for this way of thinking to result in a way of being. Transformation, not just information. Lifestyle, not just mentality. A blog post theologically advocating for our undocumented brothers and sisters isn't enough. We all need a way into the issue so that we can actually stand in solidarity with the least of these.

In short, in addition to loving mercy and walking humbly with God, we want to do justice (Micah 6:8). This is why I started this new blog: to make it easy for those who refuse to be indifferent about evil to actually get involved in the cause of justice.

Introducing The South OC Action Network...or SoCAN for short:

The Mission?
To mobilize the privileged to be in solidarity with and advocate for the least of these in South Orange County.

The Least of These?
The homeless, the jobless, the working poor, the undocumented, the single-mothers, the widows, the orphans, the LGBTQ community, the prisoners & ex-cons, the uninsured, the youth

The Privileged?
The homeowners, the vacationers, the investors, the business owners, the workers with benefits, the TGIFers, the family men, the working women, the ministers, the faithful church attendees, the church dropouts, the college grads, the social networkers

Why?
1. Because the least of these are fellow image-bearers of God…brothers and sisters in God’s family.
2. Because, in the least of these, we see the face of Jesus.
3. Because the least of these are consistently silenced, patronized, left out and looked over.
4. Because the least of these cannot afford lobbyists.
5. Because the least of these are vital contributors to our society.
6. Because we need to learn from them.
7. Because entertainment and amusement will not lead us down the path to glory.
8. Because there are far too many forms of indifference, apathy & cynicism to wait any longer.
9. Because when we experience empathy it is fulfilling.
10. Because Justice is not a spectator sport.

In the days and weeks ahead, I'll be updating this blog regularly with opportunities to educate ourselves and to advocate for and be in solidarity with the least of these in South Orange County.