Beyond Belief
Recruiting to Fight Social Injustices
Michael Brooks recalls witnessing racism in Kansas City at a young age. Growing up at 37th and Benton Boulevard, a wealthy neighborhood “filled with doctors and lawyers,” the former councilman and senior pastor of Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church said he started kindergarten in 1967 at then-affluent Sanford B. Ladd Elementary. Then, he said, it…
Commentary | A Local Love Story with International Echoes
As Doug Anning and Kirk Isenhour turned to walk up the aisle after an Episcopal blessing of their same-sex commitment to one another, the packed church erupted. I have never seen a sanctuary full of such joyful people. They were applauding, shouting, cheering, even crying. At the time, I posted a blog entry about it…
Extraordinary Documentary Sheds Light on Today’s Clash of Faiths
It’s a story almost nobody knows, with particular relevance for a world in which religious misunderstanding fuels hatred and murder. Coming January 24th to the Kansas City Jewish Film Fest, “Besa: The Promise” tells a tale of hope and redemption amidst the horrors of the Holocaust. As a special attraction, the film will be followed by a…
One on One with Jonathan Butler
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 19, and has been updated with video from the event. Click on the play button above to hear excerpts from Jonathan Butler’s speech at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Jan. 18. Long before Jonathan Butler held a hunger strike at the University of Missouri, sparking a campus-wide protest…
Commentary | Let Common Sense Prevail In Battle Over Religious Liberty
The very day in late February that five Republican candidates for president participated in a smash-mouth debate in Texas with much moaning and gnashing of teeth about the erosion of religious freedom in the United States, these things also happened: I gathered with Episcopalians, Catholics, and mainline Protestants for a Bible study I help to…