I write this post with the waves of grief from Buffalo, Uvalde, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, the litany that is constantly being added to. After every mass shooting in this nation, I have spent days in despair, in grief, in mourning, in… Read More ›
Politics
Mission, Not Glory: A Dialogue by Marie Cartier
Well, he didn’t do it for the glory, that’s for sure. Maybe he did? He’s gone. When you immolate –you’re gone. What glory is there in that? Well, the reason he did it—as I understand it—is because the world is… Read More ›
From the Archives: Resistance and the Religious Left by Gina Messina
This was originally posted on June 21, 2017, you can read the original comments here. For the last forty years, the Christian Right has influenced the conversation in American politics. Where is the Religious Left and how are they impacting… Read More ›
Transitions by Esther Nelson
It’s been a rough couple of years. Even though thousands of miles distanced us from the first-discovered Covid-19 outbreak (late 2019) in China, the virus soon traveled the world, doing what viruses do best—infect us, spread, morph, and then infect… Read More ›
From the Archives:“Vaginas are Everywhere!”: The Power of the Female Reproductive System by John Erickson
Moderator’s note: This marvelous FAR site has been running for 10 years and has had more than 3,600 posts in that time. There are so many treasures that have been posted in this decade that they tend to get lost… Read More ›
Women’s March in Long Beach, CA by Marie Cartier
Hello FAR family! Here are photos from the October 2nd Women’s March in Long Beach, CA. The Women’s March began after the 2016 “election” and continued through the Trump years, and was not immediately active after Biden won. But after Texas… Read More ›
How Rape Culture Grooms Us for Covid Safety Violations by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
Imagine this scenario: You agree to meet with some beloved friends or family who are not in your Covid pod. You’re nervous about safety, but you have a detailed discussion beforehand of exactly what Plan you will all follow in… Read More ›
Lucky by John M. Erickson
This past weekend, I was asked by an individual why I decided to get my Ph.D. in American Religious History focusing on LGBTQ spirituality and sexuality. Now, I’ve been asked this before, and if you know anything about me, you know I like to shock people at times, so my usual response is: “I have always been fascinated with people tell me I was going to hell.”
¡La Vida es la Lucha! – Women in the Colombian Protests by Laura Montoya
*Trigger Warning – Reference and description of distressing violence against women at the hands of police* Alison Melendez was 17 when she was sexually abused last week by a group of Colombian policemen. She was captured for allegedly being part… Read More ›
Schism of Reality, Schism of the Republican Party By Anjeanette LeBoeuf
The failed insurrection on January 6th should have been a watershed moment for many to abandon the parasitic party of Trump. Sadly, after the dust and armed guards cleared, many have returned to their delusions and skewed realities. A few… Read More ›
Myanmar’s Dangerous Military Coup by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
On February 1st, a successful military coup took place in South Asia. The national military of Myanmar arrested top non-military officials and seized all power. While this February coup happened in South Asia, it could have happened on our very… Read More ›
What’s Done Is Really Done by Barbara Ardinger
This is an encore performance of a satire I wrote in November 2019, when I thought Trump’s sociopathic behavior was at its height. Little did I know. Little did we know. Only a year later, following the 2020 election, we… Read More ›
The largest protest in the world: India’s Farmers Protest by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
So much has happened since my last post. From the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the GameStop Investment, the military coup of Myanmar, the 2nd Impeachment Trial and Republican Acquittal of Donald Trump, a catastrophic… Read More ›
Is Authoritarianism a Christian Value? by Esther Nelson
Many Americans described the recent (January 6, 2021) attack on the Capitol in Washington DC as shocking. I believe the event reflected one of the many times we’ve reaped the fruit of what we’ve sown throughout the course of American… Read More ›
Be Strong and Resolute by Judith Plaskow
January 29, 2021 Dear President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Members of the 117th Congress, At a crucial moment of leadership transition in the history of ancient Israel, the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River without Moses at… Read More ›
It’s Time to Thank Stacey Abrams Again by Carol P. Christ
The insurrection in the Capitol on January 6 has dominated the news ever since. Coverage of the Democrats’ victories in the two Senate runoffs in Georgia has been virtually nil. Now that it seems that at least as long as… Read More ›
A Failed Insurrection and Two Impeachments, the Ending Legacy of the Trump Administration by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
It has been hard to do anything other than absorb and witness what has been happening since January 6th. The day started off with amazing news that both Rev. Raphael Warnock and former intern for John Lewis, Jon Ossoff had… Read More ›
Deb Haaland, the Secretary of the Interior We Need by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
This past week brought an announcement from the 46th President Elect’s office on the nomination for the Secretary of Interior position, House of Representative Debra Haaland of New Mexico. This nomination has solidified President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris’ promise… Read More ›
In These United States: Georgia is on My Mind by Marie Cartier
Georgia on my mind, so goes the song, and right now the road leads back to you, Georgia. The run-off election which could make two senators blue and give control of the Senate to the Democrats, remove a Republican as… Read More ›
A Christmas Lament by Karen Leslie Hernandez
T’was the night before Christmas And all through the Country A message was Ringing Yet no one Care nigh. The plague has beguiled Us. The craze has embodied Us. The holidays are here! We must not adhere! Science is fake…. Read More ›
They Really Do Hate Us* by Esther Nelson
A year or so before the November 2020 U.S. presidential election, a private Facebook group now titled “Wives of the Deplorables! Go Vote!” came together because many women were distraught about the political ideological rift between them and their husbands—a… Read More ›
Turning Five by Sarah Frykenberg
My daughter turned five years old this week. I am now a five-year-old-mother of one. Big Five <3. I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that this is the age when children’s brains are developed enough to start creating… Read More ›
Vote, Vote, Please Vote! American Democracy Is at Stake by Carol P. Christ
Like many of you, I am weary this election season. In the early part of the Democratic primaries I was enthused. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and also Kamala Harris, and sometimes Amy Klobochar were articulating progressive political positions with which… Read More ›
May Her Memory Be A Revolution by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
On the eve of the Jewish Sabbath and the start of Rosh Hashanah, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg breathed her last breath. She was 87. She fought so hard for so long. She is an American patriot, hero, champion… Read More ›
Kamala Harris, the Democratic Vice President for 2020 by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
August 11th saw Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden announce his pick for Vice President. This pick broke open the history books; California US Senator Kamala Harris. Kamala has been steadily rising as a political force for over ten years. Her… Read More ›
Kamala Harris! “I Feel Heard” by Carol P. Christ
Shortly after Kamala Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s choice for his Vice Presidential running mate, a panel of black women were asked, “How do you feel right now?” “I feel heard” was the simple yet profound response of one… Read More ›
What’s Changed? by Elise M. Edwards
Friends, it has been a few months since I’ve posted in this community. I’m amazed at how much our world has changed since then. Here in the northern hemisphere, spring came and went. It felt like a tide of turmoil… Read More ›
TikTok, the Pandemic platform for community, resistance, and activism by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
It’s July which means we have collectively endured 7 months of uncertainty, turmoil, darkness, and light. America, we are still battling all aspects of the virus: rising numbers of infected, those that deny its existence, those refusing to wear masks… Read More ›
In Search of Insight by Gina Messina
A conversation I often have with students is focused on the ways mission and purpose are inextricably linked with our roles as human beings. Understanding what it means to say that human beings have a specific purpose can feel overwhelming… Read More ›
Going With the Wind by Barbara Ardinger
The wind changed during the night. Even as they slept, the Witch and the Ladies of the Magic Mirror felt it and stirred in their beds. Kahlil the raven, who was sitting on the roof, felt it, too, and as… Read More ›