Shanta Premawardhana

Rev. Isaac Singleton of Joliet, Beloved Pastor, Great Civil Rights Leader

by Shanta Premawardhana
Comment
| Presidents Blog
February 21, 2011

It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Rev. Isaac Singleton. I came to know him and worked with him through MAC, the Metropolitan Alliance of Congregations. MAC was the Metropolitan-wide, congregation-based community organization that incorporated JACOB (Joliet Area Church-based Organizing Body) which he helped to...
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Mayor Daley on Gun Control

by Shanta Premawardhana
1
| Presidents Blog
February 20, 2011

The question of gun control will be front and center for the Congress on Urban Ministry as it engages in a Public Action at the State of Illinois (Thompson) Center at Randolph and Clark in downtown Chicago on March 3rd at 11:30 a.m. Come and join us! As we are...
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My Article in Tikkun on its 25th Anniversary

by Shanta Premawardhana
1
| Presidents Blog
February 16, 2011

Tikkun, the journal of the Network of Spiritual Progressives led by Rabbi Michael Lerner published an article by me this week. Read on: Christian Openness to Interreligious Dialogue by Shanta Premawardhana As an avid reader of Tikkun I am pleased to offer a short reflection from a Christian perspective on...
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People’s Revolutions – Some Lessons We Must Learn

by Shanta Premawardhana
Comment
| Presidents Blog
February 13, 2011

Victory! Let the tyrants around the world, who hold on to power, oppress their people, and steal billions of their dollars shiver in their boots! The Egyptian revolution has been largely non-violent with only sporadic incidents of violence reported, particularly when pro-Mubarak thugs attacked the crowd. On this signature achievement,...
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An Historic Agreement – “Christian Mission in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for a Code of Conduct”

by Shanta Premawardhana
1
| Presidents Blog
February 1, 2011

An historic agreement between the Vatican’s Pontifical Council on Interreligious Dialogue, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance was reached in Bangkok last Friday. The document agreed upon by the representatives of the three organizations entitled “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for a Code of...
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Dear Members of Congress,

by Shanta Premawardhana
Comment
| Presidents Blog
January 24, 2011

“e pledge to foster an environment conducive to the important and difficult debates so crucial to American democracy,” wrote 50 plus religious leaders in a letter to the members of Congress last week. The religious leaders agreed that toxic rhetoric contributes to the culture of violence (see below). If this...
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Living Up to the Expectations of Our Children

by Shanta Premawardhana
Comment
| Presidents Blog
January 17, 2011

“We see all of our children” in the slain 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, said President Obama addressing the mourners in Tucson on Thursday, “so curious, so trusting, so energetic, so full of magic.” “I want America to be as good as she imagined it,” Mr. Obama concluded. “All of us —...
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Our Culture of Violence

by Shanta Premawardhana
Comment
| Presidents Blog
January 14, 2011

Archie Bunker from the classic situation comedy on TV “All in the Family” in the 1970s and 80s had a great solution to the spate of hi-jackings of airplanes that were going on at the time. When passengers board the plane, he said, they should give each one a gun!...
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Solidarity: Egyptian Muslims Attend Christmas Mass

by Shanta Premawardhana
Comment
| Presidents Blog
January 8, 2011

On Tuesday, January 4th, Cairo saw one of the biggest demonstrations after hundreds of Muslims and Copts protested in front of Maasara Church in a Cairo suburb. The protesters expressed outrage over the Alexandria attack, waving the cross and the Quran together. Many people, Christians and Muslims, took to the...
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Epiphany and the Rise of Religious Intolerance

by Shanta Premawardhana
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| Presidents Blog
January 7, 2011

On January 6th, western Christians celebrate Epiphany, and the season of light (or enlightenment) begins. This is the day on which Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi from the East. The tradition has often assumed that there were three of them, since they brought three specific gifts, although the...
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