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Thermal Thursday: Progressive Christianity and the New Year: A New Beginning For Bishop Barber [1]

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Date: 2022-12-29

Today’s Topic: I received an email from Repairers of the Breach, forwarding the following message from Bishop Barber to all his supporters, to be shared widely (bolding mine):

Dear Poor People’s Campaign Family, I am so glad to share this news with you today. As many of you know, I have been a pastor engaged in movement work for three decades. While I will remain co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and President of Repairers of the Breach, I’m transitioning my pastoral work from the congregation to the classroom. I want to walk with the next generation of moral leaders and share with them what was passed down to me. This coming year, I will retire as pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where I have served as senior pastor since 1993. I will join the faculty at Yale Divinity School as a Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy and Founding Director of the new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy. The Center will focus its work on the intersection of theology, social justice, and public policy. This endeavor is a continuation and institutionalization of decades-long moral movement-building work that grows out of a deep understanding of theology and practice of public ministry. The Center will teach and train students to examine the relationship between conventional religious study and practice and their theologically-based moral requirement to care for “the least of these” who face poverty, injustices, and oppression in their everyday lives. Through the Center, students will have the opportunity to participate in social justice movements and to study and learn directly from clergy and pastors who do social justice work as an integral part of their pastoral obligations. The Center will also be a collaborative space for scholars, advocates, researchers, economists, and activists to come together to engage in critical research seeking policy solutions to respond to the injustices that plague our nation, and to examine the moral framework and underpinning for the country's most significant civil and human rights movements. I believe the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy is a new and important addition to the movement’s collective work. It is not a replacement for the work we will continue to do together as we build this Campaign across the nation. After this incredible year of mobilizing for the Mass Poor People's and Low-Wage Workers' Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls and surpassing our goal of reaching over 5 million poor and low-wealth voters in this past mid-term election, I am looking forward to the intensification of our efforts towards ending the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. We must continue our work to shift the narrative, build power, and implement a Third Reconstruction Agenda that fully addresses the needs of poor and low-wealth people in this nation. Forward Together, Not One Step Back! Bishop William J. Barber, II DMin.

No doubt the people of Greenleaf will miss their pastor. Otherwise, I think this is extremely good news! Much has been written on this site regarding the necessity of passing the baton to future generations. Bishop Barber will be doing so, in the elite atmosphere of Yale University no less! Long may he intensify his reach.

If you are not familiar with Bishop Barber, I was not either until I read about him here at DKos! Here are some of the diaries about him here, www.dailykos.com/… and here, www.dailykos.com/..., if you’d like to catch up.

I hope you will continue to support all Bishop Barber’s efforts, and take additional hope from this latest announcement, as I do. His results will almost certainly be fascinating!

Delivering the Higher Ground Moral Declaration to Republicans, 2016 (h/t Laura Clawson)

Finally as always, let’s elevate our Community Cred and repost The Needs List! From Aashirs nani (with permission) on Helping Humpday:

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COMMUNITY NEEDS LIST AS OF 12/21/22:

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If you have time, please visit the diaries above and leave comments for their authors. Those words of encouragement are vital!

If you don’t like fundraisers, please just move along. They are a longstanding tradition at DKos — Until we vote in enough progressives to create a much stronger social safety net! (Maybe in 2 years.)

Please note : I take care of my 90ish-year-old Mom, so something could come up. In addition, it is 50+ degrees! And sunny! In upstate NY! Today! So I am going outside for a walk, and scheduling this to auto-publish. If possible, I’ll be here shortly to engage in Comments. However, if I’m not here, please chat amongst yourselves, take a coffee break, post aminal photos, food/drink and tunes, spread the word and invite your friends, etc.! Thanks to all!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/29/2144379/-Thermal-Thursday-Progressive-Christianity-and-the-New-Year-A-New-Beginning-For-Bishop-Barber

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