Category: culture
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The Language and Culture of Shalom
Marcus Briggs-Cloud is a linguist and the co-director of Ekvn-Yefolecv, “an Indigenous ecovillage community in Weogufka, Alabama comprised of Maskoke persons who have returned to their ancestral homelands to practice linguistic, cultural, and ecological sustainability.” Years ago he resolved to revitalize the language of his people before it completely died out. The Maskoke people depend…
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Know Your Divisions
Yesterday afternoon I was talking with a couple of friends who both serve churches in small Midwestern towns. They are thoughtful and humble leaders in their communities and I learn something every time we catch up. This conversation turned to divisions- the ones within congregations and the larger cultural ones which isolate Christians from one…
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Hoping in Herod: An Election Day Lament
This was first published in my newsletter earlier this year. On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel…
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Your vote matters less than you think. But also, way more.
This was first published in my newsletter earlier this year. No matter who wins the election, God is still sovereign! How many versions of this sentiment have you heard expressed during an election cycle? In my experience, this sort of exhortation is common in white Christian circles. It’s deployed to lessen partisan tensions and to…
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Scapegoating the Racists
I first wrote this for my weekly newsletter which you can subscribe to here. My family moved to southern California the summer before my freshmen year of high school. That was the summer the Lakers lost to the Bulls in the NBA Finals. I think that loss was totally incidental to my decision to become…
David W. Swanson 