Virginia Theological Seminary launches ‘Have Mercy’ resource for faith leaders; Episcopal News Service (ENS), June 17, 2025

Episcopal News Service (ENS); Virginia Theological Seminary launches ‘Have Mercy’ resource for faith leaders

"Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) has launched a new resource to help faith leaders navigate the current political climate.

Inspired by the sermon preached by VTS graduate the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde at the Service of Prayer for the Nation, “Have Mercy” is a series of essays and accompanying discussion questions that examine how foundational Christian commitments take on political significance.

The initiative was created by three VTS faculty members with the aim of providing a resource for alumni, Christian leaders and the faith communities they serve to explore the power of the Gospel in the current moment.

Each essay takes one core Christian belief or practice, rooted in scripture, and examines its significance for our political context. An essay on a new topic written by a member of the faculty at VTS and The General Theological Seminary (GTS) will be published every week during the summer of 2025.

The series launched with an essay by the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., Dean and President of VTS and President of GTS, based on a sermon he preached on the importance of inclusion and having a plurality of voices. It will be followed by essays on “Love your neighbor,” “Lift up the lowly,” and “God’s Weakness… God’s Power.”

Kyle Lambelet, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Ethics and Director of the Saint Nicholas Center for Faith and Justice, said: “Jesus preached a Gospel of love that challenged the political leaders of his day, so much so that after his public protest in the temple he was promptly tried and executed by the Roman Empire. It should not surprise us, therefore, that the Gospel of Jesus continues to confront even as it consoles, to challenge even as it inspires.”

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., Dean and President of VTS and President of GTS, said: “Our goal is not to be shrill nor crudely partisan. Instead, we strive to bring the eternal verities to this moment. And, as Bishop Budde did in that powerful sermon, to remind our country and our world of the values embedded in the Gospel and emerging from the prophets of the Hebrew Bible.”

The initiative was launched by three VTS faculty, Kyle Lambelet, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Ethics and Director of the Saint Nicholas Center for Faith and Justice, the Rev. Canon Altagracia Perez-Bullard, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Multicultural Ministries and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, and the Rev. Ruthanna Hooke, Ph.D., Professor of Homiletics, emerging from a conversation during the faculty’s annual retreat in January 2025. Wanting to affirm the courageous voice of Bishop Budde and to encourage others to speak with such clarity of conviction, the three faculty members invited their colleagues to contribute short essays. “There is a lot of confusion about whether and how Christians should engage a pluralistic public,” Lambelet said. “These essays offer guidance for those of us in the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement regarding how we can be ministers of truth, healing, and justice.”

You can read the essays here: https://vts.edu/have-mercy-initiative/"

AI of dead Arizona road rage victim addresses killer in court; The Guardian, May 6, 2025

Cy Neff, The Guardian; AI of dead Arizona road rage victim addresses killer in court

"Pelkey’s appearance from beyond the grave was made possible by artificial intelligence in what could be the first use of AI to deliver a victim impact statement. Stacey Wales, Pelkey’s sister, told local outlet ABC-15 that she had a recurring thought when gathering more than 40 impact statements from Chris’s family and friends.

“All I kept coming back to was, what would Chris say?” Wales said.

As AI spreads across society and enters the courtroom, the US judicial conference advisory committee has announced that it will begin seeking public comment as part of determining how to regulate the use of AI-generated evidence at trial."

A Message from Dean Hollerith: The Work We Have To Do; Washington National Cathedral, November 6, 2024

The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Washington National Cathedral ; A Message from Dean Hollerith: The Work We Have To Do

"Today, America woke up to a new President, a new Congress and a new understanding of who we are as a nation. For some, this was a long-sought victory after years of work and organizing; for others, this seismic shift feels disorienting and disheartening.  

Whether your preferred candidates won or lost, our work as Americans is just beginning. There is healing we must do, as individuals and as a people. Now is when we must listen to Abraham Lincoln and “bind up the nation’s wounds,” and we must follow his example to do it with “malice toward none and charity for all.”

This will not be easy work. We must start by showing grace to ourselves and to others. There are many among us who are hurt, fearful or angry, and they may have no desire to extend a hand, or give their neighbor the benefit of the doubt. Others among us may be tempted to write this next chapter with a sense of winner-take-all vengeance.      

We are weary of division and bitter politics; we have no need for more of that. Instead, let us aim for a better way to move forward together, as one people, one family of God. We may not agree, we may not understand each other, we may not even like each other. But we are tied together in our shared humanity, and as hard as it may be to hear, in the end there is no us and them; there is only us. 

If we can learn anew how we see each other, then maybe we can learn anew how to treat each other. In this moment, and in all the days to come, let us strive to embody the challenges and promises of our faith. As Jesus said: 

Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who abuse you.
Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and it will be given to you.
For the measure you give will be the measure you receive. 

And the blessing of God Almighty — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — be with you this day and always. Amen."

What You Need to Know About the Book Bans Sweeping the U.S.; Teachers College, Columbia University, September 6, 2023

Morgan Gilbard , Teachers College, Columbia University; What You Need to Know About the Book Bans Sweeping the U.S.

"What Could Happen Next?

American schools stand at a critical inflection point, and amid this heated debate, Rebell sees civil discourse at school board meetings as a paramount starting point for any sort of resolution. “This mounting crisis can serve as a motivator to bring people together to try to deal with our differences in respectful ways and to see how much common ground can be found on the importance of exposing all of our students to a broad range of ideas and experiences,” says Rebell. “Carve-outs can also be found for allowing parents who feel really strongly that certain content is inconsistent with their religious or other values to exempt their children from certain content without limiting the options for other children.”

But students, families and educators also have the opportunity to speak out, explains Douglass, who expressed concern for how her own daughter is affected by book bans. 

“I’d like to see a groundswell movement to reclaim the nation's commitment to education — to recognize that we're experiencing growing pains and changes in terms of what we stand for; and whether or not we want to live up to the democratic ideal of freedom of speech; different ideas in the marketplace, and a commitment to civics education and political participation,” says Douglass. 

As publishers and librarians file lawsuits to push back, students are also mobilizing to protest bans — from Texas to western New York and elsewhere. But as more local battles unfold, bigger issues remain unsolved. 

“We need to have a conversation as a nation about healing; about being able to confront the past; about receiving an apology and beginning that process of reconciliation,” says Douglass. “Until we tackle that head on, we'll continue to have these types of battles.”"

‘Sorrow Is the Price You Pay for Love’; The Atlantic, February 5, 2019

Video by Erlend Eirik Mo, The Atlantic;

‘Sorrow Is the Price You Pay for Love’

[Kip Currier: A remarkable short video. Poignant, uplifting, inspiring. A reminder of what matters most, and what's worth striving for and toward.

Watch and share with others.]

"“So much in her story was compelling for me,” Mo told The Atlantic. “It is unique, about a girl doing a male macho dance, and universal, about love and sorrow.”"

‘I hated this man more than my rapists’: Woman confronts football coach 18 years after alleged gang rape; Washington Post, 6/23/16

Michael E. Miller, Washington Post; ‘I hated this man more than my rapists’: Woman confronts football coach 18 years after alleged gang rape:

"“I said everything I needed to say. I asked everything I needed to ask,” Tracy told the Lincoln Journal Star. “We talked about 1,000 different topics. … I feel like I put everything on the table and left it all there.”

“He answered everything,” she told the World-Herald.

And he apologized.

For not digging more into what really happened during those six hours back in 1998...

And when she told the players that she used to hate Riley “more than my rapists,” she could feel 150 faces turn from her to the coach and back again.

But she also told them that Riley didn’t have to bring her to Lincoln.

“This is what accountability looks like,” she told the players, according to USA Today. “This is what transparency looks like. This is how we get things done.”"