PCU E-Newsletter

June 4, 2015  
 
            
Saving the Bible
 

The Bible needs our help. Words that once gave hope to marginalized people have been weaponized. Rather than speaking with many voices, largely by and for oppressed peoples, it has ossified into a protector of the status quo.

 

There are two typical reactions to this situation: 1) to reassert the Bible's loyalty to the preferences of the powerful, or 2) to relegate it to a work of mere literature where any ongoing relevance is merely incidental. The greatest angel can become twisted into a demon, so likewise divinely-infused words can be warped into destroying rather than building up. What can be done?

 

Thousands of churches across generations have worked to reclaim certain liberating themes from the Bible. They reflect its enduring power. Yet in spite of this, for various socio-political reasons, many Americans remain unfamiliar with this tradition. We at PCU hope to do our own small part to remedy this lack.

 

In a little over a week, the Justice Not Jails project is putting on a workshop called "Freedom Songs: Reading the Bible with and for the Oppressed." It is intended to draw out some of the connections between the biblical call for justice, the inspiration to confront oppressive powers, and the ongoing system of racialized mass incarceration.

 

For some of us, this might seem like a review, but for others, it may be a first time exposure. The gospel can sound old-hat when you've grown up with it. But it's still good news, especially for the devalued and dehumanized of our world! I hope you will attend, invite a friend, and be renewed and transformed for the work we are called to do. You often hear that the Bible brings salvation, but let's flip the script and save the Bible so that it can once again be good news for an oppressed world!

 

Bible-loving and proud,

 

Timothy Murphy

Executive Director

 

P.S. ~ The cost is $10 for a boxed lunch but free for formerly incarcerated persons. Register today!

 

 
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This Week From PCU
PCU Staff Update
Action & Events
Quote of the Week
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PCU Staff Update


PCU wishes to announce our newest staff member: Paulina Pi?a Garcia, who is serving as PCU's Administrator. Paulina lives in Long Beach, CA and is a graduate of Wellesley College and of Harvard Divinity School, where she received her Master of Theological Studies degree with a concentration in Women, Gender, Sexuality and Religion. During the course of her graduate study, she became increasingly passionate about social justice, becoming an active member of the Student Immigrant Movement in Massachusetts, advocating for the DREAM Act, and participating in an immersion trip to the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona to meet with people directly affected by current economic and immigration policies in the Borderlands. After a couple of years in an administrative role in higher education, Paulina enthusiastically joins the PCU team; welcome, Paulina!

 
Action & Events

Petition: Strong Civilian Oversight of Los Angeles County Sheriffs

 

A decision for civilian oversight of the LA Sheriffs is only a few weeks away, and the Board of Supervisors needs to hear from you! Sign the petition, demanding the BOS put up a change to the county charter to provide subpoena power to help retrieve information about patterns of sheriff violence that are often withheld from the public. Other crucial demands can be found here!

 

 

 

 

 

Today and this weekend, June 4-7: Seizing an Alternative:

Toward an Ecological Civilization Conference

 

Conference for the Planet

Join us in Claremont on June 4-7

 

Free Lecture Series by some of the world's most renowned environmentalists, including:


 

Bill McKibben, June 4 - 7pm

John Cobb, June 5 - 9am

Vandana Shiva, June 5 - 7pm

Herman Daly, June 6 - 9am

Sheri Liao, June 6 - 7pm

Wes Jackson, June 7 - 9am

 

Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College

450 N. College Way, Claremont, CA 91711

 

You can also attend the Pando Populus Saturday-only sampling of the eco-conference's cutting-edge artists, activists, academics, documentarians, theologians, and sustainability experts for $29 by registering here.

 

For more information: PandoPopulus.com

 

 

 

Saturday, June 6: From the Wilderness Prophetic Tradition 

to Watershed Discipleship

 

PCU is co-sponsoring a talk by the biblical scholar and radical theologian Ched Myers at Claremont United Church of Christ (233 Harrison Ave, Claremont) from 11 AM-12:30 PM as part of the larger "Seizing an Alternative" conference. In era of cascading drought, we need to pay attention to local discipleship of our water more than ever!

 

 

 

Saturday, June 13: Freedom Songs: Reading the Bible With and For the Oppressed

 

The Justice Not Jails project is organizing an event on how the Bible speaks from the voice of the oppressed and how it relates to their struggles today. Come check out this interactive workshop that includes the following speakers: Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr., Rev. Janet Wolf, Mark Ridley-Thomas, and Tiffany Johnson. Lunch is provided at a cost of $10; free for formerly incarcerated persons. Located at: Ward AME, from 10 AM - 2:30 PM. Register here!

 

 

 

 
Quote of the Week

The major divide among Christians today is not between those who embrace the use of secular-historical methods in the study of the Bible and those who reject them. It is between those who hear the Bible as a call to oppose the basic direction society is taking and those who do not.

 

~George Pixley, from Resistance: The New Role of Progressive Christians