How To Get Involved With Reproductive Justice
Rev. Brandee Mimitzraeim, 2nd Episcopal District
 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization’s emphasis on one’s constitutional right to choose brought about a crisis in the Pro-Choice movement. The language of the Pro-Choice movement, used for 50 years, became irrelevant, and many historic Pro-Choice organizations began to use the term “reproductive justice.” Many new organizations began to form around the nation, claiming reproductive justice as a framework without ever addressing or acknowledging their own anti-Black biases. These organizations have essentially co-opted the chronically underfunded work of Black women, overshadowing decades-old work within Black spaces and shifting the focus away from the impact of centuries-old oppression on the bodies and lives of Black people. By using the language of reproductive justice and diversity, white Pro-Choice organizations pull from Reproductive Justice organizations that need your time, your attention, and your donations.
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Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done
Rev. Renita Green, Columnist
Under the leadership of Presiding Elder Aimee Anderson, the Columbia-Xenia-Springfield District of the Ohio South Ohio Conference, a dynamic Founder’s Day forum about the vision of the church was led by Payne Theological Seminary’s President, the Reverend Dr. Michael Joseph Brown. He asked, “What’s missing? What’s needed? Where are we? Where are we headed? Where should we be headed?” My recent studies help me to understand better some of the strengths and struggles we experience. Matthew 16:18 tells us that Jesus declared, “On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
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Will NIL Agreements Create An Uneven System In College Athletics? It’s Too Early To Tell
By James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D.
 If you were blessed to have attended college on an athletic scholarship, you did not have to worry about student loans. You did not have to go to the bursar’s office to work out a payment plan because the heavy lifting created by inadequate finances was not a part of your college experience. You may have seen some of your college friends leaving campus because they did not have enough money, but as one attending on an athletic scholarship, you made full use of the scholarship to graduate from college–I know I did. I enjoyed my time as a student-athlete. Upon reflection, I did not feel any pressure to win. I did my part as a good teammate and conducted myself well when not competing. The key to success was simple: excel academically and athletically.
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Forty Foods for Longevity that Increase Physical and Spiritual Well-Being: Part I
Dr. Betty Holley, Contributing Writer 
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. 3 John 2 - Rosemary
The carnosic acid found in this spice has been shown to reduce stroke risk in mice by 40 percent, according to a study published in the Journal of Neurochemistry. Carnosic acid appears to set off a process that shields brain cells from free-radical damage, which can worsen the effects of a stroke. It can also protect against degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and the general effects of aging.
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Our Destiny as Directed by God
By Dr. Herman O. Kelly, Jr., Columnist 
I was lecturing in my African American studies class and began to discuss some noted historical figures. I realized my path was connected to some of these prominent persons. As I lectured my spirit was “strangely warmed.” I reflected on my journey from Jacksonville, Florida to Southern Louisiana. I can frame my journey by saying, “Our destiny as Directed by God.” People say God can take you places you can only imagine and dream; I am a witness to this in my own experience. Mandela writes, “I have crossed many rivers.” I, too, have crossed many rivers in the hands of a gracious God. In the end, our destiny belongs to God. Read More Here |
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Love and Lent: Perfect Companions
By Monica C. Jones, Ph.D, 6th Espicopal District
 This year, Lent begins on Valentine’s Day. Ash Wednesday, a day of repentance, reflection, and expression of our humble acceptance of imperfection in the eyes of God, is a sacred event. Valentine’s Day, on the other hand, is a secular event that presents an opportunity for us to share expressions of love and admiration for one another. The two annual occasions on the Christian church and Western culture calendars may have more in common than we would think. Although February 14th may be more superficial compared to Ash Wednesday, there may be a deeper relevance and similarity between the two special days.
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February Edition of The Christian Recorder |
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 | | Watch the recording of the interview with Attorney Capri Maddox, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Human Rights and Equity Department |
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CHURCH GROWTH CORNER
MARCH 2024 Build Relationships
A leader leads by influence, and influence is built by relationships. A position or title confers authority on paper, and God honors the principle of authority, but a position of authority doesn’t confer ability to motivate people in real life. The most effective means of leadership is not an appeal to authority but the exercise of influence. We are familiar with the spiritual authority of a senior pastor who leads saints in a local church, but organizational leaders don’t have the same type of authority when leading ministers. Pastors and other ministers are spiritual leaders in their own right and expect to participate in decision-making. It’s important for them to share in molding the vision and providing input. We allow them to do so by good communication; by involving as many as possible at various levels including boards, committees, activities, and events; and by building relationships in which we provide personal care, assistance, and support for individual ministers, churches, and ministries. We should show concern and respond to needs, not to be manipulative but because we care about everyone. As a result, people will trust us and won’t be prone to assume that we have an ulterior motive or a political agenda. And of course, we shouldn’t. As leaders build and maintain personal relationships, followers will understand what kind of persons they are and will realize that they are advancing ideas for the sake of the kingdom of God. |
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For Black ‘nones’ who leave religion, what’s next?
By Kathryn Post
Take Rogiérs Fibby, a self-described agnostic, atheist and secular humanist who grew up in the Moravian Church. The head of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Black Secular Collective, Fibby also considers himself “culturally Christian.” “I know all the lingo, the theologies of different denominations, the theological distinctions, how to move in those different spaces theologically and interpersonally,” he told Religion News Service. Or take Felicia Murrell, who served in church leadership across a range of denominations for over two decades. Today she thinks of herself as “interspiritual,” but she also told RNS, “Christianity is my mother tongue.”
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Nuns in a time of nones: The winding path to today’s religious vocations
By Elizabeth E. Evans, Religion News Service
 Sister Maria Angeline Weiss recalls her choice to embrace the religious life of a Catholic sister as fairly straightforward. As a 16-year-old Catholic high schooler in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she was drawn to the “joy and her simplicity” of one of the nuns who taught at the school “and her love of prayer.”That teacher belonged to an order called the Sisters of Christian Charity. When Weiss, now 35, visited one of the order’s convents, she said, “I very quickly felt like I was at home.” Weiss entered a Sisters of Christian Charity community at the age of 18. But for Sister Madeleine Davis, who has taken her initial vows in Sisters of Christian Charity, the path has been more circuitous.
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