A denomination divided The United Church of Chapel Hill, a largely white congregation, and Poplar Springs Christian Church in Garner, which is predominantly African-American, are socially active, working with the poor and running prison and homeless ministries. Many of their members oppose the death penalty. The two congregations also used to share a common denomination, […]
Patrick O'Neill
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How to get arrested on Black Friday
Thanksgiving as we know it is gone. The only national holiday that actually includes humility and gratitude as subtext is no more. Yes, individual families can refuse to be co-opted by Madison Avenue, but the poor bastards who have no choicethose employed in low-paying retail jobswill be out of luck from now on. Target decided […]
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What would Jesus do on Palm Sunday?
Our shopping trips for Holy Week were a bit unusualbut they matched our plans perfectly. Our first plan was to surround Cary’s Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) facility with yellow crime-scene tape as part of a drama to expose ICE’s harsh treatment of undocumented people. So it was off to Lawman’s, a supply store for […]
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Duke Divinity conference explores solitary confinement as form of torture
A little more than two years ago, Timothy E. Helms, who at that point had spent 1,473 daysfour yearsin solitary confinement in the Alexander Correctional Institute, set fire to his cell. Helms, a mentally ill inmate with an IQ of 79, told doctors guards beat him after he set the fire, according to a report […]
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Poor? Join the 37 million Americans just like you.
Prior to 2008, the United States was in a period of economic growth, but the Bush administration used the windfall to fund the war on terrorin part, at the expense of the poor. “The tragedy is when we had a period of economic growth we didn’t use that to reduce poverty in this country,” said […]
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Activists call for President Obama to close Guantanamo Bay
In the waning minutes of his presidency, the image of George W. Bush appeared on the Jumbotron on the National Mall just a couple of hundred yards from the Washington Monument. His image prompted a chorus of boos from the massive crowd that converged Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday. Seconds later, 16-year-old D.C. native Simeone Alexander […]
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Loving the outcasts
For many years, spiritual leader Jean Vanier frequented orphanages. In his visits, he sometimes clutched a forlorn child to his chest.”Immediately the face of the child is transformed,” Vanier said, describing how a simple, loving embrace from a stranger can be transformative. Sadly, once released from his embrace, the child’s look of despair usually reappeared. […]
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Jay Bakker defies the Christian mainstream
⇒ More Pride coverage: “U.S. law sends some bi-national, same-sex couples into exile“ Jesus Christ had a reputation for hanging out with the wrong crowd. Tax collectors, lepers and prostitutes among others were his friends, and his message was relatively simple: Love one another. It’s out of that ancient Christian tradition that the Rev. Jay […]
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Food into fuel creating global hunger crisis
I worked the weighing station, where my job was to weigh the bags filled with a high-protein dry soup mixa cup of soy powder, a scoop of dried vegetables, plus a vitamin tablet and a cup of riceand add or subtract rice as necessary to ensure each bag weighed between 380 and 385 grams (a […]
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Judges uphold Reeves’ conviction
A Pitt County man could spend the rest of his life in prison after a three-judge panel upheld his 2001 conviction for taking indecent liberties with his 6-year-old daughter. The verdict, announced late Wednesday, comes after compelling and potentially exonerating testimony from his daughter, now 15, who says she was coerced into testifying against him […]