October 2007 - Tomorrow's Prophets

Tomorrow's Prophets

From the Executive Director, The Rev. Anne S. Howard

When the alarm radio came on this morning, the NPR reporter announced that two prophets were headed to Darfur in an effort to bring their “moral authority” to bear on the grievous situation there. They were men with the courage, she said, “to speak truth to power”: President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

I was glad to hear this accurate definition of a prophet: someone who could assess the situation at hand and “speak truth to power,” and I was glad to hear that these two prophets were men of faith with ample experience in the intersection of faith and politics, one an American Southern Baptist and one a South African Anglican.

It is my great hope and daily prayer that the students of The Beatitudes Society will one day be such courageous leaders, people of faith who will impact the political and social crises of their day. That’s what we are working toward, with all of our programs and resources for these emerging leaders. I’m pleased to report to you that these programs are up and running at full tilt.

New chapters are starting up this fall, and I am traveling to several to meet with students and faculty and learn how best The Beatitudes Society can support their local efforts. A new chapter has already formed at Lutheran Theological School at Philadelphia, and new chapters are in the early stages of formation at Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ; McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago; Union Theological Seminary in New York; United Seminary in Minneapolis and Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA.

We’ve just launched our first-ever Membership Drive, inviting students on our campuses to build their local chapters and grow our national network.

Our board has a new member: Diana Butler Bass, theologian, historian and author of several books on American religion including Christianity for the Rest of Us brings to our board not only her considerable experience in American church history, but her perceptive insight about religion in America today. When Diana isn’t writing her next book or on one of her demanding public lecture tours, she is blogging at God’s Politics or our own Beatitudes Blog. We are blessed to have her with us!

We have just opened applications for Bartimaeus Institute, our 2008 scholarship opportunity. Ten Beatitudes Society students will focus on Sabbath Economics at the January 14-18 conference “Matthew's Gospel between the Seminary, Sanctuary & Streets: Practicing Beatitudes Christianity in Consumer America” in Santa Barbara, California. Click HERE for the application and more information about the conference.

Our Summer Fellowship program is expanding! We will send Summer 2008 Fellows to Chicago as well as to Washington D.C. and the San Francisco Bay Area. Summer 2008 internship opportunities will be available in Chicago at Interfaith Worker Justice, Protestants for the Common Good and Faith in Place. We’ve also added additional sites in the Bay Area: the Oakland office of Children’s Defense Fund, the Ella Baker Center, and First Congregational Church of Berkeley. In Washington DC we’ve added ONE and JubileeUSA to our group of summer hosts.

We’ve just put May 18, 2008 on the calendar as the week when we will return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for our Annual Service Trip. Ten students will again be invited to apply to join the work team ? and dare to have their lives changed! ? as we pick up hammers and shovels and mops in the still-needed Katrina rebuilding efforts at Camp Coast Care.

Traffic on and about our Beatitudes Blog has kicked up a few notches, thanks in no small part to the net connections of our Blogmeister Alexander Carpenter and the witty insights of his blogging pals. I am trying to hold my own in the blogosphere, and enjoying it greatly!

Our website, thanks to the handy work of our Program Administrator Stephanie Borrett, now features a Photo Gallery, and a link to our Beatitudes Page at Facebook. It’s all about social networking. Stay tuned for more changes.

And, of course, all of this cannot happen without the support of all of you, the Friends of The Beatitudes Society. Please mark your calendars now to Save the Date for two great Fundraisers:

On November 12, 2007 in Santa Barbara, CA, friends will gather at Jill’s Place for great food, wine, stories and entertainment. There will be silent and live auctions, and a raffle of a "big ticket item" as well. This has all been arranged by volunteer Friends of The Beatitudes Society to raise the money needed to take 10 Beatitudes Society students to the Gulf Coast next May. Click HERE to purchase your raffle ticket, even if you can't attend the event!

On February 28, 2008 in San Francisco, CA, progressive theologian Marcus Borg, heralded as “a key force in the emerging new paradigm of Christian faith” will join us for an evening on “Social Progress: What Does Christianity Have to Do With It?” Save this date to come help support our Summer 2008 Fellows program.

Our world today needs the wisdom of Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu, and tomorrow's will need the emerging leaders of The Beatitudes Society. Today, these students need you. Thank you for helping them learn how to speak truth to power.

In God’s Peace and Joy,

Anne

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