Jed Z Tate

YouTube video by CBS News Watch: Pete Hegseth addresses military leaders at Quantico

"Peace through strength" is a phrase and a concept taken directly from the people who crucified Jesus.

youtu.be/rOXbRu43ok8?...

Helen was a friend and an inspiration and a shining light in the UMC and the world.

What does the Jubilee have to do with debt justice? The ancient tradition of Jubilee wasn't just about spiritual or personal practice. It had far-reaching ramifications for economic justice.

We spoke to U.S. Catholic Magazine about debt injustice:

[Debt Collective] points out that relief is "literally in the Lord’s prayer." It’s the ultra-rich who are culpable, [they] say— billionaires hoarding wealth, against biblical teaching. They're committing sins.”
uscatholic.org/articles/202...

The Abolition Lectionary is a book of reflections following the Revised Common Lectionary all about what the Bible can teach us about incarceration.

If your faith in the one who proclaims freedom for prisoners has led you to question prison and incarceration itself - and especially if you also preach - The Abolition Lectionary is for you.

christiansforabolition.org/2025/07/25/t...

Produce picked today from our church community garden included cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and a handful of beans.

Here's what my friend James and I (mostly James) picked from the church community garden today. Plenty more tomatoes and hot peppers are on the way, and we're starting to plan for Fall.

Super grateful to @hannahnpbowman.com for her vision, for all her work in making this happen, and for including me in the project.

The Abolition Lectionary is available as a book! The Abolition Lectionary is now available in book form, with complete posts for every Sunday in the RCL and several other major feasts. The book was edited by Hannah Bowman, Wesley Spears-Newsome, …

Here's a project that I'm really proud of that we've been working on for a long time: The Abolition Lectionary is available now as a (e or print-on-demand) book: christiansforabolition.org/2025/07/25/t... ⚓

The Abolition Lectionary is also for anyone whose faith has led them to compassion for people who are incarcerated and to concern about the injustice of the prison system.

The Abolition Lectionary is a great resource for preachers concerned about incarceration. The book follows the RCL, and includes essays on Scripture from preachers and theologians from a number of different traditions.

The Abolition Lectionary is available as a book! The Abolition Lectionary is now available in book form, with complete posts for every Sunday in the RCL and several other major feasts. The book was edited by Hannah Bowman, Wesley Spears-Newsome, …

I'm excited to share this with you, and honored to have been a contributor. The Abolition Lectionary is out now!

christiansforabolition.org/2025/07/25/t...

Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from the garden

Today's harvest from our community garden was mostly lettuce with cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, all of which will feed people in need of healthy food today.

Marigolds

Sunflowers

Bell peppers

Squash

Continued growth in our church community garden.

#BeUMC

Beans and cucumbers

Picking beans from the community garden

Beans growing in the garden

Cucumber growing in the garden

We picked beans and cucumbers in our church garden this week. Many of us are food insecure, but today the people in our community will enjoy fresh vegetables. I may have sampled some beans off the vine.

When I think of what folks can do in this moment, I hear Mary Oliver saying “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Bc our lives are both precious & finite in moments of upheaval or crisis we must consider how we will expend our time, energy, & resources.

Oh, of course. I just think the viewership was dampened by reviews from those who had specific (white) expectations based on how they read the books. That said, I read the first 4 or 5 books and enjoyed them for a while, but I really liked where the show was headed more.

It was a long journey, but this weekend I was ordained as a deacon in full connection in the @unitedmethodist.bsky.social

It was so good. I blame the book zealots for the cancellation.

if you don’t know the history of Dodger Stadium you can’t fully understand what unfolded today. thanks @chrislhayes.bsky.social for the opportunity to share it.

We in the #UMC wish you a blessed #Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.

Vegetables and flowers in a raised garden bed

Vegetables and flowers in a raised garden bed

Vegetables growing in raised beds, which are part of a community garden at a church among people who are unhoused.

We're beginning to see some growth in our church community gardens.

United Methodist ministries named in House probe | UMNews.org The United Methodist Council of Bishops and other ministries are among 215 charities that received a U.S. congressional committee’s letter about their work with immigrants.

The #UMC Council of Bishops and other ministries are among 215 charities that received a U.S. congressional committee’s letter about their work with immigrants.

www.umnews.org/en/news/unit...

Buber’s I and Thou, and then later, Zinn’s People’s History

Building the American Brownshirts New funding will make ICE an unaccountable army of Trump loyalists.

And as @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social writes, there is a clear intent and plan to building up ICE: www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/building-t...

Ice agents detain US citizen as LA immigration raids continue: ‘It’s racial profiling’ Officers arrest people at swap meet in Santa Fe and detain people in Montebello as curfew in LA remains in place

The conservative response to critique of ICE often argues that only "criminals" or "illegals" are being targeted. Even if this were true, ICE should still be abolished. However, it is also just not true.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Abolish ICE

Vegetables and flowers in a raised garden bed

Vegetables and flowers in a raised garden bed

Vegetables growing in raised beds, which are part of a community garden at a church among people who are unhoused.

We're beginning to see some growth in our church community gardens.

"On the contrary, the Christian community, gathered in common discipleship, is the place where individual gifts can be called forth and put into service for all." - Nouwen

"The Christian community is the opposite of a highly uniform group of people whose behavior has been toned down to a common denominator and whose originality has been dulled." - Nouwen

"Gathered together in common vulnerability, we discover how much we have to give each other. " - Nouwen

"When we give up our desires to be outstanding or different, when we let go of our need to have our own special niches in life, when our main concern is to be the same and to live out this sameness in solidarity, we are then able to see each other’s unique gifts." - Henri Nouwen, Called to Community