S-2 PEOPLE FILES
- Meera Subramanian - Matthew Sullivan - Tony Sumpter - Greg Surratt - Jen Sutphin - Richard Swanson - Barbara Swee - Leonard Sweet - Stanislav Syniy - Barb Szyszkiewicz -
meera subramanian
Journalist Meera Subramanian found conflicting thoughts on climate and the environment from Christians through her own work as a freelance reporter. Subramanian went on to co-found the Religion & Environment Story Project, a group focused on the intersections between religion and the environment.
Following the 2016 presidential election, Subramanian traveled through the rural U.S. to gather environmental viewpoints from conservative communities, places at the “frontlines of the climate crisis,” as a part of a series of stories she wrote for Inside Climate News. Science and religion are often depicted as opposing forces in the debate over climate change, but Fargo isn’t afraid to make an explicitly Christian argument for environmentalism that he believes can capture hearts and minds.
In conservative Eastern Oregon, which has been battered by wildfires, floods and decades of drought, he’s counting on his message being especially relevant. And researchers are watching Oregon, and rural America at-large, to see if these types of arguments will break through in communities where these issues can sometimes carry political baggage. --Antonio Sierra: Oregon Public Broadcasting: The Christian case for fighting climate change is being tested in Eastern Oregon 2.25.23
Following the 2016 presidential election, Subramanian traveled through the rural U.S. to gather environmental viewpoints from conservative communities, places at the “frontlines of the climate crisis,” as a part of a series of stories she wrote for Inside Climate News. Science and religion are often depicted as opposing forces in the debate over climate change, but Fargo isn’t afraid to make an explicitly Christian argument for environmentalism that he believes can capture hearts and minds.
In conservative Eastern Oregon, which has been battered by wildfires, floods and decades of drought, he’s counting on his message being especially relevant. And researchers are watching Oregon, and rural America at-large, to see if these types of arguments will break through in communities where these issues can sometimes carry political baggage. --Antonio Sierra: Oregon Public Broadcasting: The Christian case for fighting climate change is being tested in Eastern Oregon 2.25.23
matthew sullivan
March 27, 2023: Christianity Today: Presbyterian School Mourns 6 Dead in Nashville Shooting
Parents were invited into the chapel at The Covenant School in Nashville on Monday morning, like they are every school-day morning. They sung and prayed with the roughly 200 elementary students and 40 or 50 staff at the Presbyterian Church in America school and listened as pastor Matthew Sullivan “raises it to another level,” as one student put it, with his kid-friendly Bible lesson.
Parents were invited into the chapel at The Covenant School in Nashville on Monday morning, like they are every school-day morning. They sung and prayed with the roughly 200 elementary students and 40 or 50 staff at the Presbyterian Church in America school and listened as pastor Matthew Sullivan “raises it to another level,” as one student put it, with his kid-friendly Bible lesson.
tony sumpter
Tony Sumpter
Many of you are new to our community and church, and often one of the more challenging things is our worship services. You might describe our worship service as very traditional or you might be tempted to call it “seeker insensitive.” And as one of the disciples might have asked Jesus at one point, “What is up with that?” The answer is that we are committed to worshipping according to Scripture. Much of modern worship has become a highly consumer-driven product, from the worship songs and bands to the architecture and messages and coffee stations, the whole thing has become oriented to the tastes and preferences of people, and often even non-Christians. But one of the central messages of the Bible is that our desires, preferences, and tastes have all been twisted by sin, especially when it comes to spiritual things. This is what idolatry is: crafting our own images of God or of what we think a god or gods ought to be. Israel, emersed in Egyptian culture, thought that the worship of Jehovah needed a golden calf and sexual immorality. Many moderns, emersed in Netflix, and Instagram, and Spotify, think that worship needs to have a lot more entertainment value.
--Tony Sumpter; Having Two Legs; Worship According to Scripture; 9.5.23
--Tony Sumpter; Having Two Legs; Worship According to Scripture; 9.5.23
greg surratt
Jan 28, 2023: Christian Post: Rep. Nancy Mace jokes about premarital sex with fiancé at prayer breakfast attended by her pastor
Mace's comment on her sex life came several minutes after Seacoast Church Pastor Greg Surratt honored both her and Scott as a part of his congregation.
"I want to honor him today and Nancy Mace, who is also a part of our congregation," said Surratt, the co-founder of the church planting organization the Association of Related Churches.
Mace's comment on her sex life came several minutes after Seacoast Church Pastor Greg Surratt honored both her and Scott as a part of his congregation.
"I want to honor him today and Nancy Mace, who is also a part of our congregation," said Surratt, the co-founder of the church planting organization the Association of Related Churches.
jen sutphin
Jen Sutpin
Jen Sutphin, host of the YouTube channel Fundie Fridays, observed, “The Duggars became a beacon for the evangelical community, the fundamentalist community, and they finally saw themselves represented on TV.”
Evangelicals watched because they recognized themselves in the Duggars. The Gospel Coalition responded because they recognized they are going to be categorized as part of the same theological framework as IBLP. And everyone who has deconstructed conservative evangelicalism recognizes the story of the Duggars and IBLP is our story, no matter what part of evangelicalism’s tower we grew up in.
We all recognize what’s going on here. Sure, there are some nuances between the Duggars, Bill Gothard, IBLP, The Gospel Coalition, fundamentalists, John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham, Al Mohler, and all the organizations they write for or denominations they are members of. But they’re not fundamentally different from one another. They’re simply contractors building the same tower, with different assignments. So let’s stop pretending like the entire tower doesn’t need to be taken down.
--Baptist News Global: How to connect the dots while watching Shiny Happy People 6-7-23
Evangelicals watched because they recognized themselves in the Duggars. The Gospel Coalition responded because they recognized they are going to be categorized as part of the same theological framework as IBLP. And everyone who has deconstructed conservative evangelicalism recognizes the story of the Duggars and IBLP is our story, no matter what part of evangelicalism’s tower we grew up in.
We all recognize what’s going on here. Sure, there are some nuances between the Duggars, Bill Gothard, IBLP, The Gospel Coalition, fundamentalists, John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham, Al Mohler, and all the organizations they write for or denominations they are members of. But they’re not fundamentally different from one another. They’re simply contractors building the same tower, with different assignments. So let’s stop pretending like the entire tower doesn’t need to be taken down.
--Baptist News Global: How to connect the dots while watching Shiny Happy People 6-7-23
richard swanson
Bart Pfankuch
Richard Swanson, a religion professor at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, the reduced interest in religion and church attendance in America could have the long-term effect of making individuals and communities more callous to the pain and suffering of others and less willing to help.
“I get up believing that in the universe, it is expected that little kids would not go to bed hungry, or that other basic problems must be solved,” he said. “To me, losing a religious community would take away the place where I would learn social responsibility. --Bart Pfankuch; Aberdeen News: Churches in South Dakota, nationwide dealing with lower attendance, affiliation numbers 7.19.22
“I get up believing that in the universe, it is expected that little kids would not go to bed hungry, or that other basic problems must be solved,” he said. “To me, losing a religious community would take away the place where I would learn social responsibility. --Bart Pfankuch; Aberdeen News: Churches in South Dakota, nationwide dealing with lower attendance, affiliation numbers 7.19.22
barbara swee
Barbara A. Swee is Associate Pastor at Northland Christian Assembly in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Abigail Kessler
After hearing over three hours of public comment on the topic, Flagstaff City Council approved a resolution supporting abortion access in the city at its meeting Tuesday...........Many commenters who spoke against the resolution cited religion, specifically Christianity, as their reason for opposing abortion, quoting Bible verses and prayers and using religious language.
The group included a few local pastors: Joshua Walker, teaching elder of Church of the Resurrection (though he said he was here as a “concerned citizen” rather than a pastor), David Berry, senior pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship, Barbara Swee, associate pastor of Northland Christian Assembly, and Jim Dorman, founding pastor (now retired) of Christ’s Church of Flagstaff. “I’m here today on behalf of myself and the nearly 300 people of my church,” Berry said. “ ... Together we are all in vehement opposition to the proposed resolution 2023-12. The mission of Flagstaff as we’ve been reminded is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all. That certainly includes the most vulnerable among us who cannot defend and speak for themselves, people in the womb.”
Some of those who supported the resolution mentioned the separation of church and state in their comments, saying that to act based on the religious beliefs of other commenters would go against it.
Northern Arizona University professor of comparative cultural studies Diana Coleman also noted that these beliefs were from a subset of one religion.
“We have not heard the religious side, as I’ve heard people say; we’ve heard from a thin, select fringe of conservative Christianity that doesn’t represent all of Christianity,” she said. “ ... We do have separation of church and state, we have the establishment clause. This religious-inflected dialogue is inappropriate to be forced on and also very disingenuous.”..........Matthews said the religious views should be heard, however, as they were community members’ perspectives.
“I don’t think that it was about well, this is a religious thing or a God thing, so you need to be shamed into making a decision,” she said. “ ... This is their belief and they are part of the community.”
In his part of the discussion, McCarthy said the question was about who was making decisions.
“Someone [tonight] said there are differing opinions on the issue. Well, that’s obvious. But one side, who would say ‘pro-choice,’ they’re saying, ‘I’m not going to make that decision for you.’ The other side is saying, ‘I want to make that decision for you.’” --Abigail Kessler; Arizona Daily Sun; Flagstaff City Council adopts resolution supporting abortion access 3.11.23
The group included a few local pastors: Joshua Walker, teaching elder of Church of the Resurrection (though he said he was here as a “concerned citizen” rather than a pastor), David Berry, senior pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship, Barbara Swee, associate pastor of Northland Christian Assembly, and Jim Dorman, founding pastor (now retired) of Christ’s Church of Flagstaff. “I’m here today on behalf of myself and the nearly 300 people of my church,” Berry said. “ ... Together we are all in vehement opposition to the proposed resolution 2023-12. The mission of Flagstaff as we’ve been reminded is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all. That certainly includes the most vulnerable among us who cannot defend and speak for themselves, people in the womb.”
Some of those who supported the resolution mentioned the separation of church and state in their comments, saying that to act based on the religious beliefs of other commenters would go against it.
Northern Arizona University professor of comparative cultural studies Diana Coleman also noted that these beliefs were from a subset of one religion.
“We have not heard the religious side, as I’ve heard people say; we’ve heard from a thin, select fringe of conservative Christianity that doesn’t represent all of Christianity,” she said. “ ... We do have separation of church and state, we have the establishment clause. This religious-inflected dialogue is inappropriate to be forced on and also very disingenuous.”..........Matthews said the religious views should be heard, however, as they were community members’ perspectives.
“I don’t think that it was about well, this is a religious thing or a God thing, so you need to be shamed into making a decision,” she said. “ ... This is their belief and they are part of the community.”
In his part of the discussion, McCarthy said the question was about who was making decisions.
“Someone [tonight] said there are differing opinions on the issue. Well, that’s obvious. But one side, who would say ‘pro-choice,’ they’re saying, ‘I’m not going to make that decision for you.’ The other side is saying, ‘I want to make that decision for you.’” --Abigail Kessler; Arizona Daily Sun; Flagstaff City Council adopts resolution supporting abortion access 3.11.23
leonard sweet
Leonard I. Sweet is an American theologian, semiotician, church historian, pastor, and author. Sweet currently serves as the E. Stanley Jones Professor Emeritus at Drew Theological School at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey; Charles Wesley Distinguished Professor of Doctoral Studies at Evangelical Seminary; Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tabor College; and Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon. Sweet is ordained in the United Methodist Church. Before his current seminary positions, Sweet had been E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Dean of the Theological School at Drew from 1995 to 2015. Prior to his appointments at Drew University, he served as President and Professor of Church History at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. His first academic administration position was as Provost and Associate Professor of Church History at Colgate Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary.
Leonard Sweet
Good luck with saying in the past 500 years “I’m sorry, I don’t do books.” Good luck with saying in the next 30 years, “I’m sorry I don’t do Internet.” As the book was the delivery system for learning and faith development, the Internet will be the delivery system for learning and faith development…..........What’s the first thing a missionary does? Learn the language. This is the language of the world we live. I’m sorry if you don’t like it. You could go “okay, I don’t like Swahili.” Well, if God has called us to be ministry now in this kind of a world, so you don’t get to choose: you have to learn a new language...........The Devil is an evangelist. The Devil is learning their language. The Devil is learning how to speak on the Internet real well. So, are we going to leave him with the field? Or are we going to get in there in the struggle of good and evil. -Dr Leonard Sweet
stanislav syniy
March 24, 2023: Religion Unplugged: On The Front Lines: In War-Torn Kherson, Church Is A Symbol Of Hope And Resilience
“We didn’t plan to live like this, but after waking up to the war, we started evacuating people from our city. The volunteer work continues since then,” says Stanislav Syniy, while driving a van to his native Kherson in the south of Ukraine.
“We didn’t plan to live like this, but after waking up to the war, we started evacuating people from our city. The volunteer work continues since then,” says Stanislav Syniy, while driving a van to his native Kherson in the south of Ukraine.
barb szyszkiewicz
Barb Szyszkiewicz, editor at CatholicMom.com, is a wife, mom of 3 young adults, and a Secular Franciscan. Barb enjoys writing, cooking, and reading, and is a music minister at her parish. Find her blog at FranciscanMom and her family’s favorite recipes with nutrition information at Cook and Count. Barb is the author of The Handy Little Guide to Prayer and The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, available from Our Sunday Visitor.
At the end of the Book of Job, Eliphaz the Temanite was seeking God’s forgiveness and was directed by God to seek Job’s prayers as intercession. “Go to my servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves, and let my servant Job pray for you. To him I will show favor and not punish your folly for you have not spoken rightly concerning me, as has my servant Job” (Job 42:8). We, too, can become “prayer warriors” for our family and friends: people who can be counted on to pray for their needs immediately and consistently.
In the story of Job, we see that intercessory prayer is not only effective, but it can benefit the one who does the praying. Job, who prayed for others despite his personal trials, grew in humility and selflessness and was ultimately rewarded when the Lord restored his fortunes (Job 42:10). When we ask God to have mercy on someone else, we too can develop greater mercy and humility.
--Barb Szyszkiewicz; Simply Catholic; Prayer as Intercession
In the story of Job, we see that intercessory prayer is not only effective, but it can benefit the one who does the praying. Job, who prayed for others despite his personal trials, grew in humility and selflessness and was ultimately rewarded when the Lord restored his fortunes (Job 42:10). When we ask God to have mercy on someone else, we too can develop greater mercy and humility.
--Barb Szyszkiewicz; Simply Catholic; Prayer as Intercession