About six months ago, the income and wealth gap in this country exploded into national consciousness. Until then, it had been discussed mostly in scholarly journals and conferences. PCG had for a long time been urging attention to these disparities given their threat to the common good. We have already developed an educational curriculum dealing with this very topic and are bringing it to your churches. more

As we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., we recognize his legacy on behalf of racial justice. But let us not forget that on the day he was assassinated, he was in Memphis to lead a sanitation workers’ strike. In the months ahead, he was planning a Poor People’s march on Washington. more

It has been 44 years since the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. What would he think about our life together today? I doubt very much that he could visualize an African American in the White House so soon. I can only imagine the quiet satisfaction he might feel. But he would agonize over the fact that we are in this country more divided by wealth and income than at any time since the Gilded Age of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930’s. He would not be surprised that African Americans, as usual, are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. more

In the words of Mary’s Magnificat, we organize ways to lift up the lowly, and fill the hungry with good things. These are expressions of kindness and good will. They are acts of charity. But at Protestants for the Common Good, we believe it is important to remember that Mary’s words call us beyond charity, as important as such acts are. more

“Please remember that advocacy, and this social justice work, are part of who we are as people of faith, as Christians. Just as worship and prayer, and giving, and volunteering shape our spiritual lives—so must advocacy for the common good.” more

Decriminalize marijuana? The fact that over 70 municipalities have already done so may be one of the best-kept secrets in Illinois. Two years ago, PCG staff noticed a one-paragraph story in the Chicago Tribune stating that Chicago Heights had decriminalized low levels of cannabis. We decided to gather data on how many other municipalities had taken the same action. more

Our 15th anniversary celebration last Sunday was a resounding success. My thanks to those of you who helped to make it so….for me, it is the words of several of our speakers that in the long run will mean the most. more

Even as I ask you to celebrate with us, I also want to call your attention to a series of citywide memorial events, collectively called Urban Dolorosa, that will take place throughout the week of PCG’s 15th anniversary. more

In December 1995, I was a Divinity School student lucky enough to be doing my field work under the Rev. Eugene Winkler at the Chicago Temple. I heard somebody mention that a group would be testing whether an alternative voice to the political Christian right could be formed. I was present at this worship service rally of over 700 clergy and lay activists. How could I have known that all these years later I would be inviting you to celebrate with us the fifteenth anniversary of the founding of Protestants for the Common Good? Please join us on Sunday, November 6 at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Lincoln Park, Chicago. more

Sometimes it is important simply to do the right thing. That is why the Board of Protestants for the Common Good called last week for a shift from a flat to a progressive income tax for Illinois. more