Mother’s Day in Cleveland 2013

As the great city of Cleveland, Ohio sorts through its emotions, good and bad, joy and confusion following the recovery of Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and her daughter, I find myself mostly hopeful, even in the face of continued horrific abuse of women in our nation (see The Power of 14, Faith ConneXions April 12, 2013). We’ve seen the redemptive powers of God at work in Cleveland this week, a miracle-town if ever there was one. But it’s that and more. This Mother’s Day, my faith-mothers have called out to me about the need for justice and healing for women in Cleveland and throughout the world. Their faith is inspirational and so today, Mother’s Day in Cleveland, I honor them:

1. The Sister’s in Charge of the Old Stone Church: Social activists, counter culture Christians. The Sisters in Charge were active during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries in Cleveland. When Chinese immigrants were refused access to Cleveland’s booming economy, it was the Sisters in Charge who rented laundry equipment and leased space on their behalf; they gave sanctuary to two Chinese men who were falsely accused of murder until they could get fair trial which ultimately acquitted them. The Sisters in Charge, among other acts of social justice, also helped found the very first school for the Chinese community, using the Bible to teach them English.

Living without Regrets

Steve Harvey: On Prayer

-RMG

X Marks the Spot: City of Churches (Paris 2)

Notre Dame is the Grand Dame of Paris Churches.

To say that Paris is home to some of the greatest churches in the world is a grand understatement. Every year millions of tourists and faithful devotees alike make pilgrimages to the Notre Dame de Paris and Basilique du Sacre-Coeur at the summit of Montmartre alone. That doesn’t even count magnificent and history rich churches such as Sainte Chapelle, Saint Germain l’Auxerrois and about a half dozen others which are well worth the price of the offering.

Being a proud Clevelander and Pastor of the Old Stone Church on Public Square, I couldn’t resist noting that Cleveland’s Old Stone Church is older than Sacre-Coeur by about sixty years. Napoleon was still living when Cleveland’s renowned Old Stone Church was founded in 1820 (video). Even Old Stone’s current building beats the Paris landmark by roughly twenty-five years!

X Marks the Spot – Flâneur Heureux (Paris 1)

Strolling Cimetiere Montmartre in search of Degas’ grave.

City of Lights. City of Love. City pour les flâneurs? Paris is an almost perfect walking city. With wide, treed boulevards for leisurely strolls with friends and lovers, markets, cafés and boulangeries situated along every neighborhood block, dedicated bike paths and a sophisticated network of underground rail which will get you almost anywhere, Paris is a pedestrian’s paradise planned for people not cars.

I loved being a flâneur heureux – a happy wanderer, which meant getting lost as best I could, stumbling upon quaint shops and local restaurants, exercising my extremely limited Canadian grade school French, and making friends with the gracious people of Paris. “Hello” to Guillaume at the outstanding and surprisingly affordable, Le Miroir on rue des Martyrs in Montmartre, who helped us plan a wonderful surprise dinner for our daughter and her boyfriend, and to Thibault at our neighborhood wine shop who offered remarkable recommendations on a selection of Bordeaux!

X Marks the Spot: Searching for Christ in the City

Hey Friends!

I’m traveling the globe in search of Christ in the city. Actually, I am visiting a number of urban churches around the world to explore ways they are proclaiming the gospel in the civic context.

This page will be part travelogue, part faith journey. I will be meeting with Pastors and possibly lay people in contexts such as New York City, Washington, D.C. , Paris, France and other urban centers where the church has a clear vision for being the people of God in the heart of the city. I’d love to take you along through this blog! Please check in from time to time to see what’s new.

In the meantime, please know how much I value your prayers and words of encouragement. Please write a comment here or re-post a blog on Facebook (or re-tweet the sounding joy on Twitter) so that I know that you are out there at least glancing at the headlines or enjoying photos

God’s Peace,
Mark

 

The Power of 14

On December 6, 1989 a lone gunman, Marc Lepine, walked into the school of engineering at the University of Montreal and murdered 14 students. Living in Montreal at the time, I recall many were quick to write-off the horrific incident as a “random act of violence.” But upon closer examination, it became clear to us that the shooting wasn’t random at all: all fourteen students killed were women. In fact, Lepine ordered the males out of classrooms so he could exclusively target females. “You’re all feminists!” he shouted, and then systematically shot 28 women, killing 14.