The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope

In this column for Baptist News I argue that the vicious idiocy of Donald Trump is America's curse on itself and the rest of humanity when combined with the Covid-19 pandemic.  https://baptistnews.com/article/our-national-curse-the-cruel-convergence-of-trumps-presidency-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/#.Xp2GP8hKhAE

I am posting to my blog an op ed column I wrote for Baptist News and invite you to read, ponder, and share it.  https://baptistnews.com/article/amid-this-pandemic-we-need-prophets-like-daniel-to-decipher-the-handwriting-on-our-wall-intimeslikethese/#.Xn2u2YhKhAG

In order to provide expeditious and safe adjudication of 5 th Division cases during the period that public health and safety are at risk because of the coronavirus pandemic, the following procedures will be followed, effective Thursday, March 19, 2020, and continue until September 8, 2020, unless indicated otherwise. PLEA & ARRAIGNMENT ·         All cases docketed for Plea & Arraignment shall be handled on the pleadings, without exception. ·         Cases involving indigent defendants will be handled as follows: o    The Public Defenders will file the indigency affidavits with the Circuit Clerk o    The Court will appoint the Public Defenders as counsel. o    Appointed Counsel will submit written petitions signed by counsel and the defendant which set forth whether arraignment is waived. o    The written petitions submitted by counsel and the defen...

Today New Millennium Church in Little Rock, Arkansas joins many other congregations and communities of faith in canceling our usual gathering.  However, I hope this message will provide you with strength and comfort as we worship together separately.  If so, feel free to share it with others.    I hope you will be able to Google the titles of the Hymns and find the words and melodies.  The information below would ordinarily be in our worship bulletin (except for the sermon manuscript). PASTORAL GREETING Most of us have not experienced what is happening now before.  We are unaccustomed to the cancellation of gatherings.  We have not been directed to avoid touching one another before.  This is a strange experience, for most of us. Yet there are many for whom separation, estrangement, avoidance, and the sense of isolation that goes with these things are commonplace.  Our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated know what this ...

©Wendell Griffen, 2020 February 18, 2020 I’ve been overhearing conversations lately about how people of color, women, people who are LGBTQI, and people who have been mistreated and otherwise disrespected by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should respond to his self-funded campaign to become the 2020 presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.   I’ve overheard relatives, acquaintances, and strangers talk about the importance of defeating Donald Trump in 2020.   I’ve heard, seen, and read media reports about Bloomberg’s strengths and liabilities when he was mayor of New York and the way he spent his fortune on various causes before he decided to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to run for president.   The conversations also include references to Bloomberg’s support for the racist stop and frisk policy that targeted and mistreated black and brown New Yorkers.   People are talking about Bloomberg’s suggestion that the 2008 financial cr...