TheSocialEdge.com

by Gerry McCarthy

Curtiss Paul DeYoung is a Professor of Reconciliation at Bethel University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. An ordained minister, he has served at congregations in Washington DC and New York City.

     De Young is a long-time activist who worked at the Covenant House Times Square for homeless and runaway youth in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, including: United by Faith and Reconciliation: Our Greatest Challenge, Our Only Hope.

     His new book Living Faith: How Faith Inspires Social Justice was recently published by Fortress Press. I reached him in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Gerry McCarthy: In Living Faith you write that: "Faith-inspired activists live and practice their faith in ways that do not recognize socially constructed boundaries. They strive to transcend race, culture, class, and other artificial limitations. Mystic-activists do not divorce faith from political action for social justice; they do not separate present reality from a hopeful vision for the future; and they view the boundaries of religion as permeable." Can you talk to me about this? Transcending artificial limitations like culture and class is a particular challenge in Western societies isn’t it?

Curtiss Paul DeYoung: Yes –race, culture, and class are boundaries that most of us don’t cross with any regularity, possibly because we live such segregated lives from each other. That’s one thing that stood out as I looked at these folks I called mystic-activists. They seemed almost compelled to get to know people who were from different contexts in which they were living in. At some point (although I’m sure it wasn’t this way initially) they began to do this with great ease.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Christine Gervais is a mother, spouse, professor, human rights activist and humanitarian. In 2002, she completed a doctorate in Sociology at Carleton University in Ottawa. Since 1995 she has worked as an Assistant Professor of Criminology at Ottawa University and a Lecturer in Sociology at Carleton University.

Gervais has been involved in research and teaching in numerous areas, including: human rights violations, development and justice, gender and racial inequalities, crime prevention, and reconciliation.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Michael O’Lauglin is a spiritual director with offices at the Healing Center in Arlington, Massachusetts. He has received advanced degrees in Theology from Harvard University and Oxford University. While studying at Harvard he was Henri Nouwen’s teaching assistant.

     O’Laughlin is the editor of Henri Nouwen’s award-winning Jesus: A Gospel. He’s also the author of God’s Beloved: A Spiritual Biography of Henri Nouwen. His book Henri Nouwen: His Life and Vision was recently published by Orbis (U.S.A.) and Novalis (Canada). I reached him at his home near Boston.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Tim Kasser is a professor of psychology at Knox College, Illinois. His book The High Price of Materialism was recently published by MIT Press. He is currently editing a forthcoming book entitled Psychology and The Culture of Consumption by the American Psychology Association Press. I reached him by telephone in Illinois.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Richard Layard is a leading economist who believes that the happiness of society does not necessarily equate to its income. He is founder of the Centre for Economic Performance at The London School of Economics. Since 2000 he has been a member of the House of Lords.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Joseph Epstein is a best-selling author. He’s also a lecturer in English and writing at Northwestern University. His previous books include: Narcissus Leaves The Pool, Ambition, and Divorced in America. From 1978 to 1997 Epstein was editor of The American Scholar. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and Harper’s Magazine.
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by Gerry McCarthy

Paulist Fr.Thomas Ryan is the director of the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in New York City. Ordained in 1975, he served in campus ministry at Ohio State University (Columbus) and McGill University. He was director of the Montreal-based Canadian Centre for Ecumenism for 14 years.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Margot Van Sluytman is a poet, writer, and teacher. Some of her books include: Feeding Dreams, Alba the Spanish Woman, Of Dark Night and Studying Love.

     Van Sluytman is a Canadian pioneer in the field of mentoring and teaching poetry as both art and healing. She is also the founder of Palabras Press, which is a small poetry press and eZine. Her latest books are Dance With Your Healing and morning tasting whispers. I reached her in Calgary, Alberta.

Gerry McCarthy: It’s been said that poetry is equipped to bring the inner and outer worlds together to rehabilitate modes of perception that have been undermined by a non-contemplative society. What are your thoughts?

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by Gerry McCarthy

Robert Ellsberg is editor-in-chief of Orbis Books. He is the author of numerous books, including the best-selling All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time.

     Two years ago, Ellsberg spoke to The Social Edge about his book The Saints Guide to Happiness. His new book Blessed Among All Women: Women Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time was just published by the Crossroad Publishing Company. I reached him in New York to speak about the book.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Michael Toms is the co-founder, executive producer and principal host of New Dimensions Radio –which is heard on 350 stations in the United States. He has spent 30 years covering social change and global transformation issues.
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by Gerry McCarthy

Jennifer Harbury’s investigation into torture began when her husband disappeared in Guatemala in 1992. She told the story of his torture and murder in her book Searching for Everardo.

     Harbury received her law degree from Harvard. She has lived and worked with human rights activists, peasants, and Mayan villagers in Guatemala. Harbury has also worked with members of the U.S. Congress and the Organization of the American States to locate her husband and 35 other members of the Guatemalan resistance believed to be held by the military. She currently directs the STOP (Stop Torture Permanently) Campaign at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Ramsay Cook is considered one of Canada’s first public intellectuals. He’s been the recipient of the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction (1985) and was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize in the Humanities and Social Sciences in 2005.

     Some of his numerous books include: Canada and the French-Canadian Question, The Maple Leaf Forever, and Canada, Quebec, and the Uses of Nationalism.

     Currently Cook is adjunct professor of history at the University of Toronto and professor emeritus at York University (where he taught for 25 years). His book The Teeth of Time: Remembering Pierre Elliot Trudeau was recently published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. I reached him in Toronto to speak about the book.

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by Maura Hanrahan

That Magic Day

The painter Elena Popova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1961. She attended Bulgaria’s National School of Fine Arts and received her Masters degree from that country’s Academy of Fine Arts.

     In 1990 she moved with her husband, Luben Boykov, a renowned sculptor, to St. John’s, Newfoundland. The couple lives in Flatrock, just outside St. John’s, with their two teenage daughters.

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by Gerry McCarthy

Dr. Robert Franklin is the Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics at Emory University. He is one of the leading voices in theological education.

     An ordained clergyman, Dr. Franklin has served at Harvard Divinity School, The University of Chicago, and the Interdenominational Theological Center. His previous books include Liberating Visions, and Another’s Day Journey. His new book Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities was just published by Augsburg Fortress Press.

I reached Dr. Franklin in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives with his wife and three children.

Gerry McCarthy: Early in Crisis in The Village you write that: "The world needs strong moral leadership, but our national leaders continue to miss opportunities to provide it." Are you hopeful this can change?

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by Gerry McCarthy

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza is the Krister Stendhal Professor of Scripture and Interpretation at Harvard Divinity School. She is the co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. In 2001, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also past president of the Society of Biblical Language.

     Schüssler Fiorenza has published many influential books. Some include: In Memory of Her, The Power of Naming, Bread Not Stone, Jesus and the Politics of Interpretation, and Wisdom Ways. Her most recent work The Power of The Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire will be published by Fortress Press next year. I reached her in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Gerry McCarthy: You’ve explained that liberation theology failed to recognize the clerical culture that shaped it. Have you seen any critical reflection on this in the past few years?

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by Gerry McCarthy

Garry Wills is the author of many acclaimed books, including: What Jesus Meant, Papal Sin, and Why I Am Catholic. All of these works were New York Times bestsellers.

     In 1992, Wills won the Pulitzer Prize for his book Lincoln at Gettysburg. He’s also been the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Medal for the Humanities.

     In addition to studying for the priesthood at one time, Wills also taught Greek at John Hopkins University for many years. Currently he’s Professor of History Emeritus at Northwestern University. His book What Paul Meant was recently published by Viking. I reached him in Evanston, Illinois.

Gerry McCarthy: In your chapter "Paul and the Troubled Gatherings" we learn that where once Paul had excoriated Peter for insisting on the food code, now he tells Romans to accept it out of regard for tender consciences. Later you add that: "Paul would have been far better off if he had taken this stand at Antioch. But he should be credited with the fact that he reached it in time. One of the ways he teaches us is by learning himself. We find out what Paul meant by seeing how he eventually came close to what Jesus meant." This is something we miss when reflecting on Paul isn’t it?

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