Now, I know there are some who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square. But the fact is, leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups.... Now, make no mistake, as someone who used to teach constitutional law, I believe deeply in the separation of church and state, but I don't believe this partnership will endanger that idea - so long as we follow a few basic principles. (Sen. Obama, July 2nd, 2008)

The last presidential election as interesting as this one, at least in my opinion, took place in 1960 when John F. Kennedy squared off against Richard M. Nixon. The Democratic Convention that year went down to the wire. I remember watching the final vote late into the night, until my parents made me go to bed. Kennedy prevailed in a real squeaker over Lyndon Johnson who salvaged the vice-presidential nomination out of the heated, at times vitriolic contest.

The Democrats have been through a tough primary season and the nominee will be Senator Obama. The interest displayed during the primary has been astounding. The race for the White House between Senator Barack H. Obama and Senator John S. McCain will be historic and more than fun to witness. It is hard for me to imagine what it must be like running for the presidency.

But instead of giving these workers a fighting chance, the city wants to track them with GPS to make sure they aren’t slackin’ off or wasting gas. Maybe a day working on the back of a garbage truck would change their minds. -- Sam Merten, Dallas Observer

All of my life and up until just a few weeks before his death, my dad listened for the sanitation workers who served his home in Richardson, Texas. When he heard their trucks in the alley behind his house, he would spring into action. Laden with cold drinks and ice water, he would insist that they stop, take a break and enjoy some refreshment. He appreciated what they did for all of us. Not to honor their hard work was for him, well, intolerable. My father respected workers.

"Politics can be chaotic and messy, but that is the nature of inclusive politics.... Political systems and the politicians who operate in them — along with the electorate — take time to mature.... We’ve seen that some minority politicians are as flawed as any of their white predecessors, but we’ve also seen that there are many who are equally, if not more, talented and committed.... In 2008, we’re debating whether we can entrust the leadership of our country to an African-American. One hundred and forty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation...."(Rev. Gerald Britt Jr.)

Gerald has been making a difference in Dallas for a long, long time, and he is still a young man!

If you want to read an informed, brief summary of the history of the advancement of civil rights and participatory democracy in Dallas, Texas, you must read the Op-Ed piece that my dear friend and partner, Rev. Gerald Britt wrote...

A new film about to break on the scene likely will be a "must-see." The documentary made by a group of young Americans began as a quest to understand the changing demographics of the United States.

The filmmakers started out with one set of assumptions and, while giving due regard for contrary opinions along the way, ended up in a completely different place. Their shift seems to be because they really got to know the subjects of their study as people.

Funny how that choice and commitment usually changes preconceived notions, isn't it? Getting to know people as people -- that is the essence of community formation.

In 1992, when she was only 12, Severn Cullis-Suzuki brought world leaders to tears with a speech at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in which she chastised them for failing to protect her and her friends from the looming environmental catastrophe.

That was 16 years ago.

Her words remain more than relevant today. As I listened to her, I thought of the power, importance and nature of authentic community, no matter what the issue.

Take a moment and hear her out...

The line snaked around the front of our building on Haskell Avenue and ran down the sidewalk toward Hill Street. I expect people had been standing in the humid, morning sunshine for over an hour waiting for the Food Pantry to open.

People were patient and grateful. Before the day ended, over 300 families discussed their personal lives with our volunteers. Thousands of pounds of food left our community center during the day.

I found myself almost unable to leave the crowd in the interview room. People wanted to talk, and I was happy to listen.

When I went to the third grade it was brought to my attention that my granny was not my mother. My mother was not around until I turned 7 or 8 years old. I didn’t have a relationship with her (my mother) growing up and didn’t know my father. My granny was my everything and she gave me all the love I needed so I didn’t question my parents whereabouts.

One of our friends, Toni Lambert, wrote the following essay...

The pearl of justice is found in the heart of mercy. - Catherine of Siena.

On June 2, 2008, Dallas Social Venture Partners (DSVP) and Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) hosted a 2-hour Poverty Simulation at CDM’s headquarters. In all, DSVP involved 41 participants in the simulation, each assuming the role of a family member or individual living in a low-income family trying to survive from month-to- month.

The object of the simulation was to sensitize participants to the realities faced by low-income people and the choices of the working poor. Sixteen clients and staff of Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) and CDM served as staff for the resource agencies and services, such as Banker/Loan Collector, Pay Day/Quick Cash Lender, Super Center Clerk, Utility Collector, Police Officer, and Child Care Worker...

"It remains an experience of incomparable value that we have for once learnt to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed and reviled, in short from the perspective of the suffering." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Thanks to an old friend, I received a link to an extremely interesting essay dealing with the Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thoughts on racism ("The View from Below: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Reflections and Actions on Racism," by Martin Rumscheidt, Toronto Journal of Theology, Supplement 1, 2008, pp. 63-72).

Bonhoeffer, an ordained Lutheran minister and one of the twentieth century's most influential theologians, struggled with the hate and racism of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany on the one hand and the apathy and complicity of his fellow German church folk on the other.