The Radical Reverend

Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo, C.M. presents her paper "Jesus, the True Communist" at the Christian Left Conference 2020.

View the Christian Left Conference here:

http://bit.ly/ChristianLeft2020Playlist

When an "All Lives Matter" sign went up at a local business in Roncesvalles, a group of Black women got together and responded in a MacLean's article, sharing their perspectives of anti-Black racism in Canada. Their story is a prime example of what racism looks like in our communities, and it highlights how necessary it is to be anti-racist in this moment. We are steeped in a system of white supremacy and it flows through anyone who is not actively pushing back against it. 

Plus, Sandy Hudson joins The Radical Reverend to talk about Black Lives Matter. This is the moment to really push for defunding the police. We have to shift the conversation so that you can't say "Black Lives Matter" without putting action behind it and supporting policy changes that will improve the living conditions of Black people everywhere. 

Guests:

Liz Ikiriko [@LizIkiriko], artist, curator, and lecturer at Ryerson University

Karina Vernon [@karina_vernon], associate professor of english at the University of Toronto Scarborough

Kara Stewart-Agostino [@kamstago], personal trainer and community advocate

Melanie Carrington, community advocate and mom

Máiri McKenna Edwards [@MairiME], community educator and mom

Sandy Hudson [@sandela], founder of Black Lives Matter Canada, Black Lives Matter Toronto, the Black Liberation Collective, and the Black Legal Action Centre

MacLean's article: https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/i-dont-care-whether-all-lives-matter-is-said-in-ignorance-its-just-another-example-of-racism/

Schools are reopening soon, but Toronto Public Health experts are concerned that class sizes are too big and social distancing won't be possible. Is an outbreak inevitable, and is there a realistic plan to handle one? If classes go online, wealthy families will be able to afford private tutors and personal laptops, but what about poor families, and what about kids who have special needs?

Plus, as we move from CERB to EI, many people won't qualify and others will see their incomes significantly reduced. We need universal basic income!

And, with Toronto's police budget directed by an unelected, unaccountable Police Services Board, what can we do to take democratic control of our police forces?

Guests:

Emma Wakelin [@cwakelin], Liberal Party strategist

Alex Grant [@alexg_fightback], editor at Fightback

Join us for the Christian Left Conference:

http://bit.ly/ChristianLeft2020

Nora Loreto joins The Radical Reverend to talk about safer ways of reopening schools, the failure of the mainstream media in Canada to provide real analysis, and the huge gains in support for Black Lives Matter in recent weeks.

Plus, Rich Jensen on the uprising in Seattle and the radical global transformation we are experiencing. We have a powerful opportunity to rethink our priorities and reconsider the services and institutions that we want to invest in.

Guests:

Nora Loreto [@nolore], journalist, author, and co-host of the Sandy and Nora podcast

Rich Jensen [@richjensen], cultural strategist and consultant based in Seattle, cofounder and contributor to several world-famous music labels and the executive of resonate.is

What is the Christian Left? From the earliest days, Christians have worked to dismantle systems of oppression and create alternative communities of justice. Church has always been a center of progressive resistance.

How can the Christian Left use this moment to make real, systemic changes? We have an opportunity to build an intersectional movement for social and economic justice that connects people across race, religion, and identity. Another world is possible! 

Guests:

Dr. Joerg Rieger [@Joerg_Rieger], Distinguished Professor of Theology, the Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair of Wesleyan Studies, and the Founding Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt University.

Rev. Dr. David Latimore [@davidlatimore3], pastor in Nashville, TN, and Ph.D. candidate in Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Christian Left Conference schedule:

http://bit.ly/ChristianLeft2020

Register here:

https://christianleftconference2020.eventbrite.ca/

The justice system isn't broken—it was built this way! White supremacy is built into its foundation. It is structurally racist at every level. It is based on a theory of deterrence that doesn't work. We're over-policing marginalized communities and over-incarcerating people. How much can people reform when they're forced to live in a cage? And are the police really keeping us safe from violent crime?

A better world is possible! Black Lives Matter is calling on us to defund the police and reinvest in our communities. We can create real alternatives, and we've already seen that they work. 

Guests:

Delmar Doucette, criminal defense lawyer with DFR Litigation, a law group that defends accused persons at both criminal trials and appeals. He has been in practice for 30 years. He currently spends most of his professional time conducting homicide appeals, working to overturn unfair murder convictions. He is also an avid birder.

David Slavick [@DavidSlavick], began his career in law and policy promoting legal reform in the former Yugoslavia, then moved to Washington, DC and managed the Elon University School of Law where he taught legal and public policy advocacy skills. He has hosted numerous panels on prison reform, community policing, and alternative approaches to civil order.

Junia Joplin [@jrjoplin] is the pastor at Lorne Park Baptist Church and recently delivered a historic and inspiring sermon to her congregation in which she came out publicly as a trans woman.

The Radical Reverend talks to Junia about her experience coming out to a Baptist congregation, what led up to that moment, and what the reaction has been. 

In the second half, we play Junia's coming out sermon from June 14, 2020. In Junia's powerful words:

"Ultimately, graciously, we are led by the divine treasure seeker to that place where at last we know with surpassing certainty that only one thing is more frightening than speaking our truth, and that is not speaking. Even if the cost seems too high, even if the consequences seem too great, even if the landing seems too hard and the leap of faith God wants you to make feels like madness. God is not going to stop calling us."

You can view the video version of Junia's sermon here:

https://youtu.be/PVuysZXnY4E?t=1463

Left Lefter Leftist | The Uprising

The uprising against police brutality and centuries of racism and injustice is a testament to the power of the people to change society. In just a few weeks of mass demonstrations, a major shift in public opinion has resulted in calls to defund police forces across the world. So why did Toronto City Council just vote against a 10% reduction in the police budget? 

Our society has never been more polarized. As we reopen our economy and CERB is set to expire, how will the realities of COVID shift our political spaces? What does polling say about current voter sentiment? And how do we sustain an intersectional, revolutionary movement?

Guests:

Emma Wakelin [@cwakelin], Liberal Party strategist

Alex Grant [@alexg_fightback], editor at Fightback

Original Sin: Religiosity, Same Sex Desire & Institutionalized Homophobia is a multi-faith panel discussion in the Thomson Reuters Outlaws series for Pride Month.

What do Christianity, Islam, and Judaism really say about being LGBTQ+? What role has religion played in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights? How can we constructively engage with those whose religious beliefs condemn being LGBTQ+? And how can organized religion be a force for LGBTQ+ love, acceptance, and justice?

The video version of this panel can be viewed here:

bit.ly/OutlawsPanel

Hosted by:

Eric Marcus [@EricBMarcus], founder and chair of Stonewall 50 Consortium, and founder and host of the podcast Making Gay History

Panelists:

Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo, C.M. [@CheriDiNovo], Minister at Trinity-St. Paul's United Church

Rabbi Dr. Aviva Goldberg, Rabbi and cofounder of Congregation Shir Libeynu

Imam Daayiee Abdullah, founder of the Mecca Institute

Matthias Roberts [@matthiasroberts], producer of the Queerology podcast

Christianity as an institution has caused immense harm to indigenous people, participating in genocide which is historical and ongoing. Why, then, do so many indigenous people identify as Christians? How do indigenous people reconcile that history with their beliefs, and what do indigenous people see in the Bible and in the teachings of Jesus that makes it possible to embrace Christianity?  

Plus, we are in the midst of an uprising. Systemic brutalities, insecurities, and inequities are being laid bare as a result of COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and our climate crisis. Black and indigenous communities are resisting in solidarity to dismantle these systems for the benefit of everyone. Indigenous people have preserved a wisdom that may even save the planet: the only positive environmental future for the world includes an indigenous way of life on the land.

Guests: 

Archbishop Mark MacDonald, Bishop for Indigenous Canadian Anglicans, previously the Bishop of Alaska, President of the World Council of Churches since 2013, and published author 

Reverend Evan Smith [@revevansmith], serving at Toronto Urban Native Ministry and working with people who are incarcerated, street-involved, and hospitalized