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A younger co-worker of mine at the food pantry came to work one day wearing new Nikes. When I complimented him he replied a bit sheepishly, saying that his girlfriend bought them for him, telling him, “you deserve them after the way you take care of us.” Though I expressed appreciation out loud, my thoughts Read more
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I admit that I used to wrinkle my nose at contemporary Christian music. It was too emotional and expressed a relationship with Jesus that was far too intimate for me. At the same time, I loved Gospel music, including contemporary Gospel music. Eventually I made myself look at that dichotomy: loving Gospel music sung mostly Read more
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I love this country. I do. Our upstart, still young, nation trying democracy at an unprecedented breadth and depth. A nation with the oldest active, written Constitution, which guarantees freedoms unimaginable in many corners of the world. A nation of 50 million immigrants, with more still arriving. A nation of citizens and refugees and want-to-be Read more
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Though I grew up in the country, when I came out, twenty years ago, living in a city made the most sense to me. Once out of the closet, I knew I wouldn’t go back in, and I didn’t want to feel the need to check my surroundings before being myself. I think it was Read more
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Every generation faces a recurring choice between two paths: the path of fear—which breeds isolation, judgment, and exclusion—and the path of love—which calls for courage, hospitality, and recognition of shared humanity. Today, one path dominates our public discourse, fueling a legislative campaign built on panic and prejudice. Before we can propose a better way forward, Read more
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Chelle’s Say Gay the Smart Way List Several years ago Mom and I were discussing the current high pressure front of meanness toward the LGBT community, my community. When I shared my frustration that some straight allies can be careless in their language, Mom had the practical suggestion of creating a “what not to say Read more
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There are 50 million immigrants in the United States. Read more
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I moved to Portland in February 2016. The past seven years have been tumultuous. I’ve lived in three homes, in two cities; worked for four companies; lost a cat; gained a dog; had my job eliminated by a company I helped start; was unemployed for seven months; worked at an Amazon warehouse the summer before Read more
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Perhaps it would have gone better if I had danced. I was at SUNY Potsdam, in northern NY for a summer program teaching high school students from the Akwesasne (Mohawk) tribe. If you plot the five tribes of the Iroquois, six, when the Tuscarora joined, their territories roughly resemble vertical stripes across NY, with the Read more
The Hammer Times 