Thousands gathered at The Rescue in Santa Monica, put on by Invisible Children.
When I first heard of Tikkun and read its core vision, I fell in love: “We are a community of people from many faiths and traditions, called together by Tikkun magazine and its vision of healing and transforming our world.”
I have always felt urgency when it comes to helping others, and I have been fortunate to have friends that share that same burden on their hearts. Too often I have heard that my generation is full of only selfish and lazy kids that only doom our own futures. I hear the expression “diamond in the rough” used about my generation, and I cringe. This is my time to shout back on behalf of the twenty-somethings, to declare that I’m not the only one who cares; rather, we are a generation involved in restoring and changing the world. We live and breathe tikkun.
“Can sainthood be redefined in progressive terms? For the past decade, an artist named Mark Dukes has been demonstrating that it can.”
So wrote Phillip Barcio in the May/June 2009 issue of Tikkun, as he introduced our readers to Dukes’s mural The Dancing Saints, which was commissioned by the St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco. In the mural, ninety men and women from history dance hand-in-hand in a circle with Jesus. We only had space to print a few images alongside Barcio’s article about the mural, but you can now see more of this inspiring work in Tikkun Daily’s art gallery.
St. Gregory’s holds weekly community food pantry gatherings that bring unity in an age of division and warfare. Every Friday, this free market provides for the countless hungry who show up. In the following video, you can see this in action. And if you look closely, you can see The Dancing Saints watching over this offering to the community. Also, check out St. Gregory’s site for more information about this and other services.
America: land of the brave and home of the free. Free. One of my favorite words. Yes, equality and rights to freedom are excellent, but what I really enjoy are free giveaways.
Today Starbucks is holding free pastry day – anyone who comes in with a coupon, easily printed off the Internet, and orders a beverage will receive one free pastry of choice. It was the perfect way to start off my morning. I ordered the necessary soy latte and got a complimentary butter croissant on the side.
But after finishing my delicious breakfast, I’ve been reconsidering my pastry choice. Was it the healthiest? Maybe I should have picked a whole grain roll. Would it have made a difference?
Jesus of the People
Painter Janet McKenzie saw Christ, and all humankind, made in the image of God. She saw a black woman standing strong and proud as the child of God. Following this vision, she fashioned her Jesus of the People, and all of her paintings, as visual prayers for equality and gender equity. Visit our art gallery to see her works.
For hundreds of years, most western artists have depicted the figure of Jesus Christ as a white man. Janet McKenzie dared to see something different from the norm.
Tapping into a tradition established by artists in Ethiopia and South America, who have been painting Jesus as a dark-skinned man for centuries, McKenzie caused a splash in the United States with her depiction of Christ as a black woman. In 1999 the painting won the National Catholic Reporter’s global competition and further reshaped the western image of Jesus.
“My paintings come into existence from my heart and soul, and they are not calculated, nor do I think about other peoples’ potential responses,” McKenzie said. “All that matters to me is that I am creating the most honest work I can at the highest level of my ability. I do not regret creating any of my paintings regardless of the controversies surrounding them.”
Any sports fan would undoubtedly meet my closet with a perplexed, maybe even angry, expression. Within my belongings are an Oakland A’s hat, a New York Mets’ jersey, a Los Angeles Dodgers cap, and various items displaying the Los Angeles Angels’ famous red logo.
Slave to fashion? Team hopper? Bandwagon junkie? No. No. No.
Though most sports fans avidly cling to one team and will not understand this – I simply love baseball. I love everything about the game. I love the technique, the smell of a new mitt, the intensity of the seventh inning, the family embedded in each team’s fanhood… everything. If you ask which team is my favorite, I will tell you the Mets; but the truth is, I would go to any baseball game on earth and choose one team to support, but would enjoy myself no matter the outcome. As long as I can hear the crack of the bat hitting the ball and can smell the cheap hot dogs, my life is good.
