From The Michigan Christian Advocate, February 7, 1946:
Mrs. Zada Lobb receives Good Neighbor Orchid.
Methodist Committee on Industrial Relations of Detroit calls President Truman to nationalize steel plants.
Army Signal Corps bounce radar off moon. Possibility of landing “within a generation.”
From The Michigan Christian Advocate – January 30, 1936
Painted glass window at Grand Rapids First Methodist church is dedicated to Charles and Alvira Foote.
Miss Fern Wheeler welcomed to the pastorate at Freeport Methodist church
My initial thought with this idea was to highlight interesting or quirky (at least to me) stories that touched on Methodist history, but the January 1936 issues are heavy with news of Hitler’s actions in Germany and the possibility of war.
While I understood, historically, there was a strong anti-war, isolationist movement within the United States at this time, reading the MCA is a stark reminder of how deep this sentiment was.
There is a full acknowledgement that very bad things are happening in Germany:
And yet, it appears to be common consensus of opposition to any potential conflict:
In this same issue there are stories of a protest by clergy at Ohio University implementing ROTC training, a vote by the Northern Baptist Youth Assembly to refuse to support any war, “with the possible exception of invasion of continental United States” and a vote by the Congregational and Christian Churches of America to advocate for a smaller military, government control of the munitions industry and opposition to war.
I find the whole thing very unsettling. On one hand, “Wow! Mainline Christians are actively engaged in advocating for pacifism,” which seems almost revolutionary in today’s environment. On the other, knowing the level of violence and injustice that is about to unfold, this stance seems dangerously naive.
I’ve had this idea floating around in my head thanks to Mastodon posts by Hannah Howe. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it, but here is my first attempt.
From The Michigan Christian Advocate – January 7, 1926
Rev. William Chapman of Traverse City, suffered a painful accident to his hand, but still has nine-tenths of his good right hand left for service.
The White Gift services at South Lyon and New Hudson this year were highly successful in decoration and pageantry, finding response in gifts of $105 and $32 respectively for the Children’s Home.
(Note: $105 in 1926 is calculated to be roughly $1,922 today. $32 would be $585).
Mrs. Lincoln Ostrander, wife of the pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Davison lost part of her leg while saving a girl from an interurban car in Goodrich.
A vote for unification by the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South failed – 4,528 in favor, 4,108 against (3/4 majority required for approval.)
Cory Doctorow – “All Bets Are Off”
Even if you’ve been suckered by the lie that bosses have a legal “fiduciary duty” to maximize shareholder returns (this is a myth, by the way – no such law exists), it doesn’t follow that customers or workers share that fiduciary duty. As a customer, you are not legally obliged to arrange your affairs to maximize the dividends paid by to investors in your corporate landlord or by the merchants you patronize. As a worker, you are under no legal obligation to consider shareholders’ interests when you bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions.
Fred Clark – “You Don’t Have to Stay Inside that Machine”
Erin Kissane – “Ursula’s List”
Peace is the absence of fear. Peace is the presence of justice. Because of the work that all of us have done, we are very clear that peace, in fact, is a consequence. Peace, as it was defined in 1936 by R.B. Gregg, “is a by-product of the persistent application of social truth and justice and the strong and intelligent application of love.”
Kari Stoever – “Pseudo-Religious Power Grabs and the Death of our Collective Soul”
Furthermore, pseudo-religious nationalism sows discord within religious communities themselves. There are countless Christians — and people of other faiths — who reject the bigotry that’s paraded around as “God’s will.” But under these oppressive policies, their voices are drowned out or labeled as threats to national integrity. The question is: Will they mount a meaningful resistance before more damage is done?
Evan Allgood – “Spines for Senators is Now Pitchforks for the People”
Your representatives don’t have spines—they never have, and they never will. But you do. So stand up. There’s work to be done.
Jason Benell – “Iowa Hasn’t Been ‘Nice’ for Almost 20 Years”
They want “Iowa Nice” to be holding the door open to the bar, but not the racist comments muttered to the bartender when a disfavored athlete or politician shows up on the TV. Its far easier for them to cite the decency of literally 20 years ago than it is to face the cruelty that we see willfully done today.
Fred Clark – “Ain’t That America”
MAGA faithful were prepared to hate transgender people and nonwhite immigrants and 10th-generation nonwhite citizens. But now they’re required to hate cartographers, and Lutherans, and private charities, and NATO, and Canada, and missionaries, and farmers, and Dolly Parton, too, probably. And they have no idea what arbitrary new things they’ll be required to hate tomorrow.
Cory Doctorow – “America and ‘National Capitalism’”
Cory Doctorow – “It’s Pretty Easy to Cut $2 trillion from the Federal Budget…”
If Musk wanted to run DOGE as a force for waste-elimination, he wouldn’t be attacking the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS (whose budget accounts for 0.012% of federal spending). He wouldn’t be attacking federal fiber subsidies (he’s mad that he can’t get more subsidies for his dead-end satellite service that caps out at one ten-millionth of the speed of fiber). He wouldn’t be attacking high-speed rail (which competes with his Tesla swasticars). He wouldn’t be fighting with the SEC (which defends the public from costly stock swindles, which is why they’ve been investigating Musk for seven years).
Joan Westerberg – “We Don’t Need More Cynics. We Need More Builders.”
We need a new intellectual stance that’s neither naively optimistic nor reflexively cynical.
D.L. Mayfield – “How to Survive When An End-Times Cult Takes Over Your Country.”
Because most of all, the best way to resist a Christian end times cult that has taken over your country is to live as if the world wasn’t actually going to end. To continue to invest in the things that give you joy and pleasure and hope for humanity — to connect to nature and the earth and the vastness of time and space. To remember we are tiny silly beings who hold an infinite capacity for creativity. To remember you are not in this alone, and you never will be.
Cory Doctorow – “Billionaire-proofing the internet.”
Laurie Jonas – “The Metta Prayer of Loving Kindness.”
Fred Clark – “Do Not Obey In Advance.”
Charlie Warzel (aRticle from The Atlantic) – “We’re All Trying to Find the Guy Who Did This.”
Greatest Song of All Time (for Today)
When you glorify the past
Your future dries up
