Geoff W. Sutton Blog

The death of children and adults reminds us that violence continues to be an unsolved problem in the US. Fox News  ( McKay ) reported the deaths of children in Chicago in a week-- 3 children shot dead. In the  CNN story, they report that on Father's Day weekend, 67 were shot and 11 killed. So far, there have been 268 murders in Chicago by mid-July, which is up 22% over last year. While several other crimes were average or lower, gun violence was up 33% from last year. In April, mass shootings were down 24% in the US, which reasonably appears linked to people staying home and many places being closed ( Bloomberg ). CBS reported that March was the first March without a school shooting in 18 years. Researchers can find data on injury deaths and homicides at healthypeople.gov T ips for staying safe from violent crime are available from the  National Crime Prevention Council. Protecting children - Save the Children Safe Schools NASSP Understanding work...

  QUESTION :    So, who will miss out on Independence Day? ANSWER :        The over 700,000 residents of Washington DC.  The residents of DC are not part of an independent state, but in 2020, the House voted to create the 51st state. Facts About DC and the Vote for Statehood Washington DC is not a state and therefore has no voting senators or representatives. Ironically, DC has one NONVOTING member in the House of Representatives. What good is a representative who lacks a vote? June 26, 2020, was the first time the House of Representatives voted for DC to become a state. Nearly half the population is Black- 46%. How did the House vote go? 232 in favor, 180 against. Mostly along party lines. What would be the name? Douglass Commonwealth (named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass) To become a state, 60 Senate votes are required. How likely is it for DC to become a state? Low . Statehood is oppose...

Reality is breaking in on my work in an incredibly powerful way. I am writing about racism and sexism in a book about counseling Pentecostal Christians, which I started early in the Covid Spring of 2020. Then along came the horrible videos of violence against Black Americans.  Then, as I am searching for examples of the reality of the lived experience of Black Christians, I read an interview with Dr. Estrelda Y. Alexander that captured so much of the same issues I am trying to convey to young counselors. This post tells about what I learned from Dr. Alexander. Here's the context. Counselors are supposed to be aware of, and knowledgeable about, the culture of their clients. So, I write about Pentecostal cultures. And I find out Alexander shares similar comments with her interviewer. I also want counselors to be aware that race matters and there is a history of racism in Pentecostal churches. Alexander says that too and has a book on the subject! Fortunately, I had ment...

The first memorial service honoring George Floyd was held June 4, 2020 at North Central University (NCU), A Pentecostal Christian university in Minneapolis, Minnesota ( StarTribune) . Mr. Floyd was brutally murdered May 25, 2020 when a police officer knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds until he died.   Ten years ago, Dr. Renea Brathwaite, a recent Dean for Professional Studies at NCU, was a PhD candidate. He wrote an essay about racial reconciliation from “An Afro-Pentecostal Perspective.”   I reread his essay and find it more current than ever.  In the essay,  Brathwaite tells the story of the interracial revival in the early years of American Pentecostalism—notably the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. Early on, there was excitement over the crossing of the “color line.” Unfortunately, in the spirit of the times, Blacks and Whites went their separate ways and established congregations and eventually denominations or fellowships along ...