by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 30, 2020
A few weeks ago, my husband tested positive for COVID. I dropped everything, hurried to the drive through testing site, relinquished my comfort for a long-stick swab of my sinus passages, and prepared for ten days of quarantine at home. Next up was cancelling...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 10, 2020
On election day and for days afterward, I was glued to the TV. I flipped between channels, absorbing election results, minute by minute, county by county. Along with many other Americans, as they counted same-day ballots and mail-in ballots, I watched percentages rise...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 4, 2020
These days, Americans can’t agree on a common reality, let alone a common good or the leadership they need to achieve it. In my own community of 53,000 people, 20 people are struggling for their next breath, gasping in ICU beds, with thousands more sickened. At the...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jul 22, 2020
Law, custom, and even religion are intertwined with racism. It’s so pervasive that it’s not always easy to identify, let alone dismantle. We must approach Constructive conversations about racism with emotional intelligence. I have written about arriving at...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jul 14, 2020
Emotional intelligence is a soft skill often prized in the world of interpersonal relationships. Can it be used as a tool to dismantle something as hard and ingrained as systemic racism? My answer is a resounding yes. In fact, I don’t think that the structures,...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jul 6, 2020
As conversations about race, racism, and racial justice heat up, you may be wondering what you can do to engage your congregation and your community in addressing racism. Where should you begin? March for Black Lives Matter? Write letters to the editor? Support people...