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Dom definition11/25/2023 Now we need to leverage our privilege to make room at the table for excluded and marginalized groups-immigrants from the Global South non-Christians, especially Muslims and people of color, especially African Americans.”īoth leaders say their backgrounds will influence their approach to the theme of “kin-dom building.” “We have been complicit in kingdom building. “Presbyterians have a lot of clout in the economy of the United States,” Nadella adds. She believes it is important to understand how the idea of “kingdom” has left a legacy of colonialism, imperialism, sexism, and racism, all of which “demean and destroy God’s people and God’s creation.” Unpacking these contrasts will help Presbyterians “think differently about how to be church in the world,” Krause says. For example, Jesus criticized the power structures of his day and broadened the definition of family to extend beyond blood relationships. Nadella and Krause note that the idea of “kin-dom” is supported by Jesus’ life and teachings. “People who are part of kin-dom use their resources and privilege to advocate for others who are less privileged.” In contrast, the kin-dom of God 1 is built “not through competition but in mutual cooperation and solidarity,” Nadella says. Such a worldview can breed mutual suspicion between different communities and engender violence.” “The metaphor of kin-dom allows us to envision an inclusive community, built on common humanity and shared values.”Īnother way in which kingdom and kin-dom differ, he adds, is that “kingdom sees relationships as a zero-sum game, operating on the assumption that if one community gains something, another community ends up losing. For example, people may be excluded because of their race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or other factors. “Kingdom tends to be very exclusive,” says Nadella. Raj Nadella -Columbia Theological Seminary Krause and Nadella plan to focus on texts from the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that describe the “kingdom of God.” But their approach, Krause explains, will “critique the idea of kingdom as a top-down monarchy” and “reimagine it as kin-dom, a more horizontal structure of power in which everyone is a beloved child of God.” This year’s Bible studies will take place in plenary sessions before commissioners disperse to their committees-a change from previous assemblies when Bible study took place in committees. Herbert Nelson, II, envisions the studies as a “platform for some of the best Bible scholars in the church to help commissioners think biblically about issues facing the assembly.” Hay, director of Assembly Operations in the PC(USA)’s Office of the General Assembly, says Assembly Stated Clerk J. Nadella is the author of a book on the Gospel of Luke and is currently working on a book on the theme of “empire” in the Synoptic Gospels and co-authoring a textbook on postcolonial biblical studies. He serves on the National Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission and on the PC(USA) General Assembly Committee on Representation. Nadella, originally from India, is director of Columbia Seminary’s MA(TS) degree program. Protests intensified last fall after the acquittal of another police officer in the fatal shooting of twenty-four-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011. The movement arose following the fatal shooting of African American teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Krause, a Presbyterian minister and member of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, has been active in an ongoing movement of religious and community leaders protesting injustices in St. Deborah Krause -Eden Theological Seminary
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