Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership

We've been scanning the Internet for mentions of last week's wonderful Rebirthing King, Rebirthing America event (photos coming soon) and came across this interesting blog called The FundamentaList by The American Prospect. They've been tracking the religious right for some time, but are now looking at the religious left as well, as we immediately popped onto their radar!

In addition to noting other inauguration-related items (including the Rev. Rick Warren's comparison of himself to Dr. King!) blogger Sarah Posner attended our event last week and had this to report:

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I went to a service at All Souls Universalist Unitarian Church in Washington, organized by the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership, commemorating King's 1967 speech, Beyond Vietnam. There was an array of civil-rights icons and younger progressive faith leaders, all speaking on racism, militarism, and poverty, echoing King's call to action in that landmark speech. The Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou brought the overflow crowd to its feet with impassioned preaching on racial justice and sexual equality, and the evangelical Rev. Andrew Marin, author of the forthcoming book, Love Is An Orientation, delivered an amazing confession of being a former "Bible-thumping homophobe" until his three closest friends came out to him.

Sitting there at All Souls, I couldn't help but think that this is the kind of religious experience, as opposed to Rick Warren-style Christianity, that influenced Obama's earlier activism. Even 10 years ago, this type of religious experience didn't conflict with his advocacy for gay marriage.

- The FundamentaList (No. 64), #5. Can Progressive Christians Mobilize?