by johnnoltner
The gallery below is meant to supplement the story you will find in Portraits of Peace: Searching for Hope in a Divided America. The book is available now, anywhere you love to buy books. Enjoy.
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: book, broadleaf, culture, faith, healing, justice, memoir, peace, Portraits of Peace, race, self-help, social justice, society, travel
by johnnoltner
Trudy Grant is the Manager of Religious Affairs and External Relations for the National Action Network. I interviewed her at Charity Mission Baptist Church in North Charleston, where she serves as the assistant choir director. She is a gospel singer, a civil rights activist, a mother and a grandmother. “I don’t think your sermon comes from what you say, your sermon comes from what you do.” -Trudy B. Grant “I have two kids. And I have one grandson. His name is […]
Categories: Podcast • Tags: action, american history, Black History, Charleston, civil rights, faith, national action network, oral history, storytelling, Trudy B. Grant
by johnnoltner
“It feels as if every corner of America is running on a steady diet of fear. We’re afraid of guns, of our guns being taken; we’re afraid of our enemies; of our cousins who cancelled out our votes; of brown bodies, black bodies, Muslim bodies; of police, of Democrats, of Republicans, of Christians, of non-Christians; of the fact that our Christian churches are dwindling; we are afraid of men, of women who will tell on men; we are afraid of […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: courage, faith, fear, fear not, holden village, peace, stories, storytelling, studio, washington
by johnnoltner
Just wrapping up a busy month in Memphis, with American Stories at Memphis Theological Seminary and American Stories at First Congregational Church. I’ve been to Memphis a few times now, and I’m always drawn in by the combination of history, music, food, and good people. I had the chance tp speak at the seminary, and I also set up a studio to ask, “How does your faith impact your view of social justice?” Some of the replies are below, and […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, faith, healing, justice, memphis, race, reconciliation, seminary, service, social justice
by johnnoltner
We stood in utter darkness. I was 12 years old, 100 feet underground, in the long, winding passages of Mammoth Cave. The park service guide gathered us in one of the large rooms. He spoke of geology and history. He told us about preservation and heritage. Then he introduced me to the idea of light pollution. He explained that because of stray light in our increasingly urbanized world, most of us had likely never experienced total darkness. Then he turned […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: courage, darkness, faith, holden village, hope, interfaith, light, peace, social justice
by johnnoltner
It’s easy to reach out to those you feel comfortable around. Compassion comes easy in those circles. But we tend to place ourselves in a bubble. We surround ourselves with those who look like us, live like us, and voted like us in the last election cycle. If we hope to bridge any of the divides that exist in our country (or even the divides that we perceive to exist) it is important that we reach out to those who […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: art, Blog, conversation, dialog, faith, Holden, humanity, learning, photography, privilege, religion, travel, washington
by johnnoltner
Kathy Webb served six years as a state representative in the Arkansas legislature and now is executive director of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. An activist all her life, Kathy noticed a shift from working with like-minded activists to the process of compromise she encountered as a legislator. “We are all a whole package, with the pluses and the minuses.” I have always believed that you can make a difference. My mom had this little plaque on her bathroom wall and it […]
Categories: Podcast • Tags: activism, arkansas, compromise, diversity, faith, gender, identity, legislator, little rock, politics
by johnnoltner
Jarell Wilson describes himself as black, gay, and Christian. He lives in the South and, at times, he struggles to balance these three identities in a society that he says doesn’t embrace two thirds of them. He believes that people often try to put identities into boxes, and that results in stereotypes that lead to stress and conflict. Yet, at the end of the day, Jarell finds beauty and peace all around him. He finds joy in each of these identities. “Peace comes from […]
Categories: Podcast • Tags: beauty, faith, forgiveness, gender, identity, joy, race, religion, round rock, sacred, texas
by johnnoltner
Carl Kenney is a minister, author, advocate, teacher, and in his own words, a “prophet of the people.” He believes that we spend too much time and energy fighting one another because of our differences—with devastating and wide-reaching results. “I don’t have to tear you down for the sake of making me better.” My theology is rooted in the compassion of Christ. I’m a person who has experienced the love of God after having made my share of mistakes. I’ve […]
Categories: Podcast • Tags: advocate, compassion, durham, faith, love, minister, North Carolina, religion
by johnnoltner
Tony Thomas was born and raised in the Cumberland Mountains of eastern Tennessee. He worked in the coal mines and never finished high school. Tony records folk musicians in rural areas in an effort to preserve the local culture. He is also a singer and a songwriter himself. Tony says he has written more than 200 songs and when he dies, they are all going to be popular. “When something touches my life some way or has an impact, I usually write […]
Categories: Podcast • Tags: appalachia, charity, clinton, community, cumberland, faith, folk, music, singer, tennessee, traditional
