The FP Interview: Chuck Currie, Seminarian & Advocate for Homeless
FP: Who is Chuck Currie?
CC: Right now I'm a seminarian in-care of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Church and attending Eden Theological Seminary outside of St. Louis, MO. I'm also a husband and the father of 7-month old twin daughters. I spent about 17 years working on issues of homelessness and affordable housing with various churches, non-profits, and governmental organizations before coming to seminary. Those who are interested can find additional biographical information at http://chuckcurrie.blogs.com/about.html.
FP: When and why did you start your Blog?
CC: I started publishing my blog in October 2003. Before that I had a web site. My main reason for publishing is to share information on a progressive vision of Christianity. Too many people regard our faith as being conservative. Jesus, however, was a radical social agitator. The news and information posted on my site helps demonstrate that there are people faithfully responding to Jesus' teachings. I also hope the site offers people opportunities for taking action on important issues through links and resources developed by denominations and Christian social action organizations.
FP: You issued an Open Letter to Howard Dean calling on him to include people of faith in discussions of issues. Why did you do this & have you heard back from Gov. Dean?
CC: I agree with those who argue that some secular liberals would rather relegate religion entirely to the sidelines. I'm amazed at how many times I hear liberals say that religion has no place in politics.
That doesn't mean that I don't support the separation of church and state. I do. But it is my faith and understandings of God that drive my politics - the same is true for many liberals. The Democratic Party needs religious people at the table as they shape policy. If they want us to vote for their candidates they better ask for our help in shaping the agenda. The Governor hasn't written back. But I think he gets the idea. During his 2004 campaign he was one of the first candidates to take religious outreach seriously.
FP: Who are your favorite thinkers and writers in the areas of theology and politics?
CC: Jim Wallis is getting all the good press these days and I'm glad about that. I've been to one of his Call to Renewal Conferences, brought him out to Portland once, and was glad to help coordinate his visit to the Eden campus this past fall. Most of the writers I read in seminary have never been heard of by the general public. The fact that Wallis is getting through to people is a good sign some of the progressive issues are getting heard by the mainstream.
FP: Many people feel frustrated by both the perception of religious people and the Bush Administration--what can they do to change things?
CC: Progressive Christians started organizing to impact the 2004 elections in 2003. The religious right has been busy building up their movement since the mid-1960s. We need to build from the ground up and build alliances with better established secular groups that share some of our core values. We need to think long term and to develop new leadership. The religious left folks most active in opposing the Bush policies are the same group who fought against the Vietnam war. A new generation of leaders needs to be groomed. The progressive left has a training program for activists called Wellstone Action (www.wellstone.org). We need a program like that to train the religious left.
FP: Is there a post or two you are especially pleased with? (Note: FP asks for 2 and selects one and chose this one because FP loves William Sloane Coffin, too.)
CC: "William Sloane Coffin Talks About Bush, Iraq and Leadership"
CC: Right now I'm a seminarian in-care of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Church and attending Eden Theological Seminary outside of St. Louis, MO. I'm also a husband and the father of 7-month old twin daughters. I spent about 17 years working on issues of homelessness and affordable housing with various churches, non-profits, and governmental organizations before coming to seminary. Those who are interested can find additional biographical information at http://chuckcurrie.blogs.com/about.html.
FP: When and why did you start your Blog?
CC: I started publishing my blog in October 2003. Before that I had a web site. My main reason for publishing is to share information on a progressive vision of Christianity. Too many people regard our faith as being conservative. Jesus, however, was a radical social agitator. The news and information posted on my site helps demonstrate that there are people faithfully responding to Jesus' teachings. I also hope the site offers people opportunities for taking action on important issues through links and resources developed by denominations and Christian social action organizations.
FP: You issued an Open Letter to Howard Dean calling on him to include people of faith in discussions of issues. Why did you do this & have you heard back from Gov. Dean?
CC: I agree with those who argue that some secular liberals would rather relegate religion entirely to the sidelines. I'm amazed at how many times I hear liberals say that religion has no place in politics.
That doesn't mean that I don't support the separation of church and state. I do. But it is my faith and understandings of God that drive my politics - the same is true for many liberals. The Democratic Party needs religious people at the table as they shape policy. If they want us to vote for their candidates they better ask for our help in shaping the agenda. The Governor hasn't written back. But I think he gets the idea. During his 2004 campaign he was one of the first candidates to take religious outreach seriously.
FP: Who are your favorite thinkers and writers in the areas of theology and politics?
CC: Jim Wallis is getting all the good press these days and I'm glad about that. I've been to one of his Call to Renewal Conferences, brought him out to Portland once, and was glad to help coordinate his visit to the Eden campus this past fall. Most of the writers I read in seminary have never been heard of by the general public. The fact that Wallis is getting through to people is a good sign some of the progressive issues are getting heard by the mainstream.
FP: Many people feel frustrated by both the perception of religious people and the Bush Administration--what can they do to change things?
CC: Progressive Christians started organizing to impact the 2004 elections in 2003. The religious right has been busy building up their movement since the mid-1960s. We need to build from the ground up and build alliances with better established secular groups that share some of our core values. We need to think long term and to develop new leadership. The religious left folks most active in opposing the Bush policies are the same group who fought against the Vietnam war. A new generation of leaders needs to be groomed. The progressive left has a training program for activists called Wellstone Action (www.wellstone.org). We need a program like that to train the religious left.
FP: Is there a post or two you are especially pleased with? (Note: FP asks for 2 and selects one and chose this one because FP loves William Sloane Coffin, too.)
CC: "William Sloane Coffin Talks About Bush, Iraq and Leadership"
posted by Faithful Progressive at 12:34 AM
3 Comments:
One question I had for Chuck is: wasn't he the Blogger that the Free Republic types gave a hard time to-how did he handle that if it was him...
Sometimes all the criticism gets to me. You should read some of the e-mail people send to me. Sites like Free Republic, UCCtruths, or the ultra-conservative Catholic League have no place for truth in their discussions. It is just hate speech. So I try and listen for any grains of truth my critics have, respond if needed, and then to move on. My job isn’t to respond to them. My job is to faithfully respond to God’s call and on my better days hopefully the blog reflects that.
Chuck Currie
www.chuckcurrie.blogs.com
I saw a nasty post about Chuck and it made my stomach turn-that was one reason I wanted to hear his real story. The guy worked on behalf of the homeless for many years- to me that idicates a serious religious calling in and of itself. Chuck's story is very inspiring and I'm glad he has put it out there for the public with his Blog.
FP
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