New England states are weighing same-sex marriage legislation, especially where religious presence may be lacking, according to USA Today analysis.
This week, Heather sits down with writer Dorcas Cheng-Tozun to discuss how to navigate matters of social justice when you’re a reserved or highly sensitive person. Do you have to be an extrovert to inspire people to rally around community needs? Dorcas explains small, quiet ways you can make an impact.
In this episode Heather also addresses National Adoption month with Herbie Newell, president and executive director of Lifeline Children’s Services, the largest evangelical adoption agency in the country. Herbie has a special burden for vulnerable children, and he shares with us how Christians can obey God’s call in James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Guest Bio
Dorcas Cheng-Tozun is an award-winning writer, editor, and speaker. She is a former Inc.com columnist whose work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, Image journal, the Unreasonable blog, The Entrepreneurial Leader, and dozens of other publications in the US and Asia. She currently serves as editorial director of the nonprofit Pax, which promotes peace and justice in the 21st century.
Dorcas’s work with various nonprofits, social enterprises, and faith-based organizations has given her opportunities to engage with a broad range of social issues toward solutions in the areas of homelessness, affordable housing, energy access, youth leadership, HIV/AIDS, and international development. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her social entrepreneur husband and two young sons. Her most recent book is Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways.
Host Bio
Heather Thompson Day is an associate professor of communication at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the author of eight books, including I’ll See You Tomorrow and It’s Not Your Turn. Reach out to Heather on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @HeatherTDay and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday. Get Heather’s weekly inspirational email delivered to your inbox every Friday night at 7 p.m. EST. Sign up now at: www.heatherthompsonday.com/links.
“Viral Jesus” is a production of Christianity Today
Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day
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“A USA TODAY analysis finds that states where the percentage of “nones” – people who say they have no religion – is at or above the national average of 15% are more likely to push expanding the scope of marriage, civil unions or same-sex partner rights,” write Cathy Lynn Grossman and Jack Gillum.
Vermont’s legislature is expected to vote on a same-sex marriage bill later this week, and the AP outlines other debates going on in the Northeast.
– New Hampshire, which enacted a civil unions law last year, moved a step closer to legalizing gay marriage Thursday when the state House of Representatives voted in favor. The state Senate still must vote, though, and the governor – who signed a civil unions bills last year – opposes it.
– The Vermont Senate has approved a similar measure, but the House has yet to vote. Gov. Jim Douglas vowed Wednesday to veto the bill if it reaches him, spurring a protest that drew about 300 people to the Statehouse on Friday. Protesters say they’ll push to get enough votes in the Legislature for a veto override.
– In Maine, a bill to legalize gay marriage has nearly 60 co-sponsors in the Legislature. Gov. John Baldacci, who opposes gay marriage, says he hasn’t taken a position on the measure.
Even though is a couple months old, Stateline has a helpful graph showing a state-by-state breakdown.
