February 2012 Synchroblog – Extreme Economic Inequality

“Economic Inequality” is a hot topic in American politics at the moment but it is not just an American condition. 

A report released in May of 2011 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the gap between the rich and poor in O.E.C.D. countries has reached its highest level in over 30 years. 

In Italy, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom the income gap between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% was reported to be 10 to 1. Israel, Turkey and the U.S. had a gap of 14 to 1.  And although the gaps in Chile and Mexico had declined the incomes of the richest are still more than 25 times that of the poorest.

This month we are inviting bloggers to ponder the impact these kinds of extreme conditions are having on the world we live in. Are extreme gaps between the rich and poor harmful to society? Does excessive inequalities of wealth create situations where the human dignity of people are threatened?  Does the kind of economic inequality that is being reported around the world undermine human solidarity and the common good?  

If you would like to join in the conversation, please plan to submit your name, name of blog, title of post and link in the comment section of this announcement by 6PM EST 2/7/2012.  The list of participants will be compiled and posted on 2/8/2012.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:  We ask that all synchroblog participants include the list of participants and links at the end of their post.  

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Link List for January’s Synchroblog // Hope

Here is the link list so far for January’s Synchroblog, a partnership with Provoketive Magazine centered around the theme of Hope.  Thank you all for participating and for posting this link list at the end of your posts when you post on your own blog (you can post your entire post or an excerpt, just link to the Provoketive post and include the link list)

This issue of Provoketive Magazine, featuring this series, will go live tomorrow morning, January 18th, 2012, so the links won’t work until then.

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Below is a list of all the posts and participants in this month’s synchroblog:

The Trouble With Hope: John Ptacek

Hope = Possibility x Imagination: Wayne Rumsby

Little Reminders: Mike Victorino

Where Is My Hope: Jonathan Brink

Hope for Hypocrites: Jeremy Myers

Now These Three Remain: Sonny Lemmons

Perplexed, But Still Hopeful: Carol Kuniholm

A Hope that Lives: Amy Mitchell

Generations Come and Generations Go: Adam Gonnerman

Demystifying Hope: Glenn Hager

God in the Dark: On Hope: Renee Ronika Klug

Keeping Hope Alive: Maurice Broaddus

Are We Afraid to Hope?: Christine Sine

On Wobbly Wheels, Split Churches and Fear: Laura Droege

Adopting Hope: Travis Klassen

Hope is Held Between Us: Ellen Haroutunian

Hope: In the Hands of the Creatively Maladjusted: Mihee Kim-Kort

Paradox, Hope and Revival: City Safari

Good Theology Saves: Reverend Robyn

Linear: Never Was, Never Will Be: Kathy Escobar

Better Than Hope: Liz Dyer

Caroline for Congress: Hope for the Future: Wendy McCaig

Fumbling the Ball on Hope: KW Leslie

Content to Hope: Alise Wright

Hope: Oh, the Humanity!: Deanna Ogle

January Synchroblog – A Partnership with Provoketive Magazine // January 18th 2012

Hey Synchrobloggers,

For January we are excited to partner with Provoketive Magazine for our monthly synchroblog.  They will be hosting this month’s topic, and this is a great platform for writers and readers.

In order to do this, the instructions will be a little bit different than our normal “post your link in the comments section” list.   Each writer will need to sign up to be a writer for Provoketive first.  It is a very easy process, and all of the instructions are below.  Instead of only posting your link in the comments section you will be posting directly on Provoketive and also on your own blog.  Everyone should put the link list at the bottom of your post as usual.  Provoketive will then feature the entire series for their January issue. All of the details are here.

The topic:  Hope.  January is often a space to create new dreams and so we’re leaving the topic open and to your imagination. We believe the power of voice has tremendous capacity to inspire and give hope to people. Provoketive is a space to explore what it means to be human and hope is an integral part of that experience.

Here are the instructions for January only:

1. Sign up to be a writer on Provoketive.  Click here and fill out the form.  We’ll send you all the instructions to add your post.

2. Write and submit a 500-1,000 word post on the subject of hope.  Some things to consider writing about include: what gives you hope, what is your hope, how did you gain your hope, or a story of hope in your life.  You may post the article on your own blog if you wish, but schedule it for January 18th.

3. All posts must be submitted to Provoketive by January 17th.

4. Check back on the day of publication and grab the link list to everyone’s post.  Publish the link list on your blog.

If you have any questions or need clarification about the process, please feel free to ask them in the comments section below or over at Provoketive.

We look forward to the new year together!

2011, 2012, New Team Member, A Survey and Provoketive Magazine!

2011 was another great year for synchroblogging thanks to all of you who joined the conversations with your posts and comments.  We had 12 months of great ideas, we successfully partnered with others a couple of times throughout the year and ended up just shy of having 250 contributions for the year!!!

So we are back to do it again in 2012!

However, we decided that we could use some help.

So ….. we asked Jeremy Myers to join our team and (wait for it …. ) he said YES!  (in case you don’t know who else is on our team check out “The Team” section of our blog).

Jeremy works as a prison chaplain, but that’s just a job to pay the bills so he can do what he really enjoys: spending time with his wife and three girls, reading, writing, and studying.  He blogs at Till He Comes,  has had several articles published in various theological journals, and is currently writing a book, which he hopes will get picked up for publication.  Jeremy will help us create monthly themes, write announcements, send out invites, organize link lists and perform other on-going duties.  Take a moment and welcome Jeremy to the team.

All the duties keep us busy but the most challenging thing that we are faced with is coming up with fresh ideas each month.  We need you to help us with that so we have created a survey that you can link to on our blog (bottom right side under the heading “IDEAS”).  It asks you to help us by sharing your ideas about monthly themes, focus and general feedback.  We hope you will take the time to share your ideas with us there. We really need your help.

We are glad to be on this adventure with you and look forward to the months ahead!

Happy New Year from Liz, Kathy, Sonja & Jeremy

PS   We are excited to announce that we are partnering with Provoketive Magazine for the January synchroblog. All the details and information will be out in a few days (probably Monday, 1/9/12) and will take place on 1/18/12.  So mark your calendars now.  This is one that you don’t want to miss out on.