Respond and Engage! NO WORDS: Teen allegedly murdered the wife and child of a Tampa Bay Rays prospect in triple homicide, reports say<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GUEST: Dr. Robert A. Simons<\/strong> is a Professor and former director of the Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development program at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Simons received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in City and Regional Planning, with an emphasis in real estate. He also holds a Master of Regional Planning and a Master of Science in Economics, both from U.N.C. His undergraduate degree in anthropology was earned at Colorado State University. He has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1983. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Simons is the co-author of Retired, Rehabbed, Reborn: The Adaptive Reuse of Americas’ Derelict Religious Buildings and Schools<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the congregants took their seats at this small jewel-like church on recent Sunday morning, they saw neither a cross nor a Bible. Instead, a DJ occupied the altar, sitting in front of a controller and a laptop.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As the service began, the emcee \u2014 not a clergyperson \u2014 prompted visitors to take three deep breaths and exhale. A hip-hop artist grabbed the mic to rap a song called \u201cI Believe in You.\u201d After him, a local poet and recording artist spent 20 minutes reading from his poems \u2014 each prefaced with a biblical quote.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The monthly service at <\/em>North Star Church of the Arts<\/em><\/a> is the latest venture by one of Durham\u2019s most acclaimed residents, architect Phil Freelon, before he died last month, and his wife, singer, jazz vocalist and composer Nnenna Freelon. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple bought a small Greek Revival-style church in a section near a downtown neighborhood once mostly African American but now fast transitioning into an entertainment hub and refashioned it as a venue for artistic and spiritual exploration. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not a stretch to say that the political structures and assumptions of the last four decades in the U.S. are headed toward implosion. The two parties are not only ideologically incoherent; they are bleeding membership. According to Gallup, 46 percent now no longer identify as either Democrats or Republicans. This is the\u00a0<\/em>highest number in the history of the poll<\/em><\/a>. Signaling the future, a stunning\u00a0<\/em>71 percent of millennials say that a third major party is needed<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But even if both major parties were not on their way out, there would still be good reasons to reject both as standing for profound evil. The Republican Party leadership thwarts attempts to save the world from global climate change and erases thousands of inconvenient vulnerable immigrants from moral and legal concern. The Democratic Party leadership turns religious freedom into a euphemism for discrimination against LGBT persons and erases millions of inconvenient vulnerable prenatal children from moral and legal concern.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n GUEST: Charlie Camosy<\/a><\/strong> is Associate Professor of Theological and Social Ethics at Fordham University, where he has taught since finishing his PhD in theology at Notre Dame in 2008. He is the author of the recently released Resisting Throwaway Culture<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TALK TO PAUL ON-AIR: 313.272.5600<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nNPR: Houses Of Worship Find New Life After Congregations Downsize<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nRNS: A Durham, NC, church sees the arts as its North Star<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRNS: Our major parties offer no place for a rising moral middle<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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