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One of the most celebrated and influential United Methodists is lending his name to an institute at Vanderbilt University that will promote and study nonviolence.

James Lawson, who has been called the “architect of the civil rights movement,” has given his blessing to the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements at Vanderbilt University.

Lawson, 93, said in an interview that he will act as “spiritual adviser” to the institute, along with his ongoing work advising, teaching, and writing.

The Episcopal Peace Fellowship has selected scholar and activist Linda Gaither as the re­cipient of the 2022 John Nevin Sayre Award. The award, established in 1979, is given every three years to an Episcopalian who has shown “courageous witness in the cause of peace and justice.”

Bill Wylie-Kellerman’s patchwork of poetry, prophecy, and prose reads like a modern Gospel.