1) Because of our grandmothers.
2) Because of our granddaughters.
It wasn’t that long ago in the history of our nation that it was illegal for women to vote. That fact boggles my mind. As a modern woman with so much privilege, I have trouble understanding the cultural mentality that insisted women were incapable of voting responsibly. Continue reading Two Good Reasons Why I’m Going to #VoteAnyway
Janie and Charlotte were best friends in college. They still maintain a good friendship even though they have very different perspectives on politics, culture and theology.
This is the third conversation Janie and Charlotte have had about their different approaches to the First Amendment and Religious Liberty. See the first conversation here and the second conversation here.
Charlotte
OK Janie, now I have a question for you: Why is it that some Evangelical Christians insist that homosexuality is only behavior and not part of the innate essence of some human beings? Why can’t they allow room for other people to be who they are and do what they do and live their lives in peace? Continue reading Janie and Charlotte on Religious Liberty #3
Janie and Charlotte were best friends in college. They both grew up in the same fundamentalist denomination in the Bible Belt of Texas. They both remain Christian but have grown in different ways, Conservative to Liberal. Even so, they work hard to maintain their friendship while they discuss honestly their different perspectives on the important issues of our day. Here is some of their ongoing debate about the topic of religious liberty.
In our first conversation, Janie and Charlotte agreed that the First Amendment to the US Constitution establishes religious liberty, but then went back and forth on how to apply the multifaceted meaning of the Amendment: how to limit government from restricting people’s practice of religion (“free expression”) while disallowing government from establishing religion.
Charlotte argued that Christianity has been privileged in America since our country’s origins and that religious understandings have indeed been incorporated into our civil laws numerous times. Janie argued that Christianity has been a motivation for law, sometimes for the worse and more often for the better, but seldom the entire motivation. Continue reading Janie and Charlotte on Religious Liberty #2
I’m not a huge sports fan but I love the Olympics. The athletes amaze me: their passion, their precision, their discipline, their perseverance.
Every year there are heartwarming stories about various Olympians on their journey to the Games. I love the backstories. But this year some unique personal stories remind me how remarkable the human spirit can be.
There’s the amazing story of Yusra Mardini. Continue reading Lessons Learned from Yusra, Rafaela and Ibtihaj
I’ve been registering voters in Texas for years now and I’ve worked hard to explain to voters the challenges of the very strict voter ID laws we have endured here for the past several election cycles.
The IDs that they already have, IDs that work in almost every other situation were not allowed as Texas voter IDs. Citizens who didn’t have a copy of their birth certificate for some reason or another were in a bind trying to get the proper documents. People who live on a shoestring couldn’t afford even the fairly small fee to apply for the approved ID. Quite a few told me they didn’t have transportation or they couldn’t afford to take off work and stand in line at the DPS office.
So you can imagine how pleased and relieved I was when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed earlier court rulings that the 2011 Texas voter ID law does not comply with the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading Donald Trump is Wrong about Voter Fraud
Continue reading Janie and Charlotte Discussing Sincere Differences Sincerely
Last year my local newspaper published an op-ed criticizing Black Lives Matter. Normally I’m fine with critique as long as it is fair and helpful. This was not.
Writing a response to the columnist, to the publisher and the editor seemed like a proper way to express my opinion and present an alternative viewpoint. I worked hard to be respectful even though I felt her words were reckless and inflammatory. Continue reading Black Lives AND Cops’ Lives
From Debilyn Molineaux
President Coffee Party USA
Events of the past week or two have brought many American issues to the forefront and many people to a tipping point, myself included. What do you need to say that must be heard?
Join us for an evening of sharing in a judgment free space.
My story:
I feel undone. Our country seems so fragile at the moment. Since the shooting of the police officers in Dallas, I’ve been distraught. Our neighbors should be safe. Our police officers should be safe at a peaceful protest. And yet, my neighbors are not as safe as I am…because of our history of racism. While many claim the color of our skin does not matter (because it shouldn’t), there are families who fear for their loved ones every day. I’m angry. I’m sad. I want to stay home, where I feel safe. But being alone and safe is not the answer. I want all my friends and neighbors to feel safe as they live their lives. It is important to me now in a visceral way that it wasn’t before. I used to say, “it may be my problem, I’ll look at that later.” I have changed and shifted to say “NO MORE.”
Please join us Monday evening in a conference call: express yourself and listen while others share their story. It is time for us to come together.
You make a difference!
Debilyn Molineaux
President Coffee Party USA
This is Charlotte inviting my Intersections friends to join me in this opportunity to Share Our Stories. Each of us has had our own experience of the complex and heartbreaking events of the past week. From Baton Rouge to Minnes
ota to Dallas, our world continues to be in turmoil.
Do you need a safe place to talk about it? Do you need someone to listen? Let’s be there for each other.
Register here for
Monday July 11
6 pm PT / 9 pm ET
Charlotte Vaughan Coyle lives in Paris TX and blogs about intersections of faith, culture and politics on her website and Intersections Facebook page. She frequently
shares her thoughts with Coffee Party USA as a regular volunteer.
Charlotte is an ordained minister within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also blogs about Scripture from a progressive Christian approach in her Living in The Story Musings.
Dear Senator Cruz,
Earth Day greetings to you and your beautiful daughters. 
Earth Day is a good time to repeat this wise proverb: We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children.
I know you love your children and want what is best for them. I love my grandchildren and dream of a bright future for them as well. But you and I both know our current generation is not doing enough to provide a future with hope for your children or mine; or for all our children from whom we have borrowed this planet.
Protecting and conserving this earth ought to be right up your alley. After all you do call yourself a Conservative so it seems to me you should be on the front lines advocating for the conservation of the earth.
Continue reading Charlotte’s Letter to Sen. Cruz: Earth Day 2016
Dear Senator Cruz,
I’ve been looking at the information about your newly formed Religious Liberty Advisory Council. Reading your description and recognizing some of the people you have appointed to serve as advisors, I have to ask: Whose religious liberty are you seeking to protect?
Of course, as soon as I ask that question, I know the answer. 
Continue reading Charlotte’s Letter to Senator Ted Cruz: Whose Religious Liberty?