I've gotten back into reading -- and enjoying -- short stories. The easiest way for me to settle into a short fiction reading habit is to pick up a random issues from our pile of New Yorkers. Laura and I both recently read David Hoon Kim's Sweetheart Sorrow. I'm looking forward to reading Q. & A.: Living Language, an interview with Kim, to help me sort out some of my questions concerning the story.
My church First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, CA has supported the work of the Not For Sale Campaign, a self-described "abolitionist" organization aimed at ending trafficking in human beings. (See for instance, a talk by David Batstone, the leader of Not For Sale at FPCB.) I'm generally supportive of the work of Not For Sale. One concern I do have with Not For Sale is its use of the word "abolitionist", especially as applied to churches. I have been hoping for a stronger definition of what an abolitionist church actually is from Not For Sale than what is currently there (at least as of the end of June.). The page describes "Action Steps" that a church might take to become part of a "movement of Abolitionist churches" but does not define the term "abolitionist".