On November 3, 2018, a memorial service was held in Chicago to celebrate the life and contributions of a larger-than-life figure in Christian-Muslim dialogue, the Rev. Lewis R. Scudder, Jr. who passed away a year ago in his beloved Cyprus.
Rev. Scudder came from a long line of Reformed Church in America missionaries who served in various parts of the world stretching back to 1819. His own unique contribution arose out of his rootedness in the culture of the Arabian Gulf having been born and raised in Kuwait where his first schooling was in an Arabic medium school. His mastery of the Arabic language and culture led him in his later years to serve as a translator for the Beirut-based Middle East Council of Churches, but perhaps his greatest contribution was translating Arab culture to American Christians who knew (and continue to know) little about what is uniquely inviting and intriguing about the Arab world with its rich history and storied (and at times conflicted) cultures.
From 2004 – 2012 Lew wrote a monthly series of articles reflecting on various topics of interest arising out of current events and historical realities for Middle Eastern peoples. He called these monthly musings “Morning Land Meditations.” The full collection is below, first as a pdf with all the articles, second with individual articles to download.
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The Full Archive: Morning Land Meditations (1)
Individual pdfs
Morning Land Meditation August 2004
Morning Land Meditation # 2September 2004
Morning Land Meditation # 3 October 2004
Morning Land Meditation # 4 November 2004
Morning Land Meditation # 5 December 2004
Morning Land Meditation # 6 January 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 7 February 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 8 March 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 9 April 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 10 May 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 11 June 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 12 July 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 13 August 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 14 September 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 15 October 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 16 November 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 17 – December 2005
Morning Land Meditation # 18 January 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 19 February 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 20 March 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 21 April 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 22 – May 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 23 June 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 24 – July 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 25 – August 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 25.5 – August 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 26 – September 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 27 – October 2006 Shakers_and_Movers
Morning Land Meditation # 28 – November 2006 (1)
Morning Land Meditation # 29 – Nov-Dec 2006
Morning Land Meditation # 30 – April 2007
Morning Land Meditation # 36 – October 2007
Morning Land Meditation # 37 – Nov 2007 Getting Culture Right
Morning Land Meditation # 38 – March 2008
Morning Land Meditation # 40 – April 2008
Morning Land Meditation # 41 – May-June 2008 Swatting Beelzebub
Morning Land Meditation # 42 – July 2008 Liberty for All
Morning Land Meditation # 43 – Aug 2008 The Old Tree Still Lives
Morning Land Meditation # 44 – Sept 2008 Poets
Morning Land Meditation # 45 – Oct 2008 Hurricane Season
Morning Land Meditation # 46 – Nov 2008 Thanks for the Giving
Morning Land Meditation # 47 – Dec 2008 Teaching
Morning Land Meditation # 48a – Jan 2009 – In With The New
Morning Land Meditation # 48b – Jan 2009 – The Soil of Everyman
Morning Land Meditation # 48c – Jan 2009 – Myth
Morning Land Meditation # 49 – Feb 2009 – Waiting
Morning Land Meditation # 50 – Apr 2009 – A Good Legacy
Morning Land Meditation # 52 – May June 2009 -Patience and the Courage to Change
Morning Land Meditation # 53 – July 2009
Morning Land Meditation # 54 – Aug 2009 – Happiness Pursued
Morning Land Meditation # 55 – Sept 2009 – Viva
Morning Land Meditation # 56 – Oct 2009 Jaton Dushtu
Morning Land Meditation # 57 – Nov 2009 – Haideralizing
Morning Land Meditation # 58 – Dec 2009 – Ayia Sophia
Morning Land Meditation # 59 – Xmas 2009 – Liberation
Morning Land Meditation # 60 – Jan 2010 – Palindromitis
Morning Land Meditation # 61 – Feb 2010 – Unskewing Skewed Logic
Morning Land Meditation # 62 – Mar 2010 – Harmonics
Morning Land Meditation # 63 – Apr 2010 – Badr …. Let the Light Through
Morning Land Meditation # 64 – May 2010 – Barbarians
Morning Land Meditation # 65 – June 2010 – Slave and Slaver ….Old and New
Morning Land Meditation # 66 – – July 2010 Anti-Venom –
Morning Land Meditation # 67 – Nov 2010 The Fit of Thanksgiving
Morning Land Meditation # 68 – Jan 2011 Reclaim the New Year
Morning Land Meditation # 69 – March 2011 Ideal World
Morning Land Meditation # 70 – April 2011 A Pathway to Water
Morning Land Meditation # 71 – Dec 2011 Caliphate
Morning Land Meditation # 72 – Feb 2012 – The Gingrich Who Stole Christmas
A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice: 