By Rev. Joanna Shenk, the fourth and final sermon in a series at First Mennonite of San Francisco called “Living with Courage and Clarity in the face of AI.”

When I was growing up we read a lot of books together as a family. One significant book series was the Lord of the Rings – a fantasy trilogy about good and evil, with many Christian themes. 

The Lord of the Rings movie adaptations came out in the early 2000s and were an instant family favorite. No one loved them more than my youngest brother, Jonny, who watched all three movies 50 times each, as well as read the books and other writings of the author, JRR Tolkien. 

For those who aren’t familiar, Lord of the Rings is a deeply spiritual tale, reflecting on the nature of power and its ability to corrupt. In the story, the smallest and humblest creatures, the Hobbits, are tasked with saving the world from the powers of evil that are a destructive, extractive force. Although there are ways that Tolkien was problematic in his binary thinking, he was telling a story in response to the rise of fascism in his day. 

Jonny told me that Tolkien was always suspicious of people with grand plans and he was not a fan of technology. Tolkien believed that you couldn’t beat an enemy with their weapons, but instead had to use simplicity and creativity, like the earthy Hobbits or the angry Ents – ancient tree people – who destroyed Isengard, an evil fortress, by rupturing a dam.    

I was inspired to talk with my brother while writing this sermon because two of the most powerful AI tech companies draw their names from Lord of Rings – Palantir and Anduril. There are many others (over 20) including Valinor (the undying lands), Isengard (the evil fortress I just mentioned), & Sauron. 

Yes, Sauron, which is the death dealing force hell bent on destroying all living things not under its control. Sauron the company “is the first home security system that accurately identifies, understands, and deters threats” using military grade technology, facial recognition and AI predictive threat technology. 

But I digress.. Back to Palantir and Anduril. Palantir was founded by Peter Thiel, who I mentioned in my sermon last Sunday. It is difficult to explain what Palantir does, but I found this helpful summary from the American Friends Service Committee: Palantir vacuums up massive amounts of data collected by governments and corporations. Palantir is used by militaries, police forces, banks, hospitals, and even your local pharmacy or favorite fast-food restaurant. Palantir’s AI algorithm then combines all this data into a single, gigantic dataset and looks for patterns that are hard to see.

Continue reading “AI – Principalities, Powers & Mass Movements” →

By Joanna Lawrence Shenk, a pastor at First Mennonite Church of San Francisco

A sermon on Psalm 85:8-13

Thank you, Sarah, for that reading which offers us a compelling vision of the kindom of God. The writer of this psalm is reflecting on who they know the Divine to be – one who brings peace and thriving to a community – to the land and the people. There is so much beautiful imagery: love and faithfulness meeting, justice and peace embracing (or kissing!). Fidelity sprouting from the earth and justice leaning down from heaven. It’s an ecosystem of care and connection. The writer has a trust in something greater that is holding the world. They were part of a community that they knew was held in the care of the Creator. 

Given the national and global happenings of recent days, weeks and months, some of us may say “well that sounds like a nice little image for a children’s bible, but how does it relate to the mess of a world we’re living in?! Where exactly are justice and peace kissing each other right now?” 

Without a doubt, many of us have heavy hearts this morning (and what a balm to celebrate the life of little Joaquin as he was dedicated in this congregation today). We see and feel the way that capitalism is crumbling down on top of the most vulnerable. We grieve and we rage at the ongoing environmental polycrisis. We’ve said no over and over again to the bombardment of Gaza and yet the missiles paid for by our tax dollars keep raining down on Palestinians, destroying life. 

Continue reading “Part of the Great Body” →