Dear Radical Discipleship community,

I write with some exciting news that I long to share with this community of readers and contributors who have been and will continue to be a resting place for me.

It is with delight that I share that over the next few months, I will step into the position of editor at Geez magazine. I am not leaving RadicalDiscipleship.net. These past 4 1/2 years cultivating RD have been such a gift to connect with so many of you and share powerful stories from those with hands and hearts in the struggle. I love working with Tommy on this project and we hope that it will continue for many years to come.

I do believe that the work here will gift the work at Geez. I hope that our readers and writers will also find delight and a home in the offline oasis of Geez.

“Know your history. Walk it. Breath it. Listen to stories. Let the listening and retelling become resistance.” These were the first words I wrote for Geez magazine more than five years ago.

I believe in the transformational power of word on paper. Their ability to crawl into our hearts and change us. Their way of traveling between generations holding us steady and moving us down the road toward justice. Their capacity for building community, delighting in beauty, and crying out for a world made new.

So, it is with a heart filled with joy and gratitude that I step into a  new role as the editor of Geez magazine and begin the transition of the publication here to Detroit.

Geez magazine is a quarterly, non-profit, ad-free print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the U.S. Our aim is to nurture a community of faith-oriented folks that are concerned about the environment, peace, gender justice, disparity between rich and poor and other social concerns. At best we offer a prophetic and provocative voice to the institutional church and a pastoral presence to those laboring at the front lines of social change.

It is a gift to introduce the team that will take on this work alongside me—Lucia Wylie-Eggert, Kateri Boucher, and Em Jacoby. These are three of my favorite human beings whose skills, analysis, and commitment to justice will be a blessing to the magazine. Together they can create beauty on the page, turn stranger to friend and subscriber, and whip a budget into shape – all while they plant gardens, protest in the streets, and care for/raise children.  When the work begins, we will collectively have seven children under the age of seven. There will be crying babies at the desks and crayons littering the floor, which we choose to claim as a gift that will nourish the pages.

It is a big transition to move from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Detroit, MI. We want to honor Geez’s Canadian roots and the beautiful work Aiden Enns has done as editor as we journey into the belly of the U.S. empire beast. For each of us, our own spiritualities and cries for justice have been formed here in Detroit. It is a place where the shadows of capitalism, racism, militarism, and environmental destruction are blatant and visible. It is also a place filled with resistance, community, and hope. It is from that geography that the magazine will now be sent out.

So, as we begin, we are looking for readers, writers, artists, and subscribers. In this moment, we are especially asking for financial support. This transition comes with great cost—start up expenses, new staff, printing, and mailing. The work is joyful and the magazine is beautiful, yet it takes money to bring it to life. We would be so grateful for your support. Join us, friends, on this wild and wonderful journey. Help us craft some holy mischief, ask the unanswerable questions, summon sacred stories, and shine light on places alive with the joy of creation. I, for one, am filled with unattainable excitement and hope to do this work with you!

Peace,

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

If you would be interesting in making a donation, you can write a check to Geez Press, Inc and mail it to 1950 Trumbull, Detroit, MI 48216 or you can donate online.