By Rev. Tiffany Ashworth

When I was a kid, I told my parents that I wanted to be a pastor’s wife. At the time, I articulated my sense of ministerial call as such because I couldn’t dream what I couldn’t imagine. And in a world of white male leaders that touted female submission, my context was so that I simply could not make sense of my pastoral inclinations in any other way. Because of this, even though my drive to serve the church remained strong, I came up against enough “women don’t do that” pushback that I abandoned plans to begin formal biblical and theological studies and altered course. To make a very long story short, it was painful.

Continue reading “On Seeing Women Lead” →

Opening remarks from Bill Wylie-Kellermann at a November 4 demonstration and march begun outside Detroit Election Offices.

Good afternoon. Great gratitude for the invitation to speak to you today.

You welcome me as 71-year-old, white cis male (he/him) Christian pastor.

Given that most of those intersections are aligned with power or privilege from which I am working to be liberated, your welcome is generous

About this time five years ago Marian Kramer of Michigan Welfare Rights and I stood trial in 36th district court for blocking, with seven others [including Baba Baxter here today], the Homrich company’s water shut off trucks at the beginning of what has become some 120k shut offs. They were ordered by Detroit’s Emergency Manager who had assumed all the powers of government in one person, replacing every elected official in the city. It seemed important to us to get those charges in front of a jury – under emergency management a jury was the last vestige of official democracy in Detroit.

Continue reading “Count the Vote Rally from One who Prays.” →

By Mark Van Steenwyk, re-posted from social media

It is a bizarre experience—I’m reading posts from right wingers about antifa, anarchy, socialism and the “radical fringe” that threatens their freedom.

And reading posts from liberals/centrists fundamentally agreeing with the premise that these are bad things and trying to show how the Democratic Party and Biden aren’t like these bad elements.

Continue reading “They’re Talking About Me” →

From Black Feminist Future. For more inspiration, see this.

By Tommy Airey

In the lead up to the election, I’ve been soaking my soul in the Psalms. I’ve found these Hebrew resistance songs profoundly relevant. They are rearranging my soul with both agony and ecstasy, two feelings foreign to most white folk like me. In hard seasons like this, I tend to get stuck in my head—and then head for the hills. However, these ancient, heart-wrenching words lend me the language to stay present and tend what is buried deep within me.

Continue reading “The Psalms Summoned Something” →

Dear friends,

With the arrival of Autumn, our once long and golden evenings are now replaced with early darkness. The unknowns of the pandemic, political outrage, and fragile social fabrics all feel parallel to this loss of light. Reading Geez 58: Breath & Bone has brought unexpected comfort. There is space for communal mourning in the face of darkness and reminders of the new life that only death can bring. 

I have been fortunate to recently join the team at Geez magazine, where we have been reimagining connection amidst a global pandemic. During our conversations, Geez editor Lydia asked, “What do people need right now?” 

Sure, you may need a cup of coffee or a quick trip to the bathroom – but what do you need to face the darkness in the coming weeks? Perhaps, like me, you feel the need for a togetherness that spans living rooms and borders.

Online Release Party — Geez 58 on Death and Dying

Continue reading “Geez is Throwing a Party!” →