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Wild Lectionary: Dear Elizabeth
Advent 4C
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty. Luke 1:46-55
An excerpt from and urgent letter
By Kwok Pui-lan
Dear Elizabeth,
You may be surprised that I am writing you, since I don’t have much education and don’t often write. But I am so distraught and must ask your advice for you are much older and wiser than me… Continue reading “Wild Lectionary: Dear Elizabeth”
Journaling on the outside of the Jail
By Lydia Wylie-Kellermann
This Advent my dad, Bill Wylie-Kellermann, spent 10 days in jail for an action he was part of in the spring with the Poor People’s Campaign. Each night I journaled and shared them on facebook. It was a practice that held my heart steady in a rather chaotic week and a half.
Day 1 of Dad in Jail for Advent
“But who will….”
My morning was crappy. Both kids with tantrums leaving it almost impossible to get everyone where they needed to be on time. On the way to school, I pulled a completely unnecessary turn around, scraped a log next to someone’s driveway which pulled off my bumper.
So, I am driving down 96 to concerning sounds of things scraping against my tires and wind rushing through the exposed mechanics of my car. I am running late, but trying to still make it to see my dad and Tommy Tackett turn themselves in at court today. I want to get video statements. I want to help alert press releases with on the ground information. I want to say thank you to my dad and hug him goodbye. Continue reading “Journaling on the outside of the Jail”
Don’t Wake a Sleeping Dragon
By: Anonymous
A few weeks ago I was sitting in Jose’s kitchen, waiting for his monthly phone call. Once a month he gets a call on a voice-recognition system: at some point during a two hour window, the phone will ring. He answers, then has to call back within three minutes. A machine recites a string of numbers, which he repeats, and then he is okay for another month. Since getting Administrative Closure of his case a few years ago, this has been the only contact he has had with the immigration folks. Finally the phone rang. I watched as he called back, heard him repeat the string of numbers. And repeat it again, and again, four times altogether. Finally he turned to me, ashen-faced. “It says it’s going to report me,” he said. Continue reading “Don’t Wake a Sleeping Dragon”
Rejoice! Joy is Like Water in the Desert
By Kim Redigan, an Advent reflection on Luke 3:10-18 for the Faith Outreach Committee of the Detroit Peoples Water Board
Today we light a pink candle on the Advent wreath and sit with the demand of the day – Rejoice! In these waning days of the season, Laudate Sunday calls us to joy. Not superficial optimism or the mindless distraction of malls and materialism but, rather, a deeper dig into Advent darkness where new roots are taking hold and joy lies waiting like a buried treasure. Continue reading “Rejoice! Joy is Like Water in the Desert”
The Work of Reclaiming Imagination
By Michael Boucher (right), from a letter to spiritual communities within Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester, NY
In our faith community, our pastoral leaders encourage people to spend 10 minutes/day in prayer/quiet with a candle, cup of coffee or tea (the beverage is not crucial but as it gets colder it kind of is!) and no distractions. While 10 minutes may not sound like much (and many of you, perhaps, already do this), it is amazing what can happen when we get more disciplined about creating intentional quiet space.
I have always loved in books when they print in the middle of a page, “This space left intentionally blank.” We might all need a bit more of that… Continue reading “The Work of Reclaiming Imagination”
Wild Lectionary: Of Vipers and Humans
Advent 3 C
Luke 3:7-18
By: Svinda Heinrichs
Predators often get a bum rap. “Brood of vipers,” John the Baptist calls the gathered crowds. Why is that such a bad thing? After all, vipers, that is, venomous snakes, just are what they are created to be, and do what they are created to do – use their poisonous venom to catch and subdue their dinner. As I am wont to say, “They’re just trying to earn a living.” Humans are right to be wary of them, but to call a group of humans a brood of vipers gives vipers a bad name! Continue reading “Wild Lectionary: Of Vipers and Humans”
Beautiful Darkness
Caitlin: During the season of Advent, I have a really hard time with how we talk about darkness, equating it with sin and evil, as though darkness isn’t created by and beloved of God. Especially because of how this is used to support white supremacy. So, I am going to be sharing some reflections on how great darkness is during Advent. Feel free to add your favourite things about darkness or how you embrace it this time of year.
Advent is a season of darkness. In the darkness of night your nocturnal creation awakes. In the darkness of winter we see your creation without the harsh light of the Sun. Give us new eyes to see this world in all its beauty. Continue reading “Beautiful Darkness”
Homily: I want the world to be wrapped in the cloak of justice
Homily by Lydia Wylie-Kellermann at Day House Catholic Worker
Second Sunday of Advent
Baruch 5:1-9
Psalm 126
My Advent has started out differently than I planned.
As I think most of you know, my dad was taken into custody for a 12-day sentence when he refused to pay a fine for an action he was part of (along with Tom Lumpkin) with the Poor People’s Campaign on May 21. They blockaded the doors of the Department of Health and Human Services in Lansing calling out the systemic racism and abuse of the poor by the very department that is supposed to support the needs of the poor. The director of DHHS is currently facing charges of manslaughter for his role in the Flint Water Crisis. And we recently learned that Child Protective Services has started following the Homrich trucks in certain neighborhoods in order to immediately remove children from their families when their water is shut off. To cry out against this injustice, Tommy Tackett and my dad have gone to jail. Continue reading “Homily: I want the world to be wrapped in the cloak of justice”
Wild Lectionary: Word of God in the Wilderness
Advent 2C
Luke 3.1-6
By Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson
Just as the CNN and MSNBC cameras turn their lenses to the president and his people, God’s Word comes to an obscure group of folk whose hope is elsewhere.
We who read the pages of Radical Discipleship hardly need to be told that our hope is not in Trump or the Democratic Party or any of the professional purveyors of the imperial status quo. So it is not surprising to us to hear that in Luke’s time, the Word of God was heard not in Rome or Judea or elsewhere in the corridors of worldly power but in the wilderness.
Continue reading “Wild Lectionary: Word of God in the Wilderness”
Radical Discipleship 