Sermon: Walking in the Way of Righteousness

On August 15, 2017August 15, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized2 Comments

By Joanna Shenk

Psalm 85:8-13

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with a loved one in which they asked me if I thought holiness and righteousness were important… or if I valued them as a Christian. I can’t remember exactly how they said it, but it was said in a way that assumed I probably didn’t think they were important. I explained to them that it was frustrating to be asked the question in that way because it put me on the defensive… like I needed to prove something to them. To their credit, they understood and agreed it made for better conversation if they asked me how I understand holiness and righteousness or what has been my journey with those things. Continue reading “Sermon: Walking in the Way of Righteousness” →

I Wish the Ring Had Never Come to Me

On August 12, 2017August 11, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Art as Resistance, Uncategorized1 Comment

Frodo: It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill him when he had the chance.

Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

The Fellowship of the Ring

Wild Lectionary: The mixology of Faith and Fear

On August 10, 2017August 9, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized, Watershed Discipleship1 Comment

Erazo-Paris Family Archives, circa May 1969

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 14 (19)

1 Kings 19:9-18 & Matthew 14:22-33

[Elijah] answered “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 1 Kings 19:10

26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27

By Priscilla Paris-Austin

Faith and fear seem to reside right next to each other in our world. I don’t know about you but I find this to be true in my family story over and over again. While the two seem incompatible, as I look back I can see how closely they are aligned, one driving me to the other, or moving me through its companion, until I find my way back to God’s enduring and steadfast love.

Continue reading “Wild Lectionary: The mixology of Faith and Fear” →

Sermon: Religious liberty, or social mischief? Understanding the “wall of separation” between church and state

On August 8, 2017August 4, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

By Ken Sehested, 9 July 2017, Circle of Mercy Congregation, Asheville, NC

Text: Psalm 72

(The text below has been expanded from the original sermon.)

Not so long ago a sermon on religious liberty would likely provoke yawns. The widespread and diverse claims of “religious freedom” are so common and unquestioned in our culture, they mostly go without notice. (Which, if anything, may be testimony to how tamed our assumptions have become.) Continue reading “Sermon: Religious liberty, or social mischief? Understanding the “wall of separation” between church and state” →

Fresh Stop Markets

On August 6, 2017August 14, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Race, Sabbath Economics, Uncategorized1 Comment

Compelling work going in Lexington, KY. Click on and scroll down for a great interview on Food Justice Radio.

Fresh Stop Markets are “pop up” farm-fresh food markets set up at local churches and community centers in fresh food insecure neighborhoods. The food has been paid for in advance so that farmers don’t face the same degree of risk as they do with a standard farmers’ market. People in the community describe Fresh Stop Markets as welcoming and happy—like a family reunion where all five senses are engaged and there is lots of laughter, food and fun! Continue reading “Fresh Stop Markets” →

Fear

On August 5, 2017August 4, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.
― Terry Pratchett, Small Gods

Lunch with the Law

On August 4, 2017August 4, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

By Joyce Hollyday

Three-year-old Enrique’s favorite toy—a plastic helmet with a dark face shield, emblazoned with the word “POLICE”—was parked on his head. As he toddled up to our burly, 6-foot-8 county sheriff, with his mother Rosita watching nervously, the irony just about did me in.

For three hours every week a group calling ourselves Mujeres Unidas en Fe (Women United in Faith) gathers at a church just over the mountain from my home in Western North Carolina. A dozen Spanish-speaking women and an equal number of us English speakers share Bible study, exchange language lessons, and enjoy a potluck lunch. Fear has been running high since executive orders out of the White House targeted North Carolina as a state for increased action against undocumented immigrants, and recently our group’s activities have included the heartbreaking work of getting legal papers in place for the care of their children if any of the mothers are deported. Continue reading “Lunch with the Law” →

Wild Lectionary: Come to the Waters

On August 3, 2017August 1, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized, Watershed DiscipleshipLeave a comment

IMG_20170621_145255 — Photo by Wendy Janzen Grand River, Southwestern Ontario

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 13 (18)
Isaiah 55:1-5

By Wendy Janzen

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…”

Canada is a land of abundant fresh water. Ontario, the province in which I live, contains one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. Ontarians love our lakes and rivers.

This summer has been a wet summer here. I’ve hardly needed to water my vegetable garden, and my small patch of lawn is still a lush green from the regular, soaking rains. Some rains have come with too much rain falling too quickly, causing streams and rivers to overflow their banks. Continue reading “Wild Lectionary: Come to the Waters” →

Time To Heal

On August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Art as Resistance, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Heal An unveiling from the legendary John August Swanson, posted on his Facebook page (July 28, 2017):

Today, I am happy to share with you my newest poster (right), on healthcare. The central image of this poster comes from my 2016 giclee print, TIME TO HEAL.

The text is taken from Pope Francis and from RoseAnn Demoro, who is the executive director of National Nurses United.

I wanted to share their voices and their messages of the importance of working together, and caring for everyone. There are complicated and difficult problems in the American healthcare system, and we do not all agree on the best solutions. My hope is that we can all agree to work together to make it possible for all people to get the care they need.

If you are interested, the poster is available on my website at this link: http://temp.johnaugustswanson.com/produ…/time-to-heal-poster

More information on the giclee print edition, TIME TO HEAL, is available on my website, here: http://www.johnaugustswanson.com/def…/PID%3d1.2.30.3-11.html

Sermon: Nonviolence;“Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of a neighbor” vs “Do not resist the evildoer” and “turn the other cheek”

On August 1, 2017July 27, 2017 By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Just Peacemaking, UncategorizedLeave a comment

By Rose Berger
January 10, 2017, Sojourners Chapel

Leviticus 19:15-18; Matthew 5:38-48; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

Thank you to Karen and the Chapel Committee for inviting me.

Usually when I preach I like to do a deep dive into scripture that unlocks scripture’s liberating power on us here at Sojourners.

But today we’ll take a different direction. I was asked to speak specifically about the conference I attended in Rome last year on Nonviolence and Just Peace. Continue reading “Sermon: Nonviolence;“Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of a neighbor” vs “Do not resist the evildoer” and “turn the other cheek”” →

Radical Discipleship

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