An Alternative Seminary Experience

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Subverting Empire, Theological AnimationLeave a comment

24254683_1992621874348930_4807097317723441469_o (1)By Laura Newby of Twin-Cities-based Underground Seminary

*NOTE: Underground Seminary is now accepting applications for their 3rd cohort starting Fall 2018. 

Christian leadership requires radical revisioning in the twenty-first century. The patriarchal, white, Western, capitalist framework that has dominated the globe the last few hundred years has lost credibility. Whiteness was birthed in conquest and theft, and has led to a global neoliberal system where everything is a commodity to be devoured for profit. The earth cries out on the brink of eco-systemic collapse.

This is an age for prophets and healers. Yet we are heirs of a religious tradition that is deeply complicit in our apocalyptic moment. What does it mean to serve as Christian leaders when Christianity has been the primary ideological center of this destructive colonial worldview? Do we realize the extent to which our ideas about leadership continue to be shaped by the chimera of whiteness? Continue reading “An Alternative Seminary Experience” →

Learning from Laughter and the Trees: The Gift in Their Voices

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Cloud of Witnesses, Uncategorized1 Comment

IMG_2589.JPGBy Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

My mom died New Year’s Eve when I was 19. We knew it was coming so that Advent as we sang “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” each night before dinner, I paid attention to the voices. I knew them so intimately- the tones and harmonies that our four voices made together. It was the sound of home and I ached to imagine how our singing would change with just three voices. So each night I zeroed in on the sound of my mom’s voice- desperate to not let it be forgotten. Memorizing deep within, in hopes that whenever I sang “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” that I would always hear her voice within it.

Continue reading “Learning from Laughter and the Trees: The Gift in Their Voices” →

Prayer: There is a moment between sleep and awakening

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, UncategorizedLeave a comment

index.jpgBy Michael Boucher

There is a moment between sleep and awakening
When the dream world makes itself available
For us to deeply remember
What it is we need to know

Original instructions
On how to be human
On how to be in creation
On how to risk
On how to care for one another
On how to find joy

Continue reading “Prayer: There is a moment between sleep and awakening” →

Brave Spaces

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Just Peacemaking, Subverting EmpireLeave a comment
trump protest
PC: Elizabeth Conley

Excerpts from a recent interview with justice doula Micky Scottbey-Jones of the Faith Matters Network (re-posted from the Nobel Women’s Initiative site):

On “movement chaplaincy:”

We’ve been taught to think of movements and protests as “Who’s the target? What’s the action? We’re done.” In the same way that we have medics at protests to attend to the physical needs of people, a movement chaplain would be the person who’s clued into the emotional, spiritual, and mental needs, both in the moment of protest, and afterwards. They would help us decompress, celebrate, lament. We shouldn’t be going on to the next action until we’ve had time to process and celebrate our wins, and mourn our losses, and talk about how scared we were during one part and how great this other part felt. We need to change the way we are taught to organize. Continue reading “Brave Spaces” →

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Cloud of Witnesses, UncategorizedLeave a comment

imagesBy Chava Redonnet, Oscar Romero Inclusive Catholic Church, Rochester, NY
Bulletin for Sunday, December 10, 2017
Second Sunday of Advent

Dear friends,

I’m writing this a bit late… it’s Tuesday, December 12. It’s the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: this morning in Mexico, people got up early and processed through the town with candles, singing “Las Mananitas”… at least, they did years ago and I expect they still do, now. Continue reading “Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe” →

¡Presente!

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation1 Comment

Willow (1)By Tommy Airey

May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Thessalonians 5:23

Back in the 80’s and 90’s, vintage Advent passages about “the coming of our Lord” were infused with the rapture theology of my fresh Evangelical faith.  I eagerly anticipated an End Times scenario when Jesus would triumphantly return to rescue us from the sin of the world.  I remained vigilant as the Left Behind series of books and movies filled in the blanks of what this letter from Paul assured us would soon happen:

For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. (I Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Our Evangelical pastors repressed our sexual imaginations, but they gave us full permission to fantasize about the End of the World. It was almost too much for my adolescent mind.  I conjured images of mass disappearances, freeways suddenly littered with empty cars and football stadiums with fans flying into the heavens. Researching the historical context, though, zoomed me back down to earth. Literally. Continue reading “¡Presente!” →