From Sojourner Truth:
I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.
Heirloom Hocked
By Sheryl L. Nelms
I always gathered
spring greens
with Gram
down by Mission Creek Continue reading “Heirloom Hocked”
An invitation from Word and World
Dear Friend of Word and World,
The stakes of climate change and climate injustice are too high to stay hunkered down in silos of race, class, religion, or seemingly disparate justice issues. The times necessitate following the lead of communities of color organizing for the health of land, water, and community. On July 15-19, 2015, Word and World will host a Land and Water school, a local/national/international collaboration putting down roots in Detroit to build and energize movement around land, water, sustainability, and environmental justice. Continue reading “An invitation from Word and World”
Of Thrones and High Places: Lessons from Selma
By Kim Redigan
This is not a movie – this is real life!, shouted the elderly woman standing near the base of the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a human wave of tens of thousands rolled past her in a people’s-led march on the day after dignitaries, including the President and Congressman John Lewis, observed the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday in a far more officious manner.
The hand-lettered sign she carried read:
Justice is Still Blind in Selma, AL . . . Unfair treatment of citizens by certain persons in high places. We need help in Selma, Alabama. Continue reading “Of Thrones and High Places: Lessons from Selma”
In The Hands of an Angry God?
By Tommy Airey
On that day, says the Lord,
I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds…
And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
on the nations that did not obey.
Micah 5:10-11, 15
*This is the fifth installment in a series of seven pieces on Micah posted every Wednesday during Lent.
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Small town Micah portrays a big time God whose anger and wrath fuel justice. This God, thankfully, is not apathetic or indifferent to the plight of the vulnerable and marginalized. This God is passionate and determined to level the playing field, to eliminate the weapons of war driving the false security apparatus and unjust killings all around us. Continue reading “In The Hands of an Angry God?”
the word you’re looking for
Sarah Matsui was born and raised in Hawai’i, raised some more in Philly, and is now living in San Francisco. She did not grow up in the church though is now part of the church, and she cares deeply about intersections of faith, identities (race, gender, language, sexuality, cultural, etc.), justice, and reconciliation.
The church I am attending sent out a letter today (3/13/15) that overall I was excited about, and thankful for. But it also invited further response. In an optional survey response they requested, I submitted the following note:
“Firstly, I am thankful for our church, this board, and for the direction indicated by the board letter. Secondly, a question: if the board has come to the conclusion that our church’s practices have been causing harm, not leading to human flourishing, and excluding LGBTQ people from belonging in the body of Christ, would a logical next step be to issue an explicit apology to the LGBTQ Christians attending our church and/or to the broader LGBTQ community?” Continue reading “the word you’re looking for”
Bishop Paul Jones by Robert Two Bulls
Bishop Jones was one interesting fellow and he reminds me how far we are from the Gospel with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. After doing the icon I became much closer to him and what his life and work represented.
Artist & Priest Robert Two Bulls
38 Years Later: Fannie Lou Hamer
Two quotes from Fannie Lou Hamer, a sharecropper for decades until she became inspired and uprooted by the Civil Rights Movement in 1962. Then, she spent more than a decade, like those first century followers of Jesus, “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). She died of breast cancer on March 14, 1977:
Christianity is being concerned about your fellow man, not building a million-dollar church while people are starving right around the corner. Christ was a revolutionary person, out there where it was happening. That’s what God is all about, and that’s where I get my strength.
And, in case you were down about our abysmal numbers:
There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement. Three people are better than no people.
My Name is Not “Those People”
By Julia Dinsmore
My name is not “Those People.”
I am a loving woman, a mother in pain, giving birth to the future, where my babies have the same chance to thrive as anyone.
My name is not “Inadequate.”
I did not make my husband leave – he chose to,
and chooses not to pay child support.
Truth is thought, there isn’t a job base for all
fathers to support their families.
While society turns its head, my children pay the price. Continue reading “My Name is Not “Those People””
Radical Discipleship: Seven Communities
By Tim Nafziger, originally posted at Geez Magazine
Radical Discipleship: Seven communities that have shaped my journey as an Anabaptist
From February 16-20, 2015, I was immersed in the Between Seminary, Sanctuary, Streets and Soil: A Festival of Radical Discipleship. The gathering featured over 80 presenters from communities around the U.S. Their stories of radical discipleship inspired me to put together this primer of seven communities that I have visited and interacted with over the past decade. Each of them were represented at the Festival.
Read more here.
