"Dear Virus, Thank you for shaking us and showing us that we are dependent on something much bigger than we think. Thank you for the humbleness that comes with this realization..." So, begins Riya Soko's extraordinary letter of gratitude to the virus that has turned the world upside down. Here it along with Jennifer Henry’s KAIROS Easter message from 2020 and still powerful today.
Read MoreIn his beloved book 99 Blessings: An Invitation to Life, Br. David Steindl-Rast writes, “Blessing, rightly understood, is the invisible bloodstream pulsating through the universe — alive and life-giving.” Each and every moment, we can cultivate deeper awareness of the blessing of simply being alive, greater appreciation for all that works and is sufficient in our lives, and wonder and awe for the miracles that are within and around us at all times.
Read MoreGratefulness.org offers us a meditation awakens us to the wonders of our world, reminds us about what truly matters, and invites us to notice the everyday gifts of our lives. Grateful living is way of life that does all of the above and, in so doing, contributes to a peaceful, thriving, and sustainable world – held as sacred by all. Following the meditation are questions and suggested practices for living out a grateful day.
Read MoreThe Stellenbosch University Choir is a choir affiliated with Stellenbosch University. Founded in 1936, it is the oldest choir in South Africa. The choir is viewed as a leading South African choral ensemble and has toured overseas extensively where it has won critical acclaim for its performances. Currently the US Choir is ranked number 1 on the Interkultur World Ranking List of the top 1000 international choirs.
Read MoreWe have Matthew's creative/fictitious genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1: 1 - 17) and we have Epiphany's story of the wandering Zoroastrian priests and the slaughter that followed (Matt. 2: 1 - 23). In both cases, Matthew is responding to the genealogy that the Roman Empire claimed for Augustus Caesar. Context. Context. Context.
Read More“The river in my song is a metaphor for being born again." The song was inspired by the traditional American spiritual "Down To The River To Pray," which was famously covered by Alison Krauss for the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? Bridges heard the tune at one of his local open mics. "It just really amazed me," he told Spin. "And it helped me find God in my story."
Read MoreCorinne Shutack is Working towards a world where pain and suffering isn’t caused by a fellow human. Here she offers 103 very specific things that white people can do for racial justice. Form a group and start working through the list. As Corinne says, “Our work to fix what we broke and left broken. The work isn’t done until Black folks tell us it’s done.”
Read MoreLayla F. Saad wrote Me and White Supremacy to encourage people who hold white privilege to examine their (often unconscious) racist thoughts and behaviours through a unique, twenty-eight-day reflection process complete with journaling prompts. This guided journal, which is to be used in tandem with the book, is the perfect place to continue your antiracism journey.
Read MoreOn The Bible for Normal People, Austin Channing Brown shares about her experience growing up in various churches and what we can learn from black churches - especially when it comes to preaching the Bible. Austin Channing Brown is a media producer, author, and speaker providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America.
Read MorePete Enns writes in his blog a simple explanation about the ‘history’ of the Bible and how and when it was written. It is a kind of overview understanding, which may help, if this is a new idea to you. Peter Enns has written numerous books, including The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works.
Read MoreAre you interested in the intersection of race and work? Listen to this interview between Jeff Shinabarger and Austin Channing Brown for new insights on what it looks like to pursue racial justice in our work for social good. It comes to us from ‘Plywood Presents’.
Read MoreAustin Channing Brown writes that she is “not interested in love that is aloof, in a love that qualifies the statement, “Black lives matter,” because it is unconvinced this is true. I am not interested in a love that refuses to see systems and structures of injustice, preferring to ask itself only about personal intentions. I need a love that is troubled by injustice.”
Read MoreIn this never-before-released interview, the late civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis talks systemic racism, permanent warfare, extreme poverty and nonviolence as a way of life with Rev. John Dear, a life long, committed pacifist. Both men are devoted Christians.
Read MoreI’m Still Here, is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God's ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness--if we let it--can save us all. It is a powerful account of how and why our actions so often fall short of our words.
Read MoreHere is a work book to accompany the reading of White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo, developed by DeAngelo and Ozlem Sensoy. It was created so that groups can read and reflect on the book together, working through each chapter with questions for consideration.
Read MoreMary Oliver saw the fingerprint of the divine in every detail of nature, marrying her love for all things alive with her search to make sense of the world. Here she reads from her own poetry.
Read MoreIn this video, University of Washington professor Dr. Robin DiAngelo reads from her book "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism," explains the phenomenon, and discusses how white people can develop their capacity to engage more constructively across race.
Read MoreTrauma therapist and author of My Grandmother's Hands, Resmaa Menakem talks honestly and directly about the historical and current traumatic impacts of racism in the U.S., and the necessity for us all to recognize this trauma, metabolize it, work through it, and grow up out of it. Only in this way will we at last heal our bodies, our families, and the social body of our nation. Though he speaks from an American viewpoint, his observations and solutions are not confined to any country but have world wide applications.
Somatic Abolitionism is not a human invention. It is the resourcing of energies that are always present in your body, in the collective body, and in the world. Somatic Abolitionism is an emergent process.
Read MoreIt has become clear that in regards to anti-racism, the best laws and diversity training have not gotten us anywhere near where we want to go. Therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem is working with old wisdom and very new science about our bodies and nervous systems, and all we condense into the word “race.” Resmaa Menakem’s practices offer us the beginning to change at a cellular level. He offers free of charge a course you can take to learn these practices.
Read MoreThe Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network has taken up the challenge of resourcing and accompanying communities of faith in their journey toward truth and reconciliation. This resource zeros in on White privilege as an essential aspect of anti-racism work. Racism is one expression of the White privilege and supremacy that is present in day-to-day interactions and built into systems and church structures. It is impossible to do anti-racism work without examining White identity and the unearned power and privilege that flows from that identity.
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