December 4

Many people express their distrust in Abolition because of all the uncertainty it holds. They come to the big, bold dreams of a world where we take care of each other, free of coercion and criminalization, with a lot of questions. How do we get from here to there? What happens when…? How would we do this part and that part and this part and…?

And of course we come with our questions! The very systems we are aiming to abolish – policing and punishment in material, relational, and theological forms – have been working to convince us theirs is the way of certainty, the promise of security, the guarantee of outcomes.

What a practice of faith, to exchange control for something so differently trustworthy.

Harm Reduction is one material embodiment of this practice of faith. A practice of care without coercion. Of community without control. Of honoring the agency of others without judging perceived outcomes. Of providing resources and services without conditions. Love has never promised us certainty but it does offer clarity, enabling us to be present to what is and still practicing so much into possibility.

Prayer

God of ever-emerging possibilities,
in this season of waiting, root us mystery. 
Loosen our grip on what we know
so we might open our hands to a different kind of trust.
Give us the courage to lean into uncertainty
as the fertile darkness in which your steadfast love
continues to grow and emerge. 
With unclenched hope, we pray.  Amen.

Freedom Song

Music: Spirit Found Us by Lisa Littlebird
Offered by: Sharon R. Fennema