December 5 - Like Those Who Dream
…of the approaches we take in response. May the fullness of our vision of restoration empower us to be like those who dream, imagining a system and a world where healing and true safety are centered. Prayer Inhale: Even while I wait, Exhale: I will be like those who dream. Artwork: “Conjure” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)…
December 15 - Signs and Wonders
…the need for justice and change among us. These signs are an invitation to be advocates for the change we want to see – they are abolition dreams. There are signs everywhere. How many signs do you need? Prayer Inhale: Signs and wonders abound. Exhale: God help me practice attention. Artwork: “Awaken” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)…
December 14 - New Prophets Rising
…into the way of peace? Prayer God of tender mercy, we are waiting. Come. New-day Maker, Dawn-Breaker, we are preparing. Come. With-Us-in-the-Darkness, Abiding One, we are longing. Come. Bringer of Peace, Maker of Ways-Out-of-No-Way, we are hoping. Come. Come, and be born in our hearts and our actions. Amen. Artwork: “Raise Up” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)…
November 30 - Nearing Daybreak
…warmth of its sun. Prayer Holy One, Giver of Light, awaken us from our slumber, assuage our fears of change, fill us with compassion, cover us with grace, and embolden us with your Spirit as we clumsily leave places where we see justice dimly, moving toward the dawning light. Amen. Artwork: “Dismantle” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)…
December 7 - Midwives of Justice
…songs like Mary, songs that imagine a world turned upside down by revolutionary Love-become-flesh. As we wait expectantly for the coming of your realm (that will surely come), empower us to become midwives, co-conspirators with you, ushering in a new day of freedom, where your love and justice prevail. Amen. Artwork: “Midwife” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)…
December 22 - Creating Accountability
“Abolition involves dismantling institutions that reproduce and mask harm, but it also demands the more radical work to imagine and to build up practices, vocabularies, and communities that facilitate [freedom]. The work to build up community responses to end…violence; the mobilizations to challenge the indefinite caging of our communities; our collective and daily labor inside and outside of prisons…
December 15
…God’s light shining through us. From a theological standpoint, we can hold together the present and future of liberation in which communal/community/communion and celebration in the present serve as precursors to a future when the mending of all that has been disrupted is complete, because everyone is essential, present and welcomed at the table, just as they are and are…
December 21
The passage we read from scripture for today comes from the very end of the letter to the Thessalonians. It is part of the author’s last words of encouragement and teaching to this young community of Jesus followers. As the letter writer winds up their thoughts, they vacillate between encouraging the community to stay vigilant in their expectant waiting…
November 29 - Borders and the Promised Land
…practice, make us and our communities a sacred refuge, a sanctuary, a “house of the Lord” for all seekers and sojourners, so that we may be the welcoming blessing that makes others glad. May we wait with as much eagerness for their coming as we do for yours. Amen. Artwork: “Promise Land” by Yohana Junker (discover more at: https://www.yohanajunker.com/)…