I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. If I could get every white person to read just one thing about the work of anti-racism, particularly related to policing and prison abolition, it would the “Tension” chapter of Elle Dowd’s Baptized in Tear Gas: From White Moderate to Abolitionist.… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Scattered and broken
Oh Holy One, We are broken and scattered. Our hearts are crushed. We see the debris of lives before us, tossed about with indifference and violence. We see the carnage of prejudice and bigotry. We are grieving. We stare at the broken bodies, the tearful families, the aches that cannot be eased, the posturing and… Read More
RevGalBookPals: White Spaces Missing Faces
I am writing today from Big Timber, Montana, which was built on land inhabited by Niitsítpiis-stahkoii ᖹᐟᒧᐧᐨᑯᐧ ᓴᐦᖾᐟ (Blackfoot / Niitsítapi ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ), Apsaalooké (Crow), Cheyenne, and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ peoples. It’s been a few months since I put a book review up here. First off, I want to acknowledge that many people have had difficulty reading… Read More
Friday Prayer
One to Whom Revenge Belongs, I feel almost nothing but rage and grief. I am surrounded by those who make a mockery of truth, honesty, and justice.Their yes is “if it pleases me”. Their no is “if it pleases me”.Their vows are fulfilled on the bodies of people slain just for living while black or brown… Read More
Friday Prayer: Honoring Congressman John Lewis
Essay by Congressman Lewis here. The Reverend Julia Seymour serves Big Timber Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Big Timber, MT. She blogs at lutheranjulia.blogspot.com and readsallthethings.com. She contributed to There’s A Woman in the Pulpit and is President of the board of RevGalBlogPals, Inc. RevGalBlogPals encourages you to share our blog posts via email or social media. We do not grant… Read More
Saturday Prayer: Brokenness
Holy One, We are struggling, and the weight of loss and grief is breaking us. The waves of injustice upon injustice, violence upon violence are drowning our hearts. We pour out our questions of “why’s” and “why not’s”. We look for answers within our own understanding and experience… and there is nothing. We have chosen… Read More
Thursday Prayer
Dear God, The prophets cry No justice! No peace! Black Lives Matter! The systems of oppression, the practices of white supremacy are again being exposed. We pray for change. Sustain us in action. Fire our hearts with your love for the world. Amen. Jemma Allen is a priest of the Anglican Church in… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
WTF!? George couldn’t breathe God! Why couldn’t they hear him? Did you hear George crying out, God? I am holding on to the hope that with every precious breath we are yet allowed to take— you are with us. But, damn! How much more can we endure, God? I must confess that it is hard to… Read More
Friday Prayer
Holy God- Into your hands I commit the spirit of Ahmaud Arbery, that he may rest in peace and rise in power. Into your hands I commit the spirits of his family, his friends, his community, and all who knew him and loved him. Into your hands I commit the spirits of the people who… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
God, we can’t even remember what day it is These times still seem so surreal A pandemic Constant political unrest A Black man shot down while jogging Babies in cages Yet we still sing, “It is well with my soul…” Willing it. Believing it. Working to make it so. But how can it be? How… Read More