Soul (and Brain) Food: July Edition … and May and June
Oh hi. Remember that time when SPC’s editorial director (read: me, Julia) totally missed the boat on the May and June editions of our Facebook reading roundups? I am sorry, friends. Let’s get back on track this month with a triple whammy of these past few months’ greatest hits, because whoo-boy, the world did NOT slow down.
May 2018
Have you seen Childish Gambino’s This is America? Watch it first (adult content warning) and then read Sharifa Stevens.
“We are three-fifths citizens. We want to be whole. Any Christian nation would elevate human dignity and eschew unjust scales. But this is America, not a Christian nation.”
“This Mother’s Day, I pray that the church does better by you, sister.
I pray the church sees you, I pray that the church is quiet and humble enough to understand that we can’t possibly understand, but walk beside you.
Nevertheless, we are here.
You are not alone.”
A letter for our sisters who mourn on Mother’s Day from Kaitlin B. Curtice.
This isn’t the first time I’ve recommended Jen Hatmaker’s podcast, but she had another wonderful episode in her series “For the Love of Exploring Our Faith.” Check out her conversation with Austin Channing Brown about her new book and her work as a racial reconciler. It is a powerful discussion.
Bishop Michael Curry took the #royalwedding to church. What a beautiful message of love.
“At a time when social media and email inboxes bulge with manifestos about the dangers posed by Trump, “Reclaiming Jesus” is distinctive: Its vision contrasts sharply with the approach taken by Christians who are invoking religious arguments in apologetics for a president whose actions and policies seem antithetical to almost everything Jesus taught.”
June 2018
“The point is that instead of asking ourselves and our politicians “Where do you stand on gun control?” we should be asking each other “What do you think about human nature?” or “Who do you think God is and how does God interact with the world?” We may still not agree, but these would at least be more interesting discussions. They may even be more fruitful. Knowing and acknowledging each other’s deepest truths, even if we don’t change them, could be a place to let some light into a discussion that has dwelled in utter darkness as of late.”
“But then I remember I am a Christian. And I cannot ignore the pain in our world, not when the God I worship has taken this pain into the life of God, into God’s self — worrying not about self-preservation but about world transformation.
And so I remember I am a Christian and I start reading entire articles — informing myself about what is happening and entering into the pain.”
Words she thought she’d never say.
“For that I thank you, Mr. Trump. Thank you for making us so righteously angry that we will refuse to be still and silent any longer. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for pushing us over the edge and giving our country a reason to shake things up from the top down.”
July 2018
“But of course, there is so much that is broken in our world — that is sick — that needs to be mended, healed — it will take time and it will require patience…But time isn’t the cure and patience isn’t all that is required. The plagues in our world require faith and action to defeat.”
“In any case, my love of America has never been the result of fantastic or blinkered esteem. Our history is rife with examples of our failures to live up to our commitments. We must face those failures in this and every generation squarely and without stint. I learned that from America, too.”
“The popular cliche “not all superheroes wear capes” makes all sorts of assumptions about what counts as superheroism and what doesn’t. Unfortunately for Black women, the long historical arcs of anti-Blackness, misogyny, and classist institutions in this country mean that our mere survival looks like an act of pure heroics, defying human law, when we’re usually just trying to save ourselves and the people we love.”
The Bible is literature for the resistance.
Powerful words from Rachel Held Evans
“To put one’s hope in Jesus, then, is to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary Jesus’ way of peace, justice, mercy and compassion will ultimately prevail over the empire’s ways of violence, exploitation, oppression and fear. Christians believe the resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives shape to these wild hopes. Even death at the hand of Rome could not keep him down.”
“But when politics affects whether and where Americans go to church, even our houses of worship become political echo chambers. Americans will increasingly find themselves able to bitterly denounce or unflinchingly laud Donald Trump, to a chorus of agreement. In the end, this will further divide us.”
“Twitter is not a religious institution, and Lin-Manuel Miranda does not use religious language. But he speaks the way a priest would, using words almost liturgical in their cadence, giving a high priestly blessing every morning and every evening.”
“The dilemma was that Trump was an immoral person doing what Crum considered to be moral things. The conservative judges. The antiabortion policies. And something else even more important to a small Southern Baptist congregation worried about their own annihilation.
“It encouraged them that we do still have some political power in this country,” said Crum.”
And to end this reading on a more joyful note …
“The fab five’s weeklong makeovers have taught us what it means to minister to a hurting person, reveal their value, and help them open up to joy and love.”
Have soul-changing books, articles, podcasts, songs, writers, speakers, etc. to share? Send them our way at spcsisterhoodchronicles@gmail.com!
