The Word As Resistance

In the age of #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter, #TimesUp, and so many other movements for justice, what does Wisdom, as a harbinger of the Divine Feminine, have to say to us about anger--its expression and reception? Join Nichola Torbett as she explores this question in light of Serena Williams treatment at the U.S. open and the many movements currently afoot. The transcript with action links and resourc...

Join Blyth Barnow as she explores the story of Doubting Thomas. When it comes to racism and white supremacy, white doubt is often a wounding thing. So what would it cost us to believe? See our website for the transcript of this and other episodes. showingupforracialjustice.org/podcast

We are descendants of a lineage of people using what privilege they had to take on an unjust system, whether through advocacy, direct action, or revolution. Here, in this moment, and in the place where you are, what will you do? Transcript with action links available here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/the-word-is-resistance.html

TWIR 9.2.18 Don't Skip the Strike! by The Word As Resistance

What do this week's texts have to offer us when the whole armor of white supremacy shows up to threaten our work towards collective liberation, and how we nourish ourselves for doing this work for the long haul? Check out what Rev. Anne has been reflecting on about all this. Transcript with action ideas available here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/the-word-is-resistance.html

Does the progressive church have a meaningful alternative to offer that can counter the pseudo-meaning people derive from white supremacy and white nationalism? In this episode, Nichola Torbett takes an honest look at what we need to develop and who we need to become as followers of Jesus in order to defeat white supremacy in the longterm. Community Safety for All Campaign https://docs.google.com/...

As the 1st Anniversary of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, VA approaches, John Bergen interviews a Charlottesville organizer about how we got to this moment, what the community faced on A12, and how they have built networks of care and resilience in the aftermath of trauma. Resources for supporting Charlottesville: https://congregatecville.com/call-to-action-for-people-of-faith/ http...

This week's podcast, brought to the table by Haven Herrin of Soulforce, explores how the miracles, for example the manna in the desert and the fishes and loaves, function to bind a people together in a specific time and place. While we need to dream of the wild world of liberation and the end to white supremacy for sustenance, there is no substitute for doing the work....and our work and gifts are...

This week, John Bergen interviews Betsy Morgan about her experience organizing her congregation in the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s and how abundance shows up in our relationships.

"Come away and rest for a while." What might Jesus's collective call to rest have to teach us as white folks where our worth as human beings is rooted? Rev. Anne says, "If we’re doing the work in the hopes of proving our worth, Then get in the boat with Jesus." Links to the Mr. Rogers song mentioned: “Sometimes I Wonder If I’m A Mistake,” from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Episode 1578. Lyrics: http:/...

Reflections on the David's dance and the dance before Herod. How can these stories help us reflect on the ways we dance and demonstrate within the movement? Here is the link to the article "It's Not Civil Disobedience if You Ask for Permission". https://truthout.org/articles/its-not-civil-disobedience-if-you-ask-for-permission/ Here is a Jericho walk toolkit from the New Sanctuary Coalition. https...

This week Rev. Anne Dunlap draws the connection between Jesus being unwelcome in his hometown and teaching his team to shake off the dust from their feet when they are unwelcome (Mark 6: 1-13), with some Langston Hughes and Dr. Vincent Harding to help us think about all of this in the context of the 4th of July. "This empire that holds the truths of white supremacy and capitalism to be self-eviden...

Haven Herrin, Director of Soulforce, explores how white folks can hold power as a resource in community–not over or under-selling our agency–by having courageous and vulnerable relationships that guide us in using privilege and access for solidarity and collective liberation. Find the transcript for this episode here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/the-word-is-resistance.html

John Bergen discusses David and Goliath, throwing stones at oppressors, and how we so often turn to throwing stones at each other instead of building a movement that can transform this world. The transcript for this episode can be found here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/the-word-is-resistance.html

This week offers us a great opportunity to talk with other white folks about power--how we use it, abuse it, deny it, give it away, or harness it. Listen along as Nichola explores some of what the Israelites' request for a king has to say to our own relationship to power. "Power is not a feeling but a systemic reality with which we must grapple. If we don't, we will abuse it."

In this episode Margaret Ernst looks at Isaiah's call story and ask what it means for truth to burn out of people's lips. What happens when prophetic fire and rage is directed at us when we are complicit with and perpetuate racism? Will we let it change and transform us, or put up our defenses? She also shares updates about an extreme anti-immigrant bill that is becoming law in Tennessee, called H...

My name is Haven Herrin and I am excited to join The Word is Resistance crew with my first podcast for the project. This session focuses on Pentecost, a time of rejuvenation, gratitude, and full-body experiences. A good time to get out of our heads, appreciate different ways of knowing, and build strong relationship.

In this week's episode Rev. Anne Dunlap reflects on her homesickness for the South and the connections that might have to the reading from John's gospel: Jesus's prayer for his people before his arrest. "Rather like John’s gospel, The South can be a complicated place. Though not really any different than any other place In this country, cuz let’s be real, white supremacy Is not limited to south of...

The story of Paul and Cornelius is one of those stories that shows a lack of interest in the long-term transformation of the privileged. John Bergen asks us how we show up after the moment of transformation, after we have been invited into struggle. The transcript and links for resources is available here: http://showingupforracialjustice.org/podcast

A beautiful reflection from Blyth Barnow on the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch asserting their power and worth; Barnow draws powerful connections with the demands white supremacy impose on us and harm reduction strategies for drug use. See our website for the transcript of this and other episodes. http://showingupforracialjustice.org/podcast

This week Rev. Allyn Maxfield-Steele reflects on what it means to be sheep protected by gates and good shepherds - that we as communities are meant to be whole, and not torn apart by systems of state violence. The action alert ties in to ICE raids that are happening around Appalachia. Links for the action alert can be found in the transcript here: http://showingupforracialjustice.org/podcast

Rev. Will Green has some thoughts about the story of Thomas told in John 20. Transcript will be available here: http://showingupforracialjustice.org/podcast

In this episode, contributor Nichola Torbett muses about how the Easter appearance stories give us an opportunity to explore our relationship to bodies--our own and others'.

In our Easter podcast, Rev. Anne Dunlap explores the grief of Mary Magdalene as a key to understanding the resurrection of Jesus. "And it is The Magdalene, Grieving from the depths of her shattered heart, Who gets to see Jesus. The Magdalene, Whose grief is affirmed by angels And by Jesus alike. The Magdalene who is given a message, The Magdalene who is sent, The Magdalene who announces -- " The c...

This week we take on Holy Week texts for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in the final podcast with contributors to RESIPISCENCE: A LENTEN DEVOTIONAL TO DISMANTLE WHITE SUPREMACY. Listen in! (And thanks for your patience with some sound issues). To order the devotional, visit www.transformnetwork.org/bookstore/ To learn more about the SURJ-Faith campaign "Community Safety for All," visit www.showin...