Instagram Posts from the Week of August 18, 2019

Headlines and History - Aug. 18, 2019

It is time for another installment of Headlines and History.

In an article in the New York Times from April 25, 2019 titled “Flint’s Water Crisis Started 5 Years Ago. It’s Not Over,”  Mitch Smith, Julie Bosman, and Monica Davey wrote about the current conditions in Flint, Michigan after a five year ordeal that left many suffering due to high levels of lead in the community’s water. Though new pipes are being installed and the water has been declared safe, residents continue to drink bottled water and are wary in the aftermath of the adversity they have faced.

Environmental injustice against communities where the residents are people of color and/or poor is a part of the past and present in the United States. Privileged communities don’t have to worry about if the drinking water is safe for consumption. Renee Skelton and Vernice Miller for The Natural Resources Defense Council explained in “The Environmental Justice Movement” details of the roots of the Environmental Justice Movement, referencing the experiences of residents in Warren County, NC, California's San Joaquin valley, Houston, TX, and West Harlem, in New York City. The Environmental Protection Agency’s website has an Environmental Justice Timeline that begins with the Memphis Sanitation Strike in February 1968 and moves chronologically through events that demonstrate environmental injustice. Reading the progression from one event to the next allows us to see the connectedness of the past to the present.

Our past is intertwined with and informed by our past. We must face the past so we can heal the future.

*Edited to add: On June 17, 2020, I came across The Redemption Project with Van Jones for CNN. I read the words, “Face the past. Heal the future.” I will no longer use this phrase for my Headlines and History posts beginning in June 2020.

#environmentalinjustice #environmentalracism #systemicinjustice #systemicracism #flintwatercrisis #socialjustice #loveyourneighbor #seekjustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #lament #repent #repair #stewardship #creationcare #facethepast #healthefuture #headlines #history #headlinesandhistory #historyandheadlines #broadeningthenarrative



Podcast Rec - Aug. 20, 2019

It’s podcast rec day!

Current Listen - Another Name for Every Thing with Richard Rohr: Nonviolent Atonement (Released March 30, 2019)

“It’s not God who is violent. We are. And we want God to fit our definition… God doesn’t follow our tit for tat… Retribution is quid pro quo… Restorative justice is… 'I will love you even more.'” - Richard Rohr

In the past year, I have been humbled by the reality that I don’t know it all when it comes to theology. Truth be told, there isn’t much that I am sure of these days, and I am embarrassed by how confident I was before beginning this journey of learning from voices like that of Richard Rohr. He is kind, tender, and gracious in his speech and evokes images in my mind of Christ’s treatment of those who questioned Him, not in order to trap Him but in order to understand Him. I can tell you information about about a couple of different atonement theories, but don’t ask me what I believe about atonement theories right now. I’m still reading, listening, questioning, processing, and praying. One thing I can say, though, is that the way I parent my kids has shifted as I approach discipline looking through a restorative, rather than a retributive, lens. There is a whole world of Christian doctrine I have yet to explore. As I evolve, my goal in this life remains the same: love as Jesus loved. Here’s to becoming more like Jesus.

What podcasts have you listened to recently?

#richardrohr #anothernameforeverything #podcast #podcastrecommendation #universalchrist #faith #hope #love #lovingthebibleagain #loveyourneighbor #nonviolentatonement #restorativejustice #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - Aug. 21, 2019

It’s Wednesday, so I will highlight an account I follow.

I recently discovered the Crushing Colonialism Instagram page. As you can see on their website, “Crushing Colonialism tells the stories of Indigenous people to create a world that values and honors Indigeneity.”

During my journey broadening the narrative, and in some cases completely discarding the narrative I was taught, I have deeply appreciated those who allow me to learn from them. The thought-provoking posts shared on the Crushing Colonialism page are piercing and require action in my daily life, not from a place of white saviorism but from submitting myself to diverse leadership.

Follow @crushingcolonialism if you aren’t already, and financially support the work of Indigenous media makers.

#crushingcolonialism #accounttofollow #supportindigenousmediamakers #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #antiracism #antiracist #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #broadeningthenarrative



Additional Rec - Aug. 22, 2019

Since it is Thursday, this post will be about an additional recommendation I found beneficial on my journey in broadening the narrative.

I am blessed by deep and beautiful relationships with single women. I appreciate their vulnerability. They dispense wisdom, are patient with me, and trust me enough to teach me. For example, I learned to not refer to singleness as a season or a stage of life. One friend explained that she doesn’t know if her singleness is just a season. Another friend graciously offered advice for replacing this language with the phrase “life circumstances.” I don’t want my words to wound my single sisters, so I want to submit myself to them to learn from them and discover ways to better love them.

 Last year, I read an article from January 17, 2017 by Ekemini Uwan for Christianity Today titled “Singleness: My Only Companion.” Ekemini Uwan wrote about her experience as a single woman, the shame that has accompanied her singleness at times, and the God who sees. “I am amazed that the first recorded appearance of the angel of the Lord is in this encounter with Hagar who was not a Jew but a Gentile excluded from the covenant promises during this period in redemptive history. And I am struck that her cause was not disregarded nor forgotten by God. He took her shame and bestowed her with honor. The Lord is the lifter of Hagar’s head. He also lifts mine and others who have experienced the debilitating nature of shame.”

Dear single sisters, God sees you and values you. You are not second-class citizens but are vital members of the Body. I am sorry for the ways I have excluded you or hurt you. I want to do better and will strive to do better. Thank you for sharing your insights, knowledge, and experiences with me. I see you and value you. I am ministered to as you exercise your gifts and praise God for our friendship as my life is enriched by each of you.

#singlesisters #singlebrotherstoo #singleness #singleexperiencesinthechurch #ekeminiuwan #conversationsincommunity #community #bettertogether #empathy #equality #learning #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Book Rec - Aug. 24, 2019

It’s book post day!

Past Read- The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

“Throughout this journey several themes dot the horizon of history. One notable theme is that white supremacy in the nation and the church was not inevitable. Things could have been different" (Tisby, 2019, p. 18).

“The forty-fifth president did not produce the racial and political divide between black and white Christians, but he exposed and extended longstanding differences while revealing the inadequacy of recent reconciliation efforts” (Tisby, 2019, p. 189).

“If the twenty-first century is to be different from the previous four centuries, then the American church must exercise even more creativity and effort to break down racial barriers than it took to erect them in the first place” (Tisby, 2019, p. 193).

I had the privilege of being part of the launch team for The Color of Compromise, and I wrote a review for the book after reading an advance copy. I am deeply grateful for the prophetic voice of Jemar Tisby and urge everyone to purchase a copy of this essential historical survey.

What are you reading? 

#pastread #thecolorofcompromise #jemartisby #essentialreading #bookrecommendation #highlyrecommend #reading #learning #history #churchhistory #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #loveyourneighbor #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative