About the Lent 2021:
Leaning into Justice Challenge

You are invited to participate in the Leaning into Justice Challenge, a unique Lenten Spiritual practice from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Each week, you will learn about a specific social justice issue through curated articles, videos, and podcasts. Guided reflection activities will help you process this material. Then, each Saturday (and Friday of Holy Week), you will be challenged to take action and “Do One Thing.” Sunday will be a day of rest. The way the challenge is set up with a new focus each week – you can jump in anytime.

The Lent 2021: Leaning into Justice Challenge is open to all, regardless of location. There are some resources and action items that are specific to Cincinnati, Ohio (where the Justice Ministry of Hyde Park Community UMC is located); however, we’ve also included resources and action ideas that are relevant beyond Cincinnati. 

Our hope is that this spiritual practice during Lent is just the beginning! As you explore various justice issues through learning, reflection, and action–may God reveal your Divine call in the work of justice. If you already consider yourself a co-conspirator with God and others in the work of justice–may you be renewed and strengthened in your passions, gifts, and calling in this season through this Lenten challenge. 

Sign up to join the challenge:

Weekly Structure

The rhythm of the week will be as follows: prepare, reflect, learn, act, rest with most weeks having two learn and reflect days. Learn more about what to expect for each day:

Justice is the heartbeat of God. Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring United Methodist Social Principles, and prayer.

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Growing in our knowledge of social justice issues prepares us to be informed and helps us better tackle real-world problems by looking at them from multiple viewpoints. Each “Learn” day will offer multiple resources to learn more about a particular justice topic. Watch, read, and listen as much as you are able.

After a “Learn” day, you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched, and/or listened to. You may have learned a new idea that conflicts with your existing ideas or thoughts, and we encourage you to examine that tension. Without reflection, you might dismiss the tension by asserting “I’m right, and they’re wrong,” or you could avoid the conflict by conceding, “I must have been wrong.” However, there is wisdom to be gained from the tension. By engaging in reflective practice, you have the opportunity to reframe, recast, and reconstruct your past understandings, moving back and forth between what you know and what you do as a follower of Jesus working towards social change.

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout the week, it is time to take action! Exploring social justice issues can seem overwhelming. Though you may have a deep desire to act, you may not know what you can do to help or even where to start. So, each week we will offer multiple suggestions for ways to put your faith into action to help bring about social change. If you have your own action idea – do it!

Justice deserves great effort and exertion. However, in today’s world, our social justice work often mimics the exhausting routine of the fiercely competitive struggle for wealth and power. To cultivate an alternative way, we would do well to model the biblical rhythm of Sabbath. Compassion for the world and practice of the Sabbath for the body and soul are intimately interconnected. We cannot serve the world without setting time aside for re-creative rest. We cannot do re-creative work from a place of exhaustion and burnout. So on Sundays, we rest.

Week 1: Housing Equity

February 17-21

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Justice is the heartbeat of God. Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring United Methodist Social Principles, and prayer.   

Economic Justice: Housing Equity

“Economic Justice” is one of the six pillars of The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church equipping the Church to the work of living faith, seeking justice, and pursuing peace. Each week we will focus on a different pillar as we lean in to different social justice issues. This week, our focus will be on housing equity. Scripture and United Methodist tradition affirm a vision of abundant living where all God’s children have access to sufficient resources to thrive. The Bible is consistent in its vision of a just economic order. It warns against greed, calls us to love and care for one another, and compels us to seek justice for the poor. 

Scripture – Read Luke 9:51 – 62

When we read this passage through the lens of the contemporary issue of homelessness and the crisis in affordable housing, a different set of images comes to the fore. Jesus says here that while even animals have homes, he has nowhere to lay his head. What does it mean to follow the one who literally experiences homelessness for our sake? What would it look like to follow Jesus such that even our homes become sanctuaries for the poor, the oppressed, the homeless? Do we have the moral imagination to envision our church buildings as shelter for those who need it? Do we have the courage to challenge the structures of our society that inevitably make some rich and others poor? And do we really trust Jesus enough to renounce our own sources of security? This calling to a costly discipleship resonates throughout Luke’s gospel; what might it look like in our own lives?

Churches can play a prophetic role and raise ethical questions when the complexities of homelessness and inadequate housing are being examined. When confronted with difficult challenges, first and foremost churches must always affirm the dignity of every human being and the right of every person to a habitat that allows him or her to grow into all God intended. We must also remember that God dwells in each person as scripture reveals, “God created humankind in God’s image” (Genesis 1:27).

Your home, or more importantly, the kind of home you can access, determines or has a major impact on most every other important variable for your social and economic success. Where you live determines where your children go to school and how far you must go for goods, services or employment. The neighborhood around you determines your social interactions and your sense of safety and well-being. The quality of your home also has significant impact on your personal health in terms of environmental factors like lead paint, asbestos, mold, toxins, disease and injury.

-Adapted from Affordable Housing – Proper 8 NC Council of Churches

From the United Methodist Social Principles – The Social Community:

The rights and privileges a society bestows upon or withholds from those who comprise it indicate the relative esteem in which that society holds particular persons and groups of persons. United Methodists affirm all persons as equally valuable in the sight of God. We therefore work toward societies in which each person’s value is recognized, maintained, and strengthened. We support the basic rights of all persons to equal access to housing, education, communication, employment, medical care, legal redress for grievances, and physical protection. We deplore acts of hate or violence against groups or persons based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. Our respect for the inherent dignity of all persons leads us to call for the recognition, protection, and implementation of the principles of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights so that communities and individuals may claim and enjoy their universal, indivisible, and inalienable rights. 

Prayer:

O Lord, by whose cross all enmity is brought to an end, break down the walls that separate us. Help us understand how to tear down the former things. Show us how to bring renewal to your world. Awaken in us the passion to dream. Guide us as we journey through Lent leaning into justice as we take small steps toward great visions. We ask that you give us wisdom and strength, patience and compassion. Lord, who can make all things new, open our eyes. Let us see in our own communities and around the globe those who are without shelter. Today we lift up to you those who yearn for a simple, decent and affordable place to call home. Give us courage to respond. As we give of ourselves, let us be grateful for those who give to us. By the power of your Spirit, make us one. Amen.

-Adapted from the “International Day of Prayer and Action for Habitat for Humanity”

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Growing in our knowledge of social justice issues prepares us to be informed and helps us better tackle real-world problems by looking at them from multiple viewpoints. Each “Learn” day will offer multiple resources to learn more about a particular justice topic. Learning is followed by reflection and culminates in action. Watch, read, and listen as much as you are able:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched, and/or listened to regarding housing equity. Yesterday, you may have learned a new idea that conflicts with your existing ideas or thoughts, and we want you to examine that tension. Without reflection, you might dismiss the tension by asserting “I’m right, and they’re wrong,” or you could avoid the conflict by conceding, “I must have been wrong.” However, there is wisdom to be gained from the tension. By engaging in reflective practice, you have the opportunity to reframe, recast, and reconstruct your past understandings, moving back and forth between what you know and what you do as a follower of Jesus working towards social change. Each Saturday, you will be invited to apply what you’ve learned and reflected on, to put your faith into action as a way to help bring about social change.  

Growing up, did you live in a house that was owned by your caregiver or did you live in a rented dwelling? Think about how your accumulated wealth would be different today if you were only able to rent where you lived, having no assistance from family for a downpayment. OK, you worked hard and saved mightily but were not allowed to buy a home in a “good” neighborhood where housing values appreciated. What kind of generational wealth would you be able to pass on to your children?

Is it just or equitable that people of color have been denied for generations the ability to get government loans and buy in desirable neighborhoods? Give some thought to how that injustice can be repaired (reparations) after decades of harmful redlining imposed upon Black and Brown communities.

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on Housing Equity, it is time to take action! Exploring social justice issues can seem overwhelming. Though you may have a deep desire to act, you may not know what you can do to help or even where to start. So, each week we will offer multiple suggestions for ways to put your faith into action to help bring about social change. If you have your own action idea – do it! 

General/Nationwide:

  • Contact your members of Congress:
    • Help ensure that the next COVID relief package includes resources and protections for America’s lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness.
    • Take Action Today!
  • Connect and Engage in the work in your state.
    • Connect with partners to expand housing resources in your state and engage members of congress in solutions to end housing poverty.
    • Take Action Today. 
  • Get involved with the National Coalition for the Homeless and/or see if Habitat for Humanity and/or Family Promise (Interfaith Hospitality Network) is where you live and get involved with their local chapter.

Cincinnati Specific:

Justice deserves great effort and exertion. However, in today’s world, our social justice work often mimics the exhausting routine of the fiercely competitive struggle for wealth and power. To cultivate an alternative way, we would do well to model the biblical rhythm of Sabbath. Compassion for the world and practice of the Sabbath for the body and soul are intimately interconnected. We cannot serve the world without setting time aside for re-creative rest. We cannot do re-creative work from a place of exhaustion and burnout. So today, we invite you to learn about The Nap Ministry and rest:

For most weeks, we will be utilizing The Nap Ministry’s framework for our rest day and encourage you to learn about The Nap Ministry. The Nap Ministry is deeply influenced by Black Liberation Theology, Womanism/Womanist Theology, AfroFuturism, Reparations Theory, Somatics and Community Organizing. 

Read the Nap Ministry’s Framework 

“Rest is not some cute lil luxury item you grant to yourself as an extra treat after you’ve worked like a machine and are now burned out. Rest is our path to liberation. A portal for healing. A human right.” – The Nap Ministry

Week 2: Environmental Justice

February 22 - 28

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Environmental Justice is one of the six pillars of The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church equipping the Church to the work of living faith, seeking justice, and pursuing peace. The United Methodist Church has long supported action to address the present and growing threat of a changing climate. As scientific evidence confirms the scope of the challenge, our relationships in community deepen our commitment and inform our response.

Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring United Methodist Social Principles, and prayer.

Scripture – Read Genesis 1-3

As revealed through the creation story of the Bible, humankind has struggled from our earliest days to live in right relationship with the created world, with each other and with God. God’s vision of shalom invites all of creation to know wholeness and harmony and yet too often we have treated creation simply as a resource for humankind’s use.
 
The natural world is a loving gift from God, the creator and sustainer, who has entrusted it in all its fullness to the care of all people for God’s glory and to the good of all life on earth now and in generations to come. The image of God in us (Genesis1:27) is reflected in our abilities, responsibilities, and integrity, and with the power of the Holy Spirit we are called as God’s coworkers in dialogue and covenant to live and serve for the good of creation. We confess that we have turned our backs on our responsibilities in neglect, selfishness, and pride. And yet Christ’s redeeming and restoring work through his death and resurrection embraces all of creation. Even in the face of destruction and disaster, we believe that God’s vision for the world is of peace and wholeness and that God offers to us a future filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11). This vision has a present and a future in the promise of a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1-8). – 2016 United Methodist Book of Resolutions #1035

“All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings.” — United Methodist Social Principles, ¶160

Today, we understand more deeply than ever before, the profound consequences of our failure to serve as caretakers of God’s creation. Ecological crises and extreme poverty are a reflection of our inability to share the abundance God has entrusted to our care. Ever-expanding scientific knowledge helps us better understand and informs our response to challenges ranging from the health impacts of environmental toxins to the threats posed by climate change.

United Methodists are called to a ministry of reconciliation between God, humankind and creation. In and alongside frontline communities experiencing environmental injustices, we are participating in God’s healing of creation. Through acts of personal, social and civic righteousness, United Methodists are modeling a new lifestyle and advocating for God’s people and God’s planet so that all God’s children can share in the goodness of Creation.

From https://www.umcjustice.org/what-we-care-about/environmental-justice

Prayer: 

Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth and till it. Help us to act now for the good of future generations and all your creatures. Help us to become instruments of a new creation, founded on the covenant of your love.

– The Cry of the Earth

Developing awareness and understanding of environmental justice is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Read as much as you are able:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read regarding environmental justice. 

Think about the article(s) you read yesterday. Put yourself in the place of a Flint resident who has been forced to receive polluted and dangerous water from your faucet, potentially permanently harming or killing you or a family member. How would your daily life be changed by living with poisonous water from your tap? 

Imagine what you would do if your family lost its multi-generational farm or fishing industry due to droughts, floods, fires or dead zones? How does this picture change if you don’t have the resources to relocate?

How are you currently (or how can you start more consciously) contributing to an economy that values God’s people and God’s planet?

Developing awareness and understanding of food insecurity and sustainability is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Read and watch as much as you are able:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read and/or watched regarding food justice and sustainability. 

Think for a few minutes about the consequences of living in a food desert. Imagine you do not have reliable transportation to drive to a supermarket with fresh meat and produce. Your quickest and cheapest option to feed your family with your limited income is the corner convenience store and a fast-food restaurant a couple of blocks away. 

Now, think what measures would need to be taken to bring equitable access to this same area. What systemic problems created this food desert?

“Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and persistence. It is not a liberal or conservative activity; it is a sacred act. It is a massive enterprise undertaken by ordinary citizens everywhere, not by self appointed governments or oligarchies.“ -Paul Hawked

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on environmental justice, it is time to take action! If you have your own action idea – do it! 

General / Nationwide: 

  • Write to your elected officials about climate change
  • Turn your surplus food into meals for your hungry neighbors. Create a regular donation schedule or donate last minute, whatever works best for you. Download the app and register as a Food Donor Today!
  • Sign up today to serve as a Food Rescuer in your area. In your own vehicle and on your own time, pick up surplus food from Food Donors (grocers, restaurants, etc.) and deliver it directly to local Receiving Agencies (community kitchens, food pantries, etc.) that feed our hungry neighbors. It typically takes only 30 minutes to complete this incredibly rewarding and essential mission each time you serve. Get started on the app to see the complete schedule of local food rescue opportunities. 
  • Pick a few ways to use less water with these 100+ ideas to conserve
  • Make your own indoor Compost Bin or outdoor Compost Bin. If you are unable to compost where you live, some communities offer food scrap pick-up services for a fee. Check to see if compost pickup services exist in your area.
  • Calculate your carbon footprint and commit to reducing it at least 10% this year.
  • Refuse disposable plastic bottles, bags, straws, cutlery and cups! Say NO to single-use plastic.
  • Learn how to Reuse, recycle, reduce at work and at home
  • Purchase/make reusable shopping bags instead of using plastics/paper bags. Keep them in your car to use the next time you go to the store.
  • Plan a day without meat…maybe “Meatless Monday” every week!

Cincinnati Specific:

  • La Soupe Cincinnati bridges the gap between food waste and hunger using a chef based model by rescuing perishable food, transforming it into delicious and nutritious meals, and sharing with the food insecure and our supporters. 
  • Schedule a day to volunteer at the Freestore Foodbank. Scroll down to find available times with the orange “sign up” tab to the right of the date. 
  • Start a Compost Bin
    • Better Bin offers service options for residents in Cincinnati to divert their food and organic waste streams from landfills, in order to produce nutrient rich soil for local food sources, and avoid greenhouse gas emissions. You can choose from pick up service (check out local pick up area) or drop off service at Hyde Park’s Farmers’ Market (for any Cincinnati resident). Sign up to receive your first bin today!

We cannot serve the world without setting time aside for re-creative rest. So today, we invite you to rest and think about this prompt:

When God created the world, the Divine rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath day was established in the beginning. Fast forward to the days of Moses. In the 10 Commandments, the people of Israel were commanded to never forget the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. Now fast forward once again to the New Testament where Jesus speaks often of the Sabbath and we are told that a Sabbath rest still remains for God’s people (Hebrews 4:9) To say that the Sabbath is important to God is an understatement.

No one can work 24/7, right? Perhaps today’s trend of online working or learning from home makes setting aside time to rest more difficult, yet more important than ever. For physical health and spiritual well-being, we need rest. Rest renews and re-energizes us to work more effectively later.  When we take time to rest, we are better equipped to deal with challenges and trials that will always be part of our lives and in our justice work.

Week 3: Immigration &
Worker's Rights

March 1-7

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Justice is the heartbeat of God. Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring the United Methodist Book of Resolutions, and prayer.

Civil and Human Rights is one of the six pillars of The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church equipping the Church to the work of living faith, seeking justice, and pursuing peace. As United Methodists, we believe that God has given us principles for how to live as a beloved community. Central to Jesus’ teaching, life, death, and resurrection is the Great Commandment: we must love God and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-34). This week, we will explore Immigration and Workers’ Rights.

Book of Resolutions: Welcoming the Migrant to the U.S.

The Historical Context

From the dawn of creation human beings have migrated across the earth. The reasons for those who immigrated willingly are numerous and varied depending on the context, but what all immigrants share is the promise of what they believe lies in another land other than their own. 

Regardless of legal status or nationality, we are all connected through Christ to one another. Paul reminds us that when “one part suffers, all the parts suffer” as well (1 Corinthians 12:26). The solidarity we share through Christ eliminates the boundaries and barriers which exclude and isolate. Therefore, the sojourners we are called to love are our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters; indeed, they are us.

The Biblical and Theological Context

Throughout Scripture the people of God are called to love sojourners in our midst, treating them “as if they were one of your citizens” and loving everyone as we do ourselves (Leviticus 19:33-34 NRSV). Love for the sojourner is birthed out of the shared experience the Israelites had as a people in the wilderness searching for the Promised Land. The attitudes and actions required of God’s people were to emanate from the reflection of their liberation from slavery by God’s hand. As the people of God were liberated from oppression, they too were charged to be instruments of redemption in the lives of the most vulnerable in their midst – the sojourner (Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 19:34; Deuteronomy 10:19; 16:12; 24:18, 22—all NRSV).

In the New Testament, Jesus’ life begins as a refugee to Africa when he and his family flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s infanticide (Matthew 2:13-18). Jesus fully identifies with the sojourner to the point that to welcome one is to welcome Jesus himself (Matthew 25:35). Jesus teaches us to show special concern for the poor and oppressed who come to our land seeking survival and peace.

In Scripture, Jesus continually manifests compassion for the vulnerable and the poor. Jesus incarnated hospitality as he welcomed people and ministered to their greatest need. Jesus’ presence on earth initiated the Kingdom reality of a new social order based on love, grace, justice, inclusion, mercy, and egalitarianism, which was meant to replace the old order, characterized by nepotism, racism, classism, sexism, and exclusion. The broken immigration system in the United States and the xenophobic responses to migrants reflect the former social order. The calling of the people of God is to advocate for the creation of a new immigration system that reflects Jesus’ beloved community.

In Scripture, sojourners are also identified as heralds or messengers bringing good news. This is seen in many stories of the Bible:

  • Abraham welcomed three visitors and then was promised a child even though Sarah was past the age of bearing children (Genesis 18:1-11);
  • Rahab hid the spies from Israel, and her family was ultimately spared (Joshua 2:1-16);
  • the widow at Zarephath gave Elijah her last meal and received food and ultimately healing for her dying son (1 Kings 17:7-24); and
  • Zacchaeus, upon welcoming Jesus into his home, promised to share half his possessions with the poor and repay those he stole from four times the amount owed. As Jesus entered Zacchaeus’s home he proclaimed that salvation had come to his house (Luke 19:1-10).

All of these stories give evidence to the words of the writer of Hebrews who advises the listeners to “not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (13:2 NRSV). God’s people are called to welcome the sojourner not only because of God’s commands to do so, but because God’s people need to hear the good news of the gospel incarnated in their stories and in their lives. Welcoming the sojourner is so vital to the expression of Christian faith that to engage in this form of hospitality is to participate in our own salvation.

There is theologically and historically an implied nature of mutuality in migration. Both the migrant and the native are meant to benefit from migration. Welcoming the migrant is not only an act of mission; it is an opportunity to receive God’s grace. The globalization of international economies and the continuing movement of migrants have created an increasingly diversified US population and should be reflected in United Methodist congregations and national church leadership.

Therefore, The United Methodist Church understands that at the center of Christian faithfulness to Scripture is the call we have been given to love and welcome the sojourner. We call upon all United Methodist churches to welcome newly arriving migrants in their communities, to love them as we do ourselves, to treat them as one of our native-born, to see in them the presence of the incarnated Jesus, and to show hospitality to the migrants in our midst, believing that through their presence we are receiving the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Learn more: Book of Resolutions: Welcoming the Migrant to the US

Book of Resolutions: Rights of Workers

Biblical/Theological Background

Human beings, created in the image of God, have an innate dignity (Genesis 1:27). Commanding human beings to farm and take care of the earth, God granted dignity to the work of human hands (Genesis 1:28, 2:15). Work remains a means of stewardship and God-given creativity.

Throughout Scripture, God orders life together based on right relationships, shared resources, and economic justice. In the very act of creation, God demonstrates time for work and rest. The Hebrew prophets decry the growing disparities of wealth and poverty. The Book of Acts describes an early Christian community that shared its goods with one another. The basic principles are clear: All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity. Thus, those who work should earn wages that sustain themselves and their families. Employers have a particular responsibility to treat workers fairly and empower them to organize to improve conditions.

The concern of The United Methodist Church for the dignity of workers and the rights of employees to act collectively is stated in the Social Principles. Both employer and union are called to “bargain in good faith within the framework of the public interest” (¶ 163B). In response to the increasing globalization of the economic system, the widening disparity between rich and poor, and attempts to deprive workers of their fundamental rights, the church reaffirms its position in support of workers and their right to organize.

Historic Witness of The United Methodist Church

Historically, The United Methodist Church has been concerned about the plight of working men and women. In the United States, we were among the first supporters of the labor movement where both lay and clergy members played leadership roles in supporting garment workers, textile workers, farm workers, and factory workers and advocating passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act. From our beginnings and across the globe, we have led the way in seeking improved conditions and stronger unions for workers. Through public policy work, shareholder advocacy, and consumer power, the Church and its members have sought to influence political and corporate decisions affecting working conditions around the world.

Learn more: Rights of Workers • GBCS

“The church proclaims, “Throughout Scripture, God commands us to treat workers with respect, dignity, and fairness. Exploitation or underpayment of workers is incompatible with Christ’s commandment to love our neighbor — a love that extends to all persons in all places, including the workplace.” (Living Wage Model, Book of Resolutions).

Prayer

A United Methodist Prayer for workers: A United Methodist Prayer for Workers

Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ. You crossed every border between Divinity and humanity to make your home with us. Help us to welcome you in newcomers, migrants and refugees. Blessed are You, God of all nations. You bless our land richly with goods of creation and with people made in your image. Help us to be good stewards and peacemakers, who live as your children. Blessed are You, Holy Spirit. You work in the hearts of all to bring about harmony and goodwill. Strengthen us to welcome those from other lands, cultures, religions, that we may live in human solidarity and in hope. God of all people, grant us vision to see your presence in our midst, especially in our immigrant [siblings]. Give us courage to open the door to our neighbors and grace to build a society of justice.

Source: Pax Christi

Developing awareness and understanding  is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links bellow to read, watch and/or listen to as much as you are able about immigration:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding immigration:

Read Poem – To Those Who Have Lost Everything – FRANCISCO X. ALARCÓN

Poem Reflection Questions:

  • Who do you think was the speaker in this poem?
  • Was this person hopeful? Scared? Lost? What do you think?
  • Are you a mountain?

Pray for those making the long and dangerous journeys to find asylum in the U.S.

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read, watch, and/or listen as much as you are able about workers’ rights:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding workers’ rights.

Who do you think should be responsible for the safety of workers? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is already charged with making sure employers provide a safe working environment for their employees. What should happen when an employer fails to do that? What do you think should happen if OSHA does not enforce that? 

Think about the millions of workers who do “essential” jobs – janitors, bus drivers, meat packers, produce pickers. Where should they turn if their only means of making a living was in an unsafe profession? 

Many seasonal produce suppliers rely heavily on cheap, undocumented labor, mostly because there aren’t enough documented workers available who are willing to do the work. Is the “price” of inexpensive produce worth the cost to the lives and health of the undocumented workers? What solutions do you think are worth fighting for?

The next time you buy a pint of strawberries or bite into an apple, think of the ones who picked them for you to consume. Pray for their health and welfare.

Look at the labels on 3 items of clothing and pray for the hands that made them to have equitable safe working conditions.

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on human rights concerning immigration and workers’ rights, it is time to take action! If you have your own action idea – do it! 

In today’s world, our social justice work often mimics the exhausting routine of the fiercely competitive struggle for wealth and power. We cannot serve the world without setting time aside for re-creative rest. So today, we invite you to rest:

“Everything in nature needs to rest. The Earth can not exist without deep pauses. Farmers allow the soil to rest before planting seeds. Our bodies deserve nothing less.”

-The Nap Ministry




Week 4: Education &
Gender Equity

March 8-14

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Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring United Methodist Social Principles, and prayer.   

Women and Children is one of the six pillars of The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church equipping the Church to the work of living faith, seeking justice, and pursuing peace. God unconditionally loves women and children of all nationalities, ethnicities, races, abilities, socio-economic statuses, gender identities and sexual orientations. Jesus honored women and children throughout his ministry often challenging the laws and norms of his time. As Disciples of Christ, we are expected to do the same. This week, we will explore Education and Gender Equality.

Education

The Bible depicts learning and wisdom as some of God’s greatest gifts to humankind. Proverbs teaches that “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” (Proverbs 16:16)

Luke shows a 12-year-old Jesus listening to and speaking with the teachers in the temple. (Luke 2:39-52) Jesus praises an adult Mary for choosing growth in wisdom over chores. (Luke 10:38-42) (Note, however, that this does not devalue housework. As John Wesley said, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”)

The United Methodist Church affirms that education is a human right: “We believe that every person has the right to education.” (Social Principles, ¶164.E) The Church calls on its members to actively support this belief: “United Methodists have a moral concern to take initiatives to support and create alliances involving educators, community leaders, and students to address the challenges of contemporary education and to work to resolve the threats to quality education.” (Book of Resolutions, 3161)

Education is a key ingredient to the well-being of society. According to research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, education level correlates to life expectancy, civic engagement, and economic stability. Education also reflects social inequity, clearly displaying inequalities, oppressions, and systemic injustice. Gender, race, class, and other markers are reflected in who does — and who does not — receive a quality education, or any education at all.

In the U.S., this starts early. The school-to-prison pipeline names how, rather than educating predominantly African-American and Latino children, educational systems are failing them, funneling them to systems of mass incarceration. The U.S. Department of Education reports that in 2014 African-American students comprised less than 20 percent of pre-kindergarten enrollment, but nearly 50 percent of preschoolers with out-of-school suspensions.

Globally, the United Nations reports 124 million children of primary school age were not in school in 2013. The majority of them were girls.

God stands with the oppressed and calls for liberation. We must correct the inequity in society, exterminate its decisive impact on education, and increase educational opportunities for those who have been systemically marginalized by school systems, culture, and law.

Gender Equality

The Nurturing Community: Women and Men from the 2016 Book of Discipline, Social Principles ¶161.F:

“We affirm with Scripture the common humanity of male and female, both having equal worth in the eyes of God. We reject the erroneous notion that one gender is superior to another, that one gender must strive against another, and that members of one gender may receive love, power, and esteem only at the expense of another. We especially reject the idea that God made individuals as incomplete fragments, made whole only in union with another. We call upon women and men alike to share power and control, to learn to give freely and to receive freely, to be complete and to respect the wholeness of others. We seek for every individual opportunities and freedom to love and be loved, to seek and receive justice, and to practice ethical self-determination. We understand our gender diversity to be a gift from God, intended to add to the rich variety of human experience and perspective; and we guard against attitudes and traditions that would use this good gift to leave members of one sex more vulnerable in relationships than members of another.”

Women are made in the image of God, and that means that they must be valued as such. Women continue to lead and strengthen families, congregations and communities while also having to:

  • navigate systems of oppression
  • mitigate harm being done to us, our children and the community
  • create and gather resources for survival, and
  • cope with trauma

Women and children often become unnecessarily vulnerable because of sexism, poverty, sexual and gender-based violence, war and conflict, climate change, and media portrayals and cultural beliefs that denigrate women and children.

The United Methodist Church “understands our gender diverity to be a gift from God, intended to add to the rich variety of human experience and perspective; and we guard against attitudes with traditions that would use this good gift to leave members of one sex more vulnerable in relationships than members of another.” (Social Principles, 161.F) Our work is grounded in a desire to cultivate a world in which women and children flourish and live abundant lives as our Creator intended.

Prayer

A Prayer for the Children of the World:

I pray that our eyes may be open

To be one another’s keeper

To look out for the children of the world

Offer a kind word, a book, an encouragement

I pray that we may teach our kids to hope

To be kind, to love, to stand against injustice

And may we take time to accept what children offer us

The magic of hope and love

Amen

-Adapted from a poem written by Donna Akuamoah, United Methodist Women International Ministries executive

Franciscan Prayer for International Women’s Day:

Lord, make me an instrument of peace:

Bless all women who daily strive to bring peace to their communities, their homes and their hearts. Give them strength to continue to turn swords into plowshares.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love:

We pray for all women who face prejudice, inequality and gender disparities. Help us see and to face the discrimination against women in all the many forms it may take.

Where there is injury, pardon:

Comfort all women who suffer from the pain of war, violence, and abuse. Help them to become instruments of their own reconciliation and peace.

Where there is division, unity:

Forgive all women and men who let differences breed hate and discrimination. Let your example of valuing all of creation help us to see that we are equal partners in the stewardship of your world.

Where there is darkness, light; where there is untruth, truth:

Comfort all women who struggle in the darkness of abuse, poverty, and loneliness. May we stand with them in light to acknowledge their suffering and strive to remove the burdens of shame or embarrassment.

Where there is doubt, true faith:

We pray for all women who live in fear of their husbands, fathers, and forces that control their lives. Help them to be empowered to be their true selves through your everlasting love and faith.

Where there is despair, hope:

We pray for all women who live in the despair of poverty, violence, trafficking, slavery,and abuse. May the light of your love bring them hope.

Where there is sadness, new joy:

Help us to see the strength and goodness in all women and men.

Transform our hearts to celebrate the love and grace of all people.

And may we be blessed with the courage of St. Clare of Assisi to follow our own path of love for you and all sisters and brothers.

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read and/or watch as much as you are able regrading education:

READ (13 mins): How school funding can help repair the legacy of segregation

WATCH (4 mins):  How Schools Are Funneling Black Students Into The Prison System

READ (13 mins): School segregation didn’t go away. It just evolved.

READ (11 mins):  Why America’s Schools Have a Money Problem

WATCH (72 mins): DEEPER DIVE – Funding an Equitable Education webinar

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read and/or watched regarding education equity:  

  • What was your educational experience?
  • Were you fed breakfast before you went to school?
  • Was there an adult present when you left for school/came home from school?
  • Did a caregiver ever help you with your homework?
  • How diversified was your classroom by race? By social/economic status?
  • Did you have music class? Art class? A library that allowed you to check out books?
  • Were you ever suspended?
  • Did you have a way to get to/from extra-curricular events?
  • In what grade or education level did you first have a non-white teacher?




Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read, watch and/or listen as much as you are able regrading gender equity:

READ (13 mins): Ten facts about gender equality

READ (5 mins): On #MeToo anniversary, leaders say focus is on inequality

READ (7 mins): The Faith-Work Gap for Professional Women

WATCH (3 mins): Growing Up Girl 

READ (5 mins): Facts & Figures

LISTEN (41.5 mins – start at min 13): Are We Weaponizing Scripture to Silence Women? 

READ (5 mins): Pgs. 3-5  America’s Recovery From The 2020 “Shecession” For a DEEPER DIVE, read more or all of the white paper prepared for the YWCA.

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding gender equity.  

A Poem about Gender Inequality

“What is gender?

Is gender an identity?

Certainly gender is not a choice.

But gender is shaped, molded to young new minds,

strings hang from children’s joints to dance as society tells them

No matter man or woman, we are born into roles.

 

The woman, the one whose mind stands and pleads on her legs, brings about equality

But whose body reacts not out of her own accordance and moves

Moves, graceful, gentle, elegant, and FEMININE.

As society tells her, she is a woman, and that is her role.

Where she wishes to stomp, she stands on her tiptoes.

Where she wishes to thrash, she glides across the floor.

A puppet bound by the hands of society, pushing, pushing

To free herself, to change what being a woman means,

what (gender) equality means.

 

The man, he is too castrated by the hands to be a MAN.

What does that mean? Better put, what does that mean to society?

I don’t dance.

I am the example to others, and know how to do everything

I don’t feel things, or at least show them, because that is not what I do.

I am powerful and MANLY,

funny that should be made into an adjective…

But, I am not one who should be played with like a puppet, much like the woman,

I do have feelings, but they cannot be expressed for society tells me I will be seen otherwise,

I don’t know everything even when I’m expected to,

I have my pride as a man, and am no one’s puppet, I too wish to change the meaning of “man”.

 

But strip us down, wash away our skin, we are bare, we are the same,

INSIDE

What makes us, us?

Is it our gender?

Is it society?

No, what makes us, what makes you, is ultimately your decision,

and that’s something, not even society, can take away from you.”

-Poem by Ella Linero

 

Poem Reflection Questions: 

  • How much of “your decision” is affected by society. 
  • Have you benefited or suffered from society’s definition of your gender? In what way?
  • Do you agree that your gender is something not even society can take away? Why?

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on education and gender equity, it is time to take action!. If you have your own action idea – do it! 

Education

  • Write to your Representative regarding pending bills to advance STEM education and also increase its availability in rural areas.

  • Visit your local school and build relationships with teachers and administrators. Volunteer your time to provide support. Until COVID safety protocols are no longer needed, you can also reach out to the teachers and administrators via email/phone to see how you can support the staff and students with COVID adaptations. 
    • Those connected with HPCUMC, contact Pastor Kate (ksmith@hpcumc.org) to get involved with tutoring/mentoring children at Rothenberg Preparatory Academy, Wesley Chapel Mission Center, and/or Summer Reading Program. 
  • Buy and share Sacred Worth Books with children
    • It is critically important for a child’s self-worth to see others like themselves and their families in the media. Children of color and girls are underrepresented in children’s books. UM Church and Society created a list to help you find books that help every child in your family, congregation, school and community see themselves as valuable. You are encouraged to purchase and share these books with children in your life or donate them to your local school libraries/classrooms or other organization/enrichment programs.
  • Invest in students through Kiva micro-lending towards their education
    • Help underprivileged and marginalized students around the world attend vocational school, university or other higher education institution and give them a chance to reach their full potential. The economic returns for higher education graduates are a 17% increase in earnings. 

Gender Equity

  • Learn about and commit to using expansive language for God and humanity

    . Using the most expansive language possible reflects the inclusiveness and diversity of the Divine and our world while signaling to all people, regardless of gender identity, that all are welcomed and made in the image of God. 

  • Attend Free Virtual Author Night with Tiffany Bluhm and Katelyn Beaty (two sources from Gender Equity learn day)
    • Thursday, March 18 from 7:00-8:00p EDT
    • Tiffany Bluhm’s book Prey Tell will be released on March 16 and Katelyn Beaty is hosting her to share about her book and why we silence women who tell the truth and how EVERYONE can speak up. 
  • Learn about and support the work of Wildflower Enterprises. 
    • A sustainable social enterprise focused on women’s empowerment, teaching storytelling through design and connecting women around the world who want to be leaders for empowerment and social change.  
    • Wildflower has become a safe platform for many women (in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Bahamas) to tell their survival stories through their designs and work. 
  • Invest in her through Kiva mico-lending
    • Entrepreneurs, community leaders, mothers, and global citizens—women do it all and then some. Support the work of inspiring women around the world by lending to women as they start their own business, go to school, and invest in the health of their communities and families. 

Compassion for the world and practice of the Sabbath for the body and soul are intimately interconnected. We cannot serve the world without setting time aside for re-creative rest. So today, we invite you to rest and think about this prompt:

If everyone in life is a teacher, you must choose your curriculum carefully. I pray you choose rest and decolonizing.

-The Nap Bishop, The Nap Ministry

Week 5: Health & Wholeness

March 15-21

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Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring United Methodist Social Principles, and prayer.   

Health and Wholeness is one of the six pillars of The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church equipping the Church to the work of living faith, seeking justice, and pursuing peace. Jesus’ commitment to healing the sick and John Wesley’s vision for ensuring health and well-being teach us that the health of the community must not be neglected. “Providing the care needed to maintain health, prevent disease, and restore health after injury or illness is a responsibility each person owes others and the government owes to all…” (United Methodist Social Principles, ¶162V). This week, we will explore Healthcare and Mental Health Access. 

Jesus said, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b) Abundant life includes health and wholeness, and access to good health care. Our priority is to live into God’s vision of abundance. That is why we work in the areas of health care, mental health and addictions. 

“Health is a condition of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being.” — United Methodist Social Principles, ¶162.V

Our Social Principles state “Creating the personal, environmental and social conditions in which health can thrive is a joint responsibility—public and private.” (Social Principles, ¶162.V) God created all of us to thrive and be well. Today’s world poses barriers to that. Too many of us lack access to quality health care when we are sick, and preventive care when we are well.

Our work on health care, mental health and addictions seeks to address unjust policies and practices that obstruct good health. The United Methodist Church declares, “Health care is a basic human right.“ (Social Principles, ¶162.V) It also says, “It is unjust to construct or perpetuate barriers to physical or mental wholeness or full participation in community.” (Social Principles, ¶162.V) 

Our call is to advocate for policies that promote access to health care, including mental health and addiction resources.

From: Health and Wholeness (umcjustice.org)

Prayer

God of wholeness,

heal the hurts,

both inside and out,

that make life

difficult each day.

Ease the pain,

loosen the chains,

bringing freedom

in their place.

Amen.

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Watch, read and/or listen to as much as you are able about healthcare:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding equity in healthcare.  

  • Have you ever lived without health insurance? I have. It was just too expensive. But I was relatively healthy and had resources should something come up. I was, however, playing Russian roulette with any catastrophic occurrence, like an accident or major surgery/treatment.This is a totally different scenario for someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, struggles to keep food on the table and can only afford rent that provides modest shelter, albeit possibly drafty, leaky, moldy, or expensive to heat. This person has no fallback. This person’s “healthcare” is the emergency room as a last resort. The emergency room is not and should not be “healthcare”.
  • What has been the biggest medical scare in your life? 
  • Did you face it with the comfort that insurance would substantially cover your care?
  • Think now about how you would have managed your care on your own. Nope, you can’t rely on family. Just you. Would you wait, in hopes it would just “go away”? 
  • Now imagine how this incident might be handled if healthcare was available for everyone. That stress and fear you felt before is greatly reduced, right? You had the ability to seek help before it became a huge issue.
  • Jesus was a healer. His life exhibited compassion, care and healing to all he encountered. Wouldn’t Jesus have advocated that all of God’s children should have access to quality healthcare?
  • Those affected most from lack of healthcare (women, communities of color, those with disabilities and small towns/rural areas) see higher rates of infant mortality, cervical cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other preventable deaths. Where is the justice in that? What would Jesus do?

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Read and/or listen to as much as you are able regarding mental health:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read and listened to regarding mental health.  

After reading this poem, close your eyes, take several deep cleansing breaths and think about how mental health intersects with other issues like housing, criminal justice and access to jobs and education. 

Merger Poem

“And then all that has divided us will merge

And then compassion will be wedded to power

And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle

And then both women and men will be strong

And then no person will be subject to another’s will

And then all will be rich and free and varied 

And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young 

And then all will cherish life’s creatures 

And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.”

― Judy Chicago

Poem Reflection Questions: 

  • Do you have compassionate power? How can it be used to bring justice to those suffering mental illness?
  • Care for “the sick and the weak and the old” is a Christian imperative. Is it a universal imperative? 

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on healthcare and mental health, it is time to take action!. If you have your own action idea – do it! 

Cincinnati Specific:

  • Support, volunteer and partner with The Center for Respite Care. The Center provides quality, holistic medical care to people experiencing homelessness who need a safe place to heal, while assisting people in breaking the cycle of homelessness. 
    • Those connected with HPCUMC, contact Pastor Kate (ksmith@hpcumc.org) to connect with how we are currently partnering and serving with The Center for Respite Care. 

Nationwide/General:

We cannot do re-creative work from a place of exhaustion and burnout. So today, we invite you to rest and think about this prompt:

You are exhausted physically and spiritually because the pace created by this system is for machines and not a magical and divine human being.

You are enough. Rest.

-The Nap Ministry

Week 6: Racial Justice

March 22 - 28

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Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, and prayer.   

Racism has long been described as “America’s original sin.”

The 2020 killings of four African Americans — George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Elijah McClain, who died at the hands of police, and Ahmaud Arbery, chased and shot to death by two individuals — sparked a national outcry against white supremacy and institutional racism, a protest that has now spread globally.

As United Methodists, we believe that God has given us principles for how to live in a community. Central to Jesus’ teachings, life, death, and resurrection is the Great Commandment: we must love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-34)

Much of the Bible is devoted to figuring out how to follow this commandment. Nearly all of Church history is filled with devout Christians struggling — with failures and successes — to live out this commandment. What does it mean to love God? What does it look like when we love our neighbor?

What we believe about the nature of God and the nature of humanity also informs our understanding. Scripture tells us God created humankind in God’s image. What does that mean for how we treat each other?

We must take these questions seriously as followers of Christ.

We believe that in loving both God and neighbor, we must pursue God’s command of justice, liberation and flourishing for all people. We must work for the civil and human rights of every person.

We commit to challenging unjust systems of power and access. We will work for equal and equitable opportunities in employment and promotion, education and training; in voting, access to public accommodations, and housing; to credit, loans, venture capital, and insurance; to positions of leadership and power in all elements of our life together; and to full participation in the Church and society.

Litany of Lament

We hear your prophet crying, O God, “Let justice roll down like water. . .” 
But it is not justice we see flowing; it is the blood of black men and women. 
Peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

It is not justice we see flowing; it is the tears of a mother who quakes with fear when her son goes out the door. 
Peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

It is not justice we see flowing; it is clouds of tear gas rolling down the streets where young people cry out the names of the murdered.
Peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

It is not justice we see flowing; it is the sweat of those fighting for their lives from two deadly viruses: the pandemic and racism. Both are deadly. Only one has any hope for a vaccine.
Peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

It is not justice we see flowing; it is a raging river that separates those of us oblivious to our privilege from those denied their basic human dignity.
Peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

God, we want to stop that river. We want to quell those tears. We want the violence to cease. And so we turn to you, confessing what we know to be true:
Peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

There can be no choice between peace and justice. They must live together or die together. We cannot turn our back on hatred. Open our hearts to hear your call. Give us the strength to be instruments of peace and justice right here, right now.
For peace without justice is neither peace nor justice.

God, we come to you in pain, but also in trust. Hear the cry of our hearts.
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amen.

Elizabeth S. Moore, O.S.L. Abbot, the Order of Saint Luke, June 4, 2020

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read, watch and/or listen to as much as you are able about the history of racism:

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding the history of racism.

Read “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate who wrote and performed this poem for President Biden’s 2021 Inauguration.

The Hill We Climb 

When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We’ve braved the belly of the beast

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn’t always just-ice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn’t broken

but simply unfinished

We the successors of a country and a time

Where a skinny Black girl

descended from slaves and raised by a single mother

can dream of becoming president

only to find herself reciting for one

And yes we are far from polished

far from pristine

but that doesn’t mean we are

striving to form a union that is perfect

We are striving to forge a union with purpose

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and

conditions of man

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us

We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,

we must first put our differences aside

We lay down our arms

so we can reach out our arms

to one another

We seek harm to none and harmony for all

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:

That even as we grieved, we grew

That even as we hurt, we hoped

That even as we tired, we tried

That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious

Not because we will never again know defeat

but because we will never again sow division

Scripture tells us to envision

that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree

And no one shall make them afraid

If we’re to live up to our own time

Then victory won’t lie in the blade

But in all the bridges we’ve made

That is the promised glade

The hill we climb

If only we dare

It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,

it’s the past we step into

and how we repair it

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation

rather than share it

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy

And this effort very nearly succeeded

But while democracy can be periodically delayed

it can never be permanently defeated

In this truth

in this faith we trust

For while we have our eyes on the future

history has its eyes on us

This is the era of just redemption

We feared at its inception

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

of such a terrifying hour

but within it we found the power

to author a new chapter

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves

So while once we asked,

how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was

but move to what shall be

A country that is bruised but whole,

benevolent but bold,

fierce and free

We will not be turned around

or interrupted by intimidation

because we know our inaction and inertia

will be the inheritance of the next generation

Our blunders become their burdens

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might,

and might with right,

then love becomes our legacy

and change our children’s birthright

So let us leave behind a country

better than the one we were left with

Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,

we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one

We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,

we will rise from the windswept northeast

where our forefathers first realized revolution

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,

we will rise from the sunbaked south

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover

and every known nook of our nation and

every corner called our country,

our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,

battered and beautiful

When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it

Poem Reflection Questions:

  • Consider the lines “being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into and how we repair it”. Building on things you may have learned yesterday or in recent months, how does the past you were taught in school differ from the reality of our American past? 
  • In the last 4 lines, who do you think “we” is? 
  • If “light” is the promise of unity and hope, why do we have to be “brave enough to see it”? Is it to fight the racist systems that have been blessed in our country’s history?
  • Are you brave enough to step out of the shade, to see the light and, more importantly, be the light?

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read and/or watch as much as you are able regarding systematic racism:

  •  

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding systemic racism.

Follow the links to read these poems:

Imagine that someone has posted a disgusting viral untruth about you. (It’s a perfectly plausible scenario in our time of unchecked social media freedom.) You would probably feel angry, helpless and vulnerable. How would you try to change someone’s misconception of you? What if this harmful misconception followed your family through multiple generations? Would you grow hardened? Angry? Give up trying?

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on racial justice, it is time to take action! If you have your own action idea – do it! 

We cannot do re-creative work from a place of exhaustion and burnout. So today, we invite you to rest and think about this prompt:

Our lack of imagination is intimately tied to our sleep deprivation. How can we imagine a world without injustice if we can’t imagine resting for 30 minutes a day? We must be subversive and re-imagine rest. Our creation of a liberated world depends on our collective rest. 

-The Nap Ministry

Week 7: Criminal Justice Reform

March 29 - April 4

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Each week, we will begin by grounding our justice work in scripture, theological reflection, exploring United Methodist Social Principles, and prayer.   

We worship a God who received the death penalty. 

 Jesus was tried, sentenced, and murdered by the state. He died on a cross on a hill between two criminals (Mark 14-15, Matthew 26-27, Luke 22-23, and John 18-19).

That cross was the symbol of the oppressive power of the Roman state. It was the tool the Romans used to keep the population in line. The cross on a hill said, “behave, or you will end up here.”

Jesus took that cross. He died and was buried. On the third day, he rose from the dead. The empty tomb is a God’s proclamation that love and grace triumph over oppression and death.

Christ’s resurrection is a rejection of all that the cross represented.

State-sanctioned murder still exists today. The cross has become electric chairs and nooses, firing squads and lethal injections.

Contemporary capital punishment is flawed in theory and practice. Racism, classism and other systemic oppressions profoundly shape who receives capital punishment. Additionally, wrongful execution is an inherent risk in capital punishment. In the United States, over 160 people who were wrongly convicted have been exonerated from death row since 1973.

As Christians, we believe in a God who rejected the Cross and rejects capital punishment. We believe in a God who came “that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” God desires right relationships and restoration.

Jesus teaches us to forgive those who have done us wrong. He says, “if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15) He instructs us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

When confronted with a crowd about to implement the death penalty upon an adulteress, Jesus says, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

The United Methodist Church says, “The death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore, and transform all human beings.” (Social Principles ¶164.G) As Wesleyans, we believe that God’s grace is ever reaching out to restore our relationship with God and with each other. The death penalty denies the possibility of new life and reconciliation.

“We oppose the death penalty (capital punishment) and urge its elimination from all criminal codes.” (Social Principles ¶164.G)

Prayer 

“Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol, popularized by Billie Holiday:

Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

God of Justice and of Mercy,

Your servant Paul warned us that as we sow, so shall we reap. Your prophet Hosea warned us that if we sow the wind, we shall reap the whirlwind. So now, as we bow our heads into the force of the whirlwind, we must know deep down that this is not a momentary aberration or accident of the changing of the wind. As we gaze upon the strange fruit that we have produced we must know in our hearts and souls that this is not a random mutation of our planting, but the result of years of sowing in blood and hate. And your church is complicit in sowing a system of injustice, our hands are not free of the blood and our hearts are not free of the hate.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.

Confessing our sinful natures, we pray for your Spirit to begin the long hard work of repentance within and between us, tearing down the dividing walls of hostility so that we may begin to sow the Spirit of reconciliation and begin the long, hard journey of forgiveness and peace. May those of us who have benefited from systems of injustice seek forgiveness from those of us who have been broken by those systems. So that together we might glimpse, if only from a distance for now, the possibility of the Kin-dom of God where all are seen revealing the image of God as we live in God’s justice and peace.

In the Name of the first strange fruit hanging from the tree, the crucified Christ, we pray. Amen.

Adaptation of Derek C. Weber’s prayer

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read, watch and/or listen to as much as you are able about policing and mass incarceration:

  • READ (20 mins): October, 2020 report on MARCC’s CourtWatch program which offers an impartial view of the workings of Hamilton County’s Municipal Court system.
  • WATCH (4.5 mins): Confirmation Bias, Dr. Sherry Nakhaeizadeh from the Ohio Innocence Project.
  • WATCH (4 mins):  Daily Show Clip Bloomberg and The Legacy of Stop-and-Frisk
  • WATCH (5 mins): “History of Policing in America” NPR’s Throughline – Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard, lays out a historical argument for how Black people have been criminalized over the past 400 years, in both the North and the South. The histories of both regions share one key feature: the use of brutal force to control Black Americans.
  • LISTEN OR READ (6 mins):  “History of Police in Creating Social Order” NPR’s Ailsa Chang speak with Chenjerai Kumanyika, an assistant professor at Rutgers University, about the historical role of police in preserving power and social order.

Today you are invited to reflect on what you read, watched and/or listened to regarding policing and mass incarceration:

Much like the historical white fear and mischaracterization of Blacks in America, this poem reflects the distrust and anger Blacks have today for the police. While much of the white population sees policing as the means to maintain law and order, many Blacks, over decades, have seen the police as a force which obstructs their lawful freedoms…a force at liberty to take their life.

Poem Reflection Questions: 

  • If you felt you were living life with a target on your back, whether deserved or not, how would you live day to day? 
  • Would you constantly be looking over your shoulder? Would you run if you were being chased? 
  • Would you give yourself a fighting chance to survive or would you submit to someone you didn’t trust who has several methods of ruining or ending your life? Why?

Developing awareness and understanding is a critical and ongoing step in justice work. Follow the links below to read and/or watch to as much as you are able about the death penalty: 

After preparing, learning, and reflecting throughout this week on criminal justice reform, it is time to take action! If you have your own action idea – do it! 

  • As a follow up to the Lent 2021: Leaning into Justice Challange, the Justice Ministry of Hyde Park Community UMC wants to help people engage in reforming the criminal justice system and abolishing the death penalty. We will be hosting a discussion via Zoom of death row exoneree Anthony Ray Hinton’s book “The Sun Does Shine”on Monday, April 26th from 7:00-8:30p and Abolishing Ohio’s Death Penalty’s workshop by Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center on Monday, May 3rd from 7:00-8:30p. We encourage you to attend one or both events!
    • Register for the book discussion of Anthony Ray Hinton’s book “The Sun Does Shine” on April 26th.
    • Join the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) for Abolishing Ohio’s Death Penalty’s workshop, an engaging event on history, current status, and need for abolition of the Ohio’s death penalty. Hear from IJPC’s executive director and other voices of experience with time for small group discussion and Q&A. Register here for the workshop on May 3rd from 7:00-8:30p via Zoom
  • Write to your representative to address pervasive unfairness and systemic racism in the legal system by ending the federal and military death penalty.
  • Check the active legislation going on in different states and follow the various links to join the state anti-death penalty organization or campaign. Follow their lead, contact your state legislators, volunteer and/or donate. If you know people who live in these states, invite them to do so as well!
  • Sign execution petitions for people on death row across America.
  • Ohio specific: sign a petition urging Governor DeWine to end executions in Ohio!
  • Get involved in criminal justice reform. Take action with The Sentencing Project by linking up with local advocacy efforts near you or making a donation.
  • Read and reflect on Dr. Christopher D. Marshall’s article “Prison, Prisoners, and the Bible” which gives biblical grounding for a Christian position on justice, crime, and punishment and offers lessons for a Christian response.
  • Participate in prison ministry with an organization you’re involved with.
  • HPCUMC specific: Volunteer to visit youth in the juvenile detention center of Hamilton County. Contact Pastor Kate (ksmith@hpcumc.org) for more information 

Today you are invited to sit in the sacred space of Holy Saturday. Not only is it a sacred space, it is a wild place because of the unknown as it lingers between the suffering and death of Jesus on Friday and the resurrection of Easter Sunday. Before we rush to resurrection we must fully dwell in the space of the in between. The liminal place of unknowing, holding life and death in tension with each other, and experiencing and living into the wilderness allows us to fully embrace and appreciate the power of resurrection. We encourage you to sit with and reflect on all that you have learned and wrestled with throughout this Lent Challenge. Our walk with Jesus demands something of us and calls us to stand in uncomfortable places where we are offered no easy answers. May the experience of wilderness within and around you transform you on this sacred day of in-between. 

The Space Between

Where there is separation

there is pain.

And where there is pain

there is story.

And where there is story

there is understanding

and misunderstanding

listening

and not listening.

May we – separated peoples, estranged strangers,

unfriended families, divided communities –

turn toward each other,

and turn toward our stories,

with understanding

and listening,

with argument and acceptance,

with challenge, change

and consolation.

Because if God is to be found,

God will be found

in the space

between. 

Amen.

-Padraig O Tuama 




Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia! The resurrection is about God’s justice breaking into our world, and that in-breaking is a manifestation of God’s love for a world, created by the divine and now being recreated in love. How is God’s love breaking into you? May it utterly transform you. How is that same power which raised Jesus Christ at work in us? May it raise us up. Alleluia! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Reflection 

“ you might have thought it was the other story, the one about rubble, violence, catastrophe about darkness undoing the world. But not today. Today the pieces are dictating the headlines: coming apart; pre-requisite for the work of astonishment. All things crack open of light seeking you.”

A selection from “dialogue with pieces” by L.R. Berger

Benediction 

And now, may the Lord torment you. May the Lord keep before you the faces of the hungry, the lonely, the rejected and the despised. May the Lord afflict you with pain for the hurt, the wounded, the oppressed, the abused, the victims of violence. May God grace you with a burning thirst for justice and righteousness. May the Lord give you courage and strength and compassion to make ours a better world, to make your community a better community, to make your church a better church. May you do your bet to make it so; and after you have done your best, may the Lord grant you peace. -Bishop Woodie White

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