Land Acknowledgment links:
Telling the truth about the lands we inhabit: https://www.livinglutheran.org/2021/11/48330/
Labor Acknowledgment link: https://www.diverseeducation.com/demographics/african-american/article/15108677/on-labor-acknowledgements-and-honoring-the-sacrifice-of-black-americans
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Artwork credit: "Just As I Have Loved You, Love One Another" (also called "The Work of the Trinity") by artist Paul Oman
Poetry credit: "Weaving Threads of Kindness" by Maya Thompson
Video credits:
- "This Joy" by the Resistance Revival Chorus
- Random Acts of Kindness (ad by Thai Life Insurance)
- I Just Want To Thank You Lord (Lyric Video) (first three minutes)
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ELCA Coaching is collaborating with Rev. Brenda Smith (ELCA), Deacon Tammy Devine (ELCA), and Rev. Candy Holmes (MCC) as we discern where Spirit might be collectively leading us as people of faith. We began gathering online with faith leaders in March of 2020 to wrestle together with Being Church in a global pandemic, which transitioned over the summer of 2021 to Courageous Leadership, as COVID revealed our perceptions and misconceptions about most things in life. Jesus is our primary model as we move toward Creating Beloved Community: Healing Together, gathering the first Wednesday of each month (with a focus on healing together) to learn together and experiment in community with a variety of spiritual practices and focus areas.
"Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion." -- bell hooks, All About Love
Most other Wednesdays will explore additional elements of Creating Beloved Community.
We believe this is in attunement with our call as Christians from:
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Scripture and our expanding understanding and expression of love for ALL of our neighbors
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MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail and Vision of the Beloved Community
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ELCA Teaching, and especially our "connection to all of life"
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ELCA Truth and Healing Movement (as facilitated by Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations)
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Dr. Shawn Ginwright's The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves
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And so many other diverse voices and sacred ways we engage with each other and with the world.
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To answer some commonly asked questions about these regular gatherings:
"Why are you still meeting?" "Don't become too familiar with loneliness. Community is a risk, but liberation depends on the collective. Who can you trust to hold you?" -- Cole Arthur Riley, author of Black Liturgies
