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Nov 29 2018

Advent: Awaiting the Birth of Justice

Advent is a time of preparation. It’s a time for seeking the presence of God in our world and watching for the “renewal of all things” (Matthew 19:28). In Advent, we recognize that God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). God walked among us and went to the margins to become one with the oppressed, the vulnerable, and the persecuted.

In Advent, the incarnation inspires us to reflect on how we are called to be Christ’s hands and feet to one another, and work towards alleviating systems of injustice. This week, we feature a blog by J. Wu, who is a Life Together Intern within the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern MA serving at Church Of Our Saviour in Milton. J. attended a recent gathering by Courageous Conversations Toward Racial Justice, which is a monthly series of dialogue-centered programs designed to address racial healing and justice in our community. The leadership of Courageous Conversations has five clergy from four different churches! Read about J’s experience attending this gathering below.


Also, this month the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) put forth a statement: “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love – A Pastoral Letter Against Racism.” They describe: “The entire body of bishops felt the need to address the topic of racism, once again, after witnessing the deterioration of the public discourse, and episodes of violence and animosity with racial and xenophobic overtones, that have re-emerged in American society in the last few years.”

Click here to read the full pastoral letter


Courageous Conversations: Dissolving Silence with Authenticity, Openness, and Awe

As I stepped into the Church of Christ, I could hear the crisp clattering of metal chairs
being unfolded. This was my first time helping to coordinate an event held by Courageous Conversations Towards Racial Justice. Caught in a grip of self-consciousness, my shoulders wanted to fold up like a stacked chair. Despite joining the Steering Committee, I could scarcely believe that I could have productive interactions around the topic of racial justice with people I barely knew.

Wrestling against my urge to sink into the wallpaper and blend out of sight, I stammered
some offers to help set up chairs for the event. As I did my job, my nervous glance darted from new face to new face, before tentatively perching on the rack of colorful bolts of cloth that were arranged up front and center in the middle of the chairs.

My stomach sank. Soon, I would be called to interact with people of different racial
backgrounds and age generations than my own. Picking out a seat, close to the front but not too close, I exhaled as a clear musical note rang across the air and announced the start of the Bystander Learning Event. My eyes widened.

Nothing prepared me for an innovative form of Bystander Learning, in which the form of theater became a conduit that focused discussions about systemic injustice. Even the tight grip of my nervous jaw gave way to awe and laughter. This event illuminated the tense multitudes of emotion, compelling volunteers to eagerly share their experiences of discomfort around privilege and disadvantage.

Soon, we all practiced techniques of Bystander Intervention with True Story Theater, a
trust made possible by sharing our personal stories pertaining to interactions of racism and privilege in our everyday lives. In an almost complete opposite of my initial reactions, I leaned into the experience rather than flinching away. By the end, I carried newfound clarity as to how I can be a more involved in implementing my justice-based values rather than freeze up as a passive bystander in situations of social inequality.

Since then, I can proudly assert that Courageous Conversations Towards Racial Justice
makes space for justice-oriented learning through monthly programming. More than ever in our current political anxiety, compounded by constant media reports of inhumane actions, I need a space like Courageous Conversations that welcomes all people to participate in understanding, interrupting, and ending systems of racial injustice.

Courageous Conversations Towards Racial Justice is nearing the third year of holding
monthly events. The next event is on Tuesday, December 11th, 6:30 PM, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 112 Randolph Ave, Milton. At this gathering, they will be watching a documentary by Tim Wise, which examines what it means to be white in a nation where privilege seeps into every institutional arrangement, from education to employment to the justice system. Click here to learn more about Courageous Conversations Toward Racial Justice.

 

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: advent, boston, community, Conversations, Courageous, ecumenism, Episcipal, healing, inequity, injustice, justice, Life Together, Milton, oppression, persecuted, racial, racism, reconciliation, vulnerable

Sep 03 2014

Healing the Land: Strategic Prayer for Boston

Over the past six years, Christ Otto and a team from his ministry Belonging House have been doing strategic prayer in Boston. They have seen a series of dramatic answers to prayer in the South End and in the area near the Massachusetts State House.

Today’s blog post is an excerpt from Christ’s report on these prayer initiatives called “Healing the Land.” The following points are the foundation of transforming prayer in cities and regions.
1. Listen to the Lord and Do what He tells you.
Effective prayer is a dialogue, and He who knows all is your best guide for each situation. We begin with scripture. Taking time for silence, waiting on God, and journaling has been helpful. I have found that God’s simple direction is better than a thousand strategic planning meetings.

2. Teamwork is essential.
The biggest breakthroughs have happened when someone gave me an insight I never considered. No one has all the answers and working in a team has helped us all hear God more clearly. The most helpful insights have come from people who live outside of Boston. Their fresh perspective often brought the breakthrough.

3. This is a ministry of healing and reconciliation.
Most of what we have done is address the specific things that release curses on the land–the shedding of innocent blood, sexual immorality, breaking of covenants, moving of boundary stones, and the breaking of relationships. When these sins are confessed and forgiven we can then invite God to heal the brokenness. You will notice that we did not hold large “reconciliation events.” Although we often had one person who represented the parties involved, we did not focus on trying to get parties together to have an event. All of the prayer has been strategic and precise, and often in almost secret.

4. There are no magic bullets.
One interesting aspect of this ministry has been hosting groups from outside Boston to pray in the city. Many times these visitors have come with the attitude that they have the “answer” and that if we would apply their “method” things would be done “right.” Most of the gimmicks have produced little or no lasting fruit. We have found that the long, low, humble road of obedience has been the game changer.

5. Being weird is not intercession.
My ministry Belonging House and the people I work with have a supernatural worldview. Sometimes we have had to depend on the simple direction of the Holy Spirit. Because I work with many groups I have seen how some have felt they needed shofars, flags, victory shouts, swords, or complicated “rituals” while they pray. Right up front, we have done all of these things at different times, but they are not the center. Sometimes prophetic acts are part of what we are doing as an expression of what God has already done.

6. The Cross of Jesus makes everything possible.
It is the finished work of the cross and applying of the Blood of Christ to the sin of the past that real change happens. As we openly confess sin, and our current agreement with it, and apply the forgiveness of the gospel, shifts begin to happen.

7. Listen to the Land.
We pray with our eyes open. We have taken time to learn the real history of where we are– and that means going into the library and doing research. It means getting to know the streets and terrain. It means knowing where and when things happened. Some of the delays in this process were because I did not do the right research in the beginning, and I trusted local “folklore” and polemical versions of history rather than accurate sources. Listening to the land has also involved noticing things like wildlife behavior, odd topography, and the wind. For example, we have noted dramatic gusts of wind during important breakthrough moments.

8. Praise and worship are our chief weapons.
Many times we have asked those with us not to enter into “intercession.” Most of this kind of prayer only reinforces the negative beliefs and judgements about a place or a situation. Praising God shifts the atmosphere in a given place and opens up our ability to pray and hear God. Entering into praise also gets us in tune with heaven, and God’s perspective. In praise we are able to pray from a place of triumph.

9. Authority comes from honor.
God directed me to spend almost two years giving honor to the people who prayed for me to come into New England, even though neither they nor I understood this at the time. I also sought permission to be on the land from the first nations people. By honoring and receiving this blessing, I have walked in a base level of authority that many ministries lack. Rebellion is the root of witchcraft. A culture of honor breaks this.

10. A large part of this ministry has been about “going low.”
We have taken the directions of Jesus to take the lower place at the banquet seriously. In praying on Beacon Hill, we chose to not take the road of political activism, and we have chosen not to build a ministry. We have simply walked and prayed. This story is a report of the outcome.

—-
Christ Otto has recently published a book entitled An Army Arising and is also available to lead prayer tours of Boston and to share how prayer and creativity is transforming New England. Learn more about Christ’s ministry at belonginghouse.org

Written by jasonjclement · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: beacon hill, belonginghouse, jesus in boston, jesus in the city, pray new england, prayer walk, reconciliation, transformation, uniteboston10

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