Why the Church is the Best Place for A "Pussy Riot"

Reblogged from Wholeness 4 Love:

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Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova makes herself heard before a hearing in Moscow on August 8. Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/GettyImages

On August 17th the punk band Pussy Riot will receive their verdict for the case against them. The members of this band have been in jail since March for protestfying against Russian political conditions in a Moscow's largest Orthodox Church. According to Slate:

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This is Art??? Have a Piece of Venus Hottentot Cake for World Arts Day

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A few months ago a grave spectacle of so-called art took place in Sweden where a cake of an African-American woman's body (created by a biracial man) was cut by the Swedish minister of "culture", while those in the room cheered and laughed. What is shocking about this is that the cake was created to look like a black face caricature of a Black woman and the cake was cut where the reproductive organs would be. 

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When art goes wrong...

Womb+ Compassion= Justice

Reblogged from Wholeness 4 Love:

In Hebrew and Arabic the word for compassion comes from the word for "womb" (The Return of the Black Madonna: A Sign of Our Times or How the Black Madonna Is Shaking Us Up for the Twenty-First Century by Rev. Matthew Fox, Ph.D). I find the connection between the womb and compassion extremely interesting. "Meister Eckhart knew and taught: Compassion means justice.” If compassion comes from the word for womb and compassion means justice then the womb does not only have the capacity to create life but justice.

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There is a divine connection between the womb, compassion and justice. Read about it in this post.

Proud Black Mary

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The Black Madonna can be found thoughout the world especially in Europe, but also in India, America and of course Africa. The Black Madonna represents motherhood, Mother Earth, Life, Death and Lady Wisdom(referred to in the Biblical book of Proverbs). The Black Madonna's lap represents nurturing which is why many of her depictions show Jesus on her lap. Furthermore, she is a mother to the oppressed, marginalized and the poor which is best shown in the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

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The Black Madonna a symbol of justice, faith and divine beauty.

Poetry Challenge Day 30: The New Jim Crow

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Today is the last day of my 30 Day Poetry Challenge! I can't believe I am done. Today I am in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Children's Defense Fund National Conference
which is convening thousands of child advocates, faith leaders, Social Workers, community organizers and activist to build a movement to protect children in our country. This morning at 6:00am young leaders convened outside the convention center for a time of silent reflection on African-Americans, especially young men in the prison system.

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This is a reflective poem I wrote at The Children's Defense Fund National Conference on the New Jim Crow.

Hosanna!People’s Seminary Women’s Circle for Burnout & Secondary Trauma

 

Feel free to register and keep your Lenten commitment to growth going past Easter!In partnership with Hosanna! People’s Seminary I will be leading our Eastertide women’s burnout prevention and secondary trauma healing and prayer circle running on 

Wednesdays 8-9PM

EST (4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9). This is a program of our Mary Magdalene Finishing School and we will be gathering via video conference. I will be drawing from the tradition of women’s healing and prayer circles and leading us in scriptural reflection, prayer, sharing, intention setting, and more. Join us as we find our voices through healing! This program is free & online so you don’t need to travel to participate. To register visit:Here is a link to the application:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VKYHHJ

Chaplaincy & the Movement to End Poverty

This blog first appeared on the Poverty Initiative Union in Dialogue Blog: A New & Unsettling Force.

Below are two pieces by Poverty Initiative leaders discussing the different contexts in which they have served as chaplains and how this work is connected to the broader movement to end Poverty.  The first is a reflection by Jennifer Wilder about her work with the Union protest chaplains who have been serving in Zuccotti (Liberty) Park for the past several weeks of Occupy Wall Street.   Jenn’s reflection is followed by an excerpt from a reflection that Union alum and Poverty Initiative leader Onleilove Alston wrote about being a chaplain over the years with the Poverty Initiative, “on the field of battle for justice.”

CHAPLAINCY IN ZUCCOTTI PARK FOR ‘OCCUPY WALL STREET’

As I focused on our prayer, I could hear the Occupation Wall Street People’s Mic start not two yards away from us.  Between my eyes half-closed, I could see a camera flash, irreverent yet commonplace at Occupation Wall Street, taking a picture of the two of us.  The lady, (lets call her Glory) who now clasped hands with me in prayer in the middle of roudy Zuccotti Park, had participated that morning in her first-ever protest, which was in Harlem opposing the stop-and-frisk protest policy.  Glory told me her own humiliating experiences of being stopped, frisked, and accused of prostitution.  Glory was pregnant with twins, and she looked forward to telling them what she had done while expecting them to prepare the way for them to have better conditions.