25 Steps Toward Justice
Learn, reflect, pray, act, and be transformed.
Exploring issues of injustice—and their toxic effect on our world—can be uncomfortable. But we believe that God Emmanuel, who sends us as his agents into the world, will accompany us with his boundless grace, reminding us that we "belong to God and the Spirit in us is far stronger than anything in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Day 26: PRAY
Teach Me to Listen
Teach me to listen, O God,
To those nearest me,
My family, my friends, my co-workers.
Help me to be aware
That no matter what words I hear,
The message is,
“Accept the person I am. Listen to me.”
Teach me to listen, my caring God,
To those far from me –
The whisper of the hopeless,
The plea of the forgotten,
The cry of the anguished.
Teach me to listen, O God my Mother,
To myself.
Help me to be less afraid
To trust the voice inside –
In the deepest part of me.
Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit,
For your voice –
In busyness and in boredom,
In certainty and doubt,
In noise and in silence.
Teach me, Lord, to listen.
Amen.
-Prayer of John Veltri SJ
REFLECT
Take a moment to reflect on the past 25 days. Talk with someone or write about what parts of this advent journey have left an impression on you. Looking back, what stands out to you? What did you struggle with? Did anything prompt you to explore or research in more depth? Did you feel moved to get involved in anything or take action in a certain way?
Here is a list of the 25 Steps Towards Justice 2019.
3) "Biased"
8) The Thrill of Hope in a Weary World
9) “This Land” The History of Native Lands
11) “The Lord loves the homeless”
13) Poverty, Income Disparity, and Immigration
14) “Fishers of Men” ICE Tactics
16) Time to listen: Recentering History
17) “A Great Cloud of Witnesses”
18) Courageous and Costly Living
20) Reparations
21) Asian Misrepresentation in Media
22) Letter Writing: Throwing Breadcrumbs at Mountains
23) Climate change
24) The “Cultural Genocide” of Uyghur Muslims
25) Keeping Watch Over Bethlehem
26) Prayer: Teach me to listen
Thank you so much for participating! Any feedback is welcome and appreciated. (Email truthandjustice.union@gmail.com.)
“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” -Romans 12:10
UPCOMING EVENTS
Jan 11, 2020: World Relief Volunteer Orientation 9am @World Relief (Kent) Free
Jan 20, 2020: MLK Prayer Breakfast 7am @The Sheraton
Jan 24, 2020: Power with not Power Over: Accountability in Action for White Women All Day @2100 Building (Mt. Baker) $150-$300
Jan 30, 2020: The True Cost (film) 6:30pm @Mt. Baker Community Club Free
Jan 15 - Mar 4, 2020 Kitchen Table Conversations | Unpacking Indigenous Issues Wednesdays, 6:30-8 PM @ Kakáo (415 Westlake)
A space to examine settler-Indigenous relations in our region, engage with literary and expressive arts created by Indigenous peoples, and learn how to become an ally of Indigenous rights. Discussion topics include: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women #MMIW, Contemporary Native Arts, Duwamish Land and Land Acknowledgement.
Facilitated by Lydia Heberling, instructor of American Indian and Indigenous Studies at University of Washington. Email Adrienne for more info/sign up.