25 Journeys Toward Justice

2020 Advent Series

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)

Star of Bethlehem by Banksy at Walled-Off Hotel in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank (AFP via Getty Images)

The Work of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations (1985), by Dr. Howard Thurman (1899 - 1981): an influential American author, philosopher, theologian, educator and civil rights leader.

REFLECT

Take a moment to reflect on this series. 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? 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?

As this year’s 25 Journeys Towards Justice included personal stories from individuals, we received permission to publish the following reflections:

• While We Wait

• Dreaming in the Waiting

• Keep the Faith

• Peace & Climate Health

• Paradigm Shift

• Discovering the Other America

• Faith In Action

• Own It

• A Story of Heart Change

• Justice in the Church: Righteous Leadership & Gospel Inclusion

• Finding My Anything

Thank you so much for participating! Any feedback is welcome and appreciated. (Email truthandjustice.union@gmail.com.)

Truth & Justice 2019 Advent series | 25 Steps Toward Justice

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. 

1) A Blessing of Hope

2) Quality of Mercy 

3) "Biased" 

4) Representation and Beyond 

5) Diversity vs. Equity

6) “Undoing Racism” 

7) Decolonizing our theology 

8) The Thrill of Hope in a Weary World

9) “This Land” The History of Native Lands

10) Living on Duwamish Land

11) “The Lord loves the homeless”

12) Death by Gentrification

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

19) Why We Can’t Wait 

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.