[[link removed]] Prayer is Essential. Protest is Required. Policy is Necessary.
[[link removed]] Jim WallisIn my lifetime, I have never seen more white people involved in the deep and
growing movement to address systemic racism, structural injustice on many
fronts, and, specifically, the violent policing and killing of black people.
Never. What does that mean? What will it change — and how?

Yesterday in Washington, D.C., up against police lines protecting the White
House, Sojourners partnered with the Episcopal Diocese and others for a
“Solidarity Prayer Vigil,” just up the street from St. John’s, Lafayette Square,
where on Monday, militarized police teargassed and removed peaceful protesters
from all around Lafayette Park and the church. Donald Trump did that so he could
stride over for a photo op in front of the church, lifting a Bible over his head
while having nothing to say, using both the sacred space of a church and our
holy scriptures as political props. The whole nation and the world have now seen
that infamous picture, and many have noted that the Bible was held upside down —
both literally, and indeed, all of its teachings.

There in front of the historic pale yellow sanctuary, known as “The Church of
Presidents,” Trump was asked if the Bible he was holding was his own; he
answered, “It’s a Bible.” Asked if he had any thoughts, Trump said, “We have a
great country. That’s my thoughts. Greatest country in the world. We will make
it greater. We will make it even greater. It won’t take long. It’s not going to
take long. You see what’s going on. You see it coming back.”

Princeton professor Eddie Glaude Jr. has rightly named the violent White House
walk to St. John’s as “dictatorial theatre.” The words that came to mind for
many of us were sacrilege and blasphemy. Here's the dictionary's definition of
blasphemy: "Impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things."
Another word that came to mind was authoritarian. At the epicenter of political
power in the United States stands a little church that Donald Trump has decided
to violently use — and now St. John’s stands inside a police perimeter
surrounding that seat of power.

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[[link removed]] Our LatestOne Murder of Many: Subverting White Privilege to Save Black Lives (The Soul of
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Whitney Parnell, Founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps, talks with Rev. Jim
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What spiritual practices can help in such challenging times? Spirituality &
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Designated Mission Co-worker in El Salvador​
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Our Sister Parish in the Presbytery of Des Moines, IA, is seeking a full-time
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