The meaning (and desecration) of land

I am grateful whenever the Century has two new pieces that cover the same event or topic. It allows me to take a deeper dive, plus multiple perspectives on a subject offer more opportunities for wisdom and learning. I’m happy that today’s email brings us both a feature essay and unsigned editorial from the August issue—both of which relate to the fight to save Oak Flat, an Apache holy site in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest.

So scroll down, or click the links in this paragraph, to begin your own deep dive. Tim Nafziger describes the situation in Arizona and reflects on themes like Jesus’ anti-colonialism and humans’ relationship to land. Then the Century editors pick up the baton to lament the desecration of Oak Flat—and the systems of extractive idolatry in which we are all enmeshed.

We also have new content that’s a bit more uplifting, if you’re in the market for some encouragement. I had a lively chat with Pamela Lewis about church clothes, and more broadly about the powers and functions of our clothing. Plus scroll down for an essay about the installation of the new pope, a book review by luminary Lauren Winner about imagination’s role in faith, and more.

Jon Mathieu
Email me: How would you describe your relationship to the land?
Click to schedule a Friday lunch chat with Jon (it’s okay to book again if you’ve done it before!)

Apache Stronghold’s rooted resistance

“Apache Stronghold’s vision stretches beyond protecting Oak Flat. The group invites us to strip away the layers of colonization that separate us from seeing, hearing, and touching the sacred in the land. It welcomes people of all faiths to join in recovering the relationship with the nonhuman world around us.”

by Tim Nafziger

The desecration of Oak Flat

“It would be easy to blame the destruction of Oak Flat entirely on the mining company, its lobbyists, and the politicians beholden to them. But the successful collusion of these powerful entities took place within the context of a cultural reality as ubiquitous as our need for copper: our worship of the false gods of unchecked capitalism and the illusion of unfettered growth.”

from the editors

VIDEO: Does God care what we wear to church?

Writer Pamela Lewis chats with Jon about clothing and its dimensions of identity-building, self-expression, and power navigation.

In the Lectionary for July 27 (Ordinary 17C)

Jesus addresses a God who is beyond the human horizon and yet part of the household.

A new pope’s call to unity

“I meet my students in the lobby of Sant’Anselmo, the Benedictine abbey where we are staying, and follow them on a dark walk along the Tiber River. After passing through two layers of Vatican security, we are amazed to have second-row seats to see Leo officially installed.”

by Jeannine Marie Pitas

Encountering art and encountering God

For theologian Judith Wolfe, imagination is a necessary part of how we know the Divine.

review by Lauren F. Winner