Read more at sojo.net ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ View this email in your browser [[link removed]] [[link removed]] The Church Must Model Lament for Our Grieving Nation
[[link removed]] Adam Russell TaylorThis week the United States surpassed a tragic milestone: Half a million people
in this country have died from COVID-19 — a number that, while devastating,
doesn’t even take into account the full human toll of the virus. While numbers
of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations have begun to fall precipitously (for a
variety of overlapping reasons) and nearly 50 million Americans have received at
least one dose of the vaccine, this dark winter feels like a prolonged
wilderness of grief and loss.

Since the pandemic began roughly a year ago, I have shed more tears than I have
in my entire lifetime. Tears of grief for the loss of loved ones, including one
of my mentors and beloved fraternity brothers Judge Horace Johnson. Tears of
anguish over the widespread economic devastation and protracted hardships. Tears
of righteous anger over deep denial and failures in leadership. As we mark this
milestone of 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, it is important to explore how our nation
and the church grieve such immense loss of life. We can’t, nor should we, simply
move on. Individual and collective mourning is a critical part of how we
process, how we remember, and how we heal. Further, collective grief can move us
toward common purpose in this time marked by such profound division. For
Christians, as we move through this season of Lent, it’s important not to become
numb to the sheer scale of these numbers and lose sight of the reality that each
death represents an individual person, loved by God and made in God’s image, who
had parents and family and friends and whose loss has ripple effects across many
lives. And on this side of eternity, each one of these beloved children of God
has left behind a real void.

Churches are on the front lines of helping parishioners cope with the magnitude
of this personal and collective tragedy, even as what church looks like has
evolved in the past year. Now it is church’s role to offer a template for what
collective lament and community look like amid a global pandemic. The milestone
of 500,000 American lives cut tragically short reminds us of Lent’s importance
in a nation and world undergoing so much pain. The journey between now and
resurrection Sunday must inevitably go through a wilderness of grief.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE
[[link removed]]


[?subject=Read%20this%20Article%20at%20Sojourners&body=[link removed]] Forward
[?subject=Read%20this%20Article%20at%20Sojourners&body=[link removed]]
[[link removed]] Share
[[link removed]]ADVERTISEMENT
[[link removed]] Our LatestWitnesses to the Miracle of Blackness (by Danté Stewart)
[[link removed]]

Black History Month is not just about learning from Black people; it's about
creating a world where we feel loved, inspired, and protected.

Grace Semler Baldridge Is Bringing Queer Stories to Christian Music (by Mitchell
Atencio)
[[link removed]]

Preacher's Kid dares to include songs about topics rejected by the contemporary Christian
music industry.

Sr. Dianna Ortiz, Torture Survivor and Activist, Dies at 62 (by Gina Ciliberto)
[[link removed]]

Ortiz “turned her experiences of death into something that saved the lives of
thousands of people,” said Rose Marie Berger.

Dear Black Churches: We Can Overcome Vaccine Skepticism, Inequity (by Matthew
Watley)
[[link removed]]

Our churches must lead by providing accurate medical information and greater
vaccine access.

ADVERTISEMENT
[[link removed]] From the MagazineAlternatives to Police Exist. You Just Haven't Heard of Them. (by Stephanie
Russell-Kraft) [[link removed]]

How faith and community leaders are reimagining public safety.

ADVERTISEMENTS
Join a courageous conversation.
[[link removed]]

Micah Intensives bring together Christian leaders and learners for a month of
dynamic online training to discern God's will for us in response to pressing
issues of justice. Topics include: Racism, Immigration, Mass Incarceration,
Healthcare, Violence Against Women, and Environment.

Deadline today! Submit your sermon on immigration.
[[link removed]]

Few Christians have heard a sermon supporting immigrant people. We’re out to
change that. Today’s the deadline. Submit your sermon now!

DONATE
[[link removed]] SUBSCRIBE [[link removed]] Unsubscribe or update email preferences
[[link removed]]


Copyright © 2021 Sojourners, All rights reserved.
Sojourners | 408 C St. NE | Washington, DC 20002
Email: [email protected] [[email protected]] | Tel.: 202.328.8842