In the summer of 1954, Pauli Murray—civil rights lawyer, activist, and writer—arrived at the prestigious MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire as an artist-in-residence. At 43 years old, Murray had come to work on what would become her first autobiography, Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family.  The book tells the remarkable, true story of Murray's own family through enslavement, survival, and interracial family histories in the South from the pre-Civil War era through Rec

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 Have you ever had a really good neighbor?  Growing up, mine was Denise.  She was the mom two doors down, who always made her house open to us neighborhood kids. Around her table, we shared tamales and Thanksgiving dinner, played Mexican train, and did art projects late into the night. She made us laugh endlessly. She was someone my mom could ask to pick us up from school if we got sick. I trusted her like I trusted my own parents. How about you? Who c

Scripture Readings: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4, Luke 19:1-10 Today’s first scripture reading comes from the little-known prophet Habakkuk. Unlike most prophets, Habakkuk does not address Israel’s sin or call the people back to God’s ways. Instead, he speaks from his own struggle to hold onto faith in a world filled with injustice and suffering. He asks,  How can I believe in a God of justice when there is so much injustice? So much violence? So much chaos?  Habakkuk prophesied aro

Gifts from Creator Tells the Good Story (Matthew) 28:18-20 (First Nations Version) It was now time for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to return to the spirit-world above. It had now been forty days since he had come back to life again. So he gathered his followers, one last time, to give them their final instruction. 16 The remaining eleven of his followers journeyed to Circle of Nations (Galilee). There, at the mountain where Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had told them to go, they m