The season of Advent urges us to slow down; to dwell in the fullness of God’s good news. God offers us life-affirming joy even as calamity follows crisis like an ever-unspooling tragedy.
It seems if we are to have an honest conversation about persecution against Christians, we should first and foremost consider the migrant who is our neighbor, who is made in God’s image, and who needs our collective voice and support right now.
As Christmas nears, may we continue to not run away from seeing the injustices in our communities. But hold that in tension with the joy that we should all be feeling as we anticipate Jesus’s birth.
To launch our week reflecting on Advent in a time of soldiers in the streets, Rev. Jorge Bautista writes about getting shot in the face with a pepper round by a U.S. immigration agent while at a peaceful prayer vigil in Oakland, California.
The Church of England has countered with posters at bus stops and other locations that say ‘Christ has always been in Christmas’ and ‘Outsiders welcome.’
Mahan and Mozhan Motahari are members of an Episcopal church in Virginia. An alarming CBP social media post publicly shared images of the women, potentially heightening the risks they face back in Iran.
‘We know that Jesus was born into a Roman imperial occupation, and pretty much immediately becomes a refugee in Egypt, has to flee, and faces political violence,’ the Rev. Michael Woolf said.
A year after the election, a new Pew Research Center report reveals that a majority of Latino Catholics and Protestants have negative views on Trump’s job so far as president as they witness the impacts of ICE raids in their neighborhoods.
By appealing to maternal concerns about what kids eat or learn and offering a sense of clarity, community, and stability, conservative influencers are creating an on-ramp for political engagement framed as part of a spiritual war.