The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace

The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace recognizes Indigenous Peoples' Day. Katie Mullin, Director of Content and Community, and Mariah Humphries, Executive Director, share their perspectives on what this day means for them. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eCzgxmRp

David Swanson joins Mariah Humphries for our latest Peace Talks episode. Love and concern for the church permeate their conversation as they discuss hope in community and purpose in Sabbath keeping. David previews his new book, Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice and, in general, challenges many assumptions Christians make about each other. https://lnkd.in/eJ_fw9je for more!

When the world is heavy and your own life is too much take a breath walk outside scoop up some dirt. It doesn't absolve the hurt or free you from the realities ahead. But it is a sacred pause a moment of grounding an instance where feeling small might prove a comfort. -- Aurelia Dávila Pratt (@revaureliajoy), A Brown Girl's Epiphany . . . . . Hispanic Heritage Month: Although we share from Latina/Latino leaders throughout the year, it is Hispanic Heritage Month and we will be taking intentional time to share thoughts of formation, justice and peace by Latina/Latino voices over the next month. These posts will not breakdown the thoughts shared, rather they are meant to invoke deeper reflection as you consider what it means to pursue peace, seek spiritual formation and practice justice in thought and action. Feel free to share your reflections below.

O Lord, you who stand sovereign over wind and wave, be with us this day, we pray, in the face of storms that savage the land and winds that swallow up home and hope; do not be deaf to our cries but be the God of life from death, we pray, near to the brokenhearted and empty-handed, so that we may experience you this day as the God who brings order out of chaos. We pray this in the name of the One who is our Shelter and Shield. Amen. An excerpt from “PRAYERS FOR THE PILGRIMAGE” By W. David O.Taylor . . . . . 
 Our prayers are with those who are in the path of another hurricane and those still processing the damage and loss from the past couple of weeks.

Listen to the questions Dr. Robinson asks herself when she is considers her own political engagement. Don't miss this!

"For One Who is Exhausted” By John O'Donohue When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,  time takes on the strain until it breaks;  then all the unattended stress falls in on the mind like an endless, increasing weight.   The light in the mind becomes dim. Things you could take in your stride before now become laborsome events of will.   Weariness invades your spirit.  Gravity begins falling inside you, dragging down every bone.   The tide you never valued has gone out.  And you are marooned on unsure ground. Something within you has closed down; and you cannot push yourself back to life.   You have been forced to enter empty time. The desire that drove you has relinquished. There is nothing else to do now but rest and patiently learn to receive the self you have forsaken in the race of days.   At first your thinking will darken and sadness take over like listless weather. The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.   You have traveled too fast over false ground; now your soul has come to take you back.   Take refuge in your senses, open up to all the small miracles you rushed through.   Become inclined to watch the way of rain when it falls slow and free.   Imitate the habit of twilight,  taking time to open the well of color that fostered the brightness of day.   Draw alongside the silence of stone until its calmness can claim you. Be excessively gentle with yourself.   Stay clear of those vexed in spirit. Learn to linger around someone of ease who feels they have all the time in the world.   Gradually, you will return to yourself, having learned a new respect for your heart and the joy that dwells far within slow time.

I dont believe we can achieve unity without mutual compassion. I am not convinced we can get to peace without Justice. I don’t know how to testify of a God who loved the world when we choose to only concern ourselves with a fragment of it. — Sandra Maria Van Opstal, Founder and Executive Director of Chasing Justice . . . . . Hispanic Heritage Month: Although we share from Latina/Latino leaders throughout the year, it is Hispanic Heritage Month and we will be taking intentional time to share thoughts of formation, justice and peace by Latina/Latino voices over the next month. These posts will not breakdown the thoughts shared, rather they are meant to invoke deeper reflection as you consider what it means to pursue peace, seek spiritual formation and practice justice in thought and action. Feel free to share your reflections below.

When they buried the children What they didn’t know They were lovingly embraced by the land. Held and cradled in a mother’s heart. The trees wept for them, with the wind. They sang mourning songs their mothers didn’t know to sing. Bending branches to touch the earth around them. The Creator cried for them, the tears falling like rain. Mother Earth held them until they could be found. Now our voices sing the mourning songs. With the trees. The wind. Light sacred fire - ensure they are never forgotten, as we sing justice. - Abigail Echo Hawk, Pawnee . . . . . . . . . . From 1867 to 1996, there were 140 federally run (Indigenous) residential schools in Canada. September 30 is Orange Shirt Day and also National Day for Truth & Reconciliation National Day for Truth & Reconciliation is an official day, in Canada, to remember First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples, who experienced the boarding school system. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools. The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations. You can read more about Orange Shirt Day at

Gregory Thompson's Peace Talks episode is both hard-hitting and thoughtful. He tackles why the dinner table is the BEST place for political conversations and why the church is the best place for cultivating the moral skill of discernment needed for such topics. Don't miss this one! https://lnkd.in/e9zX9UG3 . . . #peacetalks #podcast #podcasting #podcastersofinstagram #podcasts #spotify #podcastlife #podcaster #youtube #radio #music #love #comedy #hiphop #podcasters #applepodcasts #itunes #podcastshow #interview #entrepreneur #newpodcast #spotifypodcast #covid #applepodcast #motivation #s #soundcloud #art #radioshow #entertainment

Grief can seem pitiful, offensive, or inconvenient to some Christians, as it has nothing to do with a victorious God. To those who have embraced an imperial Christ, grief is weakness. But this is precisely why we need to grieve: as resistance and as a spiritual practice. . . . . . Hispanic Heritage Month: Although we share from Latina/Latino leaders throughout the year, it is Hispanic Heritage Month and we will be taking intentional time to share thoughts of formation, justice and peace by Latina/Latino voices over the next month. These posts will not breakdown the thoughts shared, rather they are meant to invoke deeper reflection as you consider what it means to pursue peace, seek spiritual formation and practice justice in thought and action.