Week 6
Thoughts from Class
Our assigned reading for this week was Staying Awake: The Gospel for Changemakers by Tyler Sit. Pastor Tyler cleverly based his book on Jesus command to the disciples to “stay awake” while Jesus was praying in the garden. He asserts that thousands of years later, Jesus is still asking us to say awake, “awake to the suffering of the world, to our own souls, to the amazing miracle of being alive.” Then he outlines nine practices Christians can use to stay awake: worship, center marginalized voices, prayer, groups, sabbath, leadership development, practicing generosity, planting, putting it all together. Each chapter concludes with testimony from community members followed by actions steps for reflection or journaling.
Response to Scripture
The scriptures for this week were: Job 19:23-27a; Psalm 17:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38
“I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.”
Resources
(1) A song or hymn connected (2) a media piece - art, film, music, cartoon, meme, blog post, etc. (3) an action someone could take - prayer, legislative action, meditation, petition to sign etc. Each resource is related or connected either the lectionary text or the focus area of expansive language.
Song/Hymn
Pop Culture Reference or Media Piece
Here’s a blog post from the American Psychological Association on why inclusive language matters. I appreciate the three tips the write closes with: focus on people over labels, show cultural humility, and when you make a mistake think about impact versus intention.
Action - Read
This poem, God is Nonbinary by Chavonn Shen, was included in Staying Awake so it felt fitting to include it as the action item for the week.
