Tag: social justice

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#praywithusPUMC to End Racism Prayer Guide 4

 

DAILY PRAYER TO END RACISM

DAY FOUR

DAY OF FORGIVENESS – SOUL.                                    

  • God’s Word for Today

John 4:13-14 

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

  • Reflection

Jesus shows us clearly that there is a way not to be thirsty again. There is a way to end racism and all sorts of separateness amongst us humans. The way out is to drink the water of eternal life.

Every healing process brings us to a point where we have to reconcile. We reconcile with the energy of life, of God. For that, we need forgiveness; forgiving ourselves and forgiving others, and everyone we still have to ask for forgiveness or that we have to forgive. Loving ourselves and loving others can’t happen without forgiveness. This is the day of the soul, where we can access the living water of eternal life. Let’s take this day to put the light on what is going on in our country as much as what is going on in ourselves through the lens of our Soul.

  • Prayer and Contemplation

How can I reach forgiveness and pardon today?

Is there something I can forgive myself about?

Is there someone I can ask for forgiveness or forgive today?

In which areas can I reconcile with myself – body, emotions, thoughts, spirit? 

With whom and what can I reconcile around me and in my daily life? 

We invite you to light a candle, take a cross or a bible, and go simply in a calm space and start breathing for a few seconds.

Shine the light on a historical wrong regarding racial injustice that causes all of our pain, give it a voice and an ear, and then pray for reconciliation.

Ask God to support you in your pain and towards happiness.

Ask the Holy Spirit to heal you and everyone.

Ask the Son, Christ, to be with us and in us so we can not only believe, not only follow but abide.

Together we pray.                                                                      

Let’s end racism, once and for all.                                      

One human family, in God.

 

Click here for the Prayer Guide Introduction

 

Posted by Isabella Dougan

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Continuing Conversation on Race: December 3

Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege is at Princeton Public Library is on First Mondays at 7 p.m.
Continuing Conversations on Race and White Privilege is at Princeton Public Library is on First Mondays at 7 p.m.

NIOT Princeton welcomes anyone who is committed to working towards building genuinely inclusive communities and working for racial justice. For more information, or to ask about volunteering, go to NIOTPrinceton.org or see Barbara Fox.

The next Continuing Conversation on Race and White Privilege will be Monday, December 3, at 7 p.m., and Rev. Dr. Charles Frederick Boyer will speak on “Liberating Public Policy Theologically.” 

What is liberation theology, and how does it connect with racial justice?
How can legislation and public policy be examined through a prophetic racial justice lens?  
What role should liberation theology play in birthing faith-rooted advocacy and activism?

Rev. Boyer has said, “As an African-American minister of the gospel, I am compelled to fight and encourage the struggle for freedom and justice. Mass incarceration, private prisons, and prison industrial complex slave labor which is legalized in our constitution, must be challenged at every level.”

NOT IN OUR TOWN PRINCETON is a multi-racial, multi-faith group of individuals who stand together for racial justice and inclusive communities. Our focus is to promote the equitable treatment of all, and to uncover and confront white supremacy — a system which manipulates and pits all races and ethnicities against each other.

Our goal is to identify and expose the political, economic, and cultural systems which have enabled white supremacy to flourish, and to create new structures and policies which will ensure equity and inclusion for all. In our commitment to uncovering the blight of white supremacy on our humanity, we take responsibility to address it and eliminate it in all its forms through intentional action, starting with ourselves and our communities.

 

 

 

 

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District Wide Leadership Training for Missions :

Two leadership training opportunities — one on race and social justice, one on leading mission projects — are offered by the United Methodist Church.

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Rev. Tom Lank  offers Volunteers in Mission Leadership Training for the Northeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist church  United Methodist Volunteers In Mission promotes, encourages, and enables Christians to exemplify “Christian Love In  Action” through short-term mission service in the United States and abroad. Tom was an assistant pastor at PUMC and led our United Front Against Riverblindness mission trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The training is  Saturday, November 5, in Neptune, N.J. Details here 

Katey Zeh katey-headshot-300x285 offers a Drew Theological School webinar,  Confronting White Privilege in Our Mission for Justice on four Wednesdays , 3 to 4:30 p.m. starting September 21. 

“In this four-part series we will discuss what the missional engagement of the church looks like in a highly racialized context on both a national and a local level.  In addition to personal reflection and group discussion, participants will gain new tools and resources for addressing white privilege in their own communities and ministries and ideas for building ministries that are relationally authentic and socially impactful.”

Katey joins Bill Mefford to teach this course, which costs $60. Scholarships for PUMC members are available.

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July 27: A chance to listen and share

On Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at 7:00 pm, in the John Witherspoon Middle School auditorium, 217 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540, members of the Princeton community will gather to process their reactions to the deep fissures exposed by the national tragedies of police shootings and sniper attacks.

Mayor of Princeton Liz Lempert, Police Chief Nicholas Sutter, Rabbi Adam Feldman of the Jewish Center, and Rev. Matthew Ristuccia of Stone Hill Church invite the entire community to join them.

The bulk of the evening will be devoted to hearing from a representative of the African-American community as well as a representative of the law enforcement community, giving them the opportunity to share their personal perspectives. In listening to these stories, we as a community will be challenged to examine our own narratives, and to put a human face on the statistics and headlines that have confronted us in recent weeks.

Such a challenge is a vital first step in building bridges and taking positive steps toward real reconciliation and growth in our community and our nation. Everyone is invited for this evening of grieving together as we acknowledge the pain and fear engendered by these events, and as we strive for hope and forward movement as a community.