Where to dwell right now

Beauty as an act of resistance

I waited to send today’s Holy Labor round-up because I wanted to include this Prayer for A Country Called War by my dear friend Cameron Bellm. I’m grateful she let us reprint it on Mothering Spirit. Sarah Rose made a beautiful, simple video version for you to pray here.

Poetry makes more sense to me than prose in these difficult days. Found this collection during the pandemic and I still turn to it regularly: How Lovely The Ruins.

Thanks to Art and Theology, I’ve become enthralled with Cody F. Miller’s collages, including artwork on religious themes like Ruth and Naomi, the Hebrew midwives, and the Kingdom of God. Poignantly fitting for now.

Shannon K. Evans

sent me Suscipe by Jessica Gerhardt, and I’ve had it on repeat ever since. A haunting, holy prayer.

“What I wanted instead, what I pleaded for while I wept in the night, was for God to protect me. To shield me from this suffering and let this cup pass me by…Over time God began to open my eyes to the wider truth that that love can mean many things.”

In Saturday’s essay, I shared links to prayers and poetry that have been sustaining me during this time of deep suffering, personal and global. If you’ve found people, places, or words that are giving life right now, I’d love for you to share them with us here.