Inspirations Blog
A multimedia collection of stories, learnings, reflections, and resources from the people and ministries of Juniper Formation.
Our Ongoing Emancipation from Violence
What is the cost of our disregard for healthy, loving relationships? A child lost, abandoned, and abused by their community will destroy it in an attempt to find the acceptance, connection, and the care they need.
For Sunday: Abortion Rights & The Church
Our progressive Christian silence is certain violence for the people whom we say we love. The people we venerate on Mother’s Day, the people who were given the divine gift of creating life, the people who risk their lives in pregnancy and labor, the people who are reduced to no more than earthen vessels, when our bodies, heart, and soul are the potters.
Juneteenth!
This Saturday will be the first national Juneteenth celebration in the United States, representing one way that we formally celebrate Black liberation together. And also, while we celebrate this milestone, we acknowledge that there is still so much work to be done to ensure Black liberation becomes a reality. For today, tomorrow, and the next day, we continue the work and ministry of liberation for all of God's children.
Removing the Targets from One Another’s Backs
The expressions "I feel like we have a target on our backs" or "It's open season on us" viscerally proclaim the real suffering, fear, and trauma that Black and African American people are experiencing at the hands of the police, legal system, and white supremacy culture within our communities.This week, many of us sit in grief and fear, preparing to take loving action. We are in the company of Job, a man who lost his beloveds and who names this suffering, fear, and targeting in ways that are ancient, ancestral, and yet still present to us today.
4th Week of Lent: I've Decided to Choose Freedom
We’ve released worship music videos with lyrics for each song on the “Speak Boldly” album by Jenny LaJoye. You can find these worship music videos on our Juniper Formation YouTube Channel, and more easily in this “Speak Boldly” YouTube playlist.
A Lenten Practice: Reimagining History and Releasing White Supremacy
Engage in deep learning about about the creativity, wisdom, and stories of Black and African American people and communities in February, through Lent, throughout the year, and in your everyday ways of engaging the world around you.
"There's a certain kind of fire that no water can put out"
And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water.When people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
For the love of all things that are unholy
For the love of all things that are unholy, may you have the courage to choose to abide in the everlasting love of Christ and the Holy Spirit of God.
Developing Sustainable and Relational Antiracism Practices (Part 1)
Let us not forget that we belong to one another, and “rekindle the gift of God that is within you…for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and love and of self discipline. (2 Timothy 1:6-7). After the murder of George Floyd…