by Rev. Joanne Solis-Walker, Ph.D ¡Interesante! If I were asked to select one word to describe large portions of my journey as a Latina within theological education, it would be: Interesante or for the non-Spanish speaker, Interesting. I have had many rewarding opportunities as an [...]Read More
Peace in the Storm: Reflections on the 2023 Border Southwest Conference
Reflections by: Reflections by Nancy Lam Ciudad Nueva Community Outreach, Abara Borderland Connections in El Paso “Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose,” the quote by Martha Postlethwaite, a United Methodist pastor, spiritual director, and counselor for addiction [...]Read More
For People in Prison, a Listening Ear Can Make All the Difference
by Paige Deur Matthew grew up in a Christian family. At nineteen, he gave his life to Christ and began to see his life transform. Four years later, he found his life falling apart as he sunk into depression. “This was at the beginning of my marriage when I was supposed to be happy, but I [...]Read More
Sacred Neighboring
By Rev. Dr. Lori E. Banfield 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you [...]Read More
The Weaponization of Trauma upon Reentry
by Antonio (Tony) Pizarro What is trauma? How does trauma affect reentry? This is the question that we should be asking ourselves. We fight collectively for liberation. Yet, once liberation is achieved there is no fight to address the traumatizing events that could hinder a successful reentry [...]Read More
Welcoming a bit of the garden of Eden into the reentry process
by Stephanie Vander Lugt “Its time to play… Guess. That. Vegetable!” The room erupted into game-show worthy applause as cruciferous and leafy wonders passed from table to table. Hushed tones ensued. Is it a beet? A melon? A kind of celery? Each team efforted to correctly identify the most [...]Read More
How our Church got Involved in Mass Incarceration
by Joe Marcucci Our entry to the dizzying world of Mass Incarceration began with the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, and the book Rethinking Incarceration by Dominique Gilliard. We were determined to move the marker for what our church was engaged with. When the initial registration for [...]Read More
As a product of America’s school to prison pipeline, I…
by Michael Simmons CW: This post includes stories about suicidal ideation. I remember the first time I wanted to kill myself. It was the day of what was supposed to be a fun game of football between two teams of freshman high school students. During the game, a play was called in the huddle, [...]Read More