Richard’s sincerity, insight, honesty, intelligence, and experience as an organizer/activist all shine through in this book. I am so grateful this labor of love is available and I hope it finds the widest possible audience.

You can also get access to the videos … see the website after Feb. 5 for details.

Several people asked for the liturgy we used on Sunday morning. I developed the liturgy with major contributions from priest/musician John Francis O’Mara (https://johnfrancisomara.com/) — thanks, John.

Thanks to dear friend and colleague Dr. Diana Butler Bass (https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/) and new friend and colleague Rev. Dr. Jemar Tisby (https://jemartisby.substack.com/) for their collaboration in leading the service, and to the amazing, wonderful, brilliant polymathic musician Ken Medema (https://www.kenmedema.com/), and to his equally amazing assistant, Beverly Vander Molen.

The liturgy was also deeply enriched by the presence and participation of another new friend — poet/teacher/storyteller Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, whose work has nourished many of us for years, and who consistently produces creative work that inspires and sustains: https://www.wordwoman.com/ To have her with us in person was a steady breeze of pure, sail-filling joy. (She is a master of metaphors!)

We were also blessed and honored by the presence and participation of another dear friend, one of our speakers, Rabbi Or Rose. It can be delicate, even difficult, for a devoted, respected Jewish leader to be a guest — even a respected and honored guest — at a Christian liturgy. But Rabbi Or graciously offered not only his presence but also his participation through a prayer chanted in Hebrew. To learn more about this gifted scholar, author, interfaith pioneer, and beloved professor, you can start here: https://hebrewcollege.edu/blog/author/or-rose/

The final blessing comes from the Black Rock Prayer Book, by Brian Baker, available online here: https://www.ees1862.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/A-Black-Rock-Prayer-Book-2019.pdf

You are welcome to use or adapt this liturgy. Please credit with Southern Lights (https://southernlightsconference.com/), John Francis O’Mara (https://johnfrancisomara.com/), and Brian D. McLaren (brianmclaren.net)

ZOEoncampus.com will also be sharing adapted sections of this resource for use on college campuses. More on ZOE here: https://www.zoeoncampus.com/

+++++

Prelude: 

Invitation
One: Beloved friends, we come together to open wide our hearts to the One who disturbs the false peace of empires, the One who comforts the souls of the oppressed. We come to name and turn away from the love of power, wealth, and violence that so often dominates in our world. We come to place our feet on the path of justice, kindness, and humility, which is the path of Christ, who appears to us in the face of the refugee, in the cry of the detainee, and in the hunger of the poor, calling us to solidarity and action.

Song of Joy

Prayer of Intention

Let us pray for the world. If your heart agrees, when I raise my hand*, please say, “This is our hearts’ desire.”
O Living Light who enlightens every human being, we open our hearts to you and to one another.*

For the transformation or replacement of every system that binds the human spirit;*

For the abolition of racism, poverty, and the machines of war;*

For courage to be the voices crying in the wilderness, straightening the paths of equity and cooperation.*

For unjust politicians and oligarchs to be cast down,*

For the lowly to be lifted up,*

For the hungry to be filled with good things,*

For all who profit from injustice to be sent away empty,*

For the families of [Rene Nicole Good, Liam Ramos, and Alex Pretti] to be comforted, and all those who suffer from state sponsored violence,*

For secret police and all forms of violence and terrorism to end,*

For humans to awaken to the value of the Earth,*

For the Earth to thrive without human exploitation.*

For all of us to join you in the healing of the world.*

For hope to be our resistance and joy to be our defiance.*

[brief silence]

Let us pray for ourselves. If your heart agrees, when I raise my hand*, please say, “This is my heart’s desire.”

I do not want to be arrogant or hateful. I want to be a person rooted and grounded in love.*

I do not want to be defeated, despondent, or cynical. I want to be a person of resilient and abounding joy.*

I do not want to be irritable or short-tempered. I want to live from deep, centered patience.*

I do not want to be hard-hearted, insensitive, cruel, or unforgiving. I want to overflow with kindness.*

I do not want to be selfish or dishonest. I want to be a person of good character, honest and generous.*

I do not want to break faith with my fellow humans or fellow creatures. I want to be faithful, dependable, loyal.*

I do not want to intimidate, dominate, or take more than I give. I want to walk with gentleness upon this Earth.*

I do not want to be reactive or stubborn, addicted or obsessed. I want to be centered, deliberate, and peaceful.*

The same peace, joy, love, and integrity I long to see in the world, I want to grow in me.*

Amen.*

The Collect of the Day

One: The Spirit of Peace is among us and within us …

All: And with all creation

One: Let us pray

O Light of Peace, whose Realm is a disruption to the corrupt powers of this world: Stir up the embers in our hearts and burn like bright fire within us. Grant us the grace to wait with holy impatience for the breaking of the enslaved’s chains and the toppling of tyranny. Fill us with the courage of Mary, that we might sing the upside-down world right-side up again. May we join you in solidarity with the oppressed, working for the liberation of all your children, and restoring rather than plundering this beautiful, sacred Earth; through Jesus Christ the Liberator and Lover of all, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one, now and for ever. Amen.

Contemporary Reading

Scripture Readings

Hebrew Scripture

Christian Scripture: selections from Matthew 5, Luke 4

Sermon

Silence

Please use these few moments for contemplation in response to what we have heard. Listen for what echoes in your heart, for what the Spirit is saying to you and to us all.

Conversation:

In a moment, I will invite you to stand in groups of two or three. You will each have about a minute to introduce yourself and then answer this question: What is one thing you heard in today’s sermon that especially stirred, interested, or challenged you, and why was it important to you? We ask you to listen with gracious and respectful attention to each other. When you are finished sharing, or when you hear the music, please be seated.

Confession of Faith

One: You are invited to join in this confession of faith:

All: We have confidence in the Holy One,

Divine wisdom and power beyond our understanding,

Present with and within us,

Who is named and known in many ways across human cultures,

In whom the universe unfolds in space and time and beauty,

Whose radiance shines in every creature and through all creation,

Who loves the whole world like a wise and loving parent,

Who inspired prophets and teachers through the centuries,

And who was made known to us especially through Jesus.

We have confidence in Jesus, the Liberator,

In whom we see the character of the divine,

Teaching deep wisdom in parables,

Speaking truth to the powerful and powerless alike,

Healing the sick and feeding the hungry,

Welcoming outcasts to the table as friends.

He trained common people to be disciples,

Sending them into the world

To build a movement of revolutionary love.

The political and religious systems considered him a threat.

They arrested, mocked, tortured, executed, and buried him.

But they could not defeat him.

Even as he died he forgave them, and

He arose to live on in us through the Holy Spirit.

We have confidence in the Holy Spirit

Who unites, transforms, and empowers us

To seek the common good in the way of Jesus,

Through gracious and courageous words and deeds

Of justice, compassion, and humble nonviolence.

The Spirit moves within us to join the eternal dance

Of divine love, joy, and peace:

Many as one, mutually indwelling,

Forever and forever, right now. Amen.

Passing the Peace

Please greet one another with a bow of respect in the spirit of peace.

The Great Thanksgiving

One: The Spirit of Love, Joy, and Peace is with us!

All: And with all creation!

One: Let us be give thanks!

All: We have been blessed, indeed!

Sanctus Chant: (call and response to clapped rhythm)

Holy, holy, holy!

God of love and mercy!

The sky above and earth below

Are radiant with your glory

Holy, holy, holy!

God of peace and justice!

The sky above and earth below

Are radiant with your glory.

Hosanna! Hosanna!

Blessed is he, blessed is she,

Blessed are they, blessed are we

Who embody the glory of God!

Hosanna! Hosanna!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Amen!

The Great Thanksgiving

O Living Light, O Dearest Friend, O Power beyond all human powers, we thank you for walking beside on this journey, through times of tears and laughter, through times of rest and labor, through times of darkness and seasons of light, and in this very moment, now.

You exceed our highest thought, and our highest words can not contain you, and so we rest in your presence in reverent silence.

We remember Jesus, the story of Mary his mother, the stories of his infancy and childhood, the stories of how he would go to wild places and pray in solitude. We remember his deeds of kindness to heal the sick, to feed the poor, to welcome children, to include outsiders and outcasts. We remember the teachings that he gave, the parables he told, the questions he asked, the profound wisdom of his words. We remember his courage in confronting hypocrites and defending the vulnerable. We remember the mission he entrusted his disciples, of carrying on his example and his message. We remember his precious life and we thank you for him …

… as we pray the prayer he taught his disciples: (Sung version)

Holy one, all the cosmos is full of your love.

We behold your glorious mystery in awe.

We receive your new way of life right now.

On this precious Earth may your dreams come true.

Enough for today is all we ask,

As we give and receive grace for our wrongs

Lead us out from the crisis we’re in

And free us from evil in all its forms

So say we all, so say we all

Now our hearts are one.

The night before Jesus was rejected by the crowds and executed by the religious and political powers, Jesus gathered his friends for a meal. It was a Passover meal, celebrating an ancient story of liberation from oppression.

During the meal, he took bread and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Take it. Eat it. Remember me.”

And at the end of the meal, he took wine and said, “This is my blood poured out for you and for all, for the forgiveness of sin. Drink this, all of you. This is a sign of our new relationship. Do this in remembrance of me.”

And so now, we remember Jesus, in life and in death. May these simple gifts of bread and wine be to us a sign and sacrament of his love and presence alive in us.

As we share in this sacrament, may we experience sacred communion with God, one another, and all creation, and may we become the ongoing embodiment of Christ, our Liberator, our leader, our friend. Amen.

[brief instructions are given]

Distribution of Elements

Closing words/Thanks/Instructions

Blessing of Candles

Dear friends, we are living in a time when darkness gathers at the centers of wealth and power. It will very likely get darker still. But we have not gathered for these three days simply to bemoan the darkness at the center. We have come together to gather light at the margins, to experience what the mystics called photosis, or enlightenment, to take into our souls so much light that we ourselves become light and carry light to others, wherever we go.

And so we conclude our time with a sharing of candles as we sing a song. We want you to bring your candle home, and on any day when you feel overwhelmed by darkness, we ask you to light your candle, to remember our time together, to reflect on what we have learned and felt and shared together … and as you light the candle back home, we hope you will offer your body and life as a bearer of God’s light.

May these candles remind you that all is not dark. No matter how dark it gets, you, and we, joined by so many more, are a light in the world.

Closing Songs

Blessing and Dismissal

One: May the God who said “Let there be light” be your light in these dark times. May Jesus, who said “I am the light of the world,” and who also said, “You are the light of the world,” shine bright in you. May the Spirit, who is often represented by a bright flame, be ever incandescent in you and in us all until we meet again. Our gathering has ended, and our good work as light on the margins continues. Amen.

Black Rock Prayer Book Blessing:

“The world now is too dangerous

and too beautiful for anything but love.

May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.

Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.

May your hands be so blessed

that everything you touch is a sacrament.

Your lips, so you speak nothing but the truth with love.

May your feet be so blessed you run

to those who need you.

And may your heart be so opened,

so set on fire, that your love,

your love, changes everything.

+++++

May the Lord bless you with discomfort at easy answers and half-truths, so that you may live from the heart. May the Lord bless you with outrage over exploitation, so that you may work for tangible justice. May the Lord bless you with hot tears to shed for those who suffer, so that you may reach out to comfort them. And may the Lord bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, and that the world is about to turn. Go and do what others claim cannot be done. And the blessing of God All-Loving, present among us and in us all, fill you with defiant joy. Amen.

SONG: The world is about to turn

Prayers of the People

Leader: In vigilant expectation, we raise our groaning voices for the liberation of all Creation. We pray the Church and all communities of faith will become laboratories of your Spirit, engaging in holy experiments of justice, joy, and peace. Come, Living God, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We lean on the nations leaders, who lean on their missiles and polish their pistols. May they be transformed into or replaced by leaders who will enact fair laws that protect the vulnerable, and honor the rights of laborers, and dismantle discrimination. Provoke our leaders to serve the common good, not just the elite. Until then, let us be splinters in their consciences, and agitators sabotaging the hubris of their war machines. If and when we must face-off with agents of an abusive regime, may our hearts be pierced with love for our enemies, even as we nonviolently endure batons and pepper ball bullets. May we be, wherever necessary, a Church baptized by the Holy Spirit and with teargas. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We pray for our neighbors expelled from their homes, the abducted, disappeared, or forgotten, who struggle to survive. We pray for indigenous people whose lands have been stolen and whose dignity has been desecrated, yet who still stand strong. We pray for all who experience bigotry because of race, religion, ability, poverty, or identity. We lift up refugees in need of belonging, neighbors disappeared and detained, prisoners executed, and those in need of living wages and basic health care. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

 People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We beseech you that this Earth, your creation and the home we share with all our fellow creatures, be free from shackles of exploitation and avarice. Help us create human economies that abide by the wisdom of your divine ecology. Teach us to care for the deserts and wastelands so that they will blossom, for the oceans so that they will teem with whales and plankton, for the forests so that they will outlast the economic systems that threaten them, so that we may be faithful stewards in defense of the atmosphere, the water, and the land for the generations to come. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We pray for those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. We recall those who are persecuted or silenced by malice or fear. May they discover in us a community of embrace, empathy, and sanctuary. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We call to mind the saints who came before us, remembering those who were crushed in the cause of human rights. Grant us a holy impatience for the day when what is broken and corrupted will be made whole and just, and may we see it with our own eyes. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Presider: Power above all human powers, who sent your Son to preach liberty to the captives, hear the longing prayers of your people. Through Jesus Christ, the Liberator, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prelude: Teach songs for use in liturgy

Time: 0:00

Invitation
One: Beloved friends, we come together to open wide our hearts to the One who disturbs the false peace of empires, the One who comforts the souls of the oppressed. We come to name and turn away from the love of power, wealth, and violence that so often dominates in our world. We come to place our feet on the path of justice, kindness, and humility, which is the path of Christ, who appears to us in the face of the refugee, in the cry of the detainee, and in the hunger of the poor, calling us to solidarity and action.

Time: 0:01

Song of Joy

(South African Freedom Song)

Freedom is coming (3x) oh yes, I know.

Justice is coming (3x) oh yes, I know.

Power is coming (3x) oh yes, I know.

The Spirit is coming (3x) oh yes, I know.

Time: 0:05

Prayer of Intention

Let us pray for the world. If your heart agrees, when I raise my hand, please say, “This is our hearts’ desire.”
O Living Light who enlightens every human being, we open our hearts to you and to one another.

For the transformation or replacement of every system that binds the human spirit;
For the abolition of racism, poverty, and the machines of war;
For courage to be the voices crying in the wilderness, straightening the paths of equity and cooperation.
For unjust politicians and oligarchs to be cast down,

For the lowly to be lifted up,

For the hungry to be filled with good things,

For all who profit from injustice to be sent away empty,

For humans to awaken to the value of the Earth,

For the Earth to thrive without human exploitation.

For all of us to join you in the healing of the world.

For hope to be our resistance and joy to be our defiance.

[brief silence]

Let us pray for ourselves. If your heart agrees, when I raise my hand, please say, “This is my heart’s desire.”

I do not want to be arrogant or hateful. I want to be a person rooted and grounded in love.

I do not want to be defeated, despondent, or cynical. I want to be a person of resilient and abounding joy.

I do not want to be irritable or short-tempered. I want to live from deep, centered patience.

I do not want to be hard-hearted, insensitive, cruel, or unforgiving. I want to overflow with kindness.

I do not want to be selfish or dishonest. I want to be a person of good character, honest and generous.

I do not want to break faith with my fellow humans or fellow creatures. I want to be faithful, dependable, loyal.

I do not want to intimidate, dominate, or take more than I give. I want to walk with gentleness upon this Earth.

I do not want to be reactive or stubborn, addicted or obsessed. I want to be centered, deliberate, and peaceful.

The same peace, joy, love, and integrity I long to see in the world, I want to grow in me.

Amen.

Time: 0:10

The Collect of the Day

One: The Spirit of Peace is among us and within us …

All: And with all creation

One: Let us pray

O Light of Peace, whose Realm is a disruption to the corrupt powers of this world: Stir up the embers in our hearts and burn like bright fire within us. Grant us the grace to wait with holy impatience for the breaking of the enslaved’s chains and the toppling of tyranny. Fill us with the courage of Mary, that we might sing the upside-down world right-side up again. May we join you in solidarity with the oppressed, working for the liberation of all your children, and restoring rather than plundering this beautiful, sacred Earth; through Jesus Christ the Liberator and Lover of all, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one, now and for ever. Amen.

Time: 0:12

Contemporary Reading

from poet Rosemerry Watolah Trommer

Time: 0:14

Scripture Readings

One: The Bible is a dangerous and powerful gift from our ancestors. It is dangerous because people have often interpreted it unwisely, and have used it to oppress, enslave, exclude, and shame. Yet it is powerful because when people interpret it wisely, the Bible can help us more clearly see where we have been and where we are now, so we can more wisely choose our pathway into the future. May the Holy Spirit guide and teach us as we read the Bible in community.

Our first reading is from …

A reading from the Hebrew Scriptures

A reading from the Christian Scriptures

Time: 0:20

Sermon

Time: 0:45

Silence

Please use these few moments for contemplation in response to what we have heard. Listen for what echoes in your heart, for what the Spirit is saying to you and to us all.

Time: 0:48

Conversation:

In a moment, I will invite you to stand in groups of two or three. You will each have about a minute to introduce yourself and then answer this question: What is one thing you heard in today’s sermon that especially stirred, interested, or challenged you, and why was it important to you? We ask you to listen with gracious and respectful attention to each other. When you are finished sharing, or when you hear the music, please be seated.

Time: 0:52

Confession of Faith

One: You are invited to join in this confession of faith:

All: We have confidence in the Holy One,

Divine wisdom and power beyond our understanding,

Present with and within us,

Who is named and known in many ways across human cultures,

In whom the universe unfolds in space and time and beauty,

Whose radiance shines in every creature and through all creation,

Who loves the whole world like a wise and loving parent,

Who inspired prophets and teachers through the centuries,

And who was made known to us especially through Jesus.

We have confidence in Jesus, the Liberator,

In whom we see the character of the divine,

Teaching deep wisdom in parables,

Speaking truth to the powerful and powerless alike,

Healing the sick and feeding the hungry,

Welcoming outcasts to the table as friends.

He trained common people to be disciples,

Sending them into the world

To build a movement of revolutionary love.

The political and religious systems considered him a threat.

They arrested, mocked, tortured, executed, and buried him.

But they could not defeat him.

Even as he died he forgave them, and

He arose to live on in us through the Holy Spirit.

We have confidence in the Holy Spirit

Who unites, transforms, and empowers us

To seek the common good in the way of Jesus,

Through gracious and courageous words and deeds

Of justice, compassion, and humble nonviolence.

The Spirit moves within us to join the eternal dance

Of divine love, joy, and peace:

Many as one, mutually indwelling,

Forever and forever, right now. Amen.

Time: 0:54

Passing the Peace

Please greet one another with a [hug, a handshake, a high five, a fist bump or a bow of respect], and words of peace.

0:55

The Great Thanksgiving

One: The Spirit of Love, Joy, and Peace is with us!

All: And with all creation!

One: Let us be give thanks!

All: We have been blessed, indeed!

Time: 0:56

Sanctus Chant:

Holy, holy, holy!

God of love and mercy!

The sky above and earth below

Are radiant with your glory

Holy, holy, holy!

God of peace and justice!

The sky above and earth below

Are radiant with your glory.

Hosanna! Hosanna!

Blessed is he, blessed is she,

Blessed are they, blessed are we

Who embody the glory of God!

Hosanna! Hosanna!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Amen!

Time: 0:58

The Great Thanksgiving

O Living Light, O Dearest Friend, O Power beyond all human powers, we thank you for walking beside on this journey, through times of tears and laughter, through times of rest and labor, through times of darkness and seasons of light, and in this very moment, now.

You exceed our highest thought, and our highest words can not contain you, and so we rest in your presence in reverent silence.

We remember Jesus, the story of Mary his mother, the stories of his infancy and childhood, the stories of how he would go to wild places and pray in solitude. We remember his deeds of kindness to heal the sick, to feed the poor, to welcome children, to include outsiders and outcasts. We remember the teachings that he gave, the parables he told, the questions he asked, the profound wisdom of his words. We remember his courage in confronting hypocrites and defending the vulnerable. We remember the mission he entrusted his disciples, of carrying on his example and his message. We remember his precious life and we thank you for him …

Time: 0:59

… as we pray the prayer he taught his disciples: (Sung version)

Holy one, all the cosmos is full of your love.

We behold your glorious mystery in awe.

We receive your new way of life right now.

On this precious Earth may your dreams come true.

Enough for today is all we ask,

As we give and receive grace for our wrongs

Lead us out from the crisis we’re in

And free us from evil in all its forms

So say we all, so say we all

Now our hearts are one.

Time:  1:01

The night before Jesus was rejected by the crowds and executed by the religious and political powers, Jesus gathered his friends for a meal. It was a Passover meal, celebrating an ancient story of liberation from oppression.

During the meal, he took bread and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Take it. Eat it. Remember me.”

And at the end of the meal, he took wine and said, “This is my blood poured out for you and for all, for the forgiveness of sin. Drink this, all of you. This is a sign of our new relationship. Do this in remembrance of me.”

And so now, we remember Jesus, in life and in death. May these simple gifts of bread and wine be to us a sign and sacrament of his love and presence alive in us.

As we share in this sacrament, may we experience sacred communion with God, one another, and all creation, and may we become the ongoing embodiment of Christ, our Liberator, our leader, our friend. Amen.

[brief instructions are given, or they will appear on the slides]

Time: 1:04

Distribution of Elements

Time: 1:20

Closing words/Thanks/Instructions

Blessing of Candles

Dear friends, we are living in a time when darkness gathers at the centers of wealth and power. It will very likely get darker still. But we have not gathered for these three days simply to bemoan the darkness at the center. We have come together to gather light at the margins, to experience what the mystics called photosis, or enlightenment, to take into our souls so much light that we ourselves become light and carry light to others, wherever we go.

And so we conclude our time with a sharing of candles as we sing a song. We want you to bring your candle home, and on any day when you feel overwhelmed by darkness, we ask you to light your candle, to remember our time together, to reflect on what we have learned and felt and shared together … and as you light the candle back home, we hope you will offer your body and life as a bearer of God’s light.

The distribution might be a bit chaotic, but that’s OK. We want you to receive your candle and then pass it on to the person next to you with some joyful word of encouragement … whatever words come to you.

May these candles remind you that all is not dark. No matter how dark it gets, you, and we, joined by so many more, are a light in the world.

Time: 1:25

The World is About to Turn

Home By Another Way

Time: 1:30

Blessing and Dismissal

One: May the God who said “Let there be light” be your light in these dark times. May Jesus, who said “I am the light of the world,” and who also said, “You are the light of the world,” shine bright in you. May the Spirit, who is often represented by a bright flame, be ever incandescent in you and in us all until we meet again. Our gathering has ended, and our good work as light on the margins continues. Amen.

May the Lord bless you with discomfort at easy answers and half-truths, so that you may live from the heart. May the Lord bless you with outrage over exploitation, so that you may work for tangible justice. May the Lord bless you with hot tears to shed for those who suffer, so that you may reach out to comfort them. And may the Lord bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, and that the world is about to turn. Go and do what others claim cannot be done. And the blessing of God All-Loving, present among us and in us all, fill you with defiant joy. Amen.

SONG: The world is about to turn

Prayers of the People

Leader: In vigilant expectation, we raise our groaning voices for the liberation of all Creation. We pray the Church and all communities of faith will become laboratories of your Spirit, engaging in holy experiments of justice, joy, and peace. Come, Living God, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We lean on the nations leaders, who lean on their missiles and polish their pistols. May they be transformed into or replaced by leaders who will enact fair laws that protect the vulnerable, and honor the rights of laborers, and dismantle discrimination. Provoke our leaders to serve the common good, not just the elite. Until then, let us be splinters in their consciences, and agitators sabotaging the hubris of their war machines. If and when we must face-off with agents of an abusive regime, may our hearts be pierced with love for our enemies, even as we nonviolently endure batons and pepper ball bullets. May we be, wherever necessary, a Church baptized by the Holy Spirit and with teargas. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We pray for our neighbors expelled from their homes, the abducted, disappeared, or forgotten, who struggle to survive. We pray for indigenous people whose lands have been stolen and whose dignity has been desecrated, yet who still stand strong. We pray for all who experience bigotry because of race, religion, ability, poverty, or identity. We lift up refugees in need of belonging, neighbors disappeared and detained, prisoners executed, and those in need of living wages and basic health care. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

 People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We beseech you that this Earth, your creation and the home we share with all our fellow creatures, be free from shackles of exploitation and avarice. Help us create human economies that abide by the wisdom of your divine ecology. Teach us to care for the deserts and wastelands so that they will blossom, for the oceans so that they will teem with whales and plankton, for the forests so that they will outlast the economic systems that threaten them, so that we may be faithful stewards in defense of the atmosphere, the water, and the land for the generations to come. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We pray for those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit. We recall those who are persecuted or silenced by malice or fear. May they discover in us a community of embrace, empathy, and sanctuary. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Leader: We call to mind the saints who came before us, remembering those who were crushed in the cause of human rights. Grant us a holy impatience for the day when what is broken and corrupted will be made whole and just, and may we see it with our own eyes. Come, O Lord, and set us free.

People: Your Kingdom come, your will be done.

Presider: Power above all human powers, who sent your Son to preach liberty to the captives, hear the longing prayers of your people. Through Jesus Christ, the Liberator, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

It will take place on Kristen’s Substack, and will be based on an interview that Kristen filmed with me ten years ago.

Here’s the link for the livestream:

https://open.substack.com/live-stream/97188

And here’s background information for the livestream:

https://kristenirvingcesario.substack.com/p/the-cost-of-loving-thy-neighbor

Here’s backstory and video of the 2016 interview (you’ll see I look way younger):

https://kristenirvingcesario.substack.com/p/part-3-this-ones-for-the-pastors

A few excerpts … from 2016:

If you are a pastor who is aware that your congregation is more devoted to the Fox News of Rupert Murdoch than the good news of Jesus Christ, and you realize how dangerous that is but you know that if you confront it you will probably get fired, the first thing I would say to you is you are in great, great, great danger. If you remain silent and complicit, you lose your integrity. You will be injuring yourself morally in ways that you may never recover from. Your soul is in danger. 

… you’ve got to figure out what you’re going to do as a leader, but do not try to do something as a leader until you get a safe space to get back into being a human being, an honest human being and an honest Christian. I think we’re in a situation that could be a whole lot like Germany in the 1930s. We’re in a very, very serious situation. We don’t have time to waste, but we’ve got to deal with the authenticity of who we are first and foremost because what we’re able to do depends on us first becoming divided no more.

I hope you’ll consider joining us, either live or asynchronously.

2026 is a special year for me. I look forward to completing two books and some projects with the Center for Action and Contemplation and ZOEoncampus.com.

The Great Rift, the second book in my Last Voyage trilogy, will release in the fall, and I plan to announce a few dates for podcast and media interviews relating to the book in September. Around that time, I also hope to announce my plans for public speaking in 2027-2029. I’ll share these and other updates here on my blog, brianmclaren.net.

I will only have two public appearances this year, at Southern Lights in late January and on Sanibel Island in early February.

Apart from these commitments, I will be taking a sabbatical — to spend time with family, celebrate my 70th birthday, address some health issues, and enjoy the gift of life without a pressured schedule.

As a result, I won’t be able to take on any new projects (reading/endorsing manuscripts, public speaking, etc.) between now and the end of 2026. Nor will I be able to respond to emails, except on a very limited basis, and will be largely absent from social media. I’m sorry for any inconvenience, and I thank you for understanding .

Blessings to each of you!

With love, warm greetings, and gratitude,
Brian

This is one of only two public appearances for Brian in 2026.

Learn more here: https://southernlightsconference.com/

Join Diana Butler Bass and me as we host the Southern Lights Conference on January 23-25, 2026 on beautiful St. Simons Island. (Because 2026 will be a sabbatical year for me, this is one of only two times I will be speaking publicly this coming year.)

Diana and I will start the gathering with presentations on how we’ve been coping with fear, grief, confusion, and loss in the last year. Our reflections open to the larger theme: Wisdom From the Edge, When the Center Cannot Hold.

Our special guests include Dr. Jemar Tisby, Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey, Rabbi Or Rose, musical genius Ken Medema, and poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. With preaching, teaching, poetry, and music, Southern Lights is a real gift.

For more information CLICK HERE. You’ll be taken to the Southern Lights website where you can view speaker bios, read about the venue, and explore the FAQs (“frequently asked questions”).

There are virtual and in-person registration options.

___ Give one of my books – paper, digital, or audio.

You’ll find a complete list here: https://brianmclaren.net/books-by-brian-mclaren/

You’ll find ebooks-only here: https://brianmclaren.net/store/

Of special interest:

The Last Voyage – first in a fictional trilogy (books 2 and 3 coming in 2026 and 2027)

Cory and the Seventh Story – a children’s book

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DApxvXqc8/

When we pray “May your kingdom come, may your will be done,” we are praying for the opposite of what is being done by our elected officials using our tax dollars in places like this. Please pray with us for this ugly chapter in American history to end.

Here’s the press release:

Press Release: Week 20 Vigil Outside Alligator Alcatraz: Unspeakable Cruelty

What: Vigil outside the gates of Alligator Alcatraz to demand the detention camp be shut down, that the people being detained be freed, and that the immoral ICE sweeps that are abducting, detaining and deporting our neighbors be ended.

Who:

• Rev. Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker, activist

• Rev. Tony Fisher, Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples

• Family members of people being detained, leaders of faith and conscience, unions, students, and the wider public

When/Where: Sunday 12/14, Vigil from 4:00-5:00PM

Across from entrance to Alligator Alcatraz on Route 41

54585 Tamiami Trl E, Ochopee, FL 34141

Coordinates: 25.861821,-80.898036

Why: ICE has admitted that over 400 children have been detained longer than the established 20-day legal limit as the Trump administration moves to end that limit. Through interviews with detained families, advocates identified five children held for 168 days. The report didn’t say how old those children were, according to AP. Advocates report that children have been denied medical care and were given moldy, worm-infested cauliflower and broccoli to eat.

Last week ICE agents disrupted a citizenship ceremony in Faneuil Hall in Boston, yanking people who were prepared to pledge their allegiance to the United States, out of line, arresting some because of their country of origin. People who had lived and worked in the country for decades, who had been thoroughly vetted, who had followed every step to become U.S. citizens, now found themselves utterly abandoned. USCIS issued a new memo on December 2, 2025 following the shooting of two National Guardsmen in DC, pausing asylum and other processes for people from certain countries put on a full travel ban by the Trump administration: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Those on the partial ban list are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. “She has made her life here. For this to happen to her and to others like her is an act of unspeakable cruelty,” Gail Breslow, Executive Director of Project Citizenship told boston.com.

Unspeakable cruelty similarly characterizes the terrifying and illegal use of torture inside Alligator Alcatraz reported in the Amnesty International report released on December 5 that chronicles abuses including guards arbitrarily punishing people being detained by locking them in a 2 foot x 2 foot box, chaining their feet to the ground, shackling them, and pushing them out into the hot Florida sun for hours on end with little to no water.

“When what is now a detention facility used to be an abandoned airport property, friends and I used to visit on our kayaks, exploring the summer-flooded cypress forest, enjoying the profusion of butterfly orchids and other wildlife, and appreciating the serene beauty of the Everglades,” said author, retired pastor, and teacher Brian McLaren. “We nicknamed the area Jurassic Park for its pristine beauty. Now, because of the cruel strategies of misguided and arrogant politicians, it has become a crime scene, where some of the current administration’s many shameful policies play out in secret, day by day. This Sunday, many of us, faith leaders, family members of the detained, and concerned citizens, will gather for a 20th weekly vigil as humble, nonviolent witnesses for justice and kindness, and bearing witness of the wrongs being done there by leaders who deserve to be voted out from office and remembered in shame for generations to come. We will stand together in solidarity with the people being imprisoned, pray according to our diverse traditions, and speak aloud about what is happening in secret.

“We should be using all available means to shed light on the cruel ways that our government’s policies are being carried out, said the Rev. Tony Fisher, Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples. “The ways in which we are detaining people, many of whom have no criminal record, should be unacceptable in a land that boasts that it is a beacon of freedom. The ways in which we are separating families would be decried if it was happening to our own citizens overseas. The ways in which detainees are being treated in these facilities could easily be compared to prisoner of war camps where torture is used to bring people into line. The way our government is purposely causing trauma for immigrant populations is heartless. This is not who we are as a people who believe in justice and compassion. More and more people need to understand what is happening so that we can change a system based on racism and oppression.”

“The sheer mercilessness of harming children, of torturing terrified people who have done nothing wrong, of snatching citizenship from the hands of asylees who have worked for years to become Americans is so egregious, almost it leaves one without words,” said Noelle Damico, Director of Social Justice at the Workers Circle, a Jewish social justice organization which has been organizing the vigils with Florida leaders of faith and conscience since August. “At this horrifying moment in the US which echoes the violence and hatred of pogroms and persecutions throughout history against the Jewish people, we know the most important thing is to not turn away and to do everything in our power to stop it.”

https://cac.org/podcast/learning-how-to-see/

I’ve enjoyed being a guest on many other wonderful podcasts in 2025. Here are some recent ones.

— I talked with Heather Bigley about a favorite move, The Color Purple, here.

— I talked with Monica Ahlbin about my new novel, The Last Voyage, here.

— I talked with friends from the Tadatmya Sangha about the soul and desire and so much more, here.

— I talked with Andy Hale and the CBF community about my new novel, The Last Voyage, here.

— I also talked about The Last Voyage with Kate Rademacher (two podcasts at once!), here.

And if you want to read The Last Voyage, you’ll find ordering options here. A great Christmas gift … with volume 2 coming out fall 2026 and volume 3 in 2027.