Abolitionist Advent, 2021 Opportunities, and Black Visions

Give to Black Visions with Us This Advent, we’ve been exploring apocalyptic scriptures and abolitionist frameworks as we seek to heal and dream together. One thing that has been revealed is that we cannot do this work alone; we put our trust in the wild dreaming of Black organizers. In that spirit, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship will be making a significant year-end contribution from our endowment to Black Visions Collective, a Black-led organization dedicated to Black liberation with a long term vision in which all Black lives not only matter, but are able to thrive. Black Visions Collective centers itself in radical Black healing and transformative justice principles by investing in the development of powerful, strategic campaigns to expand Black power in Minnesota. They offer community-led safety training and share local transformative justice practices and were amongst the lead organizers that worked on pressuring the Minneapolis City Council to meet in June, where a veto-proof majority committed to dismantle the local police department.  If you’d like to join us in giving to Black Visions Collective, you can make a donation through PPF and designate it for Black Visions Collective. Go to this link and note “Black Visions Collective” in the box marked “Additional Donor Information.” Service of Lament and Hope We gathered with candles lit. We sang, pleading: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." We sat in silence, and we lifted our laments to God. At Sunday evening's Service for Lament and Hope, we reflected on a year of loss and hardship, looking for glimpses of new life. If you weren't able to be with us or would like to revisit our worship service, the recording can be found here. We raised over $700 for Black Visions Collective at the service. Join us in that giving here with the information above. Presbyterian Abolition, Then and Now From John Rankin and Gideon Blackburn, through to Angela Davis’ legal defense: a conversation with David Staniunas from the Presbyterian Historical Society, looking back at the ways that Presbyterians have participated in various abolitionist movements (or haven’t!) and how the light of those stories might illuminate contemporary abolitionist movements in new ways for the Church. Register here for the January 13 webinar that will take place at 2:00 PM Eastern over Zoom. Abolitionist Bible Study Every week during Advent, Abolitionist Advent explores a lectionary text through the lens of abolition. Week 3 brought us the reflection “Examining as the Work of Justice,” in which Michelle Bostic recalls her religious upbringing and urges us to test our own faith models in regards to justice, equity, and liberation. Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez and Rev. Alex McNeill also discussed in a Bible study video how we can examine our lives to find places for abolitionist practices, reflecting on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. Want to keep the discussion going? Join a Praxis Circle. Presbyterian Peace Fellowship 845-786-6743 | presbypeacefellowship.org Instagram | Facebook | Twitter