July on Freedom Road
In his conversation with Lisa on the Freedom Road Podcast, award-winning jounalist at CNN John Blake said, “I think part of the way we get out of the cycles is what you do: You talk about the power of narratives and stories, and I think one of the ways we get out of this cycle is, is being careful about the stories we tell.”
Events of the past month have shown us that now perhaps more than ever: the stories we tell ourselves matter. We must shrink the gap between the narratives of power and the stories of the rest of us. Though the weight of the status quo makes it hard to press against, when enough of us stand up together and say enough is enough, then we too can become as Andre Henry put it “tomorrow-makers.”
The Children’s Defense Fund at Haley Farm
Lisa had the great privilege of speaking on a panel about Prathia Hall and faith and the freedom struggle today.
Lisa said about her time there: “The Children’s Defense Fund’s Annual Proctor Institute on the Haley Farm outside of Knoxville, Tennessee is the closest thing to heaven that we have on the face of the earth. It is a space of welcome, a space of safety between people because the ethic in that space is love. I truly believe the Proctor Institute cultivates a kind of beloved community that will help show all of us what it means to flourish as a nation. They lead by example. They are doing what we are all fighting for, and it was a true privilege and a blessing to be a part of it this year.”
On the Freedom Road Substack in July:
Decolonizing the Bible Webinar—Now on Demand!
We don’t consider what was lost, when we allowed Europeans to develop, write and commodify scholarship and thus theology. How do we reclaim the doing of theology as a necessary act of discipleship? How do we move the issues to a place and space that takes us beyond debates, winning, being right or wrong? Of what value are Jesus’ actions of love, faith and righteousness/justice?
What about contextual Theology, Feminist Theology, Black Theology, etc? Is there such a thing as “pure theology” is that the same as white theology or Eurocentric white theology? What does Eurocentric white theology have to say about Jesus and the gospels in 2020, that can help us make sense of the world in which we live? – What does it say or not say about the biggest problems in the world, like hunger, economic inequality, systemic injustice, conflict and war, racism and religious extremism? How do we understand God’s power and healing in a time of Covid-19, so that we live in social solidarity while experiencing physical distance? How does the gospel of Jesus help us to live more faithfully these days?
On the Freedom Road Podcast this Month
On this episode we are joined by Andre Henry, author of All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep, cohost of the Hope and Hard Pills Podcast, local LA-based activist and singer/songwriter/producer. His work has been featured in The Nation, The New Yorker, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and Super Bowl LVI.!
Andre was invited to speak with us because he understands joy! And he understands the power of the arts to bring hope and vision and health—and we need some of that. So, in these summer months, amid historic indictments, historic environmental hazards, political targeting of everyone who isn’t a white male...
Listen on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!
On this episode we are joined by John Blake, award winning journalist at CNN and author of the celebrated book, More Than I Imagined: What A Black Man Discovered About The White Mother He Never Knew.
We invited John to speak with us because – HIS STORY. OMG. And the way he tells it. OMG. You must know about it and you must read it.
Listen on our website or wherever you get your podcasts!
If you are a paid subscriber or a Patreon patron at the James Farmer level or above, you are invited to participate in a quarterly call with Lisa Sharon Harper.
Mark your calendar for the next two calls, and if you aren’t a subscriber or Patron, upgrade your subscription today, or join our Patreon!
September 20: 7-8pm ET
December 13: 7-8pm ET
Global Writer’s Group
Since April of 2020 as the world closed down, the Global Writer’s Group has been meeting via zoom every Saturday, with time off only for Christmas and New Years. Early in our time together, Lisa Sharon Harper charged the group with the task of “writing a new world into existence” and over time we have truly seen this in action. We have taken on the task of changing the world, and of course what changed first was ourselves. We as a group have become better writers over this time, but also better people, finding true community in the sacred sharing of ourselves with each other and the world.
We accept members on a rolling basis: it’s never too late to join the community. Prepare to find your life changed for the better as you sharpen your writing skills and prepare to bring your words to the world.
Collectively, we have published six books, have several writers who’ve recently become agented and/or are under contract for upcoming books, and many, many journal articles over the past three years with several more books in the works.
The Narrative Gap, as coined by Lisa Sharon Harper, is the distance between the stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves, including how we got here and what it will take to make things right. In our world today, competing narratives vie for our loyalty, dividing society and the church, therefore making justice impossible. Our mission is help communities shrink the narrative gap, by identifying core issues and building community capacity so they might work toward common solutions for a just world. Here on the Freedom Road Substack, we can converse together on ways to shrink that narrative gap and help ensure everyones’ stories are told.
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