For the Soul

lament, hope, and worship through poetry

“Roughly 33% of the Bible is poetry… songs, reflective poetry, and the passionate, politically resistant poetry of the prophets.”
(Biblical Poetry, The Bible Project)

M25i seeks to hold beauty, name pain, and contend for shalom. “For the Soul” is a series of curated poetry through the lens of biblical justice and mercy.

  • The Matthew 25 Initiative exists to equip and sustain Anglicans who are working across justice and mercy organizations and parishes. We see godly, wise, strong practitioners who are called but at times tired, filled with purpose yet lacking ways to recharge. One small way our team desires to refresh those in the trenches of broken places, is by sharing a well-written poem offering beauty in words and imagery.

    Why poetry?

    All poetry begins with a question — obvious or hidden. It looks at something that is curious, grievous, or mesmerizing. The poet writes and offers readers a specific moment to carefully consider, and if the poet is a master of the written language, they help us purify and refine our common language. Language is so important to preserve and get right, because it’s how we understand, work with, and serve one another.

    In the work of justice and mercy, we are threatened with burnout when we lose our ability to see the way things could be and for what we are hoping. Holding a space for poetry makes way for prophetic imagination, or a way of thinking about what needs mending. When we pay careful attention to a poem in a community, we learn to pay closer attention together and to one another.


    Join us as we allow poetry to help shape us, giving us space to deal with our grief, hold back cynicism, and hold onto tenderness. In the space of words carefully chosen and edited down to only what you need, we train ourselves to see moments more clearly, and more fully.

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 16:24

For the Soul

18: “Prayer” by Marie Howe
Elizabeth McKinnis Elizabeth McKinnis

18: “Prayer” by Marie Howe

Every day I want to speak with you. And every day something more important calls for my attention—the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage

Read More
15: “Refugee Blues” by W.H. Auden
Elizabeth McKinnis Elizabeth McKinnis

15: “Refugee Blues” by W.H. Auden

Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us.

Read More

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8