"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken

Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings."

– Isaiah 58:11,12

Easter Monday: Alleluia!

New Gardener, by Janpeter Muilwijk (Dutch, 1960–), 2017

WAVING to those of you who possibly fasted from media for Lent or those who might have missed this series on Anglican justice and mercy literacy, we invite you to catch up as these topics are not Lent specific.

THANK YOU to those of you who have walked with us through these forty days of Lent, as we discovered what it means to participate in the "true fasting" of Isaiah 58, the kind of fasting God has chosen.

FOR ALL OF US, Isaiah 58 is one of the richest feasts of scripture. If you aren't familiar with it, consider sitting at this table on your own timetable. Biblical theology, art, quotes, saints, prayer exercises, and stories of actual current work is embedded in these 40 pieces of content. Our team of writers is theologically trained, inter-generational including young Anglicans, have "dirt under their nails" (quote by Herb+ Bailey), and are leaders of non-profits and parish based ministries. This is worth your time in the next weeks and months, and worth sharing with others.

Here's a Summary:

Day 5-10: Might we be able to prevent human trafficking?
Day 11-16: Who are the food insecure in North America?
Day 17-22: There are way more forms of home instability than we knew
Day 23-28: Creation care and both St Francis and St Patrick
Day 29-34: What can we do about fragile neighborhoods in our cities and towns?

The links above are for the first day of the week on each topic. Following that first day, each post covers education on the topic, contemplative activists, examples of Anglicans doing this work, and spiritual exercises in order to enact agency that begins with both conversations with God and the formation of our souls.

Flourish: (of a person, animal, or other living organism) to grow or develop in a healthy or robust way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment

Flourishing: (intransitive verb) to grow luxuriously

Lent is over. The Triduum posts are particularly beautiful: Day 38-40. Day 40 is likely a post you haven't seen before.

We now enter into the glorious joy of Eastertide. Christos Anesti! He is risen indeed! But we live in the already--not yet of the kingdom of God. Until that day when God's dwelling place is with his people, and we see him face to face, we still contend for shalom.

We are still called to be contemplative activists, to lean in and learn, to pray, and to be his hands and feet. Anglicans have always done this work, and we will continue to do this work, 'till he brings his shalom in all its fullness, and we contend no more.

We invite you to take time to print/download this content, to share it with your small groups, to spend time in the next weeks even months reflecting on Anglican justice and mercy literacy.

Shalom: refers biblically to a state of wholeness, completeness, and well-being in all aspects of life—personal, social, economic, and spiritual. It is both individual and the ecosystems around each person. Biblically associated terms are mishpat and (k)hesed, which are richer words than our English translations of compassion and mercy. These words in scripture connote a richness of vision and a vigorous thriving into that vision.