The Invitation

Josh offers some updates on the Invitation and shares more about what he is learning in and through the School of Prayer, how it is formed around what he experienced over the six years praying with a group of men in a prison while facilitating the Spiritual Exercises. Here Josh identifies how Christianity can function much more like a 12-Step addiction recovery program.

For more info: https://theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-prayer

Zach Winters surprised the Banner's with a little concert after sharing a meal with us. Zach's sung version of Psalm 23 has helped Josh and Susanna for several years. It was a gift to sit with him, with his music and share good conversation.

Pt II will include Josh's continued conversation with Zach after the kids went to bed. Josh and Zach talk about the incredible help of music and the arts to create community and healing.

https://www.zachwinters.com

An early version of "Psalm 23" was released by The Verses Project which can now be found at https://listentoverses.com/listen

These good folks now offer their music via Spotify and their own app!

For more information about the Invitation Center: https://theinvitationcenter.org

On the School of Prayer: https://theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-prayer-details

This is part seven of our series, "White People Talking to White People About Racism," a reading of Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance & Repair by Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson. In this episode the Rev Julie Van Til helps Josh unpack chapter three.

Subscribe to the Invitation: theinvitationcenter.org/subscribe

About our summer podcast series: theinvitationcenter.org/reparations-b…ok-discussion

Reparations Group Discussion Guide: theinvitationcenter.org/s/Reparations…ion-Guide.pdf

To learn more about our formation schools...

The School of Prayer: theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-prayer

The School of Contemplative Listening: theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-con…e-listening-1

Before we can actively be a part of healing the ravages of white supremacy, we have to learn to care, to be invested. This whole series, "White People Talking to White People About Racism, A Reading of Reparations: A Christian Call to Repentance and Repair by Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson," this is our chance to slow down, listen, pray, and grow in our capacity to care for the work of healing before us. In this episode Josh shares his conversation with Latorious Willis who recently was recently released from prison. Here we celebrate Latorious' release, his spiritual friendship with Josh, and to celebrate all the other brothers who are still behind bars. We hope this episode offers you a glimpse into the goodness of learning to love the disinherited, the marginalized who are often ignored--or in Howard Thurman's vocabulary: the person who back is against the wall.

A short video of this reunion between Josh and Latorious can be found on our website: https://tinyurl.com/fd454bw2

Subscribe to the Invitation: theinvitationcenter.org/subscribe

About our summer podcast series: theinvitationcenter.org/reparations-b…ok-discussion

Reparations Group Discussion Guide: theinvitationcenter.org/s/Reparations…ion-Guide.pdf

To learn more about our formation schools...

The School of Prayer: theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-prayer

The School of Contemplative Listening: theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-con…e-listening-1

The Rev Bryan Berghoef helps Josh unpack "Seeing the Reality of White Supremacy," chapter 3 of Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance & Repair. We are releasing this especially on the occasion of the 4th of July weekend because chapter two begins with Fredrick Douglas' speech on the 4th of July, 1852.

Bryan Berghoef is someone Josh has been excited to get to know for some time. He is an American politician, pastor and author who was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan for the Second District.[1] He is also a pastor of the Holland United Church of Christ, a UCC church in Holland, Michigan, which he founded in 2016.

The gift of this conversation with Bryan is a hope-filled demonstration of ecumenical breadth of the body of Christ that is bears witness to the love of God that will heal the ravages of white supremacy.

Subscribe to the Invitation: theinvitationcenter.org/subscribe

About our summer podcast series: theinvitationcenter.org/reparations-b…ok-discussion

Reparations Group Discussion Guide: theinvitationcenter.org/s/Reparations…ion-Guide.pdf

To learn more about our formation schools...

The School of Prayer: theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-prayer

The School of Contemplative Listening: theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-con…e-listening-1

The Rev Kate Kooyman helps Josh unpack “The Call to See,” chapter one of Reparations.

This call, this invitation to reparations is a discipline of seeing. Chapters one and two of our book this summer are intensive opportunities for us to see the white supremacy that pervades America, the church, and even our own families, homes, and careers. With the honesty and clarity of a spiritual director, Kwon and Thompson describe the difficulty of seeing: “seeing racism in this was has been an ongoing struggle. In truth, seeing clearly almost always is a struggle.”

Subscribe to the Invitation: https://theinvitationcenter.org/subscribe

About our summer podcast series: https://theinvitationcenter.org/reparations-book-discussion

Reparations Group Discussion Guide: https://theinvitationcenter.org/s/Reparations-Discussion-Guide.pdf

To learn more about our formation schools...

The School of Prayer:https://theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-prayer

The School of Contemplative Listening: https://theinvitationcenter.org/school-of-contemplative-listening-1

My wife, Susanna Childress, helps me respond to the introduction of Reparations. The idea is to let each chapter breathe a bit, to find ways to open ourselves to God in the reading and in the discussion. Susanna is especially able to help us think about how immersing ourselves in the writings of people of color can help us grow into people who will want to attend to the work of reparations. She is an Assistant Professor of creative writing at Hope College here in Holland, MI., and is author of two books of poetry, the 2006, Brittingham Prize in Poetry winning, Jagged With Love, as well as Entering the House of Awe. In 2015 her poem, “Careful, I Just Won A Prize at the Fair” was included in The Best of American Poetry.

Josh and Dr Jesse Curtis touch on some of the big ideas in the introduction to Reparations, but mainly they admire the careful yet bold while also pastoral tone of the book we’ve chosen for our summer read and discussion. Jesse Curts begins his contribution by sharing from his own journey, how he learned from his early mistakes and learned the goodness of experiencing God in and through his steep learning curve on racial injustice.

To go directly to the conversation with Jesse Curtis, skip to 18:40.

Here is a link for more information about this summer series, “White People Talking to White People About Racism” : https://theinvitationcenter.org/reparations-book-discussion

Please visit Jesse’s website: The Myth of Colorblind Christians

https://colorblindchristians.com/

We are asking participants to buy the book from a black owned bookstore. In West Michigan, consider the store, We Are Lit! For a list of more black owned stores visit Literary Hub.

https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/

Our call to worship prayer for this summer from Howard Thurman:

Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me

Open unto me, light for my darkness


Open unto me, courage for my fear


Open unto me, hope for my despair


Open unto me, peace for my turmoil


Open unto me, joy for my sorrow


Open unto me, strength for my weakness


Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion


Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins


Open unto me, tenderness for my toughness


Open unto me, love for my hates


Open unto me, Thy Self for myself


Lord, Lord, open unto me!

To stay up to date with our summer series, "White People Talking to White People About Racism," please subscribe: https://theinvitationcenter.org/subscribe

To learn more about the series: https://theinvitationcenter.org/reparations-book-discussion

The Rev. Dr. Denise Kingdom Grier offers a bold, honest, and frank discernment of the racism in America and the white church. Her courageous testimony provides the necessary and essential orientation as we invite white people to talk with white people about racism this summer 2021 in our reading of Reparations: A Christian Call For Repentance and Repair by Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson.

Josh offers some orientation to Denise’s orientation by walking through the details about how this summer series will work, and then he offers some context about why the Invitation is handling this book and the vocabulary of reparations. Finally, Josh offers a few meditative readings from Ephesians 3 to allow you time to take this very difficult conversation into contemplative practice.

To go directly to the conversation with Denise, skip to 23:20.

We are asking participants to buy the book from a black owned bookstore. In West Michigan, consider the store, We Are Lit! For a list of more black owned stores visit Literary Hub: https://tinyurl.com/pt8c48ua

The March 4, 2021, “#LeaveLoud” episode of the Pass the Mic podcast mentioned can be found HERE: https://tinyurl.com/tsxj7998

Unedited audio of Josh’s conversation with Kenda Creasy Dean, the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Seminary. This content was created to support and deepen the Awakening, a summer week-long experience in the worship arts at Hope College that Josh serves as Director of Discipleship.