in God's breastpocket

she/her ♱ 25 ♱ episcopalian (nrsv)

[donkeykongcircus]

Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on the U.S. presidential election

No matter the party in power, we are one church, and we will continue to fulfill our baptismal covenant by proclaiming in word and example the Good News of God in Christ, striving for justice and peace among all people, and protecting the dignity of every human being. We commit to working with the new administration to advance policies that follow the teachings of Jesus by supporting the most vulnerable among us. Through Episcopal Migration Ministries, we abide by God’s command to welcome the stranger, and since 1988, we have resettled more than 100,000 refugees through a bipartisan program with a strong record of success. We urge President Trump and members of Congress to exercise compassion toward the immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees we serve and to know that, at every turn, we will stand for the dignity and human rights of all of God’s people. We are Christians who support the dignity, safety, and equality of women and LGBTQ+ people as an expression of our faith. I pray that President Trump and his administration will do the same.

[donkeykongcircus]

i need to write something about pastor lamor whitehead immediately but i've been so dizzy lately

[donkeykongcircus]

it's so easy to forget just how gracious christ was for becoming the bridge between us and God. he endured immense pain and struggle for us. how can that not stir your soul and push you to get through your own struggles?

[donkeykongcircus]

lately, my mind has not been able to decide if it wants to stress me out or reassure me that everything will be okay. it's dizzying to be tossed back and forth between the two, but having a routine check-in with God every morning and every night has helped give me a sense of stability. my emotions are always changing, but God is not.

also, God has shown me what i truly want to do with my life and i am eternally grateful. she just randomly led me to it after i'd been zigzagging toward it and curving away from it for years. i almost can't believe it, honestly. my purpose, though, is to fight financial exploitation within christianity. i will do everything in my power to make this my career so i can give it the focus and love that it deserves. there is nothing that angers me more than greedy people exploiting someone else's religion just to make a quick buck.

clergy members have been using christianity for their financial gain for centuries. i think the earliest example that most people are aware of is the selling of indulgences in the middle of the black death. telling people, most of whom can't even read the bible on their own, that they can't get to heaven if they don't pay you is sickening, but the problem didn't end when the middle ages did. it repeated in that exact form during the peak of covid, with people like kenneth copeland convincing their at-home worshipers that covid couldn't hurt them, and it's gotten even worse than that.

back in january, an online-only pastor and his wife, eligo and kaitlyn regalaldo, were charged with civil fraud. they sold a coin that they'd created to christians in colorado, but they hadn't created a way out for the buyers; the coin was completely worthless. eligo said they'd made $1.3 million dollars off of their scheme in less than a year and claimed that God told him to do it. i was absolutely baffled when i saw this, because i didn't think that any pastor would ever figure out how to set up a coin. i can't believe this is how bad the problem has gotten. if more clergymembers can figure out how to exploit christians using crypto, we will enter a truly dark period.

i'm just so frustrated that the most vulnerable members of God's family are continuously stabbed in the back and scammed by the people they trust the most. why do we do this to each other? why does power make us feel so selfish? i can't answer those questions right now, and i don't think I'll ever be able to. what i do know, though, is that God made me to fight this. God blessed me with a passion for helping the vulnerable. i will honor him and do everything i can to devote myself to this issue and save people from financial ruin at the hands of misguided leaders.

[twirld]

The Descent of Christ from the Cross (detail) Jean Joseph Weerts

[dozydawn]

“Palestinian Christians take part in a mass marking the Palm Sunday at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City on April 1, 2018.”

Photographed by Ashraf Amra.

[donkeykongcircus]

merry christmas :) hope you all know how much God loves you and can find the proof of that love in christ's birth

[donkeykongcircus]

my life has been quite tumultuous lately, but in a good way. i've been idling for over a year, just coping with months of trauma, and things have finally started moving again. i was really losing hope and beginning to feel like i was doomed, like i'd completely ruined my future by not working like my life depended on it, but God has shown me that she is still with me. just as i was reaching the lowest point i had in a while, a church reached out to me to schedule an interview. then, a few days later, a certain episcopal college emailed me to set up an interview too. i was really doubting my ability to survive in this world and God's faithfulness, but he proved to me that i should never do that. it's hard to trust in God sometimes, but you have to remember that you are a child of God. God created you with intention and love. know that she is eternal and unchanging. he will never stop loving you.

[donkeykongcircus]

"Van Gogh based his Pietà on a lithograph of a painting by Eugène Delacroix. In fact, it is more a variation on the original work than a copy. From Delacroix, Van Gogh took the theme of the Virgin Mary mourning the dead Christ, as well as the composition. He added his own colour and personal signature. The painting resulted from an accident. Van Gogh wrote, 'that lithograph of Delacroix, the Pietà, with other sheets had fallen into some oil and paint and got spoiled. I was sad about it – then in the meantime I occupied myself painting it, and you'll see it one day.' The lithograph has survived, complete with stain." Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

[donkeykongcircus]

never has there been a time when i wasn't an extremely anxious person. my dad used to be the same way; he'd worry about nothing, mindlessly biting his nails as he turned over his seemingly gargantuan problems in his head. anxiety is in my blood, and though i've never sought any type of treatment for it, i've been able to soothe myself with verses like matthew 6:34 recently. there are so many pessimistic and morbid interpretations of this verse but i can't stop it from popping up in my head every time i start drowning in all of the theoretical disasters coming my way. the Lord knows every possibility and everything that will certainly happen, yet he keeps calm. the Lord's knees don't tremble at everything he sees before him, so why should i allow mine to buckle at things that can't hold a candle to what he's witnessing? why should i submit to my fears when she's holding the entire universe in her hands and cradling all of her children so closely to her body?

[biblealbum]

Verse of the day, going backwards from Revelation to Genesis. Ebook link in bio.

[donkeykongcircus]

i know that God is correcting samuel in this verse and telling him that appearances don't factor into his judgments of people, but it's been stuck in my brain as i've been battling self-esteem issues recently. i've hated my reflection ever since i turned 12, like a switch flipped in my brain and i suddenly realized that i could probably never be as pretty as people wanted me to be, as skinny as they thought i should be. it's undeniable that people will treat you differently based on your physical appearance—even characteristics that you can't control—but God never will. God knows all that goes in your mind and heart, and that is what he judges. he reaches past all of your insecurities about your appearance and sees you clearly. she knows the real you that is locked away and kept safe from everyone else's hypercritical eyes, and she still loves you.

[donkeykongcircus]

i think i need to get better at praying. i'm generally bad at asking for what i want or need, even in my daily life, but sometimes i feel like it's even harder for me to talk to God about things. perhaps it's because i feel my problems are so minuscule that there's no way they could possibly care. i mean, why should an immortal, creative being care about the personal goings-on of just one of their creations? God does care, though. God, in his infinite love, has room for each and every one of our concerns, and he's so observant and attentive to his children that he can see even the most microscopic of problems. nothing is too big or too small for God.

[donkeykongcircus]

i often have the desire to hide myself, to tuck my body and my being away out of shame. i always have to remind myself that not only is this bad for my well-being, but that God wouldn't want me to cram myself into a box to escape my responsibility to face my anxieties. God would not want me to dim my light 🌄

[biblealbum]

Verse of the day, going backwards from Revelation to Genesis. Ebook link in bio.

[donkeykongcircus]

i don't know where i would be without the love of God or other christians. i pray that we can all extend God's love to everyone around us, even those who are our polar opposites.