Contemplative

This reminds us that people of faith can receive courage to love others as they adopt a contemplative stance in the world. They receive a word, often an irrational word, from a dimension that is bigger and beneath us. The prophets, mystics, cultural critics, poets, playwrights, rappers (go Shad!), even pop musicians all become conduits of insight, critique and wisdom; dare we become channels of healing for a broken world.

While most of us stem from Christian roots, this wisdom we seek transcends the limits of any religion. It invites openness and discloses our kinship with everyone, including animals. It sounds fruity, but each of us is knit together in the fabric of life.

Cultural

This reminds us that the stories we tell govern our behaviour. Communal norms, such as patriarchy and heterosexism, are reinforced by images, plot lines, and whom we identify as heroes and foes. Cultural platforms such as magazines, movies, websites, blogs, billboards and any vehicle of communication: let these spaces be contested.

Let us offer counter-narratives, stories that invite different ways of viewing the world; where, for example, a reflex of compassion gains prominence over revenge, and capitalism is denounced, or at least regulated, as a form of sanctioned greed. It sounds heavy, but when you name the problems, you start to see solutions.

Resistance

This is to remind us not to be complacent. Here we remember that those in power (government officials, bosses who mistreat workers, men who degrade women, mainstream media editors and producers) smile upon us as we conform to patterns of oppression. Learning from Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza’s teaching on kyriarchy, we seek to address all forms of power imbalance, in solidarity with those who suffer.

In each issue we tell stories civil disobedience, people of conscience standing up to those who unjustly wield their power, defying regulations that benefit those who are rich, white, capitalist, straight, male, colonizers and disenfranchise those who are poor, people of colour, homeless, workers, queer, female, indigenous, disabled, young and old. We have lots to learn.