By Tyler Merbler from USA – DSC09523-2, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98637510

It will come as no surprise that we are all shocked and grieved by what transpired at our Nation’s capital on Wednesday.  The lawlessness and violence on display in a space of such symbolic significance for our country is difficult to process.  Just as (if not more) troubling has been seeing how many of the insurrectionists brought the name of Christ and Christianity into their actions.

At Coracle, we exist to enable and inspire people to be the (healing, reconciling, redeeming) presence of God in the brokenness of the world, and we are certainly wrestling with what this means in light of Wednesday’s tragedy and the larger picture of American Christianity at this juncture.  We are praying and listening for how God might be calling us to respond in more concrete ways, and I’m sure you will be hearing more about that in the coming days.

For now, I would like simply to share just a few reflections and a sermon that we have been reflecting on which view these events in light of Scripture and/or the liturgical season of Epiphany (which also began on Jan 6).  May they prompt your own thinking, wrestling, and listening.

“We Worship with the Magi, Not MAGA”
by Tish Harrison Warren
(Church of the Ascension, Pittsburgh)

“The Roman Road From Insurrection”
by Russell Moore
(Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission)

“We Need Epiphany (Now More Than Ever)“
by Dan Marotta
(Redeemer Anglican Church, Richmond)

“This is Not the Way“
by Kelly Gould
(friend of Coracle)

“God and the Baal of Christian Nationalism“
by Darryl Ford
(Ikon Community Chuch, Atlanta)