Mary E. Hess, PhD (she/her)

Learn this history and hear our plea: www.facebook.com/share/v/1Hpt...

I think a lot of us get hope wrong. Hope, I do not believe, is an emotion. In fact, hope makes space for lots of emotions to exist alongside it. You can DO hope scared, angry, sad etc...

Hope doesn't find us. We make hope through action and struggle. It's a practice of living and is re-made daily.

Gratitude, grief, and generosity

A reflection: meh.religioused.org/web/tensegri...

#ICEOutNow

It should not be lost on anyone that Minnesota Rep Melissa Hortman, who was shot to death in her home last night by an assassin, was a gun safety advocate who worked tirelessly to protect her constituents from gun violence.

1/2 Protesters at the front make noise. But those on the perimeter protect the truth.

We need people filming from the edges—tracking police, documenting violence, watching for agitators.

It’s safer, it’s strategic, and it keeps the story honest.

If you’ve got a phone, you’ve got power.

Hit the streets tomorrow.
Be nonviolent.
Be joyfully defiant.
Be defiantly joyful.
Ridicule him.
Condemn fascism.
Oppose I.C.E.
Affirm diversity.
Embody America.
Love your neighbor.
Refuse to be intimidated.
Be safe.
Be loud.
Be encouraged.
#NoKingsDay

Every place is home.

There is no place a human being can or should be that is not home.

The whole earth belongs to human beings.

Basic concepts that have been shredded by oppressions.

What is now is not what must be.

Yes!

When the Cass Review came out last year, the NYT rushed to cover it complete with post notifications. After reviews in Germany and Utah came out supporting gender affirming care for trans youth, dead silence. You can be just as biased in what you don't cover as what you do.

pll.harvard.edu/course/we-pe...

Harvard teaches civics to Americans. For free.

Pride and Pastoring in a Pullback Era Field Notes from Embedded Solidarity

open.substack.com/pub/clintsch...

Posting this again because it’s so useful: greatergood.berkeley.edu/images/uploa...

MAGA ramps up attacks on US Christian groups Donald Trump and his allies are widening their attacks on religious groups compassionate toward immigrants, refugees, the poor and LGBTQ people. The Catholic and Episcopal churches have faced the heat...

baptistnews.com/article/maga...

Want to Report on Homelessness? Here’s What Our Sources Taught Us About Engaging Responsibly. Homelessness is at a record high, and there are many investigative stories to tell. We’ve compiled some of the tips and lessons we learned from our sources for other reporters pursuing this coverage.

Based on what our journalists learned from conversations with the community, the team has put together a guide to responsible reporting on homelessness.

Thoughtful, incisive, definitely worth paying attention to:https://www.404media.co/you-cant-post-your-way-out-of-fascism/

10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won The key to taking effective action if Trump wins is to avoid perpetuating his goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.

Posting again because it’s so useful: wagingnonviolence.org/2024/11/10-t...

Amen to this. I can’t get beyond the Globe and Mail paywall, so here it is at fb: www.facebook.com/share/p/15vR...

Looking forward to this on Saturday. We will be in conversation about, among other things, how care is *especially* central to movement work in fascist times.

Resources for Churches Regarding Immigration Enforcement A graphic from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center The Trump administration's crackdown on migrants, including a new Department of Homeland ...

Resources on immigration in the faith space: www.sneucc.org/postdetail/r...

Religious leaders speak out: www.elca.org/news-and-eve...

‘Contempt is a dangerous way to lead a country’: here is the sermon that enraged Donald Trump | Mariann Edgar Budde This week, the Bishop of Washington delivered a sermon in front of President Trump urging him to show mercy towards LGBTQ+ and migrant communities. The president condemned it as ‘nasty’. We reproduce ...

Religious leaders speak out: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Must-Reads, Resources, and Some Thoughts Sustaining Ourselves Let’s develop the practices and build the infrastructure we need to stay in the fight.

it may be that I just keep reposting @mskellymhayes.bsky.social 's posts here for a minute and that's all I do, but they're gooduns. organizingmythoughts.org/must-reads-r...

Trump Fires at Least 12 Inspectors General in Late-Night Purge The internal government watchdogs were believed to have been dismissed at several major agencies, though the Justice Department’s was not said to have been among them.

The purge of Independent Watchdogs… Trump is doing what he said he would… but how does this lower costs and raise wages for regular folks? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/u...

What Just Happened: Unpacking Exec Order on National Emergency at the Southern Border An expert explainer on the Executive Order Declaring National Emergency Southern Border and deployment of troops.

Legal reflection on the border exec orders: www.justsecurity.org/106593/natio...

Social Security taxes are rigged for the rich — and the program is in danger because of it.A CEO earning $20M/yr pays Social Security taxes on ~1% of their i... How the Super Rich Are Killing Social Security | Robert Reich

As a former trustee of Social Security, I'm worried the program is in danger of running dry. Why?

As the rich have gotten richer, more of their income has escaped the cap on the SS payroll tax.

We can fix this by scrapping the cap. Watch.

The frustration my colleagues and I feel is almost palpable. We’ve been warning of these issues for so long that most of the pioneers in this field are now retired or dead. After giving more than a thousand lectures, talks, testimonies, and interviews I’m feeling old and worn. Still, I cling to my optimism that the worst outcomes can still be avoided because I see positive signs of progress. The cost of non-carbon energy alternatives has fallen so low, it is now cheaper to shut down existing coal plants than to keep running them. In 2023, China built as much solar photovoltaics capacity as the entire world did in 2022. Clean energy is the leading form of new electricity generation in the U.S., with solar reaching record levels in 2023. In 2024, wind and solar will generate more electricity than hydropower. In early 2025, renewable electricity generation will surpass coal to become the largest source of electricity globally. Most encouraging, the growing efforts of younger generations to raise awareness and fight for action on climate, often at great personal cost, show they understand the stakes and care deeply about their future.

Beautiful essay by climate scientist @petergleick.bsky.social on the difference between dismayed and defeated. With a list of what's still unstoppable....
time.com/7178677/clim...

5 Ways to Celebrate #RJWeek2024 - Catholic Mobilizing Network Restorative Justice Week (#RJWeek), is a global celebration that invites us to join in and lift up the inspiring restorative justice work happening around the world. #RJWeek 2024 is commemorated this ...

5 ways to celebrate restorative justice week: catholicsmobilizing.org/5-ways-to-ce...

A Guidebook to Progressive Church a book by Clint Schnekloth and Amalia Vagts Clint Schnekloth’s A Guidebook to Progressive Church is more than just a book—it's an invitation to rethink what it means to be church in the modern world. Capturing the full breadth of Clint’s vision...

My Guidebook to Progressive Church is on sale at Bookshop right now and I think it’s just what you might want to read in this moment we find ourselves in… bookshop.org/p/books/a-gu...