Breanna Illéné

Viral warnings of planned ICE raids on churches have pastors worried (RNS) — Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won’t rule it out.

Also: all y’all who shared that viral “this week in worcester” story about ICE raids in worcester, please read and share this one too. I’m so grateful for the investigative journalism of @RNS AND this is why mass council of churches is suing DHS religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...

Boo. I'm going to guess that Teen Vogue will no longer be worth reading. I so appreciated their voice even though it's been a long time since I was a teen.

Note: while not unprecedented, it’s actually pretty rare for a sitting Catholic bishop to participate in a demonstration. It’s just not generally what Catholic bishops do.

Thus: Getting the hierarchy involved in this protest outside an ICE facility is no small thing.

One additional thread that I didn't have space to expand on fully: Resistance 2.0 seems to be more focused on acts of community care, like helping neighbors targeted by ICE. That fits into the ongoing conversation about strengthening democracy by creating shared civic spaces...

I've been working half time this week as I head towards parental leave and oh my....my mental health is better than it's been in months. Apparently half time work is good for me. Now if only it would also be good for my budget.

People underestimate joy as a political resource. It pisses off all the right people & allows us to move toward practically imaginative solutions.It’s powerful to say, as Mamdani does&others should,I love these people/this place&we’re going to make it thrive.Political version of twirling on haters.

I'm here to once again say that convenings and gatherings are going to be extremely important for people to organize in the coming years. If that's part of your skill-set, put those skills to use.

I Survived the Neo-Nazi Attack in Charlottesville. Justice Still Hasn’t Been Served. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersI met the white nationalist who murdered Heather Heyer with his car in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.We had crossed paths earlier ...

Eight years ago today, I survived the neo-Nazi attack in Charlottesville. In this piece for The Daily Beast, I argue that justice still hasn’t been served. I urge a more rigorous search for truth, remedy, and reparation. And I make the case for a non-carceral solution.

www.yahoo.com/news/survive...

Yes! This is happening around the country. Religious leaders are one of the many groups standing up against these terrible bills.

Capitalism makes us feel like we need to do EVENTS where we spend money in order to sustain relationships.

Gift economy thinking can ground us in a mindfulness about where we have extra, and creativity around which relationships hold someone who might benefit from that extra.

The kind of “being welcoming” the church seems too often concerned with offering right now means saying “Christians can keep working for ICE,” but the actual love demanded of the church is saying “we will pay your rent so you can quit your job with ICE” ⚓️

Sadly evergreen prophetic word when it comes to US foreign policy.

What is a daily practice that you do to cultivate the Holy (however you define that)?

I do not need a tote bag…but also “What if we didn’t suck?” is basically my life motto.

Now that we have a midwestern Pope:

10 Things to Know about Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Prevost, is the first (US) American and first Augustinian to become pope.

open.substack.com/pub/kristind...

Warnock: I hear people attack poor people and act like it’s a crime to be poor, rather than to recognize it’s criminal for so many people to be poor. They do all of this in the name of Jesus… Jesus is the biggest victim of identity theft in the United States

Penal subsitituionary atonement continues to fall further and further out of the list of things I believe.

I feel you. We desperately need an addition and plans were to add on eventually…but I’m realizing we may need to cram 3 kids into our 760 square foot house for much longer than anticipated.

As fires rage and sea levels rise in the coming years, we will be called upon to rescue one another again and again. That impulse—to find our boats after a storm and to pull each other from the water on unauthorized, community-led rescue missions—will be key to surviving these times and to the creation of a new future. It is not saviorism, but collectivity and solidarity, that will fuel our best efforts. One of the greatest struggles of our time will be to cultivate a life-affirming political culture that can be enacted in the everyday, a counterculture of rebellious care.

cover of Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba. Blue-black silhouettes of people holding raised hands line the bottom on a bright orange and yellow background with stars.

"One of the greatest struggles of our time will be to cultivate a life-affirming political culture that can be enacted in the everyday, a counterculture of rebellious care."

- Let This Radicalize You by @prisonculture.bsky.social and @mskellymhayes.bsky.social

Thanks! It’s at @wichurches.bsky.social

The Wisconsin Council of Churches has been a national leader in faith-based public health since the start of COVID. They just lost a multi-year federal grant supporting these initiatives and a dedicated staff member. Donate so they can continue their critical work!
www.wichurches.org/donate

Suggestion: Include local food pantries to collect non perishable food at rallies or town halls - especially is (R) districts.
Ask everyone to bring a can.

This is what a political campaign should look like!

Thank you for doing all the organizing!

Thinking about (and praying with) @breannaillene.bsky.social and all the good folks living this out today at the state capitol. So grateful for their witness and their willingness to stand with those being targeted by hateful schemes. 🙏

Question of the day: How does Canada treat medical tourists? Can I drive across the border to access vaccines? Cause I fear that might be my future in the next year.

Totally happening in my life. In related news: I've refinished a cabinet and my office will soon have a tea station.

Interrupting sermon writing to attend a webinar that is about 501c3 advocacy compliance. I did not realize how in the weeds this would be. It's necessary, but also my brain is melting....