Defund ICE (UPDATED 1/22) - PASSED HOUSE, SENATE VOTE NEXT WEEK β 5 Calls
Updates January 22, 2026: By a 220-207 vote, the House has passed H.R. 7147, the standalone DHS appropriations bill. Republican Rep. Massie (KY) voted β¦
Call your senators this week and tell them to defund ICE. You can use the 5 Calls app to identify your senators and get their contact information. Thereβs even a script for you to follow.
Call them whether they are Republican or Democrat.
5calls.org/issue/dhs-bu...
25.01.2026 15:36 β
π 3
π 1
π¬ 0
π 0
At least 3 US citizens have been killed by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement over the past month: Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti.
ICE didnβt even exist until 2003. It was created supposedly to make Americans feel safe from terrorists in the wake of 9/11. It is now executing Americans.
25.01.2026 15:36 β
π 16
π 4
π¬ 1
π 0
The Problem with White Christian Love
This is probably not the Advent reflection you were looking for.
Last month I did a talk about White racial identity and moral injury. Several White people in the audience responded by talking about love. It was puzzling, but it wasnβt the first time.
It made me wonder: what magical power do White people think their love has?
open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
21.12.2025 13:15 β
π 15
π 6
π¬ 0
π 0
Possessing The Secret of Joy...Still
What does joy mean in a season of despair?
I had great dreams of writing a new Advent reflection on joy this week. But itβs the end of the semester and my creative energy is waning. So Iβve decided to be gracious toward myself and repost last yearβs reflection, with some added practice suggestions.
open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
14.12.2025 14:14 β
π 7
π 2
π¬ 1
π 0
Advent Peace Meditation
You can also find it on Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/3MEz...
07.12.2025 19:47 β
π 1
π 0
π¬ 1
π 0
Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes (@drchanequa)
These days I often struggle with hope. The world feels too bleak. The country has let me down. The church has let me down. Itβs a good thing that Advent begins with hope in the midst of darkness. In t...
These days I often struggle with hope. Itβs a good thing that Advent begins with hope in the midst of darkness. In todayβs post, Iβm taking up hope as a spiritual practice, training my eyes to see it. Because itβs all around us if we pay attention.
substack.com/@drchanequa/...
30.11.2025 13:55 β
π 8
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
Oh we always deliver it with humor and love! Our thing is that we want everybody to bring what they cook well. And we will absolutely hype that up.
27.11.2025 13:34 β
π 1
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
You would fit right in with my momβs side of the family. They are quick to let you know what is and is not your gift.
27.11.2025 13:22 β
π 1
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
A Creed for Woke Christians
A statement of belief for those of us who love Jesus and justice, but who often can't find either in the church
When I started this series, I had not planned on focusing on the church. But it turns out that a lot of my favorite writing is about my own spiritual journey. Earlier this year, I wrote this creed in the midst of a debate about the term βwoke.β open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
23.11.2025 19:00 β
π 4
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
Bipartisan US shutdown deal will sharpen divisions among Democrats
Key takeaways after a Senate breakthrough heralds a possible end in sight to the longest shutdown in US history.
βIn the end, the Democrats blinked. Or, at least, just enough centrists, soon-to-be retirees and at-risk politicians in the Senate to give Republicans the support needed to reopen the government.β
www.bbc.com/news/article...
10.11.2025 11:25 β
π 6
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
During and after my years in seminary, I agonized over where God was calling me to be. I kept trying to find the promised land, the place where I fit, where life was full of calm. I thought that was the goal of the spiritual journey. I found peace when I accepted my place in the wilderness.
09.11.2025 13:01 β
π 7
π 0
π¬ 1
π 0
Dear Church, I Quitchu
I used to be the only one of my ministry friends not attending church on Sundays. Not anymore.
In celebration of my birth month, Iβll be sharing some of my favorite essays all month long. I wrote this one 8 years ago, trying to make sense of why I hadnβt returned to church after what was supposed to be a six-week break during Lent. open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
02.11.2025 13:45 β
π 7
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
When the Church Fails to Be Community
It shouldn't be this hard for the church to offer genuine welcome
Last week I wrote about how we are made for community. This week Iβm thinking about how the church fails to embody community more often than not.
Read the post at drchanequa.substack.com/p/when-the-c...
26.10.2025 13:15 β
π 12
π 1
π¬ 0
π 0
Today is a good day toβ¦
Take a mindful breath.
Feel the earth under your feet.
Be where you are.
As you breathe in, say to yourself, I know that I am breathing in.
As you breathe out, say to yourself, I know that I am breathing out.
Repeat as needed. And it will be needed repeatedly.
25.10.2025 13:14 β
π 45
π 17
π¬ 5
π 0
Who knows the secret to getting off these DNC fundraising lists? And what does the way they sell (and resell) donor info tell us about how they govern?
23.10.2025 19:36 β
π 3
π 1
π¬ 0
π 1
As Long as I Got King Jesus, I Still Need Somebody Else
Humans were made for relationship, but we seem to keep forgetting that.
Call me a heretic but Iβm going to say it: Jesus is not enough.
We were made for relationship with other human beings. We cannot live without one another because we were not meant to, no matter what Western individualism tells us.
open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
23.10.2025 13:57 β
π 7
π 0
π¬ 1
π 0
As Long as I Got King Jesus, I Still Need Somebody Else
Humans were made for relationship, but we seem to keep forgetting that.
Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking at New Brunswick Theological Seminary on the topic of community, something Iβve been thinking a lot about these days. Todayβs post is part of what I shared.
open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
19.10.2025 13:56 β
π 5
π 1
π¬ 0
π 0
Head to a protest today. I can almost promise you will feel less hopeless. That's exactly what they don't want. There are more of us than there are of them.
18.10.2025 15:26 β
π 9488
π 1797
π¬ 120
π 88
Actual helpful advice.
17.10.2025 15:10 β
π 537
π 356
π¬ 0
π 13
Itβs a hard week for Black Gen Xers. We loved us some Diane Keaton. And DβAngelo? No words for how much he shaped the sound of our generation.
15.10.2025 18:58 β
π 4
π 1
π¬ 0
π 0
ππ½ππ½ππ½ππ½ππ½
15.10.2025 16:21 β
π 4
π 1
π¬ 0
π 0
Thatβs crazy. I wonder what happened in January
15.10.2025 10:34 β
π 16361
π 5254
π¬ 537
π 292
Rest for the Weary
Yes, Iβm writing about rest and resistance again. It wonβt be the last time, either.
Every few months I end up writing about rest as a form of resistance. It keeps coming up in daily life. This time Iβm drawing on the wisdom of the late Walter Brueggemann.
open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
12.10.2025 13:42 β
π 8
π 1
π¬ 1
π 0
What strikes me is how our perceptions of right and wrong are divided by political ideology.
09.10.2025 11:55 β
π 4
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
The failure to do this reckoning has dire consequences.
05.10.2025 14:43 β
π 1
π 0
π¬ 0
π 0
I Am Not Invisible
Invisibility can be a superpower, but only if we get to choose it.
NEW POST!
I had an encounter at the pool this week that triggered memories of when I first realized my power of invisibility (it was in seminary). Iβve come a long way since then.
open.substack.com/pub/drchaneq...
05.10.2025 12:12 β
π 5
π 1
π¬ 0
π 0
This current American presidential administration is run by people who are quite obviously mentally ill, and we need to start talking about that.
30.09.2025 17:24 β
π 31606
π 7937
π¬ 1602
π 465