David W. Swanson

It's Giving Tuesday! Would you consider a donation to our church's nonprofit organization (newcommunityoutreach.org) as we create restorative spaces for healing, reconciliation and flourishing in our community?

Give here: tinyurl.com/NCOGivingTue...

Let it snow!

Looking for the perfect gift?

We have a limited # of deeply discounted tickets to the Communities of Flourishing Conference. Join us as we move from critique to action!

@skyejethani.bsky.social @malcolmbfoley.bsky.social @davidwswanson.bsky.social @fullerseminary.bsky.social @erbks.bsky.social

Our contributions to the table this year. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

How about it? We can stay away from these three authoritarian-adjacent corporations for a few days, right? We can invest our dollars in local Black and Brown businesses, right?

Learn more here: weaintbuyingit.com

Practicing Thanksgiving We live in a country fluent in exhaustion, a nation where fatigue has become the native tongue.

"Here we are, daring to say that even in a bruised and burdened world, God has not ceased to be faithful. Here we are, daring to believe that giving thanks is not naïve optimism but a persistent practice by which we remember who God is."

- @richtywil.bsky.social

substack.com/home/post/p-...

"Of these 5,373 [detained by ICE since the government shutdown], there was a net increase of 5,209 more individuals with no criminal history – some 97 percent of the total net increase. Only 3 percent had a criminal conviction even including minor traffic offenses."

tracreports.org/reports/767/

Bearing Witness as Protest Our testimony to Jesus is the foundation of our dissent

"When Christians here in Chicago protest the government’s cruel deportation campaign, whether gathering for a prayer vigil or wading through tear gas-choked streets, we are looking for Jesus."

buttondown.com/david.w.swan...

Preachers, what's the passage of Scripture and main point of your sermon this week? I'll be in Revelation 3:14-22, "We refuse the deceptions of wealth by trusting Jesus."

"It was a triumph of men who in their effort to replace equality with caste and to build inordinate wealth on a foundation of abject poverty have succeeded in killing democracy."

- W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America (1935)

On state-sanctioned violence justified by state-sponsored lies.

"It was a triumph of men who in their effort to replace equality with caste and to build inordinate wealth on a foundation of abject poverty have succeeded in killing democracy."

- W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America (1935)

Friends in the western suburbs, I'd love to see you this Wednesday evening at Wheaton College. (Contrary to the flier, I'm not a Dr. but I'll still do my best to make it interesting.)

Placing Our Protest Circumstances change but our dissent endures

While our circumstances will shape the tenor and content of our dissent, they don’t have the power to shut our protest down.

buttondown.com/david.w.swan...

A autumn morning walk through Jackson Park.

Amen! If only.

As Chicago suffers state-sanctioned terror, the Christians who once were so vocal have become strangely silent.

Heartbreaking to watch the state police again refuse entry by clergy to those held at Broadview. Denying pastoral care is another example of the cruelty inflicted on our neighbors. Even so, it was encouraging to be joined by colleagues for the interfaith prayer service.

The Faith Over Fear interfaith coalition has been a source of courage and wisdom during the federal government's cruel operations in Chicago. Join us on Friday at Broadview as we raise voices and songs in solidarity with our detained neighbors.

Register here: secure.everyaction.com/tU_DXaMsTEOC...

White people receive SNAP more than any other group. But that fact didn't stop Fox News from running AI-generated videos of Black women complaining about cuts to their benefits.

It's an old strategy– inflaming white racism so that the majority suffers while the wealthiest add to their loot.

From the conclusion of yesterday's sermon from Revelation 2:18:-19, "Hold Fast to Jesus."

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

Yesterday we gathered to prayerfully proclaim God's protection over our vulnerable neighbors in Little Village. As we gather in worship this morning, may our allegiance to the Lord Jesus lead us into solidarity with every sibling suffering under the threat of state-sponsored violence.

That's fantastic!

Hey preacher friends, what's the passage and theme for your sermon tomorrow? I'm preaching from Revelation 2:18-29, "Hold Fast to Jesus."

I talked with a friend who is preparing for the loss of SNAP. She's incredibly diligent– works a full-time job and two side-hustles. She's thrifty, lives modestly, yet without this assistance she's in trouble.

It's not personal laziness behind my friend's need; it's societal greed.

Excellent thoughts on why U.S. Christians ought to be paying attention to what's happening with SNAP right now.

Our church is hosting a workshop with our friends from Ecuador early next month. This is a great opportunity to learn about grassroots community development from a global perspective and I'd love for you to be my guest.

Register (for free!) here:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

From the conclusion of today's sermon from Revelation 2:12-17, "Both/And Faithfulness."

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked and saves them
because they take refuge in him. (Psalm 37:39-40)

Hey preachers, what's the passage and theme for your sermon this week? I'm coming from Revelation 2:12-17, "Faithfulness to Jesus connects public witness and personal devotion."