Sara Ewing-Merrill

Sara Ewing-Merrill | Substack pastor, entrepreneur, hope-seeker, truth teller, justice worker

I’m sharing about the acts of Paul and Thecla with daily meditations on Substack. Come check it out.
Thecla is the story that we need today to inspire us in the work of resisting Empire.

While the truth about Trump's health is a matter of great consequence, it also matters that he is unable to refute rumors about his ill health.—Robert Hubbell

Old White Hippies Rule! August 21, 2025

Vance: It’s kind of bizarre that we have a bunch of old, primarily white people who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they’ve never felt danger in their entire lives.

Miller: We’re going to ignore these stupid white hippies. They all need to go home and take a nap….

I wish newspapers wouldn't treat all these executive orders as though they all have teeth and power and stuff. Lots of them are just the fulminations of a geriatric clown and mean nothing or will be overturned in court or are just distractions from what Trump wants to hide about his Epstein crimes.

A prevailing outcome of purity culture is that males are taught that their THOUGHTS are pure or impure, whereas females are taught their BODIES are pure or impure.
—Meggan Watterson, The Girl Who Baptized herself

Illuminated manuscript showing Mary Magdalene in red robes and a golden halo, preaching to a group of apostles beneath an archway. The apostles, some holding books, listen attentively. The scene is framed by ornate architectural elements and a richly patterned border.

On this Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the Church remembers what patriarchy tried to forget: women have always preached, led, and proclaimed resurrection.

"Mary Magdalene Announcing the Resurrection to the Apostles"

Illumination from St. Albans Psalter, St. Godehard's Church, Hildesheim, Germany.

🕊️ The Forgotten Bride She was the first to see him risen—and the first to be erased. This July 22, rediscover Mary Magdalene not as a sinner, but as the apostle, the tower, the forgotten bride.

When you put [Mary Magdalene] back in the story, the entire scaffolding of empire religion starts to tremble….

Not rules. Not dogma.
But encounter.
She was the first flame of that.
The Church just couldn’t handle the fire.

Remembering her rightly destabilizes everything.

In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.
—Bertolt Brecht

YouTube video by NEWS CENTER Maine Mainers pressure Sen. Collins to speak out against Trump's budget

I was privileged to join a large group of other people of faith at the coordination of Multifaith Justice Maine at Senator Susan Collins’ Portland office as other groups did the same at her Lewiston and Bangor offices.

Watch until the end to see my 10 second interview. 🤩

Call or email her today

I just cheered when Greta Thunberg said 'The world needs a lot more angry young women right now.'

On June 14th, we show up. Coalition members will be present at all 1,800 events nationwide, over 90,000 strong, helping monitor local conditions. Many veterans have stepped forward to support protesters, stand in solidarity, and defend our right to be heard. We thank them.

It is important to separate the telenovela aspects of the political news from those aspects that imperil the lives and safety of all Americans.
-Robert Hubbell

“We’re rising up because in each and every one of us is this immaculate soul that was given to us by God that is just crying out for dignity and freedom.” #theHandmaidsTale
#ElizabethMoss

Law enforcement officers should never cover their faces when making arrests or conceal their identities (unless they are working undercover). They work for us. We have a right to know who they are. These face coverings are frightening & unAmerican, as though they're ashamed of what they're doing.

#LatitiaJames
#WeWillNotGiveIn
#WeWillNotGiveUp

If you're interested in buying the upcoming book from the author of this article, it's called Liturgies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World by Kat Armas.

bakerbookhouse.com/products/618...

Pope Leo XIV's grandparents were 7th Ward Creoles The newly elected pontiff, born in Chicago, has ancestral ties to the city’s historic Seventh Ward, according to genealogists at The Historic New Orleans Collection.

I didn’t give a wit about new pope coverage, but the first American pope being a man with Black ancestry born in Chicago by way of New Orleans by way of Haiti. Names his self after the pope who condemned slavery? In the Trump era? Oh, baebae, I am HERE for it.

www.wwltv.com/article/news...

Trump 2.0 as a modern morality play—where the bad guy always loses. May 3, 2025

@rbhubbell.bsky.social

The lesson we must internalize is that resistance is not only necessary but also the only path to victory. Those who resist Trump win—eventually. Those who capitulate are forever in his grasp, supplicants whose reward for groveling is more abuse.

New York Times Headline that says “Trump, on Tariffs, Says 'Maybe the Children Will Have 2 Dolls Instead of 30'” Subheading “At the end of a cabinet meeting, the president allowed for the possibility that trade war could disrupt supply chains.”

Marie Antoinette didn’t actually SAY “let them eat cake”, but the Trump regime is definitely keen on saying it over and over again:

#MayDay
#BelllaCiao
#PortlandME

SINGERS WILL MEET AT 3:15, in front of McGoldrich Center - right behind the bus shelters

More info here: www.mobilize.us/mayday/event...

Don’t be overwhelmed

Just do #OneThing each day to:

Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Stay grounded

Last 3 days: uprooted 150 unruly strawberry plants to share with others

Join us Sunday @10am to kick off our new series:
Undeterred: Stories of Resistance

We are starting with these fierce midwives, Shiprah & Puah, who stood divinely defiant because they had already borne witness to a truth greater than hate and fear-mongering.

Image by @bethfelkerjones.bsky.social

Don’t be overwhelmed

Just do #OneThing each day to:

Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Stay grounded

Monday: spent quality time one-on-one with two beloved friends & gardened 🌱

Next big protests planned for May Day, Thursday, May 1.

Check mobilize.us for developing details for your locality.

#fiftyfiftyone
#SURJ
#MayDay2025
#MayDayProtest

Don’t be overwhelmed

Just do #OneThing each day to:

Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy

Today: celebrated return-of-non-citizen-dispatched-by-an-opressive-government-without-a-fair-trial

Don’t be overwhelmed

Just do #OneThing each day to:

Build community
Stand up against evil
Love your neighbor
Serve the oppressed
Show compassion
Advance justice
Defend democracy
Spread joy
Stay grounded

Saturday: took over the street and marched spontaneously to City Hall with thousands

This is awesome!

Good Friday Now The cross of imperial violence

This is really powerful, but also really hard to see. So be prepared for tears and save it for a time you can take it in.
@dianabutlerbass.bsky.social