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Act! Be Church Now

Elizabeth Mae Magill

Join this newsletter to help your congregation be part of the resistance. You will get ideas for sermons, for actions, and for how to be church in a time such as this. Join to hear what other churches are doing. Join to focus on mission. Join to appreciate small church. Join to wrestle with poverty and wealth. Join to care for the those on the margins. It is time to Act! Be Church Now.

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Featured Post

Be Church: Responding to Nay-Sayers

Active Bystander Training | Change should have come by now Hello Friend! I'm finishing up in Houston after three days of discussions about generational wealth in congregations. I'll have more to say on that! But first, a day of travel, of synthesizing, of airport food. I've only been gone from serving churches for three weeks and I already can think of things I should have done better! -Liz Help People Respond to Nay-Sayers I spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest in my town. My red town....

about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Piles of old shoes with the words "Helping People Who Are Poor"

Five Loaves, Two Fish | Mary Gauthier: Mercy Now Hello Friends, I'm enjoying being back in the routines of home and work. And loving my memories of the Wild Goose Festival. I did a workshop on Wealth and Poverty--essentially telling, and hearing, what are some things that churches can do to address poverty. I'm expanding on that here with three upcoming articles. The first, today, is about the simple things to do, and ways you might expand those ministries. The second, next Monday, is harder...

4 days ago • 2 min read
Rock with people helping each other up against a blue sky. Words Care for Our Community in light yellow.

Do What Must be Done (song) | Naked Pastor Artwork | Hello Reader, I'm home for six whole weeks! Whew. I love travel. And after travel I really love home. And to top it off, my niece came to visit so we could play strategy games. And I even won one (out of many). -Liz Who is Lost? At United Congregational Church in Worcester, MA they imagined a new understanding of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-10). It has been common to think of the sheep that gets lost as blame-worthy: it lost its way, it...

7 days ago • 3 min read

Welcome! Below is the introduction to Act! Be Church Now, which started in March 2025. I'm glad you are joining us. You can respond to any newsletter by replying to the email. I'd love to know your reactions, or hear stories of what your congregation is doing. The Newsletter will arrive in your inbox on Mondays and Thursdays around 5:35am Eastern Time. Thanks for reading, -Liz Introduction to Act! Be Church Now Be Church Now! Today, this week, this month, this year. Now is our chance to be...

7 days ago • 3 min read
A word cloud with many words about Storytelling, and a larger Storytelling Is Resistance

Storytelling | Gettysburg Address Friends, I love travel. And I'm ready to be home. In my meeting with EDS staff we imagined how to change the world. At Wild Goose we lived in a changed world for few days. Now the real world is close and I'm trying to tell the story that God's Kingdom, God's Kin-dom where we all are family to each other, is really nearby. -Liz The Kingdom of God is at Hand Imagine that the Kingdom is at hand. Almost here. Okay, it is pretty hard right now to imagine God's...

11 days ago • 3 min read
Pink/grey background with ash cross and the words "Following Jesus is Risky"

Labor Day's Origin | Waging Non-Violence Ken and I are on the road, heading back from Wild Goose Festival. It was inspiring, exciting, faith-filled, and exhausting. Also, for the first time ever, cool! (Well North Carolina cool: high of 81º, but evenings in the 60s.) I come home with much to write about, much to celebrate. Also, I'm not very good at selling myself, even when I have a booth. Do I need to hire a publicist? -Liz Systemic Love Labor Day was created by Grover Cleveland June 28,...

14 days ago • 3 min read
A tall rock against a blue cloudy sky with silhouettes of people helping each other up. Says Care for Our Community.

Spiritual Neighboring | Learning Theological Analysis Traveling, traveling, traveling! I've finished up with Episcopal Divinity School's staff meeting, now on to the Wild Goose Festival. But today, lots of flying! -Liz Pastoral Care for Healthy People To be a church involved in the resistance, our leaders need a strong spiritual foundation. To be a church reaching out to the community, our leaders need a strong spiritual foundation. Or maybe it is this: to be a church our leaders need a...

18 days ago • 3 min read

Labor Day | We Shall Not Be Moved I've just finished up a weekend of pure touristy relaxation. We all need these breaks. Michigan's Upper Peninsula is chilly a beautiful. The power of the great lakes invokes the vastness of God. Most importantly, my friends Steve and Dave are perfect friends for solving all the problems of the church. Rest assured we have it all worked out. We did not, however, overcome all of our fears. Perhaps next vacation. -Liz Do Not Fear I teach active bystander...

21 days ago • 3 min read
grey/pink background with rough ashy cross and the words Following Jesus is Risky

About preaching | Songs of Change I am healthy again just in time to head to Marquette, MI for a leadership retreat with the staff at Episcopal Divinity School. I'm going early to do tourist activities. I packed my bathing suit but I can't imagine getting into the very cold great lakes! LOL. -Liz Getting Started I was a gathering recently where a pastor wondered how to get started on justice issues with a church that had never addressed such issues before. I also have a friend, lay, who is...

25 days ago • 4 min read
the words Pray and Act over a single votive and reflections of the flame in the background

Repairers of the Breach | Plan for Labor Day After a wonderful start to my new job I am down with Covid! It has not been too bad - 48 hours of a bad cold, and a serious headache, followed by quick and steady recovery. Thank you Paxlovid. Thank you science. Despite our serious attempts to keep Ken safe, he has tested positive now too. No symptoms; we can hope that stays true. Stay healthy! -Liz Resisting Despair I said just two weeks ago that this is not the worst time ever, and I stand by...

28 days ago • 3 min read