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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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Cork board that says To Do List with pray, eat, protest, repeat in handwriting
Featured Post

Act! in Prayer. Be the Church in Prayer.

Friends, I am traveling which leaves me disconnected from home. Gathering at a national event brings up so many feelings. All of our travels were delayed, disrupted, they were a struggle to leave and a struggle to arrive. Most of us form the south and east were dealing with ice and snow, a large contingent from Minneapolis were dealing with ICE and border patrol. We all found a way to be present with each other, imagining a church where each member has a calling, and each congregation has a...

24 days ago • 3 min read
4 stained glass windows on a black background and the words The Kingdom of God includes everyone.

Friends, Welcome to Lent. I seem to be giving up free time for Lent, but that wasn't the plan. Hopefully I'll get caught up soon! -Liz Introduction to Act! Be Church Now Did you know that in 1947 the US Supreme Court found segregation on interstate buses to be illegal? 1947!! Bayard Rustin followed up that decision by gather white and black men to travel the south together, waiting to be arrested. And they were arrested. Bayard Rustin went on to organize the 1963 March On Washington for Jobs...

3 days ago • 2 min read
Purple background with words Prayer, Charity, Fasting LENT in dirt colors. Green Palms.

Friends, I've never been big on Lent, but now I've got a book and a podcast dealing with Lent. Apparently, people change. And that's the idea. That we do things that help others to find the motivation to change. Let's do it together. -Liz Ash Wednesday Prayer of Confession Forgive us, God, for the ways we have failed to serve the poor and failed to end poverty. Forgive us for the inequality of our community. We confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Forgive us, God, for the times we look...

6 days ago • 2 min read
Purple, white, and gold with a gold roman coin over an eye. When Did We See You? A Lenten Moment Introduction

Check out my new Lenten Mediation Podcast When Did We See You? Three to five minutes a day from Ash Wednesday to Easter, contemplating the scriptures in my book When Did We See You? A Lenten Exploration of Poverty & Wealth. Three pre-lenten introductions start with Jesus' time in the wilderness. This podcast offers a pause. A moment to notice what we have and to see Christ among us. Lent is a time of reflection and we will be spending time considering, evaluating, praying about our ... STUFF....

9 days ago • 1 min read
Stained glass shapes in purples, blues, pinks, with the words Act! Be Church Now and elizabethmaemagill.com

Friends, The snow is gorgeous, the weather a bit warmer where I am. And yet I hear from students that the poorest people in Mississippi are still without power. St. Basil's in Haiti is trying to make education possible for young people. War continues, some that we've helped cause, and others where we are not assisting those suffering. There are people without the food, housing, and healthcare they need. Somehow we must find a way to see the beauty without ignoring the needs. Liz Taking Time...

10 days ago • 3 min read
White statue of Jesus with Blue Sky background and the words "Who is he? Who am I? Who are we?"

Friends I was pretending to be Lindsey Vonn on the ski slopes the other day. Going fast (okay, compared to her, going slow!) and leaning into the turns. I love the videos where it seems her hands on are on the snow next to her. I'm not that flexible, so mine was not even similar to hers, but I had fun. And then she fell! My heart breaks with her to try so hard at something she is so good at, and to have the circumstances be what makes it impossible to proceed. I'm feeling this way all the...

13 days ago • 4 min read
Silouette of people helping each other up a rock against a blue sky and the words "Care for Our Community"

Today's post is a repeat from February 17, 2025. I've tried to write another one, but I just keep writing--take care of people, let people be who they are, love one another. As the Olympics begin, I think about all the women in sports who are asked to prove their identities because of fear that a few trans women might still have high testosterone levels after years on hormone treatments. There is no evidence that trans women on hormone treatments have an unfair advantage, nor that they are...

17 days ago • 3 min read
Blue words Follow the Money over gold coins.

Friends, A busy week ahead with my book release party tonight (Berlin, MA, 19 Carter Street, 6 pm.) followed by the online Book Read with Episcopal Divinity School on February 5, 1 pm Eastern time (Register here). Then February 10 I meet with the New Dawn Arts Center Writer's Group at 7 pm. 84 Main Street in Ashburnham, MA. Open to writers and readers, we'll talk about how non-fiction can move from being a lecture to an engaging story. I hope you can join me at one or more of these. Liz It's...

20 days ago • 4 min read
Text reading "ACT! Be Church Now" is overlaid on a colorful mosaic background. Below, it says "ELIZABETHMAEMAGILL.COM".

Friends, We got between 24 and 30 inches of snow. It's beautiful and I loved spending the more shoveling out my neighbors. However, I'm supposed to be in Denver for the Episcopal gathering of church educators: Forma. Hopefully my flight will head out tomorrow morning! -Liz Who shall dwell on God's Holy Hill? I'm pretty good at finding the way that the lectionary fits with what is happening in the world. However, the February first texts seem to be have been designed by the spirit to match...

27 days ago • 4 min read
Circle of cartoon people holding hands around the words Diversity makes us strong and loving!

Friends, I'm joining clergy in Boston today to pray and support Minneapolis. today is a day to shut down everything. As ICE arrives in Maine, and lots of black SUVs are delivered to Burlington, MA, we wonder if Boston is next. Prayers for all those who have gone to Minneapolis, and for all of us supporting them from home. -Liz Purple Congregations I often use "progressive" and "mainline" interchangeably when talking about congregations, and that is completely inaccurate. For those of us...

about 1 month ago • 4 min read