I want to share some quotes and resources from the Soul Matters monthly worship material on a topic I probably won’t have a chance to cover in worship: Rest as Resistance. As always, I’m curious about your thoughts on the matter.
Quote – Tricia Hersey, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto
The Rest Is Resistance framework also does not believe in the toxic idea that we are resting to recharge and rejuvenate so we can be prepared to give more output to capitalism…We are not resting to be productive. We are resting simply because it is our divine right to do so.
Quote – Tricia Hersey, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto
Capitalism deserves to be resisted and disrupted. It is a violent, global force that constantly steals our time and power. It is not redeemable and has always been a demonic force pushing divine bodies to the edge.
Article – How to keep the resistance going when you’re impossibly tired – adrienne maree brown
“Ella Baker taught us that “we who believe in freedom cannot rest.” I wrestle with these words all the time… I do not rest in terms of how I work. I tirelessly show up for movements I believe in… I tirelessly seek out old and new ways of moving through our current paradigm and into a viable future.
But when it comes to my body, I rest. I rest in myriad ways that allow me to show up fully for each facilitation. I ensure that I have quiet time each evening, a bath when there’s a tub, at least seven hours of sleep each night. I want to give us more permission to rest our bodies so that we don’t burn out our spirits and minds in our lifelong commitment to liberation.
It is in that spirit that I invite you to honor your ancestors and remember that they believed in you before your first breath. They believed you could generate gratitude, uplift good news, contribute to genius. Put on your oxygen mask and open to the pleasurable experiences of life…”
Quote – Walter Brueggemann
In our own contemporary context of the rat race of anxiety, the celebration of Sabbath is an act of both resistance and alternative. It is resistance because it is a visible insistence that our lives are not defined by the production and consumption of commodity goods.
Quote – Shane Koyczan
People cry not because they are weak. It’s because they’ve been strong too long.
Book – Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto, Tricia Hersey
Excerpt: https://www.thecut.com/2022/10/rest-is-resistance-manifesto-nap-ministry-book-excerpt.html
Related article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/well/live/nap-ministry-bishop-tricia-hersey.html
Related website: https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/
Interview: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0eoNdCY1XHvc1bVQquB2Gk?si=4YSBXtCQTVSxUV-O5EOI_Q&nd=1
Interview: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1127470930?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20221014&utm_term=7378428&utm_campaign=life-kit&utm_id=43948547&orgid=721&utm_att1=lifekit