I was tired and my brain burped up "Howard's Moving Castle" instead of "Howl's Moving Castle" and now I want to read pitches for something called "Howard's Moving Castle."

I dislike Annunciation portrayals of Mary as demure, shy, anemic. For one thing, she argued with an angel about biological evidence. She also told Jesus when to launch his ministry. Anyway, don't read the Magnificat like it's anemic, either. If anything, it's a haka. youtu.be/adoUALAYt2o?...

ACEGID trained over 1,500 people from 48 African countries. Impact "was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Feb 2020, ...hospitals that ACEGID worked with in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Senegal had COVID diagnostics before any U.S. hospital...Africans sequenced over 100,000 coronavirus genomes."

Can’t believe they missed the open goal of ‘Escar-gone!’ as the headline here

Susanna Wesley's letter to Samuel gets quoted a lot but only recently did the depth of her ire become clear to me - bc the digitized letter shows her handwriting grows large & sprawling at the [Methodist] famous part. That's just via digitized, not the actual artifact that's all the more valuable.

A new dollop of earnest gratitude, because I'm living bonus days- I am thankful for: @aetiology.bsky.social 's work honoring women who saved lives @agatumilowicz.bsky.social 's photos that transport me @sherinswift.com's ability to discern where to focus Thank you for making this planet better.

This morning's random dollop of earnest gratitude, because I am living bonus days- I am thankful for: @karanslade.bsky.social 's approachability & humor @jcsalterego.bsky.social's upper-classman inside-joke energy @annabower.bsky.social 's focus amid chaos (WITAOD) You make this planet better.

Here comes a random dollop of earnest gratitude, because I'm living bonus days- this evening I am thankful for: @herreidjohn.bsky.social 's art-sharing habit @eliothiggins.bsky.social educating us @drcweissenberg.bsky.social 's dedicated research Thank you for making this planet better.

If this is what it looks like, this is a live third amendment issue. The third amendment has always been my favorite amendment, but largely because it never came up.

Still true. Real leadership.

the replies to @clairewillett.bsky.social’s prompt are incredible there’s no shame in not knowing how to do something but when you know you don’t know how to do something AND you don’t check??

Plaster photos of Kendrick, Eldering, & Gordon in pediatrician offices. Big Pharma didn't invent whooping cough immunization, women in the 1930s working on a shoestring budget developed it. I want to shred the sky in half. These deaths were preventable. open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

I'm glad this highlights a bit of USAID background - Marshall Plan, Bretton Woods, IMF. Women were involved at high levels in all of it. McCarthyism drove some out, but they were there. A lot of gutted programs/initiatives were led or implemented by women. internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Appreciate the shout-out from Bobby Gilles in this helpful summary showcasing just how long women have been preaching and pastoring in the U.S. open.substack.com/pub/bobbygil...

A 🧵for the feast of Christ the King. This is one of the most challenging feasts in the year. In times that are, often justifiably, suspicious of authority figures we have to really think about what Christ the King can mean to us today.

"Yes, thank God, I am satisfied with my color..." -Preacher Amanda Berry Smith, late 1800s In her autobiography, she did not shy away from describing her experiences in majority-black spaces as a woman & majority-white spaces as a woman of color. #history open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

this, *this*, is the greatest crossover of all time

I am encouraged by those who show up week after week, no cameras present, exercising prayerful presence, practicing faith in cold & heat, insistent, gracious, clear. It reminds me to trust the truth of planting fall bulbs for spring blooms. It reminds me persistence requires patience.

Tonight in Charlotte, about 30 clergy welcomed 600+ people to a community safety training. Organizers asked for extra clergy presence after the host church received threats prompted by a Trump social media post.

As a 14 yr old at a new school, I called out some kids bullying someone. It's not too much to ask adult humans to do the same for stunned colleagues. It's ok to be unsure how to go about it. It's normal for habits to take practice. You can do hard things, folks. Never too late to start.

Nearly 100 roadside markers featuring the significant contributions of women from or with ties to New Mexico have been installed around the state. Now the New Mexico Historic Women Marker Program is creating curriculum for schools based on its research. apnews.com/article/new-...

NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen. Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.

For that person on your list who's so hard to shop for.

On place: "If I go to Japan, I can visit a congregation planted by a Japanese woman over 70 years ago. If I go to London, I can visit a church pastored by a woman in the 50s. If I go to India, I can visit a mission where a woman sent out evangelists." open.substack.com/pub/elizabet... #history

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history. Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

It wasn't perfect. I'd been skeptical of the whole thing. Then it saved my life. From the bottom of my heart- Thanks, Obama. @barackobama.bsky.social

Place & public space matter.

WHAT?! 😂 Ok first, aside from obv freedom issues- you can't ever stop anyone from praying, people pray silently all the time. Ask old-school Communist regimes, they tried to control it too. Second, sounds like being around those verbal prayers may have some consciences kicking up. DOUBLE DOWN.

This.

From last spring: open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

Don't do this to scholars & writers - especially on topics like dehumanization & Muslims. I've been an editor & a writer. I'll never forget the time an editor berated my writing over the phone. How much worse would it have been if I weren't of Euro descent & a Christian? Respect. The. Professor.

From the FireFall archives - a round-up of resources by, for, & about women leading in the church and academy. open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

If you're tired of wading through -finicky search results -denominational/geographic silos -church/academy divides I compiled & organized 60+ ecumenical pages of books, resources, & orgs by for & about women leading the church thru history + around the world. ⬇️ open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

Oh: Episcopal Diocese of TX says one of its priests, a “legally employed Kenyan clergy member who works for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,” was detained by ICE this week while returning home from work and “calls on our representatives in power to assist.” www.epicenter.org/the-episcopa...

Mass is being held outside of the Broadview ICE facility good morning I hope November 1st. They requested access to provide communion to those detained inside though it's been denied they will still try after their Mass service.

Members of the faithful lock arms as clergy, including a Chicago Auxiliary Bishop ask for entrance into Broadview ICE detention facility; they are denied entrance again; Fr. Dan Harnett is now leading a prayer of Spiritual Communion with detained immigrants.

On Nigeria: -Several top govt leaders there are Christians. -The first lady is herself a pastor. -In the past year, some violence in the country has been Christians against other Christians. -I'm acquainted w/some Methodist Nigerians. In no way is it a simple or straightforward situation.

Also, a thing that I mention sometimes but is often lost in all that’s going on: By RNS’ count, at least 55 religious organizations — including the leaders of entire Christian and Jewish denominations — have signed on to lawsuits against the Trump admin this year, mostly related to immigration.

"Hey Elizabeth are you quietly noting the names of pets of 20thC women preachers?" I don't know Rufus, AM I? Sorry yes in case it's not clear one was Rufus. "Are you also quietly noting women who preached or were taken hostage by pirates and/or Nazis while aboard ships?" [flags yes in semaphore]

Also, if you're a citizen & they try this, don't you have the right to stay silent/in this case refuse to have your face scanned as a visual equivalent of silence? The right to stay silent is in part so you don't incriminate yourself. Isn't allowing your face to be scanned potentially incriminating?

Well this will be a giant lawsuit. You can say a tech tool gives "definitive determination" all you want - *it's not proof* and it's not judge jury and executioner. OH MY GOSH, IF I FAIL CAPTCHA DOES THAT MEAN I'M NOT HUMAN!? It's literally that easy to debunk this.

I'm thankful to have a small voice in Dorothy Greco's new book on misogyny: open.substack.com/pub/dorothyl...

The chairs in the city council chamber look like very nervous muppets

American clergy who aren't in Chicago - if you want to add your name to the "in solidarity" section of this broadly ecumenical open clergy letter, there's a link to the letter in this news article.

I still find people talking at cameras holding tiny microphones or tiny floofball microphones disorienting. When? Did this happen? Can we pinpoint their advent to a specific month? Year? When did the landslide of Tiny Mics begin?

Democracy scones!

Places matter. open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

Every Roderick Spode has their Eulalie.

Any other time, this would be quite a story. Well. It still is. Just a quiet one in the current US context.