Trespasses of the Holy

2 weeks ago | gregjarrell.substack.com | Greg Jarrell

Folks are in the streets again, standing up to a corrupt and brutal Trump regime. Chances are there are lots of folks who have never hit the streets before, and think they are ready to, but are still unsure. I understand the hesitation. There is plenty of fear and lots of misconceptions and misinformation around protests and direct action. If you’re feeling reticent or confused or need a little encouragement, this one’s for you. Please know that it is not comprehensive, just a starting point.

3 weeks ago | gregjarrell.substack.com | Greg Jarrell

Firefighters called to Nottoway Plantation Forced Labor Camp on Thursday, May 15, 2025 initially put out a fire in the historic mansion there. The building was constructed in 1859 using money from the enslavement of human beings, and with the intention of making more money the same way. The mansion had 64 rooms and more than 53,000 square feet of floor space. That’s a lot of fuel. It was a tinder box.

1 month ago | gregjarrell.substack.com | Greg Jarrell |Richard Hester

In an age of rising Christo-fascism, I’m as committed now as ever to reading the Bible well. The bad guys shouldn’t get the good material. This discussion above, recorded several weeks back but no less important now than it was then, is with two friends and colleagues. I first knew Dick Hester as a consultant during a difficult moment in our neighborhood work about 12 years ago. After some time had passed, we kept bumping into one another and became friends. He’s a wise mentor and a careful thinker.

2 months ago | gregjarrell.substack.com | Greg Jarrell

As a Christian minister, I want you to have a rich and creative prayer life. God hears the prayers of the faithful, and we don’t want to bore God by praying the same uninteresting prayers over and over. We can try to be at least as interesting as the Psalmists. They knew trouble of both the personal and the political type. Faced with attacks on their well-being and on the common good, they used strong language, especially for oppressors and evildoers.

Jan 28, 2025 | gregjarrell.substack.com | Greg Jarrell

This essay was published by the Journal for Preachers in their Advent 2024 issue. Thanks to my colleague Rev. Dr. Jessica Patchett of Madison, WI for soliciting and publishing the essay. If you’ve read my book or been on my walks, the first half of this essay will be familiar and you may want to skip down to the second half. On a bright Sunday morning in November 1960, Vernon Sawyer walked up the steps into Friendship Baptist Church.