“We are in the same boat.” – Arabic Proverb. When white enslavers tried to violently erase their faith, these Black communities found ways to resist that would not only preserve their religion, but shape all of America.

“Whites not only had no patent on Christianity; they were often its obstacle.” – Toni Morrison. White enslavers used religion to oppress those enslaved – but our clever ancestors realized they could use that same religion to get free.

Psalm 82:3 gives us an important spiritual responsibility: “Stand up for the poor and the orphan; advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in need.” But what happens when those who are supposed to stand up for the orphans in our communities exploit them instead?

“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Malcolm X. Everyone assumes that Jesus was nonviolent because he wanted peace on Earth, but in the name of freedom and justice, Jesus himself chose violence when the situation called for it!

“Death is like a dress that, at some point or another, everyone has to wear.” – African Proverb. At some point we will all die. This community believes that how we live is how we'll exist beyond death. Based on their rules, would you make it to the afterlife?

1 John 4:20-21 is clear about love. “If someone claims, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother or sister, then he is a liar. He gave us a clear command, that all who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.” But how do we love people we think aren’t living right?

“God Is Change.” – Octavia Butler. The idea of change can be terrifying … but here’s why we should actually be embracing it!

“Open your ears to the ancestors and you will understand the language of spirits.” – African Proverb. She shouted from the spirit realm, praying someone would hear her. War was on the horizon, but her people would be slaughtered if she couldn’t get her message to them!

In Genesis 16:11, Hagar, upset and calling out to God, is confronted by an angel – who tells her “you are pregnant, and you’re going to have a son. I want you to call him Ishmael because the Eternal One has heard your anguished cries.” What does her story show us about protecting our children?

“All power emanates from the Earth.” – Ghanaian Proverb. They honored her, and in return she fertilized their crops and ensured their ancestors rested peacefully. But she was quick to punish them if they disrespected her!

“It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it.” – Lena Horne. It was her responsibility to care for the world she was building, but everything was falling apart! She needed help – otherwise all hope would be lost.

“God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” – Jewish Proverb. Fighting exhaustion, this mother balanced a baby on each hip and pushed onwards. She needed to make it to the slave ships – she was their last hope!

Proverbs 31:8 reminds us to “Speak out on behalf of those who have no voice, and defend all those who have been passed over.” But what happens when our efforts to speak out are thwarted by those in our own communities?

“Those who respect the elderly pave their own road toward success.” – African Proverb. There’s a difference between being disrespectful towards the elderly and disagreeing with them. Understanding that difference, and what to do about it, is KEY to deepening our spiritual practices!

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” – Corinthians 10:24. If you could change thousands of lives but had to be permanently isolated from loved ones, would you do it? This royal lineage faced this difficult question. What did they choose?

"Let her work bring her praise at the city gate." - Proverbs 31:31. Her job was to guide spirits through Death’s gates, but doing so was killing her other dreams – literally. She needed to find a solution, because she wouldn’t survive if she had to bury another child!

“Storytellers are a threat.” - Chinua Achebe. Much of our history, including our faith practices, have been preserved through storytelling. But these stories are more than pretty words, they provide our people with strategies to overcome our oppressors as we fight for liberation!

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou. Feeling lost and defeated, this Orisha gave up on their purpose. But then a spiritual guide visited them with an important message! Would they choose to listen?

“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long way from home.” – Odetta. This Orisha watched thousands of her children captured and bound for enslavement. Crying, she felt herself ripping apart, but she wasn’t dying – she was becoming the spirit guide her children needed.

In John 13:34, Jesus admonishes his disciples: “So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways.” Do we truly love each other as a community? We need to address this once and for all.

“Alone a child runs fast, with a mother slow – but together they go far.” Yemoja is considered by many to be the original “mother nature,” and if we tap into her love, we may go farther than we ever thought possible!

1 John 3:17-18 tells us, “If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need, is it even possible that God’s love lives in him?” What this woman did when she saw a need in her people changed the course of human history! How?

Matthew 7:24-27 tells us: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock...” There was one King who understood this and built his kingdom on a rock. How?

“Open your ears to the ancestors and you will understand the language of spirits.” Some of our ancestors were Oracles, considered so powerful they were specifically sought out and kidnapped by colonizers! But did their spirit die with them – or might it live on?

Ephesians 6:12 tells us: “We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone...” Could practicing this tradition protect us from these spiritual threats?