Red Letter Christians

Shane Claiborne: United Kingdom
2023-06-03 00:00 - 2023-06-12 00:00 (America/New_York)
Shane Claiborne, Co-Director of RLC USA is going to be visiting England with RLC UK this June.
Do come say hello!
Here’s the schedule:
June 2nd and 3rd: ‘Empowering People’ Conference, Nettle Hill Venue, Coventry*
June 4th: Gas Street Church, Birmingham, 9:30AM, 11:30AM, and 6PM services
June 5th: Oasis Church Waterloo, London, 7:30PM–9:30PM**
June 7th: Newbigin Public Lecture, Lodge Road Community Church, Birmingham, 7PM–9PM** (Featured Red Letter Christians UK event)
June 9th: Malvern Link with Cowleigh, Malvern, 7PM (Details forthcoming)
June 11: King’s Cross Church, 10 am and 12 pm
*Event requires payment and pre-booking
**Free event but requires pre-booking

Morning Prayer UK with Shane Claiborne, David Mann, Dr. Sally Mann, and Faith van Horne
2023-06-01 09:00 - 10:00
Join Red Letter Christians for our monthly morning prayer focusing on the theme: Care for Creation. This month, we are joined by special guests David Mann, Faith Van Horne, and Dr. Sally Mann from Red Letter Christians, UK.
David Mann is on the Red Letter Christians UK Board of Directors and has three decades worth of church leadership and charity work experience.
Faith Van Horne is the new co-director of RLC, UK. She received her Masters of Divinity from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio and is currently a postgraduate researcher in Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, UK.
Dr. Sally Mann is a minister at Bonny Downs Baptist Church and an author and editor to boot. She was one of the early RLC UK team members and continues to be a proud Red Letter Christian!
Join us in conversation and prayer with Shane Claiborne. We will be live on Facebook and YouTube; register to join us on Zoom: Meeting Registration – Zoom
Join Shane Claiborne, David Mann, Dr. Sally Mann, and Faith van Horne, for morning prayer from the UK on June 1st at 9 am! Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free!
Register to join on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Sharon Tubbs: They Got Daddy: One Family's Reckoning with Racism and Faith
2023-05-22 19:00 - 20:00
Sharon Tubbs began her professional career as a newspaper reporter and editor. In a career that spanned seventeen years, she worked briefly for the Philadelphia Inquirer then for the Tampa Bay Times. As a journalist, she covered various beats that included small-town government, local crime, and national religious issues. Today, Sharon Tubbs is a writer, inspirational speaker, and the director of a nonprofit organization that empowers under-resourced residents in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to live healthier lives.
This book, They Got Daddy: One Family’s Reckoning with Racism, has been called “an unforgettable journey through racism and faith across the generations.”
January 15, 1959—a day that changed one family forever. White supremacists kidnapped and severely beat rural Alabama preacher Israel Page, nearly killing him because he had sued a White sheriff’s deputy for injuries suffered in a car crash. After “they” “got Daddy,” Israel Page’s children began leaving the Jim Crow South, the event leaving an indelible mark on the family and its future. Decades later, the events of that day fueled journalist Sharon Tubbs’s epic quest to learn who had “gotten” her mother’s daddy and why.
They Got Daddy follows Tubbs on her moving journey from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to the back roads and rural churches of Alabama. A powerful revelation of the sustaining and redemptive power of faith and unflinching testimony to the deeply embedded effects of racism across the generations, it demonstrates how the search for the truth can offer a chance at true healing.
Join Red Letter Christians on Zoom with Sharon Tubbs and Chris Lahr on May 22nd at 7 PM ET to take a deep dive into “They Got Daddy: One Family’s Reckoning with Racism and Faith.” You don’t want to miss it!
Register to join us on Zoom or join us Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Morning Prayer with Dr. Vonnetta West
2023-05-01 09:00 - 10:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, and special guest, Dr. Vonnetta West, for morning prayer on May 1st! They’ll be discussing the recent action in Nashville and reflections on what’s needed to build The Beloved Community in this moment. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
Dr. Vonnetta West is a cultural consultant, leadership strategist, nonviolence trainer, and good neighbor. As the principal owner of Go West Consulting LLC, she facilitates experiences and produces content, inclusive of social media, podcast, website, training, and speech content, purposed to connect, transform and engage people for good. She leads Go West Consulting in providing trainings on Creating Cultures of Honor, Culture Matters, Inside/Out, Eradicating Racism, The Bias Challenge, Leadership That Grows, The Language of the Beloved Community, Your Justice Footprint: Evidence of Love In Action, and other sessions aimed at building and sustaining community, including in professional spaces.
She is also the host of the Let Your Life Be Your Sermon podcast, pastor of Our Neighbor’s House, and Senior Nonviolence Instructor for The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center). Dr. West is a leader with the Interfaith Response to White Supremacy, a National Center for Civil and Human Rights initiative, and has 20+ years of leadership experience in the metro Atlanta non-profit sector. In her most recent non-profit professional staff role, she was Director of GenerationOn (Youth Division) at Points of Light in Atlanta, Georgia.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Register to join on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Katelyn Beaty, Celebrities for Jesus
2023-04-27 19:00 - 20:00
Many Christian leaders use their fame and influence to great effect. Whether that popularity resides at the local church level or represents national or international influence, many leaders have effectively said to their followers, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” But fame that is cultivated for its own sake, without attendant spiritual maturity and accountability, has a shadow side that runs counter to the heart of the gospel. Celebrity – defined as social power without proximity – has led to abuses of power, the cultivation of persona, and a fixation on profits.
In light of the fall of famous Christian leaders in recent years, the time has come for the church to reexamine its relationship to celebrity. Award-winning journalist Katelyn Beaty explores the ways fame has reshaped the American church, explains how and why celebrity is woven into the fabric of the evangelical movement, and identifies many ways fame has gone awry in recent years. She shows us how evangelical culture is uniquely attracted to celebrity gurus over and against institutions, and she offers a renewed vision of ordinary faithfulness, helping us all keep fame in its proper place.
Join Red Letter Christians on Zoom with Katelyn Beaty and Shane Claiborne on April 27th at 7 PM ET to take a deep dive into “Celebrities for Jesus.” You don’t want to miss it!
Register to join us on Zoom or join us Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Moral Monday Against Gun Violence in Nashville
2023-04-17 14:00 - 18:00
Democracy is under attack in Tennessee. But this is a historic moment. You have probably seen what commenced in Nashville over the past few weeks, even during the heart of Holy Week. Three Tennessee legislators raised their voices against gun violence after the mass shooting nearby and the Tennessee House of Representatives expelled two young Black legislators.
Justin Jones has been a friend and collaborator with us at Red Letter Christians for many years. He has shown up over and over with us at RLC, so we want to show up for him, and for Justin J. Pearson and the Tennessee 3! What’s happening in Tennessee is bigger than the three of them, and affects all of us. And we don’t want to just watch, we want to participate in the history-making. In the words of Dr. King, we don’t want to “sleep through the revolution.”
So let’s show up together! This Monday, April 17th!
Red Letter Christians is excited to partner with Bishop Barber and Repairers of the Breach and tons of other great folks on Monday (this Monday!) April 17th. We’ll meet at 2pm at McKendree United Methodist Church. Then, we will march to the Tennessee State Capitol for a rally at 4pm CT.

Stay in the loop with us and learn about more moral actions you can take but signing up for our email list.

Morning Prayer with Rev. Stephanie Spellers
2023-04-01 09:00 - 10:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove and special guest, Rev. Stephanie Spellers for morning prayer during Holy Week! The theme of the month is “Submission to Christ’s Body, the Church.” Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers is an Episcopal priest, author and speaker who serves as a Canon to The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry. She spearheads Episcopal efforts to follow Jesus’ Way of Love and to grow loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with God, each other and the earth.
The author of Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and the Spirit of Transformation – as well as The Episcopal Way and The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline and New Hope for Beloved Community – she has worked for years at the intersection of practice and reflection, renewal and justice.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Register to join on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Lerone A. Martin, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover
2023-03-21 19:00 - 20:00
Join Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and special guest, Lerone A. Martin, for discussion of The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover on March 21st at 7pm ET. Lerone is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Chair and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.
Taking readers from the pulpits and pews of small-town America to the Oval Office, and from the grassroots to denominational boardrooms, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover completely transforms how we understand the FBI, white evangelicalism, and our nation’s entangled history of religion and politics.
Register to join us on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Monthly Morning Prayer with the Iraq Peace Team
2023-03-01 09:00 - 10:00
Twenty years after they were in Baghdad together with the Iraq Peace Team, Kathy Kelly, Peggy Gish, and Weldon Nisly will join Shane and Jonathan for morning prayer on March 1st at 9am ET to talk about the way of peace in a time of war and what a commitment to peacemaking can look like today. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Register to join on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Shane Claiborne, Rethinking Life
2023-02-26 19:00 - 20:00
Join Lisa Sharon Harper and Shane Claiborne as they discuss his new book, Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person, on Sunday, February 26th at 7pm ET.
Drawing on Scripture, church history, and his own story, Shane explores how a passion for social justice issues surrounding life and death -such as war, gun ownership, the death penalty, racial injustice, abortion, poverty, and the environment – intersects with our faith as we advocate for life in its totality.
Many of us wonder how to think about and act on issues of life and death beyond abortion and the death penalty – yet the heated debates in our churches and the confusion of our own hearts sometimes feel overwhelming.
Join us as we discuss, “What does a balanced, Christian view of what it means to be “pro-life” really look like?”
Register to join on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Morning Prayer with Rev. Nelson and Joyce Johnson
2023-02-01 09:30 - 10:30
Join Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove for morning prayer on the theme of “Reconciliation” on February 1st at 9:30am ET. They will be joined by special guests, Rev. Nelson and Joyce Johnson, founders of the Beloved Community Center and the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Register to join us on Zoom or join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, "Dancing in the Darkness"
2023-01-24 19:00 - 20:30
Join special guest Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III with Shane Claiborne and Diana Oestreich for a discussion of Rev. Dr. Moss’ just released Dancing in the Darkness on January 24th at 7pm ET.
Dancing in the Darkness is a life-affirming guide to the practical, political, and spiritual challenges of our day. Drawing on the teachings of Dr. King, Howard Thurman, sacred scripture, southern wisdom, global spiritual traditions, Black culture, and his own personal experiences, Rev. Dr. Moss instructs us on how to practice spiritual resistance by combining justice and love. This collection helps us tap the spiritual reserves we all possess but too often overlook, so we can slay our personal demons, confront our civic challenges, and reach our highest goals.
Join us live by registering today or join the livestream on RLC’s Facebook, YouTube, or website.

Morning Prayer with Amanda Tyler
2023-01-02 09:00 - 10:00
Join Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove to kick off the new year on January 2nd at 9am ET. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. They’ll be joined by special guest Amanda Tyler, the Executive Director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty).
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Osheta Moore
2022-12-18 19:00 - 2022-12-19 20:00
Join Shane Claiborne and Diana Oestreich for a discussion of Dear White Peacemakers:Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace with Osheta Moore on December 18th at 7pm ET. Dear White Peacemakers is a breakup letter to division, a love letter to God’s beloved community, and an eviction notice to the violent powers that have sustained racism for centuries.
You can join us live on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Morning Prayer with Shane, Jonathan, and RLC Staff
2022-12-01 12:00 - 13:00
Join Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove for a discussion on the monthly theme of “Locating our lives in the abandoned places of the empire” on December 1st at 12pm ET. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Chris Haw and Shane Claiborne - November 2022
2022-11-28 19:00 - 20:00
Jesus for President version 2.0 was launched on October 25th and called “a must-read election book for Christian Americans” by “Publishers Weekly.” Get a copy now, share one with a friend, and join us for RLC Book Club!
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A lot has changed since this book was first released in 2008. But one that that has not changed is this – Christians still have a hard time knowing how to engage in politics. Joining the politics of Jesus is about joining God’s redemptive plan to save the world. It is about allegiance, hope, and a new Kingdom. Our hope is not in the donkey of the Democrats or the elephant of the Republicans. Our hope is in the Lamb of God. And the Lamb never fails. Join us on November 28th at 7pm ET on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Faith Forum: The Science of Joy
2022-11-10 19:00 - 20:00
Let’s talk about joy and wonder and why they are good for our souls. Join us for this special faith forum on “The Science of Joy” with neurotheologian, Dr. Jim Wilder and astronomer, Dr. David Bradstreet.
Join us on November 10th at 7pm ET on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live. You can also register to join us in the Zoom room!

Monthly Morning Prayer with Dr. Chanequa Walker - Barnes
2022-11-01 09:00 - 10:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, and special guest Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes for a discussion on the monthly theme of “Nurturing a Common Life” on November 1st at 9am ET. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes is a clinical psychologist, public theologian, and ecumenical minister whose work focuses upon healing the legacies of racial and gender oppression. A professor of practical theology and pastoral care at Columbia Theological Seminary, Dr. Chanequa is the author of I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation, Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength, as well as nearly two dozen journal articles and book chapters in theology and psychology.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Amy Kenny - October 2022
2022-10-27 19:00 - 20:00
Join Shane Claiborne and Lisa Sharon Harper for an important discussion with Amy Kenny on her book, My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church on October 27th at 7pm ET.
“Written by a disabled Christian, this book shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability. Kenny reflects on her experiences inside the church to expose unintentional ableism and cast a new vision for Christian communities to engage disability justice. She shows that until we cultivate church spaces where people with disabilities can fully belong, flourish, and lead, we are not valuing the diverse members of the body of Christ.”
Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Rich Mullins Tribute (virtual)
2022-10-22 19:00 - 20:00
Join Shane Claiborne and friends as they reflect on the continued impact of Rich Mullins after his death 25 years ago. There’ll be music and stories celebrating Rich’s life on October 22nd at 7pm ET.
Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Morning Monthly Prayer with Angela Denker
2022-10-01 14:00 - 15:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, and special guest Angela Denker for a discussion on the monthly theme of “Formation in the way of Christ” on October 1st at 2pm ET. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
Angela is a Lutheran pastor and veteran journalist. She often shares her research on politics and Christian Nationalism in the U.S. Her book, Red State Christians, subtitled: A Journey into White Christian Nationalism and the Wreckage it leaves behind, came out Aug. 16th and is currently available for pre-order everywhere books are sold.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Alexia Salvatierra - September 2022
2022-09-25 19:00 - 20:00
With so many injustices, small and great, across the world and right at our doorstep, what are people of faith to do? Alexia Salvatierra has developed a model of social action that is rooted in the values and convictions born of faith. Together with theologian Peter Heltzel, this model of “faith-rooted organizing” offers a path to meaningful social change that takes seriously the command to love God and to love our neighbor as ourself. Join Shane Claiborne and Alexia Salvatierra for a discussion of her book, Faith-Rooted Organizing, on September 25th at 7pm EDT.
Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Monthly Morning Prayer with Sandra Van Opstal - September 2022
2022-09-01 09:00 - 10:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, and special guest Sandra Van Opstal for a discussion on the monthly theme of “Contemplate Prayer” on September 1st at 9am EDT. Sandra is a second-generation Latina pastor, activist, author, and a powerful leading voice on the intersection of faith and justice. She is also the author of “Forty Days on Being an Eight (Enneagram Daily Reflections)” and the new book, The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Randy Woodley - August 2022
2022-08-25 19:00 - 20:00
Join Shane Claiborne and Lisa Sharon Harper on August 25th at 7pm EDT to discuss the book of the month, Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth with Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley. Everyone has indigenous connections to some place in the world. One of the core purposes of this book is to help people to discover their own indigenous roots, even as they seek to learn from the Native people wherever they now live.
Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

Morning Monthly Prayer with Rev. Michael McBride
2022-08-01 12:00 - 13:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, and special guest Rev. Michael McBride for a discussion on peacemaking on August 1st at 12pm EDT. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Diana Oestreich - July 2022
2022-07-24 19:00 - 20:00
Join Shane Claiborne on July 24th at 7pm EDT to discuss the book of the month, Waging Peace, with soldier turned peacemaker, Diana Oestreich. You can join on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.
How do we confront christian nationalism + the militarization of our faith?
How do we honor veterans while refusing to support the violence of our military conflicts?
What does it look like to be a Peacemaker and be a witness to Jesus, the Prince of Peace?
Join us as we learn from expert in Christian Nationalism and military culture, Diana Oestreich, who waged war as a Christian Nationalist and laid her weapon down on the battlefield of the Iraq war to follow the Prince of Peace. Her book, “Waging Peace; One Soldiers Story of Putting Love First,” was Amazon’s #1 new release in war and peace.
Diana believes if she can change, anyone can change. Our country, and fellow christians desperately need us to reject the false “us versus them” narrative and invite them to wage peace. Listen to her story of war and how we can invite our communities to choosing Love of Neighbor over our entrenched divides over different political camps, religious wars and who belongs in America.
Now is the time that we confront the false narrative of Christian Nationalism, with the fierce sacrificial love of Christ that commands we Love our Neighbor and our enemy like ourselves.
Because love never fails.
Changing the world starts now, join us!

Monthly Morning Prayer - July 2022
2022-07-01 09:00 - 10:00
Join Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, and special guest Robert P. Jones for a discussion on the importance of place and the dangers of Christian Nationalism. Morning prayer takes place at the beginning of each month based on the book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.
You can follow along with the readings from Common Prayer at commonprayer.net for free! Join us at 9am on July 1st on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Book Club with Rev. Sharon Risher - June 2022
2022-06-26 19:00 - 20:00
Gun violence is a public health crisis. It is also a spiritual and moral crisis. In the US, We have nearly 5 times more gunshops than McDonald restaurants. More Americans have died from guns in the US in the last fifty years than in all the wars in American history.
June is gun violence awareness month and the anniversary of the Emanuel AME shooting in Charleston. Join us on June 26th at 7pm EDT for an important discussion with Rev. Sharon Risher about the family she lost in Charleston and her book, “For Such a Time as This.” You can join on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website live.

RLC Faith Forum on Restorative Justice - June 2022
2022-06-23 19:00 - 20:00
Many of you are familiar with the work of RAWtools (turning guns into garden tools), but the deeper part of our work involves restorative justice. On June 23rd at 7pm EDT, Mike Martin will join us along with Sharletta Evans who is at the forefront of the Restorative Justice movement in America. Sharletta’s three year old son, Casson, was killed in the cross-fire during a shooting by teenagers. Many years later, one of the boys sentenced to life without parole began to correspond with her. Join us for this special event to hear how they continue to work together to heal the wounds of violence.
Register to join us on Zoom or you can join live on Red Letter Christian’s Facebook, YouTube, or website.

Poor People's Campaign - Moral March on Washington DC
2022-06-18 09:00 - 12:00
We’ll join with our friends at the Poor People’s Campaign for a march in Washington DC. Gather at 9am and start at 10am. RSVP and find more info here!
