A visual poem by Lisa Engdahl.
Births & Deaths
My dad died last October. After growing up and starting his pastoral career in Los Angeles, California, the pastorate had taken our family north for ten-year segments in small-town Northern California, then Oregon, then Washington. But in his final years, he and mom had moved back to retire in LA; he always seemed to think that was where the action was.
The SP Bookshelf: 6 Reads on Incarnational Urban Ministry
For the inaugural edition of the SP Bookshelf, SP Press editor Andy Singleterry curates 6 essential titles on the topic of incarnational urban ministry, listed in a recommended reading order.
The Bible & Affordable Housing
A Lincoln Heights community practices being a “good neighbor” by connecting the dots between rising rents, scripture, and history
The City We Incarnated
The concept of the multiverse is having its fifteen minutes of fame. From the blockbusters of the Marvel cinematic universe to the foreign indie gem Everything Everywhere All at Once, the once-obscure science fiction concept of branching, interlocking universes captures everything, everywhere, all at once. How might the multiverse apply to gentrification?
The Sight of Gentrification
I would be hard-pressed to imagine a better illustration of gentrification than white-washing a mural of local cultural heroes to make things comfortable for rich relocators. But the examples of Chavez and Villa surely encourage the locals to resist. Neighbors have rallied and agitated, and leaders have talked to the new owner. So far, the mural is untouched. We’ll see how long it remains.
Here Comes the Neighbourhood
How SP Studies
The intersections of movement and play bring opportunities for creativity, new connection, and maybe most importantly, fun.
Influence, From Children To Systems
Veronica Torres McLane, Servant Partners' New Board Member, shares how God shaped her urban ministry in educational systems.
where i’ve found God recently
This video is made up of many clips that I have taken since the start of 2022. They all depict, in different ways, where I’ve met and seen God these past few months. I find God in nature, my relationships with people, traveling and art.
Graduation Poem (for 倩倩)
written by a sunflower
who knows nothing
of integrity, only how to face
a storm when it comes.
Curriculum Vitae
My real education began when my formal education ended. My living room bookshelves embody my devotion to God’s calling and his rescue of me from aimless academia. I love God with my all my mind because he first loved my mind. This quarter’s Mural looks at school and education. How does God use our environment to develop us? We hope these pieces help you reflect on how God has, and continues to, educate you.
Movement, Migration and Black History
"For my ancestors, bodily movement was a way to exhibit our freedom, to speak out against the oppressive boundaries set by race, class, and gender. From the early days of the Black American Church, dance and movement has been a part of the experience.”
Home For Now
When I wake up in a city That yesterday was strange Today I can imagine That I might have place Amidst the bustling crowds, Strange sites and foreign sounds With the help of google maps I begin to find my way around
A LA ORILLA DEL MAR
ENTRE VOCES QUE CANTAN EN MEDIO DEL SONIDO DEL MAR. CADA CUAL DE DIFERENTE LUGAR. UNIENDO SUS VOCES EN LA VERDADERA FELICIDAD. UNIENDO SUS VOCES EN LA VERDADERA FELICIDAD.
The Promised Land
(CHS>MFE) // Could it be that the immigrant narrative is a physical reminder of the saved sojourner's story—people of an upside down kingdom?
My Respectable Papa
To parallel my grandfather, I chose to take a picture of my brother. There is a generational gap between them, and thanks to my grandfather's work my brother will never have to be a laborer unless he chooses to be.
Crossing Borders
The theme of this issue of The Mural is Crossing Borders: migration, movement, boundaries, and how they affect us. For both us Servant Partners staff and the neighbors we live with, this theme names an important experience.
What You Don’t See
If you drive through my neighborhood, it might look like any other. But you don’t see… The exhausted mother sleeping on the floor of an unfurnished single rented room working two full-time jobs, desperate to provide for her children in a way she was unable to back home in Mexico.
The Slow Burn
Beeswax is ideal for making candles. It is hardy, smells sweet, and is known to burn the slowest and longest of any other wax candle. Sometimes discipleship is like making candles from beeswax: it takes time, patience, and a strong fire to bring people to a place of peaceful surrender. That was the case for Alejandra.