Mark D Russ
@markdruss.bsky.social
920 followers 470 following 570 posts
Theologian. Queer Quaker ✝️ /|\. PhD student at University of Nottingham constructing a critical white theology of Quaker worship. Author of "Quaker Shaped Christianity" (2022). (He/him) 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ jollyquaker.com
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Reposted by Mark D Russ
corinnefowler.bsky.social
1. On reparation for transatlantic slavery.
I have not read Lenny Henry's book yet but I want to provide some general context in the face of his apparent shock suggestion

Sir Lenny Henry calls for slavery reparations for all black Brits - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sir Lenny Henry calls for slavery reparations for all black Brits
The comedian's new book supports the case for the UK to give £18 trillion in compensatory payments.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Mark D Russ
scmpress.bsky.social
Karen's excellent book, The Dark Womb
Re-Conceiving Theology through Reproductive Loss, is available to order here:
scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/978033...

#babylossawarenessweek #babyloss #theology
Reposted by Mark D Russ
karenod.bsky.social
It’s Baby Loss Awareness Week.

After losing multiple pregnancies in my 20s, I eventually wrote The Dark Womb about theology and pregnancy loss. Part of that was a selection of prayers & liturgies - available here
@scmpress.bsky.social #babyloss #babylossawarenessweek #theology #prayers
Reposted by Mark D Russ
livunipress.bsky.social
Most read in Modern Believing this week:
'Challenges for Theology in Settler Colonial Contexts' by Michael Mawson
Read it freely #OpenAccess online: bit.ly/MB-Mawson @modernchurch.bsky.social @churchtimes.bsky.social @scholarpriest.bsky.social @victoriaturner.bsky.social @alisonrwebster.bsky.social
The social media graphic for Modern Believing comprises a background gradient in orange, overlaid with the journal cover to the right which comprises a bold block of orange on the bottom half of the journal cover, with a white upper half featuring the issue title Mission as Solidarity, Solidarity as Mission and the issue date in black serif font.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
carolinepennock.bsky.social
God bless The Church Times for their ongoing insistence on responding moderately but forcefully to the Reverend Canon Nigel Biggar’s nonsense. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
Even given all that Biggar writes about the universality of slavery and the complicity of Africans, three things might be said. First, Britain played a key part and, however others may want to respond to their own history, it is morally responsible to face up to our own heritage. Second, as a Tory, he might have made more of Burke’s view that society is a partnership not just between the living, but between the living, the dead, and those still to be born. Third, guilt is not the only spur to action. There are the obligations that we owe one another irrespective of any personal responsibility for atrocities in the past.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
siobhanjolley.bsky.social
I’m at the airport en route to #EABSBL, so it feels like the perfect time to send a copy of my book, Reimaging the Magdalene, on a journey too!

💛 like and 🔁 RT and I’ll draw a winner on the feast of Mary Mag (22/07, heathens)

Let’s see where it ends up…

#Giveaway
The book cover, featuring Artemisia’s Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy
Reposted by Mark D Russ
zackpolanski.bsky.social
I'm Jewish. I'm also Mancunian.

Every other national party leader was interviewed by Laura Kunesberg during their conference.

Maybe the BBC thought as someone who also supports Palestine - I had nothing to say?

Let's keep growing: join.greenparty.org.uk
Zack on Bold Politics podium
Reposted by Mark D Russ
karenod.bsky.social
The #SST26 call for papers is live! Deadline 14th Dec. Theme: “Theology: A Discipline of Failure”
Bursary applications also open

www.theologysociety.org.uk/information/...
Reposted by Mark D Russ
marika.bsky.social
Call for papers for the SST annual conference is out now! Come join us in April to talk about theology and failure (generous bursaries available, especially if you're a grad student): www.theologysociety.org.uk/information/
Image of a poster, a mountain peak with a bright light at the top, expanding outwards in stained glass window rays. Text reads: SST Conference 2026. Theology: A Discipline of Failure? Keynote Speakers: Robert Beckford, The Queens Foundation, UK. Vincent Lloyd, Villanova University, USA. Marika Rose, Dublin City University, Ireland. 13-15 April, The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick. theologysociety.org.uk
Reposted by Mark D Russ
jttnncdcmd.bsky.social
#Queer #Quaker Friends (and friends)! My co-convenor Religious Education Martin and I have a new piece out in @friendsjournal.org! Check out "Advices and Que[e]ries: Chosen Family and Chosen Ancestors." www.friendsjournal.org/advices-and-...
Advices and Que[e]ries
Chosen family and chosen ancestors.
www.friendsjournal.org
Reposted by Mark D Russ
friendsctr.bsky.social
New banners just dropped!

2025 is Friends Center's 50th anniversary as the Quaker hub for peace & justice in Philadelphia.

We're celebrating with a series of workshops on nonviolent action!
A white and green banner hangs on a black fence above a red brick wall. In the background are trees and the Race Street Quaker Meetinghouse. The banner says, Friends Center 50th. 50th anniversary 1975-2025. The Quaker hub for peace and justice in Philadelphia. Learn peacemaking with us." There is a web address and a QR code that go to the web page given in the post.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
jessothomson.co.uk
But I think there is a genuine piece of work to be done on communicating how policies which have racist effects are racist, regardless of the nebulous intents of the people who support them. Racism is about what we cause in the world, rather than simply our inherent badness or prejudices.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
julietemckenna.bsky.social
I use a case from my HR days when this comes up. The Longbridge car factory was challenged over discrimination in recruitment, since the workforce was majority white in a very multicultural area. Turned out this was because vacancies were advertised in the workplace first, so most applicants were 1/
jessothomson.co.uk
But I think there is a genuine piece of work to be done on communicating how policies which have racist effects are racist, regardless of the nebulous intents of the people who support them. Racism is about what we cause in the world, rather than simply our inherent badness or prejudices.
markdruss.bsky.social
I'm so excited about @ericanela.bsky.social's book! #quaker #history
historyrage.bsky.social
🚨 BOOK LAUNCH 🚨

🕊️💥 Quakers weren’t always calm! In this #HistoryRage from Gloucester History Festival, @ericanela.bsky.social & Paul Bavill bust myths on pacifism, 17th-century antics & how a radical sect became today’s peaceful movement.

🎧 pod.fo/e/333c3b

📖 uk.bookshop.org/a/10...
Reposted by Mark D Russ
historyrage.bsky.social
🚨 BOOK LAUNCH 🚨

🕊️💥 Quakers weren’t always calm! In this #HistoryRage from Gloucester History Festival, @ericanela.bsky.social & Paul Bavill bust myths on pacifism, 17th-century antics & how a radical sect became today’s peaceful movement.

🎧 pod.fo/e/333c3b

📖 uk.bookshop.org/a/10...
Reposted by Mark D Russ
animystic.net
Quaker faith in action 🕊️
Every step, a prayer
#Quaker #ProgressiveChristian
The Quaker Walk to Washington
YouTube video by Quaker Videos
youtu.be
Reposted by Mark D Russ
quakeitup.bsky.social
📣 New video! For people with ADHD and ADHD traits, the idea of a Quaker silent worship might sound impossible. However, I show why this is not the case!

youtu.be/ZA5yQvZ7heo

#quakers #quaker #quakerism #adhd #inclusion #diversity
Split screen - left a cartoon display of a hyperactive mind and right wooden benches in a calm room. Middle, Ollie smiling. Text reads ADHD meets Silence
Reposted by Mark D Russ
marika.bsky.social
A good day to revisit Robert Warrior's 1989 "Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians: Deliverance, Conquest, and Liberation Theology Today": "Is there a god who will hear us and stand with us at Wounded Knee? Is there a god able to move among the pain of Nablus, Gaza and Soweto"?
With what voice will we, the Canaanites of the world, say, "Let my
people go, and leave my people alone?" And, with what ears will followers of alien gods who have wooed us (Christians, Jews, Marxists, capitalists), listen to us? The indigenous people of this hemisphere
have endured a subjugation now 100 years longer than the sojourn of Israel in Egypt. Is there a god, a spirit, who will hear us
and stand with us in the Amazon, Osage County, and Wounded Knee? Is there a god, a spirit, able to move among the pain and anger of Nablus, Gaza, and Soweto? Perhaps. But we, the wretched of the earth, may be well-advised this time not to listen to outsiders with their promises of
liberation and deliverance. We will perhaps do better to look elsewhere for our vision of justice, peace, and political sanity--a vision through which we escape not only our oppressors, but our oppression as well. Maybe, for once, we will just have to listen to ourselves, leaving the gods of this continent's real strangers to do battle among themselves.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
mthrjo.bsky.social
Incidentally, there’s a pretty good rundown of the most likely reason Christmas is when it is here (prefaced with extensive de-bunking of various popular beliefs about pagan antecedent feasts here).
historyforatheists.com/2024/12/paga...
Reposted by Mark D Russ
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Everyone: What's government doing about the cost of living crisis, the climate crisis, and the unfolding genocide in Gaza?

Labour: "We will mandate people carry Brit cards".

This government's priorities are painfully out of touch and increasingly authoritarian.
Reposted by Mark D Russ
bcpminuscontext.bsky.social
the rich he hath sent empty away
Reposted by Mark D Russ
stuartkmasters.bsky.social
The Christian, like God, must love all men, not only the friends but also the enemies, not only the faithful but also the unbelieving. For all are God's creation, and to despise any is to despise the creator.

St. Clement of Alexandria
The image includes the quotation below, along with a picture of Clement of Alexandria (an older man with a long brown beard):

The Christian, like God, must love all men, not only the friends but also the enemies, not only the faithful but also the unbelieving. For all are God's creation, and to despise any is to despise the creator.

St. Clement of Alexandria