Jesus calls us to live out all of his teachings. Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) is a mission priority of our denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). To “Join God in making things right in our broken world,” we must commit to the hard but necessary work surrounding justice and reconciliation. We may not have all the answers, but we can no longer be silent. At PLCC, we are dedicating ourselves to justice and racial equality by…
- Highlighting God’s vision for the church and community through a sermon series on the book of Acts;
- Hosting book and film discussion groups;
- Engaging staff in the Intercultural Development Inventory and through pastoral cohorts on anti-racism;
- Encouraging we, the church, (students and adults) to learn about mercy and justice through the Journey to Mosaic or Sankofa;
- Emphasizing our continual call to prayer to recognize, repent, and renew our commitment to love mercy and do justice.
One of the ways we at PLCC are dedicating ourselves to pursuing justice and racial equality includes curating a resource list with options to read, watch, and listen to a variety of voices. See below for content sorted for all ages.
BOOKS
Adults
- The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right (Lisa Sharon Harper)
- Jesus and the Disinherited (Howard Thurman)
- Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart (Christena Cleveland)
- Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
- The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
- The Christian Imagination by Willie James Jennings
- The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather C. McGhee
- How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
- If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority by Angela Parker
- After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging (Theological Education between the Times) by Willie James Jennings
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
- Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle by Danté Stewart
- Becoming Brave: Finding Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now (Brenda Salter McNeil)
- God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming by Drew Jackson
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church by Wil Gafney
- Who Will Be A Witness: Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love, and Deliverance by Drew G. I. Hart
- Rethinking Incarceration by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
- Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision by Randy Woodley
- Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery by Steven Newcomb
- An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Neither Wolf nor Dog by Kent Nerburn
- Discovering Indigenous Lands: The Doctrine of Discovery in the English Colonies by Miller, Ruru, Behrendt and Lindberg
- Conquest by Law by Lindsay Robertson
- Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians by Robert Warrior
- Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People by William Iggiagruk Hensley
- Latina/o Theology reading list
- Brown Church (Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero)
- Atando Cabos: Latinx Contributions to Theological Education (Theological Education between the Times) (Elizabeth Conde-Frazier)
- The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong (Karen González)
- Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes and Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective (Justo L Gonzalez)
- Abuelita Faith: Women on the Margins Teach Us about Wisdom, Persistence, and Strength (Kat Armas)
- Being Latino in Christ: Finding Wholeness in Your Ethnic Identity (Orlando Crespo)
- The Violence of Love (Archbishop Oscar A. Romero)
- The Making of Asian America (Erika Lee)
- The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority (Ellen D. Wu)
- Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (Cathy Park Hong)
- Hawai’i’s Story by Hawai’i’s Queen (Lili’Uokalani)
- Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times (Soong-Chan Rah)
- Strangers from a Different Shore (Ronald Takaki)
- Just Mercy (Bryan Stephenson)
- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit by Yolanda Pierce
- A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett
- Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
High School Students
- March—A comic book trilogy telling the story of the Civil Rights Movement (John Lewis)
- Just Mercy—Adapted for Young Adults (Bryan Stevenson)
- The Underground Railroad: A Novel (Colson Whitehead)
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
- Dear Martin (Nic Stone)
- Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
- Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
- She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
- The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
- Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Phillip Hoose)
Middle School Students
- Black Heroes: A Black History Book for Kids: 51 Inspiring People from Ancient Africa to Modern-Day U.S.A. by Arlisha Norwood
- The Story of Barack Obama by Tonya Leslie
- Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford
- Skin Like Mine by Latashia M. Perry
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
- What Do You Do With A Voice Like That?: The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan by Chris Barton
- One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Elementary Students
- Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford
- Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
- Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell
- Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan
- Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice by Nikki Grimes
- So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom by Gary D. Schmidt
- The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
- All Because You Matter by Tami Charles
- Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker
- Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues by Leah Henderson
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Grace Lin)
- Alvin Ho series (several titles – LeUyen Pham and Lenore Look)
- Inside Out and Back Again (Thanhha Lai)
- A Single Shard (Linda Sue Park)
- The Little Rock Nine and the Fight for Equal Education (Gary Jeffrey)
Easy Chapter Books
- Yasmin series (several titles – Saadia Faruqi)
Early Readers
- Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad (Levine Ellen)
- Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History (Vashti Harrison)
- Child of the Civil Rights Movement (Paula Young Shelton)
- Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins (Carole Boston Weatherford)
Picture Books
- My Name is Yoon (Helen Recorvits and Gabi Swiatkowska)
- Eyes that Kiss in the Corners (Joanna Ho and Dung Ho)
- The Name Jar (Yangsook Choi)
- Monsoon Afternoon (Kashmira Sheth and Yoshiko Jaeggi)
- When God Made You (Matthew Paul Turner)
INTERVIEWS / VIDEOS / WEBINARS / PODCASTS / MUSIC
Some of these resources require access through RightNow Media which is a FREE resource Pine Lake Covenant Church offers. You’ll have access to thousands of resources for everyone in your family, including a channel focused on Pursuing Justice. You can sign up for free in one of two ways:
- Text Rightnow PINELAKE to 41411;
- Email us and include the subject line “RightNow Media signup” and we’ll get you signed up!
- Doctrine of Discovery 1
- Doctrine of Discovery 2
- Doctrine of Discovery 3
- Word Association: Native Americans, “Reservation”
- President of the Association for Latino Pastors of the ECC, Rev. Juana Nesta, invites us to celebrate, observe and learn more about Latino Heritage Month.
- Dominique Gilliard’s (Director of Racial Righteousness & Reconciliation of the Love Mercy Do Justice mission priority of the ECC) interview with Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero about his book, Brown Church.
- Latino Americans (6-part series produced by PBS)
- American Masters | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (PBS)
- American Experience: A Class Apart (PBS DVD)
- Asian Americans (5-part series produced by PBS)
- MPLS National Rally for AAPI Lives & Dignity on March 28, 2021
- A Town Hall on the Asian American Experience During COVID-19 hosted by Dr. Boaz Johnson, NPU (Feb/March 2021) w/ Dr. Russell Jeung, Rev Greg Yee, and Rev Mary Chung March.
- Covenant Asian Pastors Association “Process and Respond” webinar with Dr. Russell Jeung and Rev Greg Yee for Asian American faith leaders who needed care and place to process the rise in anti-Asian violence (Feb 2021)
- A Call to Solidarity video from AAPI Christian Faith Leaders
- Race in America, Phil Vischer (RightNow Media)
- Race and the Gospel, Bryan Loritts and Matt Chandler (RightNow Media)
- The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby (RightNow Media)
- Love Mercy Do Justice YouTube channel (Evangelical Covenant Church)
- PLCC’s Pursuing Justice Channel (RightNow Media)
- True Justice, Bryan Stevenson documentary
- Bill Moyers interviews James H. Cone
- Be the Bridge podcast
- A Black History musical playlist full of songs of celebration, lament, sociological analysis, theological reflections, and calls to pursue racial justice.
FILMS / DOCUMENTARIES
Adults
- When They See Us (Netflix)
- True Justice (HBO—or EJI)
- I Am Not Your Negro (Prime)
- Banished (documentary)
- One Night in Miami (Prime)
- Between the World and Me (HBO)
- All In: The Fight for Democracy (Prime)
- Just Mercy (HBO Max)
- Slavery By Another Name (PBS—or YouTube)
- The Best of Enemies (Hulu)
High School Students
- Hidden Figures
- The Great Debaters
- Just Mercy
- 42
- Salute documentary (Amazon Prime)
- Selma
- Betty & Coretta
- Four Little Girls documentary (Spike Lee)
- Freedom Riders
- Something the Lord Made
- Between the World and Me*
- When They See Us*
- Malcolm X (starring Denzel Washington)*
- BlacKkKlansman*
- 13th*
* The final 5 recommendations are best for older kids
Middle School Students
- Hidden Figures
- Akeelah and the Bee
- Ruby Bridges
- 42
- Dancing in the Light the Janet Collins story
- Selma, Lord, Selma
- Remember the Titans
- Watsons Go to Birmingham
- Glory Road
- The Breathtaking Courage of Harriet Tubman
Elementary Students
- Hidden Figures (good for upper elementary)
- Garrett’s Gift
- Hair Love (won Best Animated Short Film at the 2020 Academy Awards)
- The Journey of Henry Box Brown
- March On!… and More Stories About African American History
- Ruby Bridges
- And the Children Shall Lead
- Duke Ellington… and more stories to celebrate great figures in African American history
- Torchlighters: The Harriet Tubman Story
- March On!… and More Stories About African American History
- Our Friend Martin
ARTICLES / PLAYLISTS / WEBSITES
- Article on BC Canada Land Ruling
- Alaska Frontier Article by Curtis Ivanoff
- Article on Native Population pre-Colonization
- First Alaskans Institute
- Mark Charles’ Blog
- First Alaskans Institute is organizing the implementation of Truth, Racial Healing, Transformation in Alaska
- Would Jesus Eat Frybread? Conference
- This web portal is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress, National Park Service, National Endowment for the Humanities and more, and provides several resources for learning more about Latino Heritage Month.
- “We Are Not Okay” Covenant Companion article (February 2021)
- “On Mission Together” Covenant Companion feature (May 2021)
- “The Story of Black History Month” by Dominique DuBois Gilliard, Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) initiative of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC)
- “Lisa Sharon Harper’s Thick Faith” by Caleb Paxton (Lisa Sharon Harper is the author of The Very Good Gospel from our reading list in week one)
- Here is a Spotify playlist designed to introduce you to old and new perspectives on the struggle for Black dignity in a world that all too often feels like Black Lives do not matter.