Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints

Jan. 18 – March 2

Each week we will focus on one person of faith who has worked for more love, justice, and joy in their communities or even the world! Some will be familiar to you but others may not. As part of this series, during African American History Month, we will learn about four African or African American Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints. Throughout the series, our children and youth will also be learning about the impact these folks have made through their commitment and compassion!

The title was inspired by a quote from Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin, who himself was an unconventional saint. A gay Black man of deep faith, he traveled to India to study the (Mahatmas) Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence, and returned to teach Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others how to make positive social change. He became an influential leader and organizer in the Civil Rights movement, including organizing the March on Washington where Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Bayard once said, “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.” Let’s make some holy trouble together.

There are many ways to be a holy troublemaker, but it’s not just any kind of trouble. At its core, holy troublemaking is committed to disrupting systems that harm people through nonviolent, direct action with a community of others. What Bayard Rustin called angelic troublemaking is what Rep. John Lewis (who worked with Bayard during the Civil Rights movement) called good trouble. And it’s what this curriculum calls holy trouble.

Holy trouble is sometimes loud and bold, like the protests Bayard Rustin so brilliantly organized. And sometimes it’s quiet and contemplative, like a poem, or a song, or a painting. And underneath our holy trouble we have to remember that all people- -ourselves included–are worthy and deserving of joy. When we tend to our own joy, take a rest, or refuse to treat ourselves or others badly, we are living into a philosophy that all people matter, and all people are worthy of joy. That is a holy trouble kind of worldview that can sustain us.