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Meet Carrie Beyer: Dear St. Barnabas family, I’m delighted and honored to begin my role in leading social justice efforts at St. Barnabas. Social justice invites us to seek equanimity where economic, ecological, racial, and gender–based divides have created disparities. As the body of Christ, we are in a unique position to show love by examining our privileges and poverties, and by offering ourselves to the process of reconciliation. Jesus is our beautiful exemplar of reconciliation. In Christ, barriers are torn down, and love puts an end to domination and oppression. My family (pictured here) has lived on Bainbridge Island since 2015. In every place we’ve lived, I have loved connecting across social barriers. I work primarily as a poet and essayist, as well as a creative writing teacher, always considering how words connect and transform. When my kids were young, I started a community organization for adoptive and foster families. I have also worked with refugee families from Sudan, served the unhoused in Seattle, participated in a social group with immigrant women, and traveled to support women healing from oppression in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. I’m passionate about education and the healing power of art, story, and dialogue. At St. Barnabas, I look forward to talking with as many of you as possible to hear how you are already seeing social justice happen in our church community, and what you envision for our future. I’m especially interested in the intersections between local and intercontinental justice, racial reconciliation, and the way our care for the land and sea parallels our care for one another as humans. Beyond what we do in the name of outreach, I believe social justice compels us to ask how our lives interconnect with others, and—after generations of social division and injustice—how mutual regard can thrive. How do you understand social justice? How do you envision the work we will do together at St. Barnabas? I would love to hear your thoughts and welcome your emails at beyer.carrie@gmail.com. Seeking God’s justice with you, Carrie Beyer |