Weekly News
March 25, 2026
Rev. Rebecca’s Note - Palm Sunday as Protest
We’re coming up on Palm Sunday pretty soon! (My, how time does fly, huh?) And I don’t know about your experience with it, but when I was growing up it was a strangely festive day near the end of Lent (why, in this season of contemplation of our own mortality, is there on this first day of Holy Week - a generally solemn time - this moment of festivity and celebration where we’re marching and waving palms around the sanctuary - without alleluias, of course - singing Hosannas in vivid major (happy!) keys? For anyone who cares even a little bit about both the liturgical year as well as scripture the contrasting juxtaposition feels jarring and a bit off. How do we go so quickly from those festivities to the complete desolation and hopelessness of Good Friday? This is one of those moments where we may attempt to artificially harmonize the events of the week.
But in a faith in which questions are not only acceptable, but also actively encouraged (and at any time we need to and are able to, honestly), we would do well to pause for a moment to feel this tension, explore it, and figure out what can be known. As Diana Butler Bass says, “Palm Sunday has always confused me. Because when it is depicted as a jubilant crowd welcoming Jesus, it doesn't make a lot of sense.
But when the crowd is understood as desperate subjects of a bloody empire, Palm Sunday comes into better focus.” (“Palm Sunday Musings: Protest, Not Parade,” April 13, 2025, https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/palm-sunday-musing-protest-not-parade)
Regarding this, The Last Week: The Day-by-Day Account of Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg provide us with further insight that is incredibly relevant to our current moment:
“Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30. It was the beginning of the week of Passover, the most sacred week of the Jewish year. … One was a peasant procession, the other an imperial procession. From the east, Jesus rode a donkey down the Mount of Olives, cheered by his followers. … On the opposite side of the city, from the west, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, entered Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers. Jesus’s procession proclaimed the kingdom of God; Pilate’s proclaimed the power of empire. The two processions embody the central conflict of the week that led to Jesus’s crucifixion. Pilate’s military procession was a demonstration of both Roman imperial power and Roman imperial theology. … For Rome’s Jewish subjects, Pilate’s procession embodied not only a rival social order, but also a rival theology. …
Jesus’s procession deliberately countered what was happening on the other side of the city. Pilate’s procession embodied the power, glory, and violence of the empire that ruled the world. Jesus’s procession embodied an alternative vision, the kingdom of God. This contrast - between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar - is central not only to the gospel of Mark, but to the story of Jesus and early Christianity.” (Crossan and Borg, The Last Week: The Day-by-Day Account of Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem, HarperCollins ebooks, 2006)
The chapter further elaborates on the context of this protest and the whole book is worth a read. For now, though, make no mistake, just as Jesus’ kingdom / realm / kindom / empire of God was an alternative to “the Empire” - the Roman Empire - Jesus’ Palm Sunday procession was a protest in opposition to Pilate’s imperial procession. In it we see similarities to our own societal context: the unholy alliance of political power with state-sanctioned religious authority continued to perpetuate a system that ran counter to how those with money and power were supposed to treat the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized. Those who knew better were supposed to do better and did not, leading to the circumstances in which Jesus came to envision and share his alternative to the Roman Empire.
As for how we live this out in community, it is fascinating that the timing of the next No Kings protests happen to be this Saturday, March 28 - the date of our next gathering and the day before Palm Sunday. We are encouraging people to attend the No Kings St. Louis Midtown event at 11am on the Tamm Overpass, and then come to Think+Pray+Act for our 12:30 gathering to eat and thoughtfully and prayerfully reflect on our experiences, considering the relationship between Palm Sunday as protest and our current moment. Hope to see you there!
- Rev. Rebecca
The Board’s Note - The Four-Gospel Journey in Lent
Our Online Spiritual Group, The Four-Gospel Journey, will go on through Lent. You are welcome to join us anytime, for one or for the remaining two meetings. We will have a brief spiritual practice and a video of the author reflecting on an idea for us to discuss and reflect upon together.
| Join us on Sunday Nights at 6 pm For the Online Spiritual Group aboutThe Four-Gospel Journey Sign Up Here for the Link! |
In this series we consider these questions: how do we face change? How do we move through suffering? How do we receive joy? How do we mature in service? Spend some time with Alexander J Shaia as he uses the great map of the four Gospels, just as the Christians used, to guide us on the Christ journey - one of love, growth and transformation. See you online!
What’s Next
| March 15-21 | Daily Bible Reading Joshua 16-22 |
| Sat, March 28, 11amTamm Overpass6400 Oakland Ave, StL, 63139 | No Kings St. Louis MidtownOur faith calls us to stand up against injustice and violence, and for the dignity of humankind. Join with us as we make our voices heard! |
| Sat, March 28, 12:30pmThink+Pray+Act2725 S Jefferson Ave, StL, 63118 | T+P+A Gathering: Palm Sunday as ProtestPalm Sunday was a protest. Let’s explore how we honor and claim that spirit as a community! |
| Sun, March 29, 6pmOnline | T+P+A Online: The Four-Gospel Journey: The Essential Practices of the Journey, Parts 1 and 2On living in freedom, and having and maintaining healthy boundaries so we can faithfully live out that freedom in love. |
| Sun, Apr 5, 5-6:30pmAmen House4111 Connecticut St,StL 63116 | South City Youth Group meeting: Happy Easter with the Cruciform Life (Henri Nouwen)Middle schoolers and high schoolers are invited to celebrate Easter Nouwen’s Cruciform Life |
| Sat, April 11, 12:30pmThink+Pray+Act2725 S Jefferson Ave, StL, 63118 | T+P+A Gathering: Launch and Installation of Rev. Rebecca as PastorWe’ve been gathering for a while. Let’s mark our official launch as a faith community and officially install Rev. Rebecca as pastor! We’ll bring lunch, just bring yourself and a spirit of celebration! |
Think+Pray+Act Launch and Rev. Rebecca Installation
Can you believe we’ve been meeting as a faith community for over a year now? And while we’re still new, now that we’re in our new space at 2725 S Jefferson Ave, it’s time to celebrate that we’re here and the pastoral leadership of Rev. Rebecca with our official church launch and installation of Rev. Rebecca as our pastor. Expect a Spirited time with some hilarity, profundity, and of course food and general festivity. If you can make it, please RSVP to [email protected]. Hope to see you on April 11, 12:30pm at 2725 S Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118!
Also if you haven't yet please fill out our survey on Think+Pray+Act(ivities) and times by this Friday, March 27 (https://forms.gle/JrLpi4wZvge3QcGF9) to help us set priorities and schedules for the rest of this year. Thanks!
South City Youth Group Meeting
Think+Pray+Act is part of the South City Youth Group for grades 6-12 with Compton Heights Christian Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and Oak Hill Presbyterian Church! The youth group meets on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month - the next meeting is on March 1 from 5-6:30pm at Amen House at Oak Hill Presbyterian Church, 4111 Connecticut Ave, StL!
Welcome to Think+Pray+Act! We are an open and affirming faith community that strives to maintain open and free theological learning as an act toward justice. We welcome all spirit seekers into full participation in the life and membership of the community. We actively and faithfully accept as they are people of every race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, ethnicity, relationship status, physical and mental ability, family type, and economic background.
We believe God calls us to do justice and love kindness, giving assistance and healing to others and the planet by following the teachings of Jesus. We promise to love our neighbors, respect differences, and build authentic relationships by learning who we are, taking just action, and breaking bread together. In our actions, God’s love moves and shines.
If you’re not on our email list and would like to be, please join us HERE
Have newsletter items? Please email them to [email protected] by Fridays at 4pm
We welcome your support via your presence in our community life, ideas and vision, and financial gifts via cash, check, Venmo, Paypal, or Cash App. Thank you very much for however you can be a part of Think+Pray+Act’s work to build and reveal the kindom of God!
© Think+Pray+Act
2725 S Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118
[email protected] / 314-690-1693
FB / IG / BlueSky: thinkprayact