Inspirations Blog
A multimedia collection of stories, learnings, reflections, and resources from the people and ministries of Juniper Formation.
The Culmination of Advent
Reflections on a Joyful Holiday for the Grieving
I am writing from the bedside of my dying spouse. By the time these have been published, they will have passed, and much of my life will have greatly shifted. The theme for this week of Advent is joy.
The past Theo who signed up, thinking they had things to say about joy, was so sweet and hopeful. Please know that by reading through this week with me, it is as much (maybe more?) of a spiritual practice for me to be writing daily about joy as it is for you to be reflecting. We are in this together. This week, I am writing reflections on a joyful holiday for the grieving.
Love as Radical Inclusion
The story of Ruth has been this slow, tender unfolding of two women, Ruth and Naomi, surviving loss together and building a new kind of family outside the usual expectations. By chapter 4, Ruth has navigated the legal and cultural maze required to secure a future for them both. And when the community sees what she’s done, they bless her – out loud, in public. They call on the Creator to make her like Rachel and Leah: matriarchs who basically held Israel together with sheer will and generational grit.
Building Collective Peace
don’t remember the last time I drove more than 10 minutes without turning my GPS on. I know where I’m going and how to get there, but there’s something comforting about seeing the traffic conditions and the exact ETA.
It would be so nice if the rest of life was like that. But alas, we are called to move forward into our callings, taking steps towards our inheritances as children of God, without knowing where exactly it is we’re going or what the conditions are that we’ll encounter along our way.
Hope is the Nearness of God
In the beginning of God’s creating, ruach Elohim, the feminine Spirit of God hovered over the waters, brooding. Maybe Spirit wasn’t embittered, but like a brooding hen with meditative readiness. A fierce devotion to birth and raise new life.
During pregnancy, the amniotic sac—the waters, surrounds the fetus. Dark, warmth, protecting the fetus from harm, regulating its body temperature. The waters are where new life grows until it is ready to live outside of the waters.
Double the Impact of Your Gift to Juniper Formation Before Year’s End
A generous donor will match all new gifts or increases in gifts (both recurring and one-time gifts) made to Juniper Formation before year end! This matching gift allows generous new and increased donations to go twice as far for Juniper Formation’s mission to prophetically reimagine the Church.
URGENT ALERT: DHS Immigration Raids on Places of Worship Starting Thanksgiving
2025 Ministry Highlights
As we approach the end of 2025, we find ourselves reflecting on what it means to live boldly in our faith during times of uncertainty, and we are feeling deeply grateful for you.
Fascism, white supremacy, and christian nationalism threaten the values we hold sacred. Peaceful immigrant families face separation, deportation, and being disappeared. Our LGBTQ+ siblings and families live in fear and under threat. Those seeking reproductive healthcare are criminalized. Entire cities are being ambushed by masked, militarized Immigration and Customs Enforcement and National Guard troops. And we know that Denver will be one of the cities targeted next, to which Juniper Formation’s Mutual Aid Sanctuary ministry will respond.
Public Liturgy to Honor Jax Gratton
The liturgies that we create and celebrate can change who we are as a faith community. Our liturgies also help us to remember our own histories and the important events that might otherwise be lost to time.
During a workshop at the Rocky Mountain Annual Celebration led by Rev. Tracy Howe, members of Juniper Formation and other participants wrote a litany, a Psalm, and a Song memorializing our transgender sister, Jax Gratton.
Bad Faith: The Way of the Cross in Our Time
Last weekend, our community gathered for a difficult and necessary screening of the documentary Bad Faith followed by a facilitated conversation about Christian nationalism and our call as people of faith in this moment. After the film, we had a vulnerable discussion where we discussed and discerned how we could move forward together.
Prophetically Reimagining the Church Conference: Join Us in Building a More Just Future
You are invited to the Prophetically Reimagining the Church Conference, taking place September 19-20, 2025, at the Auraria Campus in Denver, Colorado.
Discounted early-bird registration available through July 31st. Click here to register.
Bad Faith Screenings
🎬Join us for a hybrid screening and discussion of "Bad Faith" - a powerful feature-length documentary that explores the dangerous rise of Christian Nationalism in the United States.
Part archival chronicle, part exposé, this film reveals the secretive political machinery that has relentlessly sought to weaken and destroy American democracy in order to promote its authoritarian vision.
Cocreate the World as It Could Be
We are as committed as ever to live out our faith even as it is being threatened by the powers that be in this country. We need your help to continue our collective work to cocreate the world as it could be as we follow the disruptive peacemaking ways of Jesus.
It would be amazing if our Juniper Formation friends could help us raise $10,000 in the next month.
Red flag rules: A different kind of identity theft prevention
This post challenges us to examine the harmful beliefs rooted in whiteness, heteronormativity, and gender binaries that erase diverse identities. It explores how flags — from the Mexican flag to the Pride and Juneteenth flags — serve as symbols of existence, resistance, and liberation in contrast to the rising threat of white supremacy, fascism, and Christian nationalism.
Vision Casting, Storytelling & Dreaming the Mutual Aid Sanctuary
Please join us on Tuesday, May 27th, 5:30-7:30 pm MDT for a collaborative gathering of those interested in Vision Casting, Storytelling & Dreaming the Mutual Aid Sanctuary. We're building it together.
Congregational Legal Talk: Sheltering Vulnerable People
Faith leaders, clergy, and congregational decision makers are invited to learn about legal frameworks for sheltering vulnerable people. This talk and Q&A will include topics of:
Harboring - do's and don'ts, risks, risk mitigation, public presence, etc
Public vs private spaces in faith communities
The Trump immigration registration process, which went into effect on April 11th
Holy Week Reflections on Lament, Presence, and Collective Liberation
This is a Coup
Information and data are power in today’s economy and culture. What we are experiencing right now is a coup. A small group of greedy, racist…[insert every other “...ist”]…billionaires are illegally taking over the lawful, democratic government of the United States of America. Their access to and control over money and sensitive data related to private citizens, government employees, and government payments gives them the power to illegally implement their personal agenda without controls or democratic process. Their dismissal and pushout of broad swaths of government career professionals (non-political appointed positions) is regime change. People's lives are at stake.
This is a coup; it’s not over yet.