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We Pray Freedom

Liturgies and Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor

By Liz Theoharis (Editor), Charon Hribar (Editor)

A book of prayers, rituals, and liturgies that grows out of communities committed to abolishing poverty.

Prayer has long sustained movements for social change. Ritual gives shape to our desire for justice, and liturgy lends power to our work. In We Pray Freedom, we learn from activists and movement builders the songs, stories, and ritual practices that keep them going for the long haul. The Freedom Church of the Poor, called for by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has existed in many forms; today it includes laborers, poor folks, pastors, organizers, and others bound together by a conviction: It does not have to be this way.

Edited by Liz Theoharis, theologian, pastor, anti-poverty activist, and editor of We Cry Justice, and Charon Hribar, song leader, cultural organizer, and social ethicist, this book guides readers through a journey of remembering, healing, mourning, action, and celebration. It is a collection of prayers, resources, and stories from the communities in which they arose, including:

  • A Prayer to Protect a Sacred Place
  • A Prayer for Burials
  • A Black Friday Prayer for Workers’ Justice
  • Passover Seder
  • Vigil for the Detained
  • Healthcare Vigil
  • A Shinnecock Song of Peace
  • Earth Liturgy
  • A Ramadan Ritual
  • A Poem in the Wake of Police Violence
  • A Revolutionary Advent Wreath
  • A Prayer for Diwali
  • Benediction for Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day

Join Chaplains on the Harbor on their Stations of the Cross, Iglesia del Pueblo for Día de los Muertos, Domestic Workers United in their community garden ritual, and an encampment of unhoused residents in Alabama for their communion service. With more than fifty resources from eighty contributors, We Pray Freedom is useful for individual reflection, corporate worship, and protest and action. Through liturgies of liberation, join a movement that bears witness to the justice of God and to human faith, suffering, protest, and love.

About We Pray Freedom

ENDORSEMENTS

"When we sing together, we are not only supporting a movement; we are building it. Much of this collective song is rooted in our shared traditions of faith. The leaders and communities featured in We Pray Freedom embody this truth, teaching us to build movements through the harmony of our hearts."

Marshall Ganz

"We Pray Freedom is a powerful testament to the sacred call for justice and liberation, woven together by the voices of grassroots faith and community leaders. Liz Theoharis and Charon Hribar have crafted a living, breathing collection of songs, prayers, and rituals that ignite hope and inspire action."

Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

"An amazing and inspirational journey through the immense value of the incorporation of rituals and prayers within our multi-diverse communities. The vivid personal stories, the in-depth references to spiritual resources, and the encouragement to ‘reflect, embody, discuss’ at the end of each chapter gently, yet persistently, guide the reader toward a new vision of possibility. Through each chapter, We Pray Freedom offers a powerful blueprint for individuals, churches, unions, and organizations to work together toward liberation, justice, and equality for all."

Sweet Honey in the Rock

"We Pray Freedom helps us breathe. During disarray and turmoil, we need prayers, rituals, and words to give forth new life and help sustain and empower us. Editors Liz Theoharis and Charon Hribar give us a beautifully written, uplifting, powerful, and challenging book that will change the way we see worship, community, and the world."

Grace Ji-Sun Kim

"Freedom-cum-justice is not a gift that falls from the sky. It is rather a piece of hard, sustained work that must always struggle against the rulers of this age. Such good work requires preparation and readiness through practice. In this rich, suggestive collection, Theoharis and Hribar invite us to liturgical practice for the sake of such emancipation. Their models of liturgical practice open a wide deposit of images, resources, and perspective that will prosper such good work."

Walter Brueggemann

"Each page of We Pray Freedom is testimony-evidence of God’s connection with and empowerment of real faith communities in times of actual transition, crisis, grief, hope, and triumph. Receive this evidence and its grounding as a gift."

Lisa Sharon Harper

"We Pray Freedom is a call to move beyond the confines of traditional worship into a deeper, more inclusive prayer that embraces both our humanity and our divine calling. It beckons us to hear the cries of the oppressed—not as distant voices, but as teachers of a liberation that transforms us all. The liturgies found in this collection are not just words, but powerful acts of justice and compassion that invite us into right relationship with each other, with creation, and with God."

Richard Rohr

Contributors

About We Pray Freedom

Adam Barnes

Contributor

Adam Thiesen

Contributor

Alex Zane

Contributor

Amy Gopp

Contributor

Ana G. Lara Lopez

Contributor

Andrew Wilkes

Contributor

Anu Yadav

Contributor

Arelis Figueroa

Contributor

Ari Douglass

Contributor

Ashley Hufnagel

Contributor

Azmera Hammouri-Davis

Contributor

Becca Forsyth

Contributor

Beth Johnson

Contributor

Carolyn Foster

Contributor

Cedar Monroe

Contributor

Chad Collins

Contributor

Charito Calvachi-Mateyko

Contributor

Chris Wylie

Contributor

Christine Lewis

Contributor

Ciara Taylor

Contributor

Claire Chadwick

Contributor

Dan Jones

Contributor

Derrick McQueen

Contributor

Erica Williams

Contributor

Harrison Farina

Contributor

Holly Haile Thompson

Contributor

Isaiah Briggs

Contributor

Jacob Butterly

Contributor

Jamel Coy Hudson

Contributor

Jessica Anderson

Contributor

Jessica Williams

Contributor

Joanna Dickson

Contributor

Jonathan Lykes

Contributor

Joshua H. Blaine

Contributor

Julia Willis

Contributor

Karenna Gore

Contributor

Kate Kanelstein

Contributor

Katie Vandersall Thiesen

Contributor

Katrina Ross Zezza

Contributor

Kelly Smith

Contributor

Kenia Torres-Alcocer

Contributor

Kym McNair

Contributor

Leonardo Vilchis

Contributor

Letiah Fraser

Contributor

Lindsey Krinks

Contributor

Liz Theoharis

Contributor

Lu Aya

Contributor

Luis J. Mixcoatl Itzlacuiloh Rodriguez

Contributor

Lynn Lewis

Contributor

Matt Rosing

Contributor

Micah Bucey

Contributor

Moses Hernandez McGavin

Contributor

Nubia Chong

Contributor

Patrick Dupont

Contributor

Phil Wider

Contributor

Ramona Daily Navarro

Contributor

Rebecca Schuchat

Contributor

Chelsea MacMillan

Contributor

Sarah Weintraub

Contributor

Savina Martin

Contributor

Shailly Gupta Barnes

Contributor

Shane Claiborne

Contributor

Steff Reed

Contributor

Stephen Brackett (Brer Rabbit) and Jamie Laurie (Jonny 5)

Contributor

Sunita Viswanath

Contributor

Tammy Rosing

Contributor

Te Martin

Contributor

Tim Seitz Brown

Contributor

Tim Shenk

Contributor

Tonny Algood

Contributor

Tony Eskridge

Contributor

Trini Rodriguez

Contributor

Vanessa Cardinale

Contributor

Wesley Morris

Contributor

West McNeill

Contributor

William Burnett

Contributor

Charon Hribar

Editor

Liz Theoharis

Editor