The People's Commentary

Ruth: Memory, Identity, & Power

We jump right into the fourth and final chapter of Ruth to discuss colonialism, white supremacy, “discovery,” the malleability of our collective memories, interpersonal conflict, the role of police, restorative justice,  To learn more about Maria Chavalan Sut and her story, see the following links:  * "Undocumented Woman Finds Healing And Support In Sanctuary" [https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/745609635/undocumented-woman-finds-healing-and-support-in-sanctuary] * thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action [http://thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action] * facebook.com/handsoffmaria [https://www.facebook.com/handsoffmaria] The People’s Commentary is a Crate Original from Crate Media [http://crate.media]

Ruth: Christopher Columbus, Sexuality, & Security

This episode focuses on the third chapter of Ruth, but we kick things off by hearing how Maria felt, as an indigenous person in North America, witnessing the Black Lives Matters protestors in Richmond that were going on at the time of recording. This was recorded the day after Christopher Columbus’s statue found its way to the bottom of a lake, and Maria reflects on all of the harm that European colonialism has caused and continues to cause in her community. The Book of Ruth first found its way to this continent with Columbus and we can only hope that the book’s compassionate message outlasts the mythic reputation of colonists that are being used to sow white supremacy to this day. To learn more about Maria Chavalan Sut and her story, see the following links:  * "Undocumented Woman Finds Healing And Support In Sanctuary" [https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/745609635/undocumented-woman-finds-healing-and-support-in-sanctuary] * thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action [http://thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action] * facebook.com/handsoffmaria [https://www.facebook.com/handsoffmaria] The People’s Commentary is a Crate Original from Crate Media [http://crate.media]

Ruth: Names, Righteous Indignation, & Colonialism

We reflect on Naomi and Ruth’s return to Bethlehem, the significance of names, the righteous indignation of God, the beginning of Chapter 2, Ruth the Moabite, the war in Guatemala from Maria’s childhood, different perspectives on the concept of land ownership, the remnants of colonialism, the “good immigrant” narrative, and white supremacy. To learn more about Maria Chavalan Sut and her story, see the following links:  * "Undocumented Woman Finds Healing And Support In Sanctuary" [https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/745609635/undocumented-woman-finds-healing-and-support-in-sanctuary] * thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action [http://thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action] * facebook.com/handsoffmaria [https://www.facebook.com/handsoffmaria] The People’s Commentary is a Crate Original from Crate Media [http://crate.media]

Ruth: Prejudice, #BLM, & Love

Last week, we met the two women who will be leading our commentary on the Book of Ruth, Maria Chavalan Sut, an indigenous asylum-seeker living in Sanctuary in Virginia, and Donna, a formerly-undocumented, philippinx immigration activist. Today, we dive into the book in earnest: the relationship between Ruth and Naomi, inheriting prejudice, contextualizing our perspective on Old Testament stories as outsiders, parallels between Ruth and the Black Lives Matter movement, hundreds of years of exclusion,  To learn more about Maria Chavalan Sut and her story, see the following links:  * "Undocumented Woman Finds Healing And Support In Sanctuary" [https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/745609635/undocumented-woman-finds-healing-and-support-in-sanctuary] * thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action [http://thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action] * facebook.com/handsoffmaria [https://www.facebook.com/handsoffmaria] The People’s Commentary is a Crate Original from Crate Media [http://crate.media]

Ruth: Migration & Scripture.

Welcome to The People’s Commentary on the book of Ruth. In the first episode on Ruth, your host, Isaac, sits down with Maria Chavalan Sut, an indigenous asylum-seeker living in Sanctuary in Virginia, and Donna, a formerly-undocumented, philippinx immigration activist, to talk about migration, Scripture and the first chapter of Ruth. We spend the first half of the pod meeting Maria and Donna, and comparing the ways that we relate to Scripture. Maria talks about the Keqchikel people and the Mayan religious text, Popol Vuh. Donna talks about growing up in the Roman Catholic Church in the States as an immigrant. We end the show by setting up the major conflicts and tensions within the world of Ruth itself.  To learn more about Maria Chavalan Sut and her story, see the following links:  * "Undocumented Woman Finds Healing And Support In Sanctuary" [https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/745609635/undocumented-woman-finds-healing-and-support-in-sanctuary] * thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action [http://thesanctuarycollective.org/take-action] * facebook.com/handsoffmaria [https://www.facebook.com/handsoffmaria] The People’s Commentary is a Crate Original from Crate Media [http://crate.media]