Front Light

In Episode 4 Joanna and Jonny interview ​​Iris de León-Hartshorn about her life, enduring commitment to justice, and the lawsuit for which she is the spokesperson: Mennonite Church USA vs. the United States Department of Homeland Security. She shares the challenges she faced as a young Latina girl growing up in a white supremacist reality and the really interesting, winding path she took to find her place amongst Mennonites and as a Latina Mennonite leader.

Iris serves as associate executive director of Operations and director of Human Resources for Mennonite Church USA (MC USA). During her career, de León-Hartshorn also served as director of intercultural ministries for MC USA, conference minister for MC USA’s Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, director of Peace and Justice Ministries for Mennonite Central Committee where she supervised several programs including Damascus Road. She served on the executive committee of Mennonite World Conference. de León-Hartshorn was a panelist in the World Council of Churches in Durbin, South Africa, for the UN World Conference Against Racism 2001. In 2001 she co-authored a book with Regina Shands Stoltzfus and Tobin Miller Shearer entitled, Set Free – A journey toward Solidarity Against Racism. de León-Hartshorn is a member of Portland Mennonite Church, Portland, Oregon, She is married to Leo Hartshorn for 51 years and they have three grown children and two grandsons.

Also, on our episode, we share a poem from a listener and reflect on how feelings of despair can paralyze us from action. Joanna’s front light is on Academy Award-winning documentary “No Other Land,” and Jonny’s is on the hilarious Netflix comedy, “Mo.” Two pieces of Palestinian-made media.

To sign Mennonite Action’s pledge, donate, or sign up for our Email list visit www.mennoniteaction.org.

To learn more about MC USA’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/news/mc-usa-joins-more-than-two-dozen-christian-and-jewish-denominations-and-associations-sue-to-protect-religious-freedoms/

“No Other Land” documentary: https://releasing.dogwoof.com/no-other-land
“Mo,” the Netflix series: https://www.netflix.com/title/81134264

Jonathan Brenneman is a Palestinian-American Christian and co-founder of Christians for a Free Palestine. He was a frontline activist at Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) and played a primary role in writing, passing, and implementing Mennonite Church USA’s Seeking Peace in Israel and Palestine Resolution. We’re so excited to have him on our show! Also in our episode, Joanna and Jonny reflect on the current state of affairs and how to stave off despair. Jonny shares about his love of nostalgic media, including SNL 50. Joanna offers to us how both trees and rocks have been a stablizing comfort for her in this season of turmoil. 

To sign Mennonite Action’s pledge, donate, or sign up for our e-mail list, visit www.mennoniteaction.org.

To learn more about Christians for a Free Palestine: https://christiansforafreepalestine.com/

Adam Sandler’s song on 50 years of SNL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXAbLeJyB0o

Emil Wakim on Voting in the 2024 Election (Weekend Update, SNL): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwECx_Bondc

Huge thank you to the incredible Jewish recording artist, Batya Levine for the use of their song “We Rise” as our theme song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tkmkwufRVw). The beautiful logo is by Jesse Bergen. Front Light is edited by Ken Ogasawara and Christen Kong and produced by Jonny Rashid, Joanna Lawrence Shenk, and Nick Martin. Thank you all for listening and sharing.

In our second episode, honoring Black History Month, Jonny and Joanna do a deep dive into the legacy of Dr. Vincent Harding, who offered us Front Light’s namesake. Together they reflect on his formation among Mennonites, the power of his presence in movements for justice since the 1960s, and how his wisdom continues to inspire work for justice today. Joanna shares from her book “The Movement Makes Us Human: An Interview with Dr. Vincent Harding on Mennonites, Vietnam, and MLK” published in 2018. We also talk about our feelings about the onslaught of Trump’s executive orders that are scaring many of us. Jonny shared why he likes to watch birds (and the Birds). Joanna shared news sources that help us understand what’s happening despite the chaos of the news cycle.

To sign Mennonite Action’s pledge, donate, or sign up for our Email list visit www.mennoniteaction.org.

Buy “The Movement Makes Us Human” here: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532635298/the-movement-makes-us-human/

Dr. Vincent Harding’s books mentioned in the interview:

There is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America (Harcourt Brace & Co, 1981)

Martin Luther King Jr: The Inconvenient Hero (Orbis, 2008)

News sources we recommend here:

• Democracy Now, https://www.democracynow.org/ 

• Dropsite News, https://www.dropsitenews.com/ 

• The Intercept, https://theintercept.com/ 

• Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/ 

We are stoked to share our very first episode! We interview the co-founders of Mennonite Action, Nick Martin and Adam Ramer. They share their personal journeys into activism, the importance of faith in their work, and the need for collective action against rising Christian nationalism. They also highlight the interconnectedness of various social justice issues and the role of Mennonites in challenging oppressive narratives. Joanna also explains the origins of our show's name, from a quote from Dr. Vincent Harding. We also reflect on the ceasefire and the Anabaptist Community Bible.

To sign Mennonite Action’s pledge, donate, or sign up for our Email list visit www.mennoniteaction.org.

Buy “The Movement Makes Us Human” by Joanna Lawrence Shenk here: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532635298/the-movement-makes-us-human/

Buy the Anabaptist Community Bible here: https://www.mennomedia.org/9781513814599/anabaptist-community-bible/

Huge thank you to the incredible Jewish recording artist, Batya Levine for the use of their song “We Rise” as our theme song. The beautiful logo is by Jesse Bergen. Front Light is edited by Ken Ogasawara and Christen Kong and produced by Jonny Rashid, Joanna Lawrence Shenk, and Nick Martin. Thank you all for listening and sharing.