We Pray Freedom: Liturgies and Rituals From the Freedom Church of the Poor
Liz Theoharis and Charon Hribar, editors
Broadleaf, 243 pages
Published September 9, 2025
In We Cry Justice (2021), PC(USA) pastor Liz Theoharis explored the circular way the Bible informed her activism — and how her advocacy responded with new insights into the Bible’s radical truths. In We Pray Freedom, she and co-editor Charon Hribar take this to the next logical step as they curate liturgies, prayers, and poems from the frontlines. The result is both stunning and practical: a gift to pastors, activists, and any person of faith looking for deeper insights into God’s realm on earth.
The editors are well-positioned to offer this gift; they serve with the Poor People’s Campaign: National Call for Moral Revival. We Pray Freedom highlights work from homeless encampments, sometimes bi-lingual worship services, demonstrations, and even a foot-washing. Spanning categories from “healing and transformation” to “taking action together,” the liturgies provide glimpses into varied settings, speaking uniquely to each time and place.
Theoharis and Hribar invite us to incorporate these in worship, however, they insist we share the context. If, for example, we use Tonny Algood’s communion ritual from a homeless encampment in Alabama, we need to tell the story of an Easter Sunday where those who felt they couldn’t “attend church because (they) had no suitable clothes” were centered and welcomed. Pastors in more traditional settings could use these stories to enliven sermons, offering context for liturgies shared throughout a service, while in other settings, these rich liturgies and inspiring stories can connect advocacy more deeply with the gospel.
And these are no ordinary liturgies. For example, the “Reimagined Stations of the Cross” created by those living in tents alongside a waterfront in Aberdeen, Washington, is both tangible and imaginative. Chaplain Cedar Monroe, author of Trash, created a Good Friday service with their unhoused community that connects poverty, the opioid crisis, and Jesus’ suffering. I would eagerly bring this powerful experience to a youth group, social justice committee or worship experience.
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