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Breanna Illéné

@breannaillene

Wisconsin-based United Methodist pastor doing ecumenical work. Weaver of connections. Justice rooted. Passionate about local community and advocacy.

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01.10.2023
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Latest posts by Breanna Illéné @breannaillene

If you are a person of faith, please pray before and after reading, listening to or watching the news.

And when you find yourself particularly upset about it- that’s because you are human and it is deeply upsetting.

15.01.2026 15:30 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 1

That era of unrest would last a long time; similar uprisings had happened before, and did again the next year, and the year after that. So neighbors on the north side responded by making a safe place for kids to gather outside of the reach of the cops, building a community center called The Way.

08.01.2026 02:56 👍 110 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 1

schools closed unexpectedly for two days, what is everybody supposed to do? take off work, lose two days’ wages because the occupying militia can’t be trusted not to murder their children?

08.01.2026 14:49 👍 288 🔁 38 💬 6 📌 2

we need a hangover day for parent recovery after the holidays, nobody should have to do work until they've had a day of peace and quiet at home

05.01.2026 18:13 👍 425 🔁 40 💬 13 📌 6

Why do I relate to this so much? lol. Good luck!

16.12.2025 17:33 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Project 2025 Tracker A comprehensive, community-driven initiative to track the implementation of Project 2025's policy proposals

Yup. I've found this helpful www.project2025.observer/en

16.12.2025 16:24 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Viral warnings of planned ICE raids on churches have pastors worried (RNS) — Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won’t rule it out.

Also: all y’all who shared that viral “this week in worcester” story about ICE raids in worcester, please read and share this one too. I’m so grateful for the investigative journalism of @RNS AND this is why mass council of churches is suing DHS religionnews.com/2025/11/20/v...

21.11.2025 13:44 👍 5 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

Boo. I'm going to guess that Teen Vogue will no longer be worth reading. I so appreciated their voice even though it's been a long time since I was a teen.

03.11.2025 20:41 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Note: while not unprecedented, it’s actually pretty rare for a sitting Catholic bishop to participate in a demonstration. It’s just not generally what Catholic bishops do.

Thus: Getting the hierarchy involved in this protest outside an ICE facility is no small thing.

01.11.2025 17:23 👍 6146 🔁 1747 💬 97 📌 42

One additional thread that I didn't have space to expand on fully: Resistance 2.0 seems to be more focused on acts of community care, like helping neighbors targeted by ICE. That fits into the ongoing conversation about strengthening democracy by creating shared civic spaces...

18.10.2025 14:24 👍 218 🔁 53 💬 4 📌 1

I've been working half time this week as I head towards parental leave and oh my....my mental health is better than it's been in months. Apparently half time work is good for me. Now if only it would also be good for my budget.

27.08.2025 14:22 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

People underestimate joy as a political resource. It pisses off all the right people & allows us to move toward practically imaginative solutions.It’s powerful to say, as Mamdani does&others should,I love these people/this place&we’re going to make it thrive.Political version of twirling on haters.

25.08.2025 11:59 👍 874 🔁 233 💬 19 📌 10
Preview
I Survived the Neo-Nazi Attack in Charlottesville. Justice Still Hasn’t Been Served. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersI met the white nationalist who murdered Heather Heyer with his car in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.We had crossed paths earlier ...

Eight years ago today, I survived the neo-Nazi attack in Charlottesville. In this piece for The Daily Beast, I argue that justice still hasn’t been served. I urge a more rigorous search for truth, remedy, and reparation. And I make the case for a non-carceral solution.

www.yahoo.com/news/survive...

12.08.2025 16:02 👍 209 🔁 63 💬 4 📌 1

Ruth Wilson Gilmore said, “No abolitionist who is a true abolitionist wants to save money. What we want is for the money to be spent, to enhance, and support human life so that it can flourish in a way that doesn’t destroy the planet. We’re not about cost-savings.” Save lives, not money.

04.08.2025 01:15 👍 550 🔁 140 💬 0 📌 2

Yes! This is happening around the country. Religious leaders are one of the many groups standing up against these terrible bills.

28.07.2025 18:22 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Capitalism makes us feel like we need to do EVENTS where we spend money in order to sustain relationships.

Gift economy thinking can ground us in a mindfulness about where we have extra, and creativity around which relationships hold someone who might benefit from that extra.

21.07.2025 14:33 👍 37 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0

The kind of “being welcoming” the church seems too often concerned with offering right now means saying “Christians can keep working for ICE,” but the actual love demanded of the church is saying “we will pay your rent so you can quit your job with ICE” ⚓️

17.07.2025 19:25 👍 124 🔁 29 💬 4 📌 0
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Sadly evergreen prophetic word when it comes to US foreign policy.

22.06.2025 02:31 👍 56 🔁 17 💬 0 📌 0

What is a daily practice that you do to cultivate the Holy (however you define that)?

22.05.2025 16:50 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

I do not need a tote bag…but also “What if we didn’t suck?” is basically my life motto.

20.05.2025 14:43 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Now that we have a midwestern Pope:

09.05.2025 16:39 👍 14 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
10 Things to Know about Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Prevost, is the first (US) American and first Augustinian to become pope.

open.substack.com/pub/kristind...

09.05.2025 15:22 👍 32 🔁 4 💬 2 📌 1
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Warnock: I hear people attack poor people and act like it’s a crime to be poor, rather than to recognize it’s criminal for so many people to be poor. They do all of this in the name of Jesus… Jesus is the biggest victim of identity theft in the United States

27.04.2025 20:20 👍 37942 🔁 9008 💬 655 📌 481

Penal subsitituionary atonement continues to fall further and further out of the list of things I believe.

21.04.2025 16:56 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I feel you. We desperately need an addition and plans were to add on eventually…but I’m realizing we may need to cram 3 kids into our 760 square foot house for much longer than anticipated.

03.04.2025 14:20 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
As fires rage and sea levels rise in the coming years, we will be called upon to rescue one another again and again. That impulse—to find our boats after a storm and to pull each other from the water on unauthorized, community-led rescue missions—will be key to surviving these times and to the creation of a new future. It is not saviorism, but collectivity and solidarity, that will fuel our best efforts. One of the greatest struggles of our time will be to cultivate a life-affirming political culture that can be enacted in the everyday, a counterculture of rebellious care.

As fires rage and sea levels rise in the coming years, we will be called upon to rescue one another again and again. That impulse—to find our boats after a storm and to pull each other from the water on unauthorized, community-led rescue missions—will be key to surviving these times and to the creation of a new future. It is not saviorism, but collectivity and solidarity, that will fuel our best efforts. One of the greatest struggles of our time will be to cultivate a life-affirming political culture that can be enacted in the everyday, a counterculture of rebellious care.

cover of Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba. Blue-black silhouettes of people holding raised hands line the bottom on a bright orange and yellow background with stars.

cover of Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba. Blue-black silhouettes of people holding raised hands line the bottom on a bright orange and yellow background with stars.

"One of the greatest struggles of our time will be to cultivate a life-affirming political culture that can be enacted in the everyday, a counterculture of rebellious care."

- Let This Radicalize You by @prisonculture.bsky.social and @mskellymhayes.bsky.social

30.03.2025 11:19 👍 89 🔁 27 💬 0 📌 2

Thanks! It’s at @wichurches.bsky.social

29.03.2025 23:24 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Donate — Wisconsin Council of Churches

The Wisconsin Council of Churches has been a national leader in faith-based public health since the start of COVID. They just lost a multi-year federal grant supporting these initiatives and a dedicated staff member. Donate so they can continue their critical work!
www.wichurches.org/donate

29.03.2025 22:52 👍 8 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1

Suggestion: Include local food pantries to collect non perishable food at rallies or town halls - especially is (R) districts.
Ask everyone to bring a can.

23.03.2025 17:38 👍 607 🔁 185 💬 34 📌 19