Dreams of Justice

By Isabel Rivera-Velez

My introduction to public theology began with a dream. Among my many counselors and mentors, one taught me the importance of the movement of the Holy Spirit. “Pay attention to your dreams,” she said. So, I did. In this particular dream, I was flying above the earth, yet still able to see the ground below. I was on someone’s back, hanging onto their neck, embracing, holding on tightly. The person taking me for this ride in the sky said, “Look.”

What I saw looked like clouds, but a little dirty. The clouds would puff up into the air, then settle down. It was dust. When all the dust settled at once for a moment, I saw hundreds of people—men, women, and children— walking slowly together. My “personal Uber driver” kept following the people, flying above them as slowly as they were walking. It was an astounding sight.

Sometime later, I saw a news report on TV of a caravan of hundreds of people traveling together with the hope of arriving at the U.S. / Mexico border. When I understood what was happening, I exclaimed out loud, “I saw those people months ago in my dream!”

Around the same timeframe, I saw one of Austin Seminary’s announcements about a class that Professor Gregory Cuéllar was leading to the U.S. / Mexico border, so I had to sign up. I had signed onto a class of the Doctor of Ministry “Leadership for Witness” program that would take me into the study of social injustices, not just at the local border, but all over the world and deep into history.

It was my way of obeying the “Look” command in my dream.

I have learned that we must understand that the injustices we see did not begin in the moment we see them occurring, but stem from deep historical roots. Acquiring this knowledge helps me to get a clearer picture of why victims of injustice suffer so needlessly.

I am a child of the church, but my involvement has always been through the Spanish-speaking congregations in which I was involved—as a member in my home church, then later as a lay pastor, then later still as an ordained minister. In one of my seminary classes, we were exposed to the rampant prejudice and racism that exists in the church, and, later I wrote in one of my papers that I was positive that no Anglo Presbyterian church would call me to serve as their pastor. I was wrong. Six months after I retired, I received a call to serve Faith Presbyterian Church in Baytown, Texas.

I am still learning.

My dream is that together we will grow in our understanding and advocacy for the victims of prejudice and injustice.

The Reverend Isabel Rivera-Velez (MDiv’10) is a student in the Doctor of Ministry degree program in the “Leadership for Witness” concentration. Her ministry has been mainly in Coastal Texas, and she currently serves as pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Baytown, Texas.