Hope with Wings: The Carrier Pigeon Post as Public Theology

Abstract

In “Hope with Wings: The Carrier Pigeon Post as Public Theology,” Sonya S. Cronin and Carey C. Newman articulate a vision of public theology that emerges not from institutional power but from solidarity with the marginalized. Drawing on the imaginative theology of J. R. R. Tolkien and his concept of “Faerie,” the authors suggest that hope and Spirit operate publicly through narrative rather than overt religious proclamation. They present The Carrier Pigeon Post (CPP), a print humanities periodical distributed in U.S. prisons, as a concrete embodiment of this theology. By offering accessible stories, art, and education to incarcerated readers, CPP restores language, dignity, and imagination where systemic injustice has stripped them away. The essay frames this work as sacramental: ordinary printed words become vehicles of Spirit, solidarity, and transformation. In cultivating hope and communal belonging, CPP enacts gospel in public, demonstrating how story-shaped interventions can participate in redemption and healing.