Category: Freedom

Africa, Christian Witness, Courage, Freedom, Risk

Sanctuary

Rev Kathy
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Churches vow to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants: At least 450 churches are prepared to act as Trump-era “Underground Railroad”

Sanctuary . . . A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place. By the use of sanctuaries as safe havens, the term has come to be used for any place of refuge. For people of faith who are providing sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, a sanctuary is indeed a holy place, sacred and inviolable.

Jeanette Vizguerra is a Mexican mother seeking to avoid deportation. As she held her 6-year-old daughter, Zuri, she spoke during a news conference in a Denver church where she and her children have taken refuge. But when Jeanette Vizguerra walked into that Colorado church, she also walked into the forefront of a possible clash between Donald Trump and many sanctuary churches across the country.

Vizguerra has lived in the U.S. since 1997 with four children, three of them born here. She was due to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, she took sanctuary inside the First Unitarian Society of Denver.

“I did not make this decision lightly,” Vizguerra said through an interpreter. “I was thinking about it for weeks. But I think that I made the right decision in coming here instead of going to the immigration office.”

The pastor of the church, Rev. Mike Morran, said, “It is our position as a people of faith that this is sacred and faithful work. We know Jeanette. We know her to be an honorable human being.”

But critics say the church is violating the law. While it has been for years federal policy not to do immigration enforcement in churches and other “sensitive locations,” such as schools, unless absolutely necessary, today that may be a lapsed policy.

“President Obama’s administration thought it was prudent to avoid rounding people up in places like hospitals or churches,” says Richard Garnett, director of the program on Church, State and Society at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

But Garnett says if the new administration changes that policy, it could set up a conflict between President Trump’s push for tougher enforcement of immigration laws and his administration’s support for religious freedom.

“Sanctuary works,” says Seth Kaper-Dale, pastor of the Reformed Church of Highland Park in New Jersey. “I can tell you from our own experience that all nine people who lived here have kept their families together, have been able to raise their children, have been able to go back to their jobs. Is sanctuary brutally hard? Yes. But it is a tool that we will use if we’re forced by a brutal regime to use it.”

Sanctuary churches across this country are living out their convictions because of their faith in a welcoming God. The government will, no doubt, enforce immigration law. The Church will live into the law of God . . .

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

– Leviticus 19:33-34 New International Version (NIV)

The invitation from God’s people proclaims, “In the name of God, come! You are welcome in this holy place of refuge.”

 
(Information about Jeanette Vizguerra is from David Zalubowski/AP.)

Freedom, Politics

One Nation under God

Rev Kathy

The Statue of Liberty is pictured from the Staten Island Ferry at twilight in New York

I sometimes tire of hearing talk about being “one nation under God” in a nation whose leaders want to exclude and divide. In these difficult days, our President has signed an executive order to ban persons from several countries from entering our country. Protesters object in the streets and at airports throughout the country, seeking to hold fast to the promise represented by the Statue of Liberty. We must not forget that Lady Liberty stands in New York harbor lifting her light to all the world. And on a plaque at her base, these words are inscribed:

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Bishop Steven Charleston writes what it means to be one nation under God. He says that ours is a holy calling, compassionate to all who seek refuge, caring for those who are poor, protecting those among us who are most vulnerable. These are his words:

One nation under God. What would that be like? I think any nation striving to live such a holy calling would be compassionate to all those in need, caring for the poor, healing the sick, protecting the most vulnerable. It would seek wisdom, supporting its schools and teachers. It would defend itself and help its friends, but never cease striving for peace. It would turn from greed and honor God’s creation. It would respect the dignity of every citizen and strive for reconciliation, finding unity in diversity, strength in mercy, authority in justice not promised but practiced.

– Steven Charleston

Dignity, diversity, strength, mercy, justice, compassion . . . May these words always define us as a nation. May God rebuke the leaders who seek to obliterate these values. And may God touch the hearts of our leaders, urgently summoning them to help make us truly one nation under God.

Adventures, Freedom, God's presence

Waist-Deep into Life

Rev Kathy

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Shrink back from the raging waves if you want to. Stand at ocean’s edge and barely get your toes wet. Or wade waist-deep into the ocean where real life happens. It holds its risks and certain dangers. It challenges one’s sense of safety. It risks being overturned and overwhelmed by a huge, strong, breaking wave. But wading in deeply is the best way of living life, a metaphor for life at its most adventurous.

Alas, I didn’t grow up as a risk-taker. Under my skittish grandmother’s care, I became fearful of many things. She forbade riding bicycles down the street. She gave us each only one skate, fearing that to skate on two would land us face down on the pavement. And yes, to this day, I am afraid of deep water.

She raised me to be fearful of going all-in on many fronts. So I missed out on all kinds of youthful adventures. I miss the things I missed. I wish I had learned to skate well on two skates. I wish I had not been afraid to ride my bicycle down a steep hill, feeling the wind in my face.

So now, all grown up and aging every day, I still don’t plunge waist-deep into the crashing waves called life. I stay in my safer place. It’s too bad, really, and maybe it’s time to make a life change.

Here’s to life adventures!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

– Isaiah 43:2

Christian Witness, Courage, Freedom, Hope

The Strong, Bold Power of Hope

Rev Kathy

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Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

– II Corinthians 3:12

Boldness is a part of our Christian witness. Holy boldness makes it possible for us to proclaim, without apology, Christian values, justice for every person, and the radical reconciliation that has the power to unite us. There has never been a time in history when it was more important to hold tightly to a strong, resilient hope that gives its life to restore beloved communities where justice reigns. When I was just beginning my ministry, a Seminary professor, Paul Simmons, asked a compelling and provocative question: “Is what you’re doing worth giving your life for?”

Curtiss Paul DeYoung and Allan Aubrey Boesak wrote a haunting book entitled Radical Reconciliation: Beyond Political Pietism and Christian Quietism. In the book, they present a political theology that proposes the kind of boldness that can result in true reconciliation. They assert that so much of what is being called reconciliation and social justice stops short of completing the complex work required.

Too often “reconciliation” is used merely to reach some political accommodation that does not address the critical questions of justice, equality, and dignity that are so prominent in the biblical understanding of reconciliation . . . When Christians discover that what is happening is in fact not reconciliation, and yet seek to accommodate this situation and refuse to run the risk and challenge of prophetic truth-telling, we become complicit; we deny the demands of the gospel and refuse solidarity with the powerless and oppressed.

The authors continue by denouncing ineffective attempts at reconciliation and calling for bold reconciliation that brings genuine hope. What does it mean, the authors ask, to live out radical reconciliation in our lives? They call the reader to immerse their lives in the work of restoring beloved communities. DeYoung poses this question:

Do racially diverse congregations automatically experience reconciliation or could they simply become demographically diverse but not racially reconciled?

The authors call attention to the “need for a reconciliation that is more than conflict resolution and political accommodation; a reconciliation that resists the temptation to domesticate the radical Jesus, pandering to our need for comfortable reconciliation under the guise of a kind of political pietism and Christian quietism that deny the victims of affliction the comfort of justice.”

Paul Simmons’ question continues to cast its shadow over my life. “Is what you’re doing worth giving your life for?” The question permeated my life from the moment he asked it, prompting me to question myself over and over again. What is it that was guiding my life? Was it worth giving my life for? Did it hold the power that could shift the world on its axis? Did I have the boldness to hope for genuine justice? And did I possess the strong, resilient power of hope necessary to fully engage?

It is a privilege to hold something robust and resilient called hope, which has the power to shift the world on its axis.

― Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

Faith, Freedom

God’s Gonna Trouble the Water

Rev Kathy

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We are forever standing at the edge of our tomorrows. The view can be disconcerting at times, with troubled waters ahead, waters that we fear. Reverend Karla Miller prays an eloquent prayer for such times.

 

Dang it God.
That’s all.
Amen.
No, wait, there is more.
Peel me open,
Make me listen,
Lead me into troubled waters,
Show me how to trouble some waters.
I’m not the most articulate or savvy or smart,
I care. I am afraid. I am not afraid. I am both/and.
I will not rest when others can’t.
Teach me.
Lead me.
I am ready.
My hands and feet and mind and heart are yours.
Amen.

– Rev. Karla Miller, Published at https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/01/25/wednesday-prayer-73/

Sometimes, though, God is the one who troubles the waters, and we make our choice about going forward or remaining safely on the edge. I have always been moved by the spiritual songs of the slaves. Harriet Tubman used the song “Wade in the Water” to tell escaping slaves to get off the trail and into the water, ensuring that the dogs slavecatchers used to track them couldn’t sniff out their trail. “Wade in the Water” is one of their most inspiring freedom songs.

Wade in the water;
Wade in the water, Children.
Wade in the water;
God’s gonna trouble the water.

It can be a freedom song for us, too, every time we dare to step into waters that God has troubled. It is our faith, of course, that assures us that God troubles the waters before us, and that when we step into them, we take that step trusting in a God who wants only our good. May our prayer be “Lead me into troubled waters, God, and show me how to trouble some waters” so that the world might change, so that my life might change. Amen.

 

Change, Freedom, Politics

The Swelling Current

Rev Kathy

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Yesterday during the inauguration of Donald Trump. I felt as if I were drowning. My own “swelling current” was threatening to overtake me. I allowed myself to become anxious about all the harmful changes the new administration might make.

Today I will pray for the Women’s March on Washington where women will raise their voices for the rights of all women. The group will march west on Independence Avenue SW to 14th Street SW, then they will turn north on 14th Street to Constitution Avenue, then march west on Constitution to 17th Street NW to The Ellipse. Organizers say the event will be a peaceful gathering to “promote women’s equality and defend other marginalized groups.”

More than a quarter of a million women and men will march in our nation’s capital, with other marches taking place in more than 600 “sister marches” planned across the United States. Some of the biggest expected in Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Women and men in cities around the world — including Sydney, Berlin, London, Paris and Cape Town, South Africa — are also marching in solidarity and in opposition to the values they think Trump represents

Protesters march on this day to raise awareness of women’s rights and other civil rights they fear could be under threat under Donald Trump’s presidency. Two of my friends will take my name with them to the Washington march, representing my personal fear that the Trump administration will eliminate Violence against Women Act funding. Most importantly, today we march and pray in protest of Trump’s past comments about women.

So while I nurse my feeling of drowning, I recall the comforting words of this hymn:

When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside.
Bear me through the swelling current, land me safe on Canaan’s side.

– Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, Text by William Williams, 1745.

What a compassionate promise from God found in this hymn. I will rest on that.

Freedom, Inspiration

With Hearts Wide Open

Rev Kathy

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There is nothing as harmful as a closed heart. So many things can close a heart . . . A loved one’s death, a ruined relationship, a loss of career and livelihood. When tragedies occur, they hurt so badly that the heart can close itself off from the pain. The problem is that a heart closed to pain may also be closed to love, joy and hope.

It can become a faith crisis for anyone. It can become chronic and it can last for years. The question is always how can we keep our hearts open when it is holding such deep pain? The answer is difficult to find. The answer can elude us.

But there are some obvious remedies. It is possible to open our hearts to the messages of Scripture, to the comforting strains of sacred hymns, to comforting words from those who care for us, to holy moments of contemplation and prayer.

Andrea Keh writes this:

To live with an open heart is to remember that the essence of our true self is love. We must forgive, heal and feel the depths of our emotions before we have the space to connect deeper and higher. This open heart space is where we reflect divine love and light for each other!

So let us greet this new day with hearts wide open, honoring the past, but savoring the future.

Freedom

I Am Enough

Rev Kathy

 

 

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Oh, the curse that taught us we have to be perfect! Many of us spent too many precious years of our lives striving for perfection, oblivious to the fact that perfection is simply not possible. What was it that made so many of us try to overcompensate and to convince ourselves that perfectionism is a quality?

Very late in life, I learned to embrace the phrase, “I am enough!” When I embraced that, I found freedom in my life. I found release from my own expectations. I found that I was liberated from an all-consuming desire to have the approval and admiration of other people.

It is, of course, worthwhile to teach our children to always strive to be the best they can be and to dream expansive dreams. But it is just as important to teach them, “You are enough just the way you are.”

Here’s what I see as I look back on my life: Everything did not have to be perfect. Every project did not have to be flawless. Every sermon did not have to be profound. The house did not have to be impeccably decorated and spotless. My child did not have to excel in all things. I did not have to give everyone the impression that I could not fail.

One does not walk into the forest and accuse the trees of being off-center. Nor do they visit the shore and call the waves imperfect. So why do we look at ourselves this way?

– Tao Te Ching

A blessing of older age is the honest belief — finally — that I am enough!

Freedom

Our Flag Was Still There

Rev Kathy

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“And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

The words of “The Star Spangled Banner” were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. In 1930, the Veterans of Foreign Wars started a petition for the United States to officially recognize “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem. Five-million people signed the petition, and it was presented to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary on January 31, 1930. The Committee voted in favor of sending the bill to the House floor for a vote. The House of Representatives passed the bill later that year. The Senate passed the bill on March 3, 1931, and President Herbert Hoover signed the bill on March 4, 1931, officially adopting “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem of the United States of America.

The message of the anthem still stirs the heart. Out of the 2016 Olympics came many stories of American pride. One such story is about U.S. Army Reserve 2nd LT Sam Kendricks. As he was running towards an attempt at the pole vault, he hears the national anthem. He immediately stops the pole vault attempt to stand at attention.

A beautiful part of “The Star Spangled a Banner” is found in a little known third stanza.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Freedom, Hope, Politics

The Moment to Decide

Rev Kathy

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During every presidential campaign, there is a moment to decide. We listen to plans and platforms, we read all we can, we assess the candidates’ character and experience, and then we make a very important decision.

But this presidential campaign is a bit like a street fight, where absolutely nothing is over the line, no attack is too nasty or too baseless. The political rancour is disconcerting. We much prefer harmony, unity and mutual respect. But in this political season, we are experiencing divisiveness and a lack of respect. Families are split along political lines. Relationships and friendships are strained. We are not the people we want to be. We want to be a people who revere our country, who pledge our allegiance, who get a catch in our throats when we stand before our “star-spangled banner.”

This post is not meant to criticize any specific candidate or ideology. Instead, it is a call to each of us, asking us to call forth our better selves as we choose which candidates we will support. As we have throughout our history, we have the power to decide the kind of people we will be. We can choose between division and harmony, mean-spiritedness and kindness. We can choose higher ground. Not only can we choose when exercising our vote, we can make a choice everyday to be a uniter, a maker of peace, an ambassador for justice. In spite of the discord of this political season, we can choose what is good over what is harmful.

The words of a great hymn are worth pondering during this critical moment in our nation. James Russell Lowell wrote the text of the hymn “Once To Every Man and Nation.” The words speak of defending truth in the face of falsehood. That the words were written in 1845 illustrates how history repeats itself. I include two of the stanzas of that powerful hymn.

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

Indeed, it can seem that evil is prospering and everything we once held as truth is dismissed. But as the poet said, “once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide.” And that choice does go by forever.

May God guide us in our decisions and lead us all to choose wisely.

Listen to the hymn at this link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ixC91qVF_Fg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ixC91qVF_Fg

Freedom, Inspiration

Toward a Brighter Season of Hope

Rev Kathy

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In this time in history, we should make time to look through all that is happening, to look beyond violence to see peace, to look beyond rancorous politics to see hope. As a nation, we are better than what we are seeing on our newscasts every night. We are a brighter people, full of promise that we seem to have lost. We can ride this wave of disunity and let it guide our way, or we can say “enough!” There is not one political candidate or issue that should have the power to divide friend from friend, family from family. We can look higher. We can be better.

This writing by Steven Charleston says it all. I hope we will hear his words and lift our eyes to a brighter season of hope.

Time to look up. Time to look through the valley mist to see the sun sparkling on the mountains beyond. Time to move. Time to begin again the journey that brought us through so much celebration and sorrow to this place of new beginning. Time to gather the community. Time to make sure we have all of our tribe from every clan and family ready to walk together. Time to pray. Time to ask for a blessing on what we are about to do and to give thanks for the power of hope that carries us forward. Time to sing. Time to let the valley echo and the mountains ring with the sound of our voices as we set off once more on the great adventure of the human story. Time to love. Time to be who in our hearts we know we are.

Amen and amen!

Adventures, Courage, Dreams, Freedom, Inspiration

A Strange and Wonderful Concept

Rev Kathy

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What a strange and wonderful concept . . . Running toward something instead of running away from something. Ten athletes without a country will compete in the Rio Olympic Games. They are refugees. They have persevered after losing home and country, some after losing parents.

These ten refugee athletes will act as a symbol of hope for 21.3 million refugees worldwide and bring global attention to the magnitude of the refugee crisis when they take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

One of the refugee athletes, Yusra Mardini, is a swimmer. About two years ago, Mardini was swimming to save her life and others. She was one of 20 refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea in a boat when the motor stopped running.

Mardini fled the Syrian war in 2014 with her sister, who was with her on the boat. They dived into the water with one other passenger and pushed the boat to the shore. Everyone on board was saved.

She will compete for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) – the first of its kind. They marched proudly into the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony immediately before the host nation, Brazil, waving the Olympic flag.

How important a lesson we can learn from these athletes! How to survive in crisis. How to find strength and hope in the midst of loss. How to thrive after losing home. How to keep trying when others might have given up.

I am moved by their bravery, their tenacity and their resilience. I pray for good things to come to them. I pray that the world will be inspired by their example, to lift our eyes up to hope, to move forward into brighter days, to always strive to be the best we can be.

Freedom, Hope, Politics

God Bless Us Everyone

Rev Kathy

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We are, it seems, in a season of discontent, an often vitriolic presidential campaign that threatens to divide us. Even in my own family, there is strong disagreement on the merits of the presidential candidates. There is no shortage of name-calling in virtually every news report.

We are better than that. At our core, we long for the same freedoms. Our best selves want a bright and new day of unity in our country. We want the sun to rise on fresh hope and better tomorrows. We desire to live out the Scripture that admonishes us to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.

I want to share with you the eloquent and inspiring words spoken by the Rev. Dr. William Barber, II on Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention:

I say to you tonight, there are some issues that are not left versus right, liberal versus conservative, they are right versus wrong. We need to embrace our deepest moral values and push for a revival of the heart of our democracy . . .

When we love the Jewish child and the Palestinian child, the Muslim and the Christian and the Hindu and the Buddhist and those who have no faith but they love this nation, we are reviving the heart of our democracy. . .

We must shock this nation with the power of love. We must shock this nation with the power of mercy. We must shock this nation and fight for justice for all. We can’t give up on the heart of our democracy, not now, not ever!

May God guide all of us as we exercise our right to speak and to vote. May God give us an extra measure of respect when we don’t agree. May respectful dialogue replace name-calling and vitriolic speech. May we emerge in November as a people united and determined to be the best we can be. God bless us everyone. And God bless America.

Courage, Freedom

Out on the Fringe

Rev Kathy

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I have often found myself out on the fringe, out of step with those around me, almost subversive in my thoughts and actions. Not subversive in a negative way, understand, but subversive in the ways of justice and peace. I am grateful that I have a sensitive spirit that feels compassion for those who are what we might call “the outcasts.” I am grateful that God gave me the gift of empathy.

But with gifts, there are always responsibilities. It is not enough just to feel empathy. I must act on it, advocating for those who need an advocate, or as Jesus might say, “seeking justice for the oppressed.”

Doing so might very well put me out on the fringe. Steven Charleston describes it like this:

I would like to say a brief word in support of the lunatic fringe. I have been a card carrying “fringer” for quite some time now, out here on the margins of polite society where the really interesting people hang out. I have met wild eyed dreamers, optimistic visionaries, unrepentant seekers, and more than a few average folks who just like to think for themselves. Out here there are no party lines to follow, no castes or outcasts, no gated communities of the heart. There are only envelopes being pushed, barriers being broken, and love being risked as love always is. I just want to say: I am glad to have you out here with me.

I hope I will always be out on the fringe pushing the envelope!

Courage, Dreams, Freedom

Let’s Soar!

Rev Kathy

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I love the phrase from the Bible, “Rise up with wings as eagles.” It always reminds me of possibilities beyond what I can imagine. The entire scripture verse in Isaiah 40:31 says this:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

There are many days when I need renewed strength, when I just hope to walk without fainting. It has been a very long time since I was able to run without tiring. In my more youthful years, I actually thought I could fly in the blowing wind.

But I am too stubborn to believe that my soaring days are over. I still feel at times that I can “rise up with wings as eagles.” It is a blessing from God who continues to give us strength throughout our lives. The most important thing we can do is wait upon the Lord and be ready to rise up.

Our God’s everlasting arms are beneath us. The wind is blowing. The eagles are waiting. Let’s soar!

Adventures, Africa, Faith, Freedom, God's Faithfulness, grief, healing

Remembering Uganda

Rev Kathy

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It was so many years ago, but I remember it as if it happened yesterday. The two of us, my husband Fred and I, stepped off of a plane in the Nairobi airport to begin a new life. As very young missionaries headed to Uganda, we had no idea what we would face in the days to come.

Getting to Uganda from Kenya was a long, dusty ride through the most beautiful places we had ever seen. Through bush country and savannah, through banana groves and rain forests, through tea plantations on mountainsides and the rushing waters of Bujigali Falls, we were getting acquainted with this continent. The terrain was ever-changing, and the way was marked by the majestic beauty of elephants, giraffe, cape buffalo, gazelles, flamingos and Ugandan crested cranes.

We were filled with awe and excitement. But the most moving sight of all was the people, barefoot and downtrodden, wearing rags and carrying heavy water containers. Their country had all but been destroyed by the evil dictator Idi Amin, who orchestrated the genocide of 100,000 to 500,00 Ugandans.

Churches were burned to the ground, schools pillaged and all but destroyed, roads were in shambles. Children were left orphaned in a country of widows. Their faces showed the wear of grief, their bodies the mask of mourning.

They are why we have come, sent by God to comfort a grieving people in small ways. The days ahead would find us digging water wells, distributing agricultural tools and vegetable seeds, giving out books, bibles and sewing supplies, bringing in simple medicines and vaccines.

I can never think of the Ugandan people without recalling Lamentations 5, a scripture passage that was read in a church service to describe the plight of the Ugandan people. As the reader read through her tears, the entire congregation wept, mourning so many losses. I offer the text here in its entirety:

Lamentations 5 New International Version (NIV)

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
look, and see our disgrace.
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
We have become fatherless,
our mothers are widows.
We must buy the water we drink;
our wood can be had only at a price.
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
we are weary and find no rest.
We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
to get enough bread.
Our ancestors sinned and are no more,
and we bear their punishment.
Slaves rule over us,
and there is no one to free us from their hands.
We get our bread at the risk of our lives
because of the sword in the desert.
Our skin is hot as an oven,
feverish from hunger.
Women have been violated in Zion,
and virgins in the towns of Judah.
Princes have been hung up by their hands;
elders are shown no respect.
Young men toil at the millstones;
boys stagger under loads of wood.
The elders are gone from the city gate;
the young men have stopped their music.
Joy is gone from our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our hearts are faint,
because of these things our eyes grow dim
for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
with jackals prowling over it.
You, Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why do you always forget us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure.

Idi Amin was deposed. God did restore Uganda , and those who had lost so much found life again. Their mourning turned to dancing, dancing filled with joyful gratitude to a compassionate and faithful God. Amen.

Dreams, Freedom, Women

Celebrate!

Rev Kathy

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I celebrate that today is a brand new day for my Granddaughter, for all little girls with big dreams. She has now seen a woman chosen as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. When Hillary Clinton spoke night before last, I had a big lump in my throat. I felt the swelling of emotion overtake me. My body shook as I tried to hold back a full-on crying event. My eyes filled with tears.

I was watching history, and with the ears of my heart, I heard the shattering of glass. I heard the voices of Fannie Lou Hamer, Geraldine Ferraro, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and so many other trail-blazing women. I remembered Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell, organizers of thousands of African-American women who worked for suffrage for all women.

I thought of the words of Margaret Mead:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Most of all, I thought about my granddaughter, Jordan, who now sees that a woman can hold this nation’s highest office. And I am grateful that she will not feel and experience all the limitations I experienced in my lifetime.

It’s a fresh, new day in America. It’s a fresh, new day in my heart. Thank you, Hillary, for standing firm in following your dream. You are among an incredible circle of women who persisted and who made change in the world for all of us. I celebrate you this day!

Courage, Freedom, peace

Freedom

Rev Kathy

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In New York Harbor stands the statue that reminds us of freedom. She reminds us of our nation’s commitment to invite others into our special place of freedom, to encourage them to build their lives under our flag. I hope that commitment never changes. I hope that this nation will always be one that welcomes strangers.

Welcoming those who dream of living in America is the pinnacle of the word philanthropy. Philanthropy (from Greek φιλανθρωπία) means etymologically, the love of humanity, in the sense of caring, nourishing, developing, and enhancing what it means to be human. Sharing our freedom with those who come to our shores is an incredible way to show love for humanity.

I hope that freedom will always remain as an integral part of our lives as Americans. I hope that the poem of Emma Lazarus, engraved on a tablet within the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands, will abide in our hearts.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles.

From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips.

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”