tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11827076447667699162024-03-04T12:23:07.339-08:00Yes, I'm a minister. No, I don't have a church.Validated ministry in theological education, social justice advocacy, religious publishing... you get the picture. Pondering life, faith, church, and world. Views are my own and do not represent my employer.Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-51366923507727572202019-01-27T19:49:00.000-08:002019-01-27T19:49:15.186-08:00A Sermon on the Occasion of the Ordination of the Rev. Sarah Perkins
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<span style="font-size: small;">I had the honor of preaching at the ordination of my friend and colleague Sarah today. We were an all-women ordination commission. And it was lovely. Below is the sermon. (Note that since Sarah's mother is a New Testament professor, I opted not to preach on a NT passage - I couldn't bear to mess that one up. LOL.)</span></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=415647156" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Isaiah43:16-21</span></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is a trap waiting out there for ministers in the United
States. Do you not perceive it? The trap that ministers fall into is confusing
the Good News with Nice News. Sarah and I were at a conference a few years ago
where the Rev. Jose Morales preached on this distinction, and it has stayed
with me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m not all that opposed to nice. When I think of nice, I
think of a vacation place I once stayed at with a garden wall covered with tiny
pots of succulents and a small bamboo garden. I think of the time I was helpful
to a flight attendant trying to handle bags in the overhead compartment on a
flight packed full of business travelers and she thanked me for being nice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">This passage sounds nice. Water in the wilderness, new thing
springs forth, etc. Don’t worry too much about the beginning where the chariot and
horse, army and warrior lie down and are extinguished like a wick, which sounds
less nice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nice news is palatable, especially for those of us in the
U.S., where it’s possible we have confused material comfort with wholeness,
relative wealth with safety, security with peace. We reduce Jesus to What Would
Jesus Do, we reduce the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to one speech that is
misinterpreted to shore up the dangerous myth that ignoring racial difference
will eliminate inequality. It sounds nicer. We take the prophetic word, and we
shift the words of the prophets away from us towards the other. We assume we
are standing with the prophet, with the benefit of hindsight, instead of being
the people to whom the prophet speaks. We preach it as though we are the ones
being liberated, instead of the ones creating oppression and inequality, from
whom others need liberation. We take the prophetic word and name ourselves as
Christians as the fulfillment of the prophecy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nice news is how we end up with congregations full of people
striving to be “good people,” believing that civility across differences and
regular church attendance are synonymous with faithful Christian living.
Confusing good news and nice news is how we end up with white Christians unable
to have a nuanced, accountable conversation about racism and white supremacy.
Christian men and too many women unable to have effective conversations about
gender and power. Most Christians unable to have thoughtful mature
conversations about human sexuality. And let us not talk about colonialism,
enslavement, and capitalism, relative to our endowments and our buildings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because it’s not nice, right? It’s not nice to speak of
politics at the Thanksgiving table. It’s not nice to bring up religion with an
acquaintance. It’s not nice to ask your conservative auntie to quit sharing
transphobic memes on Facebook. It’s not nice to ask if people with means are
totally okay with removing their own know-how and energy and caring from
underprivileged under-resourced public school systems because they don’t have
the time to make structural change on the backs of their own children at the
expense of other people’s children. It’s not nice to talk about how white
teenagers from a wealthy private school who travel to DC to speak out against
the agency and health care of pregnant people are not innocent, but are willing
participants in and beneficiaries of centuries of white supremacy and
colonialism. Or how one city’s failure to adequately plan for transportation
infrastructure is doing a good job of reinforcing poverty and damaging the
planet, and making it difficult for people struggling to make ends meet to get
around. It’s definitely not nice to point out that being a legacy admitted to a
prestigious school is a way that primarily whites continue to benefit from the
legacies of slavery, genocide, and centuries of discrimination. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nice becomes a weapon. We use it to verify our own goodness,
or confirm the evil of others. Instead of letting the Scripture stand in its
complexity, and what it means to be in relationship with a creator under all
kinds of circumstances, particularly a creator who comes across as capricious
at times, and a people who are immature in their faith. And that weapon of
nice-i-fying the Scripture means those who most need good news in their life
are robbed of liberation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">This passage isn’t nice. It was written during the time of
exile in Babylon. It refers to the flight of the people out of slavery in Egypt.
The passage begins with what God has done. The promised liberation is
accompanied by the transformation of the non-human world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">This deliverance of which the prophet speaks is a reversal of
what took place in the Exodus, or a new Exodus. The new thing God will do is
deliverance and a world that is greener, more lush.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s not a done deal, though. According to this passage, it
hasn’t yet happened. The people are still stuck in exile. There isn’t a highway
in the desert, or rivers turning the desert green. Deserts are beautiful – but
they are deadly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just like the hearers… we know some things. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">We know what the desert is like. We know what lushness is,
where there is plenty of water.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">We know God saw these people through exodus. We know God saw
these people through exile. We have advance knowledge that God will continue to
see these people through. We know what God has been capable of. But that
doesn’t mean we know all of what God can and will do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">God isn’t done yet, the prophet tells us. What we, the
church, know of God is not complete. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the gifts of our relationship with God is this, the
promise of the new thing. Who could have known that the church could call queer
pastors, gender non-conforming elders, divorced people, people of color? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am just old enough to have known most of the firsts. The
first black lesbian divinity school dean. The first woman president of a
PC(USA) seminary. The first Korean American woman ordained. The first African
American woman ordained. The first out gay person ordained. Gen X and
millennials largely missed our chance to be the first in that large, historic
sense, because those who went before us paved the way, and we are followers of the
paths they laid. But we can still be the first, the new thing, for individuals
whose religious worlds are different from ours. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">How we show up – what we look like, which social categories
we fit into – this isn’t neutral. Our bodies are political. The incarnation of
Jesus was political because it was embodied in a particular being, an occupied
body.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Those of us who show up in the world spark possibilities for
others. That’s why the white supremacist heteropatriarchy is so damaging – not
just because it kills bodies, but because it restricts the imagination itself. To
get hung up on the former things – in the Hebrew, the first things – God has
done, is to limit our own imaginations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">For those of us who embody something outside what we in the
predominantly white church are socialized to expect in a leader, when we enter
into the room, our body blows open the constraints. Our embodiment makes a
claim about the nature of God, by which vehicles God works. This can be
dangerous. White men who speak challenging words are heroic; women of color who
speak challenging words are aggressive, or angry. But still we speak, because
we are compelled to speak for ourselves and for all the girls of color whose
lives we may still impact. We may be the first for someone else, and we
represent something new. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ministry is not exactly full of new things – it’s sort of the
same things lived out in new beings – life, death, suffering, joy, the search
for meaning, the exploration of the Spirit, the dysfunctional family dynamics.
It’s the one more difficult diagnosis, desperately seeking words of meaning
after another mass shooting. After all, it means preaching deliverance in a
time where exile is real, where refugees flee and end up imprisoned in tents on
the border, or islands off the coast, or where our own country had no way to
track the children seeking refugee status who were separated from their
parents, or where the first peoples of this land have yet to be treated with
the dignity they are owed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I decided to leave the west coast where I grew up and
New York City where I had my first job, to attend seminary in Chicago, an area
of the country I had thought about maybe twice in my life, I thought about
metaphorical exile a lot, which is what happens when one grows up with the
privilege of feeling rooted and grounded in a place, and chooses to leave. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">This passage is not about me or people like me. This exile is
not self-imposed or about existential angst, but the result of physical
displacement. In a world of involuntary exile due to economic inequality, war, and
climate change, the proclamation of deliverance from exile in Babylon feels so
deeply necessary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of us know a lot about what exile feels like in our
bodies and some of us have no idea. As 21<sup>st</sup> century North American
hearers, we probably can’t assume we are the ones exiled… perhaps some of us
are the Babylonians who have imprisoned entire peoples for our own gain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Suppose the new thing is hearing the good news as the ones
who are the cause of so much suffering in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the day-to-day work of pastoral ministry, or chaplaincy,
or the ministry of educating, music ministry, or social services, we offer
words of consolation and assurance. We show up to be present in times of joy
and despair. But the ordination to Minister of Word and Sacrament means we
speak other words, as well. The good news words. The difficult words. The words
that name the truth of what is happening around us, to us, and the words that
name what God has promised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ministers of Word and Sacrament have to struggle with the not
so nice words and the pressure to be civil and diplomatic in exchange for job
security, stability, and a place to live out our call that is bearable. But we
are not exempt from speaking other kinds of words, the good news words, the
difficult words. We can’t just skip right to the desert blooming, and animals
joining the same religion as the people. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">That is the call. To lift up what is really happening while
reminding all of us of the possibilities, the new things God will do. Truths
are not always fun – that’s where poverty, discrimination, increased
productivity for decreased wages, environmental degradation, and abuse live. Truths
are multiple, though. It is also true that we are beloved. That God has pulled
the people out of exile and slavery. That God has called people of exile and
people of Babylon to be faithful sharers of the Gospel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">And, based on evidence across the ages, from every time and
place, remind people of what is coming next. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">This new thing God is doing – this isn’t about one
ordination. This is about what we as Christians are called to proclaim in a
world that allows for mass casualties through war and economic inequality and
does little to prevent mass extinction of other creatures due to climate change
and habitat loss. The total transformation of the desert from an arid place to
one through which rivers run – that is what the prophet tells us God is capable
of doing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">What we know as Christians from the truth of the resurrection
is that death does not have the final say. God will make a way in the
wilderness. It is difficult to remember that… but that is what you do, day in
and day out. Not nice news. Good news. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">May it be so.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-28920393445367061392017-05-10T07:17:00.001-07:002017-05-10T07:17:55.262-07:00Generations and Cornerstones<div style="text-align: center;">
Wednesday, May 10</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Presbyterian Center Chapel</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A2-10&version=NRSV" target="_blank">1 Peter 2:2-10 </a></div>
<br />
I hate it when people preach about buildings, and often using this passage. Buildings are so 1950s. It’s 20-freaking-17 and we’re going to talk about this cornerstone concept. And buildings. I hate myself. But it turns out infrastructure is a real thing still, so here goes.<br />
<br />
Not being in construction or engineering or architecture, I had to look this up. Using a stone to anchor a corner is a big deal. The cornerstone has to have an exact 90-degree angle. You might need to flip it around or try another stone to find that right angle.<br />
<br />
Buildings made of stone are beautiful and sturdy. A solid foundation. After all, the author says, this is the “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”<br />
<br />
This time in the early church is about building identity. A solid foundational identity as a people of faith means one’s Christian identity can handle the onslaught of challenges. Typical human measures for a stone in a building find that stone wanting, but by God’s measure, that stone is so perfect it becomes the cornerstone. You can’t build a building without a cornerstone.<br />
<br />
Jesus is the living stone, and so are the people hearing this letter, to be “built into a spiritual house.”<br />
<br />
When I first saw the Gothic cathedrals in New York, I found them amazing. Rockefeller Chapel, at the University of Chicago, is incredible. But of course these sorts of buildings are not usually found in my native west coast, unless they have been recently reinforced and brought up to code. In earthquake country, unreinforced stone buildings are a terrible idea. They are too rigid to hold up safely when the ground moves. They are brittle.<br />
<br />
What happens when the church uses the world’s standards to measure itself? Living stones become overly rigid, unable to shift with the changing landscape of ministry.<br />
<br />
If I were to stretch generational theory to the limit and maybe beyond… I read <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/mary-donohue/generation-x-workplace_b_16271164.html" target="_blank">an article focused on Generation X,</a> born roughly between 1960 and 1980, of which I am a member. We are fewer in number than surrounding generations, and, in the church and the workplace, generally caught between the mutual obsession Boomers and Millennials have with each other.<br />
<br />
To paint broad stereotypical strokes, the particulars of which can apply to anyone, since there are exceptions to every rule, at this point in the workplace, while Boomers are obsessing over their legacies (which often means buildings or endowments) and Millennials are being flexible and adaptive (and feeling superior about it, looking down on the very institutions that make their lives possible), Xers are exhausting ourselves by doing the work, making sure everything runs, so all of us get our paychecks. The Xers are Jan Brady. The plain one who doesn’t have the time or energy to think big thoughts, and is constantly trying to translate between Boomers and Millennials so the workplace can function day-to-day.<br />
<br />
Gen Xers and those who operate like us are so wrapped up in the valley between two very visible shiny crests that we have lost the critical edge that seeks transformation. We are the son who stayed behind to work the farm, because who else was gonna do it, and grew bitter and cynical because we have worked through more recessions than preceding generations, have very little to show for it, didn’t get participation medals, and feel passed over and unrecognized between two genuinely gifted generations.<br />
<br />
Living stones are flexible, chosen by God even when society rejected them. But when we mistake the world’s measurements for what makes the best stone, we can become brittle. We can mistake actual stones, physical buildings, endowments, for living stones. We can worry about this building instead of the living stones this building serves. We get trapped by the fetish for legacy, wrapped up in the preoccupation for adapting, and our own self-pity because without us the place would fall apart, and forget people are thirsty, hungry, imprisoned, enslaved, worried about their healthcare leaving them broke. Instead of allowing ourselves to be built, as living stones, to be flexible and grateful and faithful, we end up trapped by our own rigidity.<br />
<br />
The author of 1 Peter says:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Once you were not a people, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but now you are God’s people; </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
once you had not received mercy, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:10).</div>
<br />
Who the hell cares about an actual building when people are terrified and hungry? We have received mercy. We are God’s people. Maybe we don’t have to be the ones to save American institutions. Maybe we have already been freed. We have a church to serve. Amen.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-91265028279991145382017-02-21T07:45:00.003-08:002017-02-21T07:49:55.630-08:00Persistent Women<i>The following is the text of a sermon preached at the <a href="http://www.lpts.edu/" target="_blank">Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary </a>on February 17, 2017. The Scripture reading is <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=148265782" target="_blank">Luke 18:1-8</a></i>.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Persistent Women</b></div>
<br />
I’m tired, y’all. I know you might be tired too.<br />
<br />
We all have a grind, whatever it is, learning, or teaching, or writing, or attending committee meetings, or making sure our parents are okay, or raising kids, or working to pay the bills, or discerning our call, or being active in our communities. Oh, and if we’re partnered, keeping that whole relationship healthy and whole, too. Most of us do five or six of these things at a time. And having a government in upheaval, whether or not we agree with the policies, is stressful on top of all that.<br />
<br />
Some of us pray more frequently nowadays.<br />
<br />
This parable from Jesus is about prayer. About the “need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Most people I know who come from religious families speak of the women who raised them who are fervent, faithful pray-ers. If you stick around the church, you will notice it’s often women who show up to make things happen, who pray unceasingly.<br />
<br />
Now, that could be because women live longer, and our churches are full with a particular generation. Or it could be that women speak more honestly with each other about our spiritual lives, because of how patriarchy has shaped men. Regardless, women are often the most present models for a faithful life.<br />
<br />
I love that Jesus’ story didn’t feature as its exemplar a man, which would have been his prerogative, and easy enough in a patriarchal society, but this is the gospel of Luke, after all.<br />
<br />
Instead he used the image of a widow. Not just a woman, but someone without a husband, without rights, without standing in society. Widows were the poorest of the poor, along with orphans, and immigrants. Women who married left their families and joined their husband’s families, so without a husband, many were without a family at all. Most did not have rights to inherit land or wealth.<br />
<br />
This widow petitioned a judge known for not fearing God, not respecting people. Instead of looking at this judge, and giving up on her own cause because of the judge’s record, she went and asked anyway. She pestered him until he granted her justice against her opponent.<br />
<br />
Jesus’ widow was no delicate flower. The literal translation of the word translated to “wear me out” is actually “to hit under the eye,” like in boxing (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Feasting-Gospels-Luke-Word-Commentary/dp/0664235522/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1487691781&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Feasting on the Gospels</a>, Luke Volume 2, Gregory Allen Robbins, p. 131). This judge is worried that a woman will give him a black eye. Most of our contemporary examples of persistence are held up as morally superior, never raising a voice or a hand. But this widow Jesus describes is using all of her tools. Respect.<br />
<br />
This is a frustrating passage, though. It contrasts this unjust judge, an extreme example, with God, who is just, willing to bring about quick justice. It is frustrating because that’s not what we see. We don’t see a world that caves quickly to demands for justice. God doesn’t respond to every prayer the way we would like. We see record numbers of refugees, wars and upheaval that will not end, persistent food insecurity, stubborn poverty, the new normal of opioid addiction and overdoses. What is our evidence that God is a just god?<br />
<br />
Some of us are results-oriented. Those of us shaped by western ideals like to look down the line at our goal, or want to see how outcomes match the original intent of a given process. If those of us in non-profit leadership had a dollar for every time a board member or a community member asked us how our methods brought about intended results, we could probably fund our own organizations pretty easily. And for those of us whose organizations are self-sustaining, we do have to care, a lot, about results. Our actions and methods and processes must be effective.<br />
<br />
Some of us treat our faith this way. Prosperity heretics spin lies to enrich themselves and fool those of us they ensnare with false hope: that a faith, a life, lived a certain way, will result in material gain. That physical comfort and luxury is the result of the right sort of faith. If only you believed in your own positive thoughts and prayers, you wouldn’t be struggling.<br />
<br />
Hold on to your hearts. Faith is not about results. Faith is about who we are and who we are called to be. Faith is a process, not a goal. The widow who kept coming back to demand justice against her opponent from a judge known to have no respect for God or people… Jesus portrays her as someone who hopes against hope.<br />
<br />
This is not a call to persist, because it will pay off in the end.<br />
<br />
No, it is a call to persist. Regardless.<br />
<br />
We will be denied. Millions of people every day are denied, no matter how they plead. Justice is not done, usually, or at least it seems, in our time.<br />
<br />
It would be a mistake to read this passage as Jesus saying God is the unjust judge. That would be horrible, seeing God as a grumpy ill-willed man in power who could put off someone in a vulnerable situation until she pesters him to the breaking point. In fact, the judge is the contrasting figure to God’s justice. After all, if this judge guy who only gave in because he was annoyed, could grant justice, how much more quickly will God, who is just?<br />
<br />
But if you’re anything like me, God’s time can be frustrating. Immigrants are being detained and deported, refugees turned back after jumping through 83 hoops to get here. People who make decisions that negatively impact millions of people around the world, people who profit from misery, live long and healthy lives, while people who wouldn’t hurt another living being die too young.<br />
<br />
It takes faith to keep on keeping on.<br />
<br />
Miguel de la Torre says “we are called to seek justice, not because it is easy or because in the end we will win; we are called to seek justice, regardless of the consequences, for the sake of justice” (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Feasting-Gospels-Luke-Word-Commentary/dp/0664235522/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1487691781&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Feasting on the Gospels</a>, Luke Volume 2, p. 132).<br />
<br />
The way Jesus describes this widow… This widow didn’t sit back and pray, expecting God to fix this judge problem she had. She showed up. She persisted. She boxed.<br />
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People we know who create change pray. But they also don’t wait passively for God to change things. They know God gave them agency, determination, and compassion sufficient to make change.<br />
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We all know persistent women. I used to think persistent women were awesome because women are awesome. But I am seeing how God works through these women. You and I know these women. We know women who became engineers and physicians and business owners and senior pastors and professors and mothers because they were stubborn and persistent. We know women who crossed borders, gave their children a better life, managed to leave abusive situations because they were determined and persistent. We know women who were raised in awful situations, but were better parents than the parents they knew, persisting in loving their own children. We know women who are the “firsts,” the first to graduate college, the first dean or the first engineer or the first senior pastor or the first president. We know women who work to make others the first. We know women who pray, and then go to the streets, or the legislature, or schools. They live their prayers out loud.<br />
<br />
In the face of these women, who risk their social standing, disapproval, violence, their community, who are we to give up before we start, just because the judge to whom we plead is known to neither fear God nor respect people?<br />
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Are we in this struggle because we are sure we can win? Sometimes. But sometimes we’re just in it because that’s how we can sleep at night. That’s how we make things right between us and God.<br />
<br />
I have always maintained that you can tell how just a society is by how it treats its most vulnerable, whether that be immigrants, or children, or women in a patriarchal system. Our call is to pray, and our call is to work towards justice for those most vulnerable. For women, all women, not just those of us who are married, not just those who are mothers, not just those of us whose womanhood matches the gender on our birth certificates, but all women. Because a society with women who have access to education and human rights is also one in which children flourish, and families have higher incomes. Because Jesus recognized the full humanity of the most vulnerable. Because God made each one of us, and it’s past time for all of us to act like incarnation truly matters.<br />
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Amen.Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-63030719057214172112017-01-04T13:46:00.000-08:002017-01-05T15:44:38.133-08:00Honoring our Grandmothers Have you ever been in a space where people speak movingly about the faith of their grandmothers? I always think, “oh, that’s interesting you have Christian grandmothers who talk about their faith.”<br />
<br />
My two paternal grandmothers were secular Jews. I saw convictions, not religious practice. My maternal grandmother was Presbyterian, but she certainly didn’t talk about it with me. I saw her actions more than anything else.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://oakland.chapelofthechimes.com/obituaries/Yuriko-Nishita/#!/Obituary" target="_blank">Yuriko Nishita</a>, my maternal grandmother and my last living grandparent, lived among us from January 31, 1926 to November 29th, 2016.<br />
<br />
I do not have all the facts about my grandmother, and I may have gotten some of the details wrong. What I do possess is my experience of her.<br />
<br />
She loved me and made sure I knew it, and she was salty. Whoever came up with the stereotype that Asian American women are meek and quiet probably never met anyone in my family. Over half of the women have (or had) sharp tongues.<br />
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In 2010, I told her I had gotten a new job in Atlanta after years in New York and Chicago. I was so excited, because that job was a great opportunity. She said, “Aren’t there any jobs in California?” When I got a job in Kentucky, I told her at least it was further west than Georgia.<br />
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I tried to hold her elbow once as she walked to lunch with me and my partner. She snapped, with a smile, “I’m not that frail.” I let go.<br />
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Here’s one of my favorite photos of her.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuZFe9qPkVfZX6OSEK2qUC3be1wToTqG-0eO-UMLIRT1Jpvor_kLcB3SWIvIro2AFRhnTRXqKyUQe50YrOObXODr8_Tifx9vaJTiRmN5ML3JR7_WYCmEoPDoL1hLSmuwDA-_4b0RJ11U/s1600/img006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuZFe9qPkVfZX6OSEK2qUC3be1wToTqG-0eO-UMLIRT1Jpvor_kLcB3SWIvIro2AFRhnTRXqKyUQe50YrOObXODr8_Tifx9vaJTiRmN5ML3JR7_WYCmEoPDoL1hLSmuwDA-_4b0RJ11U/s320/img006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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She was a California girl, born and raised. She was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisei" target="_blank">Nisei</a>, the second generation of Japanese Americans in the U.S. Her biological father died when she was very young, and her mother’s new husband didn’t want to have to raise so many children, so my grandmother was given to an older, very loving, childless couple to raise. Her adoptive mother died when she was still quite young. The only years she lived outside of California were her teenage years spent in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topaz_War_Relocation_Center" target="_blank">World War II concentration camp for people of Japanese descent in Topaz</a>, Utah.<br />
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As a young woman, she went to Oakland and worked for her room and board, wanting to be in the city instead of on the farm. She didn’t attend a four-year college, but all five of her daughters did (Cal Berkeley, by the way, being the only acceptable school, so I believe I was among the first to disappoint the family in that regard). She traveled the world with my grandfather, who worked internationally as a landscape architect.<br />
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Here’s a really cool photo of the two of them somewhere in Europe. Look at those two, all up in the nature in the middle of some architecturally spectacular town square.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvj7O70HCDURNd1iKO7ZfJhX8Vv8FW66NWthrSCXc1J1vatuCZXLQ2TwqedzVM2LSNaf19M0YrQSDpMC6TFQa-fdAc0Rhyphenhyphen7QsedvqI6Jee7r2WeGG5nz9rS2BadJZLhjQhCsW3fbeI6o/s1600/IMG_20161205_0001.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvj7O70HCDURNd1iKO7ZfJhX8Vv8FW66NWthrSCXc1J1vatuCZXLQ2TwqedzVM2LSNaf19M0YrQSDpMC6TFQa-fdAc0Rhyphenhyphen7QsedvqI6Jee7r2WeGG5nz9rS2BadJZLhjQhCsW3fbeI6o/s320/IMG_20161205_0001.tif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
She spoke in the plural “we” for as long as I could remember, on behalf of herself and my grandfather. I used to think it was about patriarchy, but now I think it was more than that. It was about her identity. We. Collective.<br />
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She experienced a lot of death and displacement in her early life. And in turn, her life taught me <i>gaman</i> (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/allegiancemusical/videos/10152880343237866/" target="_blank">George Takei’s musical “Allegiance” has a song named “Gaman”</a>). I know, I’m dramatic, but I have my own capacity to suck it up and endure. She survived breast cancer, and the second time cancer showed up, she lived far beyond what I had anticipated. She once said, “I might surprise you.” She usually did.<br />
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When she met my partner for the first time (who is Puerto Rican), I was slightly nervous. My grandmother smiled, shook hands, and spoke words of greeting in perfect Spanish, surprising every one of us. (I mean, what the hell? Who knew she spoke Spanish?)<br />
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My grandmother, for all my small disagreements with her, was a loving, deeply pragmatic, Japanese American woman, who believed in art, nature, beauty, hospitality, tea, gay rights, civil rights, and keeping up with the news. She didn’t coddle your feelings, even as she was kind and generous.<br />
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I’m not the kind of Christian who learned about prayer, hymns, service in the church, or Sunday School from my grandmothers. I learned being a Christian (or a Jew or a Buddhist) doesn’t solve your problems for you, when your problems are caused by structural oppression and discrimination. I learned that people should have convictions. I learned from all my grandparents to feed people, and to sometimes feed them a lot. I learned that anxiety about God is overrated. I learned that art and beauty matter. I learned education is the priority. I learned we are more than individuals.<br />
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I learned to use my sharp tongue in love. So here it is: I’m terribly disappointed my grandmother lived to see the election to the office of President of the United States someone who threatened to bring back internment camps for Muslims, many of whose supporters believe the Japanese American internment camps were a good idea.<br />
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In honor of my grandparents (and perhaps in honor of the work yours did or the indignities they suffered, too), let's not repeat history. No person of any age, race, ethnicity, or religion deserves to be put in a camp to satisfy American bigotry thinly veiled under the guise of security (something that is unsupported by intelligence). This happened after Pearl Harbor, after the attacks of 9/11, and we live on the verge of it happening again.<br />
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My family might be college educated and relatively assimilated, but I still see the material and psychological impact internment had on us, even two generations removed.<br />
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I owe her. We owe them. So buck up, kids. We have four years to fight like hell in honor of our grandmothers because we were loved and we love (and even if we don’t really love each other, we are bound to each other anyway). We need each other. We are more than individuals. We. Collective.<br />
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-6344836918797589192016-08-31T06:18:00.001-07:002017-01-05T08:26:30.629-08:00Resources on Sexual Orientation, Biblical Interpretation, Same Sex Marriage (and Marriage, generally speaking), and Being a ChristianHere's your one stop shop for resources we offer from the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, via <a href="http://thethoughtfulchristian.com/">TheThoughtfulChristian.com</a>. The majority are geared toward a more general Christian audience than just Presbyterians. Happy reading!<br />
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<b>Books</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/066426218X/the-bibles-yes-to-samesex-marriage-new-edition-with-study-guide.aspx" target="_blank">The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage: An Evangelical’s Change of Heart</a>, by Mark Achtemeier<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/066426221X/unclobber.aspx" target="_blank">UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality</a>, by Colby Martin<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664262228/mom-im-gay-revised-and-expanded-edition.aspx" target="_blank">Mom, I’m Gay: Loving Your LGBTQ Child and Strengthening Your Faith</a>, by Susan Cottrell<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664260403/permission-grantedtake-the-bible-into-your-own-hands.aspx" target="_blank">Permission Granted: Take the Bible into Your Own Hands</a>, Chapter 4, by Jennifer Grace Bird<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664262198/inclusive-marriage-services.aspx" target="_blank">Inclusive Marriage Services: A Wedding Sourcebook</a>, edited by Kimberly Bracken Long & David Maxwell<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664239307/from-this-day-forwardrethinking-the-christian-wedding.aspx" target="_blank">From This Day Forward: Rethinking the Christian Wedding</a>, by Kimberly Bracken Long<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664239382/whats-the-least-i-can-believe-and-still-be-a-christian.aspx" target="_blank">What the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?</a>, Chapter 9, by Martin Thielen<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664262686/a-letter-to-my-anxious-christian-friends.aspx" target="_blank">A Letter to My Anxious Christian Friends</a>, Chapter 11, by David P. Gushee<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/066423397X/jesus-the-bible-and-homosexuality-revised-and-expanded-edition.aspx" target="_blank">Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality</a>, by Jack Rogers<br />
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<br />
<b>Downloadable Studies</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/511108/human-sexuality-knowing-the-terms-and-definitions-in-the-context-of-gods-love.aspx" target="_blank">Human Sexuality: Knowing the Terms and Definitions in the Context of God’s Love</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/511215/gods-gift-of-human-sexuality.aspx" target="_blank">God’s Gift of Human Sexuality</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/511110/a-reformedpresbyterian-understanding-of-human-sexuality.aspx" target="_blank">A Reformed-Presbyterian Understanding of Human Sexuality</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0439/the-bible-and-homosexuality.aspx" target="_blank">The Bible and Homosexuality</a>, by Susan R. Garrett & Martha Bettis-Gee<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC5081/samesex-marriage.aspx" target="_blank">Same-Sex Marriage: For Better or for Worse? (Youth Study)</a>, by Adam J. Copeland<br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0045/samesex-marriage.aspx" target="_blank">Same-Sex Marriage: For Better, for Worse?</a>, by Nancy J. Duff<br />
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-52391572412724496612016-07-21T12:50:00.000-07:002016-07-21T12:50:07.025-07:00Racial Justice Resources, Chapter 5: Culture & Womanism<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You may read previous chapters here.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-episode-1.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 1: Disclaimers, Baby Steps, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory</i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-2-for.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 2: For Church Study, Feminist Work, & Theology</i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-3-news.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 3: News Sources & Organizations, Whiteness & White Supremacy</i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-4.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 4: History & Poetry</i></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Culture, Etc.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Between-World-Me-Ta-Nehisi-Coates/dp/0812993543/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468859397&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Between the World & Me</a>, by Ta-Nehisi Coates</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XQEYT6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank">Yellow: Race in America Between Black and White</a>, by Frank Wu</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Next-American-Revolution-Sustainable-Twenty-First/dp/0520272595/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=" target="_blank">The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century, Updated & Expanded Edition</a>, by Grace Lee Boggs with Scott Kurashige</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595586431/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468859602&sr=1-1&keywords=the+new+jim+crow" target="_blank">The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness</a>, by Michelle Alexander</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Kids-Sitting-Together-Cafeteria/dp/0465083617/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468859664&sr=1-1&keywords=Why+Do+All+the+Black+Kids+Sit+Together+in+the+Cafeteria%3F" target="_blank">Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race</a>, by Beverly Daniel Tatum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664224598/african-american-religious-thought.aspx" target="_blank">African American Religious Thought: An Anthology</a>, by Cornel West and Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Womanism</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Womanism gets its own category.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Wilderness-Challenge-Womanist-God-Talk/dp/088344772X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468504497&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk</a>, by Deloris Williams </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Search-Our-Mothers-Gardens-Womanist/dp/0156028646/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469126709&sr=8-2&keywords=womanist" target="_blank">In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose</a>, by Alice Walker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/066423903X/womanist-midrash.aspx" target="_blank">Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne</a>, by Wilda C. Gafney </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664259871/an-introduction-to-womanist-biblical-interpretation.aspx" target="_blank">An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation</a>, by Nyasha Junior</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664235379/womanist-theological-ethics.aspx" target="_blank">Womanist Theological Ethics: A Reader</a>, edited by Katie Geneva Cannon, Emilie M. Townes, Angela D. Sims</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Katies-Canon-Womanism-Black-Community/dp/0826410340/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1469126851&sr=8-14&keywords=womanism" target="_blank">Katie's Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community</a>, by Katie Geneva Cannon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664238238/feminist-and-womanist-essays-in-reformed-dogmatics.aspx" target="_blank">Feminist and Womanist Essays in Reformed Dogmatics</a>, edited by Amy Plantinga Pauw and Serene Jones </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664239250/when-momma-speaks.aspx" target="_blank">When Momma Speaks: The Bible and Motherhood from a Womanist Perspective</a>, by Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Aint-Womanist-Too-Religious-Innovations/dp/0800698762/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1469126709&sr=8-4&keywords=womanist" target="_blank">Ain't I a Womanist, Too?: Third Wave Womanist Religious Thought</a>, by Monica A. Coleman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Our-Lives-Matter-Womanist-Theology/dp/1498206646/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1469126709&sr=8-5&keywords=womanist" target="_blank">Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology</a>, by Pamela R. Lightsey</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Just-Sister-Away-Understanding-Connection-ebook/dp/0931055520/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&qid=1469126774&sr=8-26&keywords=womanist" target="_blank">Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of Women's Relationships in the Bible</a>, by Renita J. Weems</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-17644113937914667052016-07-18T10:46:00.001-07:002016-07-18T10:46:55.818-07:00Racial Justice Resources, Chapter 4: History & Poetry<i>You may read previous chapters here.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-episode-1.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 1: Disclaimers, Baby Steps, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory</i></a><br />
<a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-2-for.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 2: For Church Study, Feminist Work, & Theology</i></a><br />
<a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-3-news.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 3: News Sources & Organizations, Whiteness & White Supremacy</i></a><br />
<br />
<br />
I love reading history. I love that history is not only definitive story, but also threads of narrative told from a variety of perspectives. Here's a brief selected bibliography.<br />
<br />
<b>History</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062397346/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862537&sr=1-1&keywords=A+People%E2%80%99s+History+of+the+United+States" target="_blank">A People’s History of the United States</a>, by Howard Zinn<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Larger-Memory-History-Diversity-Voices/dp/0316311626/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862890&sr=1-1&keywords=A+larger+memory" target="_blank">A Larger Memory: A History of Our Diversity</a>, With Voices, by Ronald Takaki<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/0743296281/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=K0C2JBJYHXYWRFQGQ2WV" target="_blank">Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong</a>, by James W. Loewen<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Across-America-Historic-Sites/dp/074329629X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468862616&sr=1-4" target="_blank">Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong</a>, by James W. Loewen<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Indigenous-Peoples-History-ReVisioning-American/dp/0807057835/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862674&sr=1-1&keywords=An+Indigenous+Peoples%E2%80%99+History+of+the+United+States" target="_blank">An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (Revisioning American History)</a>, by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Upon-These-Shores-1513-2008/dp/0307476855/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468863566&sr=1-2&keywords=african+american+history" target="_blank">Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History 1513-2008</a>, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Malcolm-America-Dream-Nightmare/dp/1570759790/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=" target="_blank">Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare</a>, by James H. Cone<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/White-Law-10th-Anniversary-Construction/dp/0814736947/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862705&sr=1-1&keywords=white+by+law" target="_blank">White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race</a>, by Ian Haney-Lopez<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Undocumented-How-Immigration-Became-Illegal/dp/0807001678/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468862756&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal</a>, by Aviva Chomsky<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Different-Shore-History-Americans/dp/0316831301/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862470&sr=1-1&keywords=strangers+from+a+different+shore" target="_blank">Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian America</a>, by Ronald Takaki<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Asian-American-Dreams-Emergence-People/dp/0374527369/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51RQOPuOj-L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR109%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=552EATCWK2Z93KRT7XNK" target="_blank">Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People</a>, by Helen Zia<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Woman-History-Racial-America/dp/0195117883/ref=sr_1_19?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862789&sr=1-19&keywords=Changing+Woman" target="_blank">Changing Woman: A History of Racial Ethnic Women in Modern America</a>, by Karen Anderson<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Loving-War-Years-Classics-English/dp/0896086267/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468862825&sr=1-1&keywords=Loving+in+the+war+years" target="_blank">Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca Paso Por Sus Labios</a>, by Cherríe L. Moraga<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mammy-Miss-America-Beyond-Cultural/dp/0415042534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468504754&sr=8-1&keywords=from+mammy+to+miss+america" target="_blank">From Mammy to Miss America and Beyond: Cultural Images and the Shaping of US Social Policy</a>, by K. Sue Jewell<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Harvest-Empire-History-Latinos-America/dp/0143119281/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468863860&sr=1-3&keywords=latino+history" target="_blank">Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America</a>, by Juan Gonzalez<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Poetry</b><br />
<br />
This is a woefully incomplete list of poets. I decided to give just a taste of the poets I’ve most loved to read over the years. This is a list of women of color poets I would consider almost “classics” in contemporary (or recent past) U.S. literature.<br />
<br />
Nayyirah Waheed<br />
Maya Angelou<br />
Janice Mirikitani<br />
Sonia Sanchez<br />
Elizabeth Alexander<br />
Suheir Hammad<br />
June Jordan<br />
Nikki Giovanni<br />
Joy Harjo<br />
Lucille Clifton<br />
Mitsuye Yamada<br />
Leslie Marmon Silko<br />
Gwendolyn Brooks<br />
Sonia Sanchez<br />
<br />
I also tend to keep an eye on spoken word, especially the young people who perform in the Brave New Voices festival. If you want to feel better about the capacity of young people to name hard truths, claim love and beauty in struggle, locate voice as people of color in white supremacist America, and claim antiracist white identities, go find them. You can follow them on social media, find videos online, and join the network here: <a href="http://youthspeaks.org/bravenewvoices/" target="_blank">http://youthspeaks.org/bravenewvoices/ </a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-6477821310315765122016-07-15T11:23:00.001-07:002016-07-18T10:48:25.524-07:00Racial Justice Resources, Chapter 3: News Sources & Organizations, Whiteness & White Supremacy<i>You may read other chapters here.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-episode-1.html" target="_blank"><i>Chapter 1: Disclaimers, Baby Steps, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory here.</i></a><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-2-for.html" target="_blank">Chapter 2: For Church Study, Feminist Work, & Theology</a></i><br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-4.html" target="_blank">Chapter 4: History & Poetry</a></i><br />
<br />
<b>News Sources & Organizations</b><br />
<br />
I’m a big fan of exposing myself to information. Corporate news that we all have access to is incomplete at best (somewhat by necessity), so if you do want to know more, here are organizations, news sources, publications, podcasts, and radio shows you may want to follow on Twitter and Facebook, subscribe to, listen to, or support.<br />
<br />
Post your contributions in the comments!<br />
<br />
Because there are so many ways to interact with these listed below, I will not post links. Simply go to your preferred platform and search.<br />
<br />
Black Lives Matter<br />
Native Lives Matter<br />
18 Million Rising<br />
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans<br />
NPR’s Code Switch (show and podcast)<br />
The Feminist Wire<br />
Colorlines<br />
Facing Race<br />
Muslim AntiRacism<br />
Fusion<br />
Latino Rebels<br />
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference<br />
Audre Lorde Project<br />
Southerners on New Ground<br />
Center for Asian American Media<br />
ChangeLab<br />
NAACP<br />
Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund<br />
Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund<br />
Council on American-Islamic Relations<br />
Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund<br />
<br />
<b>Whiteness & White Supremacy</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Dear-White-Christians-Reconciliation-Christianity/dp/0802872077/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468606444&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Dear White Christians</a>, by Jennifer Harvey<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Dark-Whiteness-Literary-Imagination/dp/0679745424" target="_blank">Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination</a>, by Toni Morrison<br />
<a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Witnessing-Whiteness-Need-About-Second/dp/1607092573/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468606470&sr=1-1&keywords=witnessing+whiteness" target="_blank">Witnessing Whiteness: The Need to Talk About Race and How to Do It</a>, by Shelly Tochluk<br />
<a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Working-Toward-Whiteness-Americas-Immigrants/dp/0465070744/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468606517&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Working Toward Whiteness: How America's Immigrants Became White</a>, by David Roediger<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wages-Whiteness-American-Working-Haymarket/dp/1844671453/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51ryF9fs46L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR214%2C320_&psc=1&refRID=69F3W4D22FSHY7EGKC0M" target="_blank">The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class</a>, by David Roediger<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Making-Unmaking-Whiteness-Brander-Rasmussen/dp/0822327406/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468442167&sr=1-10" target="_blank">The Making and Unmaking of Whiteness</a><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Critical-White-Studies-Looking-Behind/dp/1566395321/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XBWYTT322T9A9DH2XK1T" target="_blank">Critical White Studies: Looking Behind the Mirror</a>, edited by Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disrupting-Supremacy-Within-Jennifer-Harvey/dp/0829816070/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468606800&sr=1-13" target="_blank">Disrupting White Supremacy from Within</a>, edited by Jennifer Harvey, Karin A. Case, & Robin Hawley Gorsline<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-58903492464085174322016-07-14T08:40:00.000-07:002016-07-18T10:49:50.703-07:00Racial Justice Resources, Chapter 2: For Church Study, Feminist Work, & Theology<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>You may read <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-episode-1.html" target="_blank">Chapter 1: Disclaimers, Baby Steps, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory here</a>.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-3-news.html" target="_blank">Chapter 3: News Sources & Organizations, Whiteness & White Supremacy</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-4.html" target="_blank">Chapter 4: History & Poetry</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will take pity upon readers and open each chapter with the
stuff that’s meant to be easy to read. But anyone (and I mean anyone) with
access to a dictionary or a library can find a way into the other stuff here. I
was reading college textbooks in high school and doing graduate-level
statistical analyses as a junior in college. It sucked, but I learned a lot.
That’s how I believe you can do some of this reading!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have suggested resources I didn't include, please add them in the comments!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For Church Study</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For Presbyterian Church Groups<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.presbyterianmission.org/wp-content/uploads/belharstudyguide1.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Confession of Belhar study</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.pcusastore.com/Products/680751/the-confession-of-belhar-leaders-guide.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being Reformed Curriculum Series: The Confession of Belhar, Participant’s Book</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.pcusastore.com/Products/680854/race--reconciliation-the-confessions-of-1967-and-belhar-workbook.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being Reformed Curriculum Series: Race & Reconciliation:The Confessions of 1967 and Belhar, Workbook</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/racialjustice/study_guides/final_antiracism_study_guides_with_cover_page.pdf" target="_blank">Facing Racism study guides</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://store.pcusa.org/PWR10045" target="_blank">Becoming theBeloved Community: People of Faith Working Together to Eradicate Racism: A Study Guide for Presbyterian Women</a>, produced by Presbyterian Women in DVD format, four 15-minute
segments and accompanying study guide</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For all Church Groups<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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David Maxwell (This is the only book in this list I've read, because I contributed to it.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The UCC has resources for their <a href="http://www.ucc.org/sacred-conversation" target="_blank">Sacred Conversations on Race</a>
that can be helpful to everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Feminist Work (minus the Christian stuff)</span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.iamsocialjustice.com/images/Color_of_Violence.pdf" target="_blank">Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy: Rethinking Women of Color Organizing</a> chapter by Andrea Smith in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Color-Violence-Incite-Anthology/dp/089608762X" target="_blank">The Color of Violence: the Incite! Anthology</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Sexual-Violence-American-Genocide/dp/0822360381/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468509803&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Making-Face-Soul-Haciendo-Caras/dp/1879960109/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468509688&sr=1-4&keywords=making+face%2C+making" target="_blank">Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative & Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color</a>, edited by Gloria Anzaldúa</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-Bridge-Called-Back-Fourth/dp/1438454384/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468509735&sr=1-1&keywords=this+bridge+called+my+back" target="_blank">This Bridge Called My Back, Fourth Edition: Writings by Radical Women of Color</a>, edited by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/killing-rage-Ending-Racism-Book/dp/0805050272/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468509625&sr=1-9&keywords=bell+hooks" target="_blank">killing rage: Ending Racism,</a> by bell hooks (she’s written so
much, it’s hard to choose just one)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Feminist-Thought-Consciousness-Empowerment/dp/0415964725/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468509574&sr=1-3&keywords=patricia+hill+collins" target="_blank">Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and thePolitics of Empowerment</a>, by Patricia Hill Collins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Theology (This field grows just as fast as the feminist field, so there are many newer works I should have added but didn't. Also, </b></span><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">if you noticed this looks incomplete, Womanism is going to get its own category in another chapter.</span></b><b style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">)</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664236790/beyond-the-pale.aspx" target="_blank">Beyond the Pale: Reading Theology from the Margins</a>, edited
by Miguel de la Torre & Stacey Floyd-Thomas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664228836/postcolonial-imagination-and-feminist-theology.aspx" target="_blank">Post-Colonial Imagination and Feminist Theology</a>, by <o:p></o:p>Kwok Pui-Lan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Imagination-Theology-Origins-Race/dp/0300171366/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=" target="_blank">The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race</a>, by <o:p></o:p>Willie James Jennings</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Theology-Power-James-Cone/dp/1570751579/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468504633&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Black Theology & Black Power,</a> by James Cone </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Mulatto-Theology-Christian-Hybridity/dp/1602582939/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468504432&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race & Christian Hybridity</a>, by Brian Bantum</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Reader-Latina-Feminist-Theology-Religion/dp/0292705123/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468504552&sr=1-1&keywords=latina+feminist" target="_blank">A Reader in Latina Feminist Theology</a>, edited by Maria Pilar
Aquino, Daisy Machado, & Jeanette Rodriguez</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Enfleshing-Freedom-Intersections-Innovations-Religious/dp/0800662741/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468505066&sr=1-1&keywords=enfleshing+freedom" target="_blank">Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, & Being</a>, by M. Shawn
Copeland</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Racism-God-Talk-Ruben-Rodriguez-ebook/dp/B002ZW5UE2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468505134&sr=1-1&keywords=racism+and+godtalk" target="_blank">Racism & God-Talk: A Latino/a Perspective</a>, by Ruben
Rosario Rodriguez</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deliver-Us-Evil-James-Poling/dp/0800629043/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468505266&sr=1-3&keywords=james+poling" target="_blank">Deliver Us From Evil: Resisting Racial and Gender Oppression</a>, by James Newton Poling</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664231403/off-the-menu------------------.aspx" target="_blank">Off the Menu: Asian & Asian North American Women's Religion and Theology</a>, edited by Jung Ha Kim, Kwok Pui-Lan, Rita Nakashima Brock, & Seung Ai Yang</span></div>
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-66273057617136731552016-07-13T13:16:00.000-07:002016-07-18T10:50:34.987-07:00Racial Justice Resources, Chapter 1: Disclaimers, Baby Steps, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory<i>You may read <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-2-for.html" target="_blank">Chapter 2: For Church Study, Feminist Work, & Theology here</a>.</i><br />
<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-3-news.html" target="_blank">Chapter 3: News Sources & Organizations; Whiteness & White Supremacy</a></i><br />
<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2016/07/racial-justice-resources-chapter-4.html" target="_blank">Chapter 4: History & Poetry</a></i><br />
<br />
I get asked for resources periodically. Sharing resources is my job. I've been asked about racial justice resources. I started a list over a year ago and it's time to post it, however incomplete.<br />
<br />
The list is getting big. So I will post in brief chapters. Here's Chapter 1. A beginning. More will be posted throughout this week.<br />
<br />
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No, I haven’t read everything I’m about to post. <o:p></o:p>Not all of these resources are church-related or religious. That’s because any good Christian is informed by work in multiple sectors and disciplines. Because our world is informed by all of it. I will post blogs, news sources, books, articles, training organizations, people everyone should read or listen to. I will post academic books, books written to be understandable to the average reader, sources that aren't Christian, and people/resources that may be controversial. That's because I respect our capacity to handle it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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You may notice something or someone you would recommend is missing. I have not included every possible resource for the following reasons:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-There are a lot of resources out there and they won’t fit
here. (Add in the comments!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-I haven’t read them yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-They are by or are people who are jerks (and not the jerks
I enjoy).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-They are by or are people who are unaccountable to a larger
community engaged in antiracism work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-The analyses they offer are overly binary, depending on
issues between white people and black people, to the exclusion of a
more complicated analysis and full reading of history. We who aren’t black or
white understand there are a ton of issues there, but if we know we can't bring about racial justice without pulling on all the threads that exist. If I do recommend something with a binary
analysis, it’s because I trust its inherent brilliance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Baby Steps</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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For those just beginning to think about race, difference, racial justice, and faith, read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Eric+Law&search-alias=books&field-author=Eric+Law&sort=relevancerank" target="_blank">every book by Eric Law</a>. His work offers excellent processes, lots of good exercises to do in groups, thoughtful questions, and a lovely
writing style. The more you know, the more you can get out of his work, but it's safe for beginners.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><b>Intersectionality</b> </o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality" target="_blank">Here's a definition</a>, with a great selected bibliography. Read.</o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Intersectionality-Concepts-Patricia-Hill-Collins/dp/0745684491/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468434352&sr=1-4&keywords=critical+race+theory" target="_blank">Intersectionality (Key Concepts)</a>, by Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge</div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><b>Critical Race Theory</b></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Global-Critical-Race-Feminism-International/dp/081479338X" target="_blank">Global Critical Race Feminism</a>, edited by Adrien Katherine Wing (My first full critical race theory book was the first edition.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Race-Theory-Writings-Movement/dp/1565842715/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468434352&sr=1-2&keywords=critical+race+theory" target="_blank">Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement</a>, edited by Kimberle Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Friends, readers, colleagues, please add your suggestions in the comments! I can go back and amend the episodes based on your contributions.</b></div>
<br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-3706630615225257442016-07-08T12:09:00.001-07:002016-07-08T12:36:41.497-07:00Who Benefits? Who Loses?<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
</span><br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"GOD LOVES BLACKNESS. Too many have denied this basic truth for too long. Our choice to align ourselves with love and not hate requires both a rejection of racism and a positive proclamation that God delights in black lives." This comes from the newly approved PC (U.S.A.) <a href="https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/facing-racism-vision-intercultural-community-churchwide-antiracism-policy/" target="_blank">revised antiracism policy</a> (newly dubbed "intercultural" policy).</span></div>
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">This week has only reinforced the need for the proclamation that God loves blackness. </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">And then... </span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1">A beautiful night shared between a very proactive police department (seriously, they were trying to do some good work) and a city with significant support for nationwide reform of policing, was destroyed in gunfire, another mass shooting in a nation already weary. I know this pastor interviewed in the links listed below (the Rev. </span><span class="s2">Michael W. Waters</span><span class="s1">). He's the first of many pastors in Dallas I thought of when I heard about the sniper fire. I knew he and others I know would be at the march to end the violence that took the lives of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile too soon (Two Latinx men were also killed by police this week: Pedro Villanueva and Anthony Nunez). These were people who loved and were loved. They deserve all the marches. Their lives merit true systemic change. And then, more gunfire.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">My wise spouse, who has done antiracism organizing and training for seventeen years, asks this question of every situation: Who benefits? </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In the shootings of police officers in Dallas, who benefits?</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I already know who benefits. </span>White supremacy. Who loses? We all do. This entire country, and the whole world. Our agendas spill over into our foreign policy. If we want to end violence, we need to end it for all. We who believe black lives matter, also believe no police officer or public safety official should be killed for doing their jobs.<br />
<br />
This is not a post based on false equivalencies. This is a post about both/and, rejecting either/or. Who benefits from either/or thinking? (See above.) This is just a mid-point. This is the not the beginning of the conversation, and this is not the end.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Don't settle for the simple today. Know this is complex, ongoing, in a system in which we participate in various ways, and that everyone needs everyone else to show up - the black and brown people harassed and killed at much higher rates than white people, people racialized as Muslim who face skyrocketing rates of hate crimes, the immigrants rounded up to appease anti-immigrant forces and line the pockets of for-profit companies running detention centers, high rates of discrimination and violence against trans and queer folk, emergency responders who face ongoing threats of violence in already dangerous situations, officers who are trying to do their best in a system that increasingly relies on punitive actions by officers to backfill budget gaps created by the political elite, those around the world reeling from the impact our foreign policy has on them, and the generations after us.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
End conditions by which more black people are killed by police. End conditions by which people will kill police. End the either/or thinking that pits movements against each other instead of forging alliances between them. Institutional racism kills. A violent society that encourages gun ownership kills. Demonizing the "other" kills. And sending people off to war kills too many, including the souls of some of the soldiers we say we support so much. </div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
How we function as a society is the problem, not individuals. We have created the conditions, whether or not we meant to, whether or not we are the primary victims or the primary perpetrators or the primary beneficiaries. </div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
What country do we want to leave the generations that follow? What kind of American church legacy do we Christians want to leave after the horrors of this week? These are theological questions. Our material realities are theological at their roots. Do we truly believe God loves us unconditionally, with our secret shames and our public mistakes? Do we try to live fully God's commands to love God, love one another, and care materially and spiritually for the widow and the orphan and the immigrant? Do we see one another as created wholly and wonderfully by God? Do we really believe God knits each person together in their mothers' wombs? Do we trust God? Is it possible to love God with heart, soul, and mind, while voting and living in ways that diminish life for the poor, the black, the brown, the indigenous? </div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Think about it.<br />
<br />
Black Lives Matter.<br />
<br />
*I have benefited a great deal regarding both/and thinking from the ongoing work of <a href="http://crossroadsantiracism.org/" target="_blank">Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training</a>, and their antiracist values.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/pastor-who-helped-lead-dallas-rally-recounts-aftermath-of-police-ambush/" target="_blank">*A video interview with CBS news of the Rev. Michael W. Waters</a></div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/07/08/485250968/pastor-at-dallas-rally-says-crowd-was-dispersing-when-gunshots-rang-out" target="_blank">*A radio interview of the Rev. Michael W. Waters with NPR</a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.montreat.org/disgrace/" target="_blank">*A church conference resource (DISGRACE: Seeking God's Grace Amidst the Disgrace of Racism, at Montreat Conference Center)</a></span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
*Hymnal resources (from the <a href="http://www.pcusastore.com/Products/CategoryCenter/PHYM/hymnal-products.aspx" target="_blank">Glory to God hymnal)</a>:</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The last three days in our country leave many of us without words. Music gives us voice. Here are some #hymns related to racial justice you can use during these troubling times. We suggest you use them during both personal reflection and upcoming church services:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
<br />
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">79 - Light Dawns on a Weary World</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">203 - Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">246 - Christ Is Alive!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">300 - We Are One in the Spirit</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">317/318 - In Christ There Is No East or West</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">345 - In an Age of Twisted Values</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">346 - For the Healing of the Nations</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">383 - Dream On, Dream On</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">756 - O God of Every Nation</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">759 - O God, We Bear the Imprint</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">768 - Somos el cuerpo de Cristo/We Are the Body of Christ</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">#PrayersforAlton #PrayersforPhilando #PrayersforDallas #PrayersforPedro #PrayersforAnthony #BlackLivesMatter</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-8883499062314920162016-06-22T15:46:00.000-07:002016-06-23T08:07:32.603-07:00A Legion of DemonsA Legion of Demons<br />
Luke 8:26-39<br />
<br />
The Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz<br />
Westminster Presbyterian Church<br />
June 19, 2016<br />
<br />
I don’t know about you, when I think about preaching, there’s nothing more fun and unexpected than the passage on the Gerasene demoniac. From a purely literary standpoint, this is a great story. Jesus travels a ways to Gerasa, significant because it had a strong non-Jewish presence, foreshadowing his ministry to people who are not Jewish, and met a man possessed. This story contains elements specific to Jewish sensibilities – pigs (unclean), tombs (unclean), naked (probably not a good sign). To have a human being chained, where the dead are buried, naked, and guarded denotes serious social and religious isolation. We don’t know anything about this man except his current condition. We don’t know how Jesus heard of him. We don’t know how long the demons have possessed him, we don’t know how hard the community tried to keep him and themselves safe and in their midst before he came to the tombs.<br />
<br />
But we know he no longer identifies himself by the name given him by his family. He is wholly subsumed by his demons.<br />
<br />
This is the only possession encountered by Jesus in which the demons are multiple. “Legion,” they are, and they know exactly who Jesus is, they know him as “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.” Legion, of course, is the same name used for Roman forces. A legion was five or six thousand soldiers of the occupying imperial power. Instead of asking for healing, like most of the people Jesus encounters, this man, the unclean of the unclean, begs to be left alone.<br />
<br />
Jesus does his thing, of course. When the demons realized they had no choice but to evacuate the premises, they asked to enter the swine, and when Jesus gave his permission, that’s what they did. Rushed right into a herd of pigs, who subsequently drowned themselves.<br />
<br />
While primarily vegetarian, I do not support the waste of perfectly good apparently free-range pork and I feel for the swineherds who raised these pigs and just lost maybe years of income. The swineherds run and tell what they have seen all over the region, and when the people hear, they come to Jesus, and find the man clothed, in full possession of his faculties, seated at the feet of Jesus.<br />
<br />
They are terrified. As Jesus takes his leave of them, he sends the man out, back to his home, to declare how much God has done for him.<br />
<br />
It’s a great story. I never really thought about much before deciding this would be the perfect text to preach from for today. I took it as another healing story, but with the added fun of pigs.<br />
<br />
In our contemporary reading of ancient texts, in which we might be tempted to explain demonic possession as the way the ancient world understood mental illness, or perhaps as one of those stories that hold truth, but not historical fact, or as simply a way to help explain how Jesus’ ministry eventually expanded beyond its original Jewish audience to include the Gentiles, scholar Justo Gonzalez thinks we should reclaim the acknowledgement of and respect for the demonic that Jesus had.<br />
<br />
Let’s review the evidence.<br />
<br />
Where is the demonic today?<br />
<br />
Our demons are Legion.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>In our society, we ensure access to all manner of guns meant to fire a ridiculous number of bullets with one pull of the trigger.</li>
<li>We criminalize people suffering with addiction.</li>
<li>We discard people who are too poor, condemning them to prison over the inability to pay petty fines for minor offenses many of us have committed at one time or another.</li>
<li>We do not provide enough to eat for every child. We do not make sure every person has a place to live that is safe and stable.</li>
<li>We allow the government of this country to use drones to drop bombs on other people in other countries.</li>
<li>We allow the government to, effectively, colonize land that probably shouldn’t be ours.</li>
<li>We maintain a society that shapes children so as they grow up, they maintain rape culture, allowing all of us to believe boys and men are entitled to girls’ and women’s bodies.</li>
<li>We participate and maintain a toxic culture of masculinity that diminishes the emotional lives of men, enforces gender binaries, and inflicts violence on the rest of us who get in the way.</li>
<li>We make possible a culture that does violence to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people through what we say and whatever we leave unsaid. </li>
<li>Our legal system and culture and often our religion erase, make invisible, imprison, diminish, and discount Native Americans and Native Alaskans, Arab Americans, Latinxs, African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Muslims.</li>
<li>We suspect immigrants of being malicious, accuse people who demand equal rights of wanting to be treated like they’re special. </li>
<li>And then we declare this system of white supremacist heteropatriarchy and its enabling form of capitalism sanctioned by God, reason, the market, legal precedent, inevitability.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Is this story about mental illness, a misunderstanding of how our brains work? I don’t know. Should I keep an eye out for literal demons? I don’t know.<br />
<br />
What I do know is this. We must take these demons seriously.<br />
<br />
We, too, have people who become outcasts. We, too, have demons inside us, whether they be individual, or collective. We, too, may be disturbed by the outsider sent to proclaim what we thought was our gospel.<br />
<br />
We, too, must be freed from our demons. And when we are freed, we are sent to proclaim what Jesus has done for us.<br />
<br />
Proclaiming what Jesus has done for us is not because everything has been simple or uncomplicated. This is not a shallow proclamation. This is not something all of us can say easily.<br />
<br />
We proclaim because life has been hard. Not all of us have been banished to live among the dead, bound with chains, possessed. Not all of us have struggled with mental illness, with living under a repressive colonial government. But all of us, as individuals, as families, as a church, have had our hearts broken open over and over again. We have seen suffering. We have lived suffering.<br />
<br />
And it is this suffering from which emerges the deepest joy. Not because suffering is good. Not because I think God uses suffering. Not because we are made stronger or because we are unbreakable. No. Those of us who have been reduced to cowering on the ground in grief and torment and terror, if we make it out, we know what it is to go from naked to clothed, possessed to in our right minds, from chaos and disorder to going out to share the good news of what has been done for us. We know how good news can be difficult to believe, hard to hear, not exactly what we want, but usually what we need.<br />
<br />
We who hear this story have no reason to turn away from hope.<br />
<br />
It is turning from a myopic focus on our own fears about decline, our fears of not speaking prophetically enough, our fears about becoming too political, our fears about how much we lose in this time of rapid social change, to the news of what God has done for us.<br />
<br />
If you recall from the Scripture for today that the demons do not just depart. They do not dissolve into the atmosphere. They have to relocate. In this world of the Scriptures, evil is not erased. It moves.<br />
<br />
Being a Christian is not living in some fantasy world of butterflies and unicorns. Demons do not simply disappear. Being a Christian, struggling with our faith, struggling to find the will to be part of a community that can be exasperating, is to see a world full of demons, to know these demons better than we would like to, and know exactly what we are up against. It is to stare death, chaos, and disorder in the face and proclaim the gift of life, God’s presence, the power of community, in the same breath. It is deciding to live resurrection.<br />
<br />
Hope is the queer community showing up at Pride. Hope is being brown and gender nonconforming, and leaving one’s house every day. Hope is the young black person protesting police brutality because there are beautiful people out there who deserve to live. Hope are the parents of children playing in parks or walking back from the convenience store or listening to loud music, and the family members of people attending a Bible study, killed by a white supremacist, a wanna-be cop, a police officer, an angry middle aged man with a gun in his car, showing up to vigil after vigil, Congressional hearings, rallies, crying out for justice, for concrete change, for other people’s children. Hope is the woman who goes out to a party with her friends and has the audacity to dress up and drink and have a great time. Hope is the family fleeing violence in another land, hoping to reach safer shores through impossible conditions. Hope is the legal team fighting to defend Native American sovereignty against the broken treaties and promises of the U.S. government. Hope is showing up to church in the Pacific Northwest.<br />
<br />
Hope is showing up to a Presbyterian General Assembly in 2016, with membership down, with the negative voices saying we have lost our way, in the midst of one of the most polarizing U.S. election season in recent history, with an intricate parliamentary procedure that is mysterious to most rational human beings, and believing the Holy Spirit will do its work in spite of and even perhaps because of all of us. After all, if a Gentile possessed by Legion can be freed and sent even before Jesus’ ministry was officially open to non-Jews, if someone who lived chained and naked among the tombs can be restored to community, I say we who sit here with our doubts and fears and grief and brokenness and tiny glimmering hopes have no excuse.<br />
<br />
Go. Get out of here. Do your work.<br />
<br />
Care more about saving lives than retaining members.<br />
Refuse to be held hostage by xenophobic fears and bureaucratic excuses that prevent us from welcoming more refugees<br />
Refuse to be held hostage by a gun culture propped up and fed by gun manufacturers, who care more about the bottom line than about our beautiful children.<br />
Become a thorn in the side of those who feed the demons.<br />
Become the elderly women who have been standing on the corner of Washington Street and MLK Drive in Atlanta, protesting the war since the early 2000s.<br />
Make it easier for people to exercise their citizenship.<br />
Make it safer for queer people to gather.<br />
Teach your children you don’t have to know what gender someone is to treat that person like a human being.<br />
Make this country really free for Muslims and Sikhs who want to live without being harassed, or their places of worship vandalized.<br />
Aren’t you sick and tired of holding vigils?<br />
<br />
When you return to your home, don’t pretend like anything is the same as it was. Name the demons. Declare how much God has done for you. Go.<br />
<br />
Amen.Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-60221278868471113392016-06-06T13:20:00.002-07:002016-06-07T07:05:44.374-07:00Words of Advice for Those Packing to Attend Church Assemblies/ConferencesYou would probably be fine without these words, but I'm going to post them anyway.<br />
<br />
Sadly, I did not post this before the United Methodist Church General Conference. Sorry, Methodists.<br />
<br />
<b>To Pack</b><br />
<b><br /></b><u>
A water bottle and travel mug</u><br />
<br />
You will want to have a way to hydrate. Hydration is important for your stamina! I imagine that certain areas of the country frown more on bottled water purchases than others, so I find the best way to avoid any sticky ethical issues around plastic waste is to bring my own water bottle. The same goes for a travel mug. If you bring your own, you won't contribute to landfill waste the five times a day you get coffee or tea! Win-win!<br />
<br />
(Update: commissioners and advisory delegates to the PC(USA) GA will be gifted a water bottle, but the rest of us have to fend for ourselves.)<br />
<br />
<u>Lotion/moisturizer</u><br />
<br />
You hydrate with water, but your skin wants hydration, too. Trust me. This is a gender-inclusive recommendation.<br />
<br />
<u>Layers (like a shawl or scarf or sweater for inside the convention hall/hotel)</u><br />
<br />
I have yet to feel comfortable throughout an entire day in a convention center. I think it's a requirement that those places be too cold, and completely at odds with the temperature outside. If you're me, and you're sensitive to temperature changes, bring layers. I hear the Oregon Convention Center is cold. Added bonus: fashion statements.<br />
<br />
<u>Something for rain</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
If you are going somewhere with rain (hello, Portland), you should arrive prepared! Even if you're me and you don't melt in the rain, it might be nice to have something to cover your work clothes in the rain, like a hat, umbrella, or raincoat.<br />
<br />
<u>Casual clothes for "going out"</u><br />
<br />
You will probably have your usual work clothes, but at some point, you're going to want to go out for a drink with friends at 11pm so you can debrief the day. Bring jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater, and sandals, or your personal equivalent.<br />
<br />
<u>Freshness</u><br />
<br />
A travel toothbrush? Mints? Gum? Whatever you need, make sure you bring it with you. I'm usually that person who forgets and then has to hunt around for something. Don't be me.<br />
<br />
<u>Hair product</u><br />
<br />
Bring enough. You never know what's going to happen. Will it be humid? Dry? Raining? Be prepared!<br />
<br />
<u>Comfortable shoes</u><br />
<br />
I have yet to spent all day in heels or thin flats in a convention center and thought, "wow, my feet feel great!" This goes for those of us running between rooms/sessions or working an exhibit hall in particular. It's worth everything to have a pair of shoes that pass for work-appropriate (depending on the kind of work you do) that are also comfortable. If you're going to Portland, you'll be walking a lot, and using public transportation, so be prepared! Worst case scenario: have a pair of cute shoes you can slip into your bag and switch out when you're up front presenting.<br />
<br />
And that's a nice segue to...<br />
<br />
<u>The bag you will carry all day</u><br />
<br />
It might be a backpack or a large tote or a murse. Whatever it is, it needs to hold your things so you don't go back and forth between the hotel and the convention center. It should be large enough to hold your computer (if you need it), and your hymnal (if you have one), along with your water bottle, phone charger, wallet, etc.<br />
<br />
<u>Cash in small bills</u><br />
<br />
This is so you can tip. You should be tipping housekeeping at the hotel, bellhops, valets, etc. That's because our wage economy is messed up. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone's wages were a sufficient appreciation of their work? Yes. It would be nice. But that's not how it work in this country, so bring cash. If you bring larger bills, hotels can give you smaller change.<br />
<br />
<u>Snacks</u><br />
<br />
No convention center will ever satisfy your snacking needs. For those of us who don't often get the chance to eat a full meal because we are working the exhibit hall, it's especially important to bring a robust portfolio of snack options. Buy that stuff beforehand and bring it in your suitcase, or locate a grocery store near your hotel. I usually bring almonds and breakfast/protein bars. Those of us working the exhibit hall will often make a trip somewhere to pick up things we NEED, like sour gummy worms (obviously).<br />
<br />
(Update: technically, we're not supposed to bring in outside food because contract details. So this is my official notice to you about that.)<br />
<br />
<u>Resources</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
Make sure you have a version of the Bible and the hymnal downloaded into your phone, especially if you are not a voting delegate. The PC(USA) voting and advisory delegates will receive a copy of the hymnal. The rest of us are on our own.<br />
<br />
<u>Home</u><br />
<br />
Do you love spending ten days living out of a suitcase in some anonymous hotel room? Okay, if you get tired of it, think about something small you can bring with you to make your hotel room less hotel-y and more home-y. A framed photo, a little travel candle (but be responsible with that!), a stuffed animal (I know people with a consistent buddy), or whatever else combats the alienation. Bring whatever you need to pray that is portable. You'll need it.<br />
<br />
<u>If you have caffeine issues</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
Some of us might have a problem. I acknowledge that up front. That said, I occasionally travel with pre-ground coffee of my snobbish choosing and a travel mug with a built-in French press system. You can usually get heated water from the hotel coffee maker. I have also, for extreme emergencies, traveled with those instant packets for coffee and cold caffeinated drinks, along with an assortment of tea bags. I'm referring to Starbucks Via coffee for the morning and the Refreshers for the afternoon. Does this make me a sell-out to not-good-corporate coffee? Yes. But my survival is at stake, so I don't care.<br />
<br />
(Update: across the street from the Oregon Convention Center is a Starbucks and a Dutch Brothers Coffee. But if you're me and you need caffeine before leaving your hotel room, see above.)<br />
<br />
Update:<br />
<u>Other considerations</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
When attending an assembly in a real city, you may want to be prepared to requests for food and money from those folks who find themselves living on the streets of that city. Tips: You can share your breakfast bars, or purchase two cups of coffee (one for you and one to give away). You can bring gift cards for fast food places, or clean socks. You can even just acknowledge people, say hello, even if you don't have anything material to give.<br />
<br />
<b>What am I missing? Post in the comments!</b><br />
<br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-47252088170580850422016-05-17T13:33:00.002-07:002016-05-17T13:34:55.692-07:00A Pentecost Reflection<i>This was first spoken in chapel at the Presbyterian Center on May 11, 2016.</i><br />
<br />
Just because most of us speak English doesn’t mean we speak the same language.<br />
<br />
Studies show we are, in our political landscape, increasingly polarized in our beliefs. A cursory review of social media reveals many of us are speaking different languages, listening to argue, speaking past each other.<br />
<br />
Just because most of us speak English doesn’t mean we speak the same language.<br />
<br />
We have regional dialects, turns of phrase that not everyone understands. “Might could” is a southern-ism that wouldn’t pass muster in the Pacific Northwest. There, it would make no grammatical sense whatsoever. In the south, it makes perfect sense.<br />
<br />
Just because most of us speak English doesn’t mean we speak the same language.<br />
<br />
We have a few dominant narratives in the wind of mainline Protestantism these days. One narrative claims the reign of God is inbreaking, increased diversity of worship and worshiping communities, a shift from the predominantly white European center of Christianity to one that is centered in the global south and the descendants of the global south. This narrative makes space for the new and also that which is passing away. This language is exciting, sometimes complicated, and flexible.<br />
<br />
Another narrative claims decline, death, scarcity. This narrative equates conventional membership numbers with faithfulness, numerical dominance with gospel living. This language is thick with disappointment, grief, and judgment.<br />
<br />
Just because most of us speak English doesn’t mean we speak the same language.<br />
<br />
In charismatic Christian traditions, some believers speak in tongues. Pentecostal traditions are expressive and Spirit-centered. Just because they speak a different language than our own doesn’t mean their faith is a joke, a cheap punchline for mainline Christians.<br />
<br />
Our faith is multiple in character, syntax, and spirit.<br />
<br />
Our faith is quiet and determined. Our faith is also wind and fire and flesh.<br />
<br />
The community of Acts, gathered in one place, hearing the gospel spoken in their mother tongues, this community included women, and a cosmopolitan smattering of Jews from all over the world, of diverse cultural contexts and countless language groups. Less Maine, more California. Here, miraculously, everyone understood without needing education or translation.<br />
<br />
God speaks to us each in our own language.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the issue is not the speaking, but the hearing. Maybe we think the problem is everyone hearing something differently, when in fact the problem might be refusing to hear, enforcing a false uniformity, squashing all that is beautiful and unpredictable and gospel.<br />
<br />
Just because I hear God in my tongue doesn’t mean your tongue is a joke or a betrayal of the gospel. Maybe being a Christian of Pentecost means making space for the different. Maybe it means making space for people even when we don’t understand them. Maybe Pentecost isn’t about understanding it all fully, getting exactly what God’s Spirit means to do or say. Maybe Pentecost is about letting the wind blow, letting go of our need for control, and finding ways to listen, knowing we will never understand all of it, because we all speak different languages. And that’s okay.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-30274413402769292282016-04-13T06:37:00.000-07:002016-04-13T10:28:41.918-07:00On Solidarity Among Women of ColorThis post is based on the talk I gave on a call of the <a href="http://womenofcolorinministry.org/" target="_blank">Women of Color in Ministry Project</a> on April 8, 2016.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Solidarity is biblical</b><br />
<ul>
<li>1 Corinthians 12:12-26 If one member of Christ’s body suffers, all suffer. If one member is honored, all rejoice.</li>
<li>Matthew 5:21-24 Be reconciled to one another before coming to the altar.</li>
<li>I Peter 4:8-10 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Meanings of solidarity</b><br />
In the Christian world, there is a tradition of solidarity.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/solidarity.cfm" target="_blank">US Conference of Catholic Bishops</a> shares the following Catholic social teaching on solidarity:<br />
[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. On Social Concern (Sollicitudo rei Socialis. . . ), #38<br />
<br />
We have to move from our devotion to independence, through an understanding of interdependence, to a commitment to human solidarity. That challenge must find its realization in the kind of community we build among us. Love implies concern for all - especially the poor - and a continued search for those social and economic structures that permit everyone to share in a community that is a part of a redeemed creation (Rom 8:21-23). Economic Justice for All, #365<br />
<br />
In my <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/" target="_blank">Presbyterian</a> tradition, which is a creedal tradition, our confessions and creeds have spoken to solidarity.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/101/brief-statement-faith/" target="_blank">Brief Statement of Faith,</a> adopted in 1983: the Holy Spirit “gives us courage…to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.”<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/ga221/ga221-belhar/" target="_blank">Belhar Confession</a>, from the church in South Africa, written in 1982 and adopted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in 1986, to be formally adopted by the PC(USA) in 2016:<br />
· that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream;<br />
· that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others.<br />
<br />
<b>Solidarity means being political</b><br />
<a href="http://www.lorettaross.com/Biography.html" target="_blank">Loretta Ross</a> said, “When you choose to work with other people who are minoritized by oppression, you’ve lifted yourself out of that basic identity into another political being and another political space.”<br />
<br />
In the church, we often think political is bad. Here’s what political means: concerned with policies, governance, or influence in a system. The church is made up of humans, and it is a system. It is our system.<br />
<br />
As women of color in ministry, we are, by definition, influencers. We want to make an impact because the gospel calls us to share the good news, preach liberation to the oppressed, make disciples (not fans or friends, disciples). To have an impact, sometimes we find ourselves needing to maneuver. If we were judged purely on our own merit and our own faithfulness, grace would abound, and we would be so effective, I’m sure. But because the church is full of humans, we are often judged on our gender, our appearance, our education, how we speak, who we know, what our faces look like when we’re thinking, how often we’ve been able to preach at certain churches or events, our race, how we do and do not challenge the status quo. Being political is how we make our ministries influential for the reign of God. Being political, sometimes, is how we support our sisters in ministry in sustainable ways.<br />
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<b>White supremacy and patriarchy are the problems.</b><br />
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You have heard of <b>divide and conquer </b>strategies? We who are marginalized fight amongst ourselves for a few crumbs. A classic example of divide and conquer that I experience a lot in a majority-white church is our tendency to fall into competition instead of collaboration.<br />
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White supremacy and patriarchy depend on divide and conquer between racial or ethnic groups, men and women of color, women who have been able to get a foot in the door and women still fighting for recognition, and between generations.<br />
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There are those of us who decide we’re unicorns. I don’t mean the recognition that we are rare, because many of us are rare where we serve, but <b>the unicorn mindset</b> means we fall into the belief that we are also super-special and exceptional. When women of color decide we are exceptional, and that we got where we are with simply hard work, and if you could work harder, you could achieve the same (the myth of meritocracy), this is also a triumph of white supremacy and patriarchy. It disrupts the potential for working together in a coalition. It isn’t enough to lean in. Leaning in doesn’t undo white supremacy and patriarchy, and worse, leaning in can cost us.<br />
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We’ve all worked with or been around <b>difficult women</b>. You know these women. They’re the kind that don’t back up other women, don’t help bring other women into conversations, don’t share space at the table. We’ve all worked with these women.<br />
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It’s tempting to throw them under the bus or write them off when we can. But instead of shutting them out, it might be important for us to consider what it must be like to have been the pioneer, the first, the woman making it in a man’s world, and have a little compassion for the damage that patriarchy and white supremacy can do to us, and to the women who went before us.<br />
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An important reminder to me is that even when we are “making it,” whatever that means in our various contexts, we are at risk of being used by a part of patriarchal systems. <b>When we are benefiting from those systems and not actively dismantling them, we are being used to prop up those systems. </b>We never want to be “the one,” the token, used as an example that it isn’t so bad here.<br />
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<b>Another reminder is to consider the other women who make our work possible.</b> Those of us who “make it” in ministry are often reliant upon the (cheaper) labor of other women to populate our programs with teachers and others, along with relying upon the labor of women to provide us with the services we need when we’re running around doing ministry (like cleaning, cooking, childcare, etc.).<br />
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<b>Solidarity involves learning</b><br />
To be in solidarity across divisions, particularly racial and ethnic groups, we need to know each other’s culture, history, literature, preaching, music, liturgy, and worship. We need to know there is more to black people than the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We need to know not all Asian Americans are the same. Not every Latinx speaks Spanish or is an immigrant. Not all Native Americans belong to the same tribe or share the same traditions. To be in solidarity means taking the time to learn, to read, to watch, to listen, to ask questions. <br />
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<b>Solidarity involves showing up</b><br />
It can be really hard, in the midst of all the other things we do, to show up. But being in solidarity means showing up in other spaces. It means for those of us who aren’t indigenous to stand against appropriation, and support the cause of native sovereignty. It means for those of us who aren’t immigrants to show up to support immigration reform and help those caught in the U.S. web of deportation and detention. It means for those of us who aren’t black to show up for Black Lives Matter. It means for those of us who aren’t Asian American to show up to protest hate crimes and to refuse to laugh at jokes made at the expense of Asian Americans. It means for those of us who aren’t Latinx to show up and protest police violence against especially undocumented Latinx people. We need to buy each other’s books, support each other’s art, invite each other to preach and teach.<br />
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<b>Solidarity involves making mistakes</b><br />
When we try to be in solidarity, we will make mistakes. We will be culturally ignorant, misread social cues, and accidentally hurt each other’s feelings. We will sometimes not be able to show up for each other.<br />
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We will need to practice this from Matthew 18:21-22.<br />
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Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”<br />
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We will make mistakes, and we will need to get good at forgiving each other.<br />
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<b>What solidarity looks like</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Rep. John Lewis, a hero of the civil rights movement, supports women’s rights, immigrant rights, and LGBTQ rights.</li>
<li>The owner of a bar in Indianapolis barred a customer who made demeaning comments about women.</li>
<li>Palestinians and Black Lives Matter activists have supported each other on social media and are having conversations in person, exchanging tips and finding new ways to support each other.</li>
<li>Groups of Asian American activists have formed Asians4BlackLives.</li>
<li>Asian Americans work with other activists on issues of immigration reform, ending detentions and deportations, and collaborating to end hate crimes, bullying, and disproportionate surveillance based on religion.</li>
<li>The Black Panthers and the Brown Berets worked together.</li>
<li>Students at Prescott College in Arizona signed a petition to increase their own tuition costs in order to fund scholarships for students who are undocumented immigrants.</li>
<li>I have heard of a speaker who, when invited, insists the organizers invite both the speaker and a younger protégé of the speaker, so that the audience hears from both.</li>
<li>When I can’t accept an invitation, I send names of alternatives. I try to include women, people of color, and younger people in my recommendations.</li>
</ul>
Solidarity means working together for success, but not necessarily the kind of success that means a great call at a church or a big paycheck.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What success means</b><br />
<ul>
<li>We have managed to live in solidarity. </li>
<li>When we advance, we pull others along with us. </li>
<li>We challenge the structures that maintain patriarchy and white supremacy and we are not alone when we do the challenging. </li>
<li>Success means making people mad because we are standing up for others whose voices are being ignored. </li>
<li>Success means living the gospel at the risk of our own standing. </li>
<li>Success means believing God expects more of us than looking out for ourselves. </li>
<li>Success means building relationships and coalitions.</li>
</ul>
<b>Questions to think about:</b><br />
Q: Does your religious tradition have a history of or statements on solidarity?<br />
Q: What more can you learn about your sisters in ministry in order to support them?<br />
Q: Where can you show up?<br />
Q: Where do you want people to show up for you?<br />
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<b>Resources (by Westminster John Knox)</b><br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664262171/race-in-a-postobama-america.aspx" target="_blank">Race in a Post-Obama America: The Church Responds</a>, edited by David Maxwell<br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664261604/blue-note-preaching-in-a-postsoul-world.aspx" target="_blank">Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair</a> by Otis Moss, III<br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664239501/african-american-theology.aspx" target="_blank">African American Theology: An Introduction</a>, by Frederick L. Ware<br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664259871/an-introduction-to-womanist-biblical-interpretation.aspx" target="_blank">An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation</a>, by Nyasha Junior<br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664256651/teologia-en-conjunto.aspx" target="_blank">Teología en Conjunto: A Collaborative Hispanic Protestant Theology</a>, edited by José David Rodriguez & Loida I. Martell-Otero<br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664231403/off-the-menu------------------.aspx" target="_blank">Off the Menu: Asian and Asian North American Women's Religion and Theology</a>, edited by Rita Nakashima Brock, Jung Ha Kim, Kwok Pui-Lan, & Seung Ai Yang<br />
<a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664260578/microaggressions-in-ministry.aspx" target="_blank">Microaggressions in Ministry: Confronting the Hidden Violence of Everyday Church</a>, by Cody J. Sanders & Angela Yarber<br />
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<b>Resources (by other publishers)</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0060838655/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">A People's History of the United States</a><span id="goog_1299938898"></span><span id="goog_1299938899"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>, by Howard Zinn<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Different-Mirror-History-Multicultural-America/dp/0316022365/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America</a>, by Ronald Takaki<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-Bridge-Called-Back-Fourth/dp/1438454384/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460553629&sr=1-1" target="_blank">This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color</a>, edited by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Postcolonialism-Feminism-Religious-Discourse-Pui-lan/dp/0415928885/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Postcolonialism, Feminism and Religious Discourse</a>, edited by Laura E. Donaldson & Kwok Pui-LanLaura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-19177382326820775062016-03-10T11:05:00.000-08:002016-03-11T06:17:14.823-08:00Race Gives Me Poetry<i>This blog post was originally written for and posted in <a href="http://justiceunbound.org/carousel/race-gives-me-poetry/" target="_blank">Unbound</a>.</i><br />
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Racism kills. It dehumanizes us all, telling some of us we are less than human and rendering others of us incapable of having a decent conversation about it. It takes our best intentions and misshapes them beyond recognition; no matter what we do or what we mean to do, we move and breathe and live within laws and a cultural reality that is racist.<br />
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But the one good thing racism has given me is Asian America.<br />
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Asian America is a social construct, not a biological one. It is a legal category I fall into by virtue of nothing more than my mother’s ancestors. No person from Asia shows up in the U.S. and automatically feels linked to people from other Asian countries.<br />
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Asian American identity isn’t about rice, although I’ve joked about this before. People of many races eat rice, and even rice within Asian American communities has great diversity. It isn’t about any food or flavor, really, which means any dish or dressing labeled “Asian” is just asking for me to mock the ignorance of said dressing’s manufacturer. I can settle for “Asian” if it means we avoid the dreaded, inappropriate, and colonial “O” word.<br />
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<a href="http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/how-many-languages-are-there-world" target="_blank">Asian American identity isn’t about a shared language.</a> 2,197 distinct languages are spoken on the continent of Asia, according to the Linguistic Society of America. <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2012/07/19/asian-americans-a-mosaic-of-faiths-religious-affiliation/" target="_blank">Asian Americans do not share a religion or a philosophy.</a> Confucianism is regional, and while most Korean Americans are Protestant Christians and most Filipino Americans are Catholic, Asian Americans are largely Unaffiliated-Atheist/Agnostic-Buddhist-Hindu-Shinto-Muslim-Sikh-Jain-animist.<br />
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Asian American identity isn’t about how we ended up in the U.S. We came as refugees, immigrants, adoptees, victims of human trafficking, and indentured labor. We passed through New Zealand or Peru or Canada or the United Kingdom or Brazil before we came here.<br />
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What binds us together? American racism. Every person who is Asian American and who went to elementary school before yesterday in a non-Asian area of town was made to feel ashamed of the food in his/her lunchbox. We are disproportionately affected by high rates of mental health issues. We are all impacted by the bamboo ceiling, by almost no presence in corporate board rooms of industries in which we are disproportionately represented, by lower-than-average rates of political representation despite our growing political presence, and by the relative invisibility we and our issues face due to the way we are lumped together as “Asian American.” We are all impacted by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_minority" target="_blank">model minority myth</a>, dividing us from other communities of color, and putting unhealthy levels of pressure on us. We all know what it feels like to be treated as part of one undifferentiated mass, where outliers to the usual stereotypes (e.g. Asian Americans living in poverty or struggling with low educational attainment) are swept under the rug.<br />
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That’s what we have in common.<br />
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But race in the U.S. has a positive side. (Confused? Bear with me.)<br />
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Racism is about dehumanizing us, but racial identity isn’t bad. Racism strips me of my humanity, and racial identity hands it right back. Racial identity is beautiful. Racial identity is powerful. God made us different and lovely and through the ugliness of white supremacy, some of us have found belonging.<br />
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One of the primary old-school theological justifications for fighting racism is God’s mandate to care for “the least of these.” I have come to believe this theological formulation is incorrect. We who are people of color are not the least of these, at least not inherently so. We are God’s joy and intention for humanity. The entire book of Acts tells us diversity is impossible to avoid, that God speaks our languages, that no one is unclean or undesirable. That is why racism is so bad. Racism seeks to disrupt God’s joy. Positive racial identity helps make God’s intention a reality.<br />
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Racial identity means we who come with 2,197 different ways of seeing the world and expressing ourselves can coalesce into one Asian America.<br />
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The racial identity formation of people of color is not the same as the racial identity formation of white people. We are pushed into a corner, and in that corner, we create a racial culture. We are given a place that grounds us, a home in a world of alienation. For those of us too profoundly American to fit into any country in Asia (there’s no “back there” for most of us), and for those of us too Asian to be considered truly American (we’re not white and we’re never going to be white, you guys), we have a home here in Asian America. My racial identity is profoundly positive because it gives me a community of solidarity and a place of pride and belonging in a country that has sought to end who we are, to eliminate our ways of life and love, to mock us, to pit us against other people of color, to remind us we aren’t white, to make us believe we do not belong anywhere.<br />
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I am part of a group identity founded on solidarity in the face of injustice, coupled with great food. Asian Americans have found expression through music, the visual arts, literature, theatre, theology, Biblical hermeneutics, activism, and spaces invisible to most white Americans. Ambiguous as it may be, Asian Americans have a space that grounds us. It is a space that reflects the beauty of our aunties and uncles, the ones who left countries with no hope of return, the ones who endured in joy despite hatred, discrimination, being driven out by mobs, and who built this country’s infrastructure only to face death by dynamite. It is a space that tells us we look perfect in a country that says our skin is too dark, our hair too coarse, our eyes too narrow, our noses too flat, our food too smelly, our religion too foreign, our tastes too exotic, our language too strange-sounding.<br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World_Liberation_Front_strikes_of_1968" target="_blank">Asian Americans played an important role in the founding of ethnic studies as a discipline.</a> We have history. We have music. We have spoken word. We have individuals who fill us with pride because they were the first Asian American governor on the mainland or the rare Asian American congressperson or huge pop star or major civil rights figure. (Governor: Gary Locke, Washington State, elected in 1996. First elected Congressperson with vote was Representative Dalip Singh Saund, California, began serving in 1957. Major pop stars: Norah Jones, Bruno Mars. Civil rights figures: Grace Lee Boggs, Yuri Kochiyama.) We have created a place of belonging in a culture constantly rejecting us for our foreignness (this gets old when you’re a fourth-generation American). We have a community that gives us a place to go when the reality of racism makes us feel like we can’t take it any longer. We are connected with other people who have fought and continue to fight racism. We have legal and civic and cultural organizations that bring us together in solidarity with other marginalized groups, to proclaim our shared humanity with one voice. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Formerly-interned-Japanese-Americans-stand-up-6716136.php" target="_blank">We speak up for each other.</a><br />
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Asian Americans are a diasporic people. We aren’t bound by the limitations of borders. Our pride isn’t just American; our pride is in our ancestors, the countries they came from, and their resolve upon arriving in the U.S.<br />
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Asian America isn’t all fun and games. Racism still sucks. And it isn’t easy to be part of a very diverse community. However, because we have learned to live together despite our differences in beliefs, cultures, worldviews, languages, and values, we are in a unique position to teach the church about what it means to be in diverse community in the hardest of times, even when that community doesn’t feel like it makes sense. We know what it is to live, have conflict, get tripped up in cultural miscommunications, and create community in the midst of cultural indifference and ongoing discrimination.<br />
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Race isn’t bad. Racism is bad.<br />
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The specificity of our racial identity, as people of color, in fact, is very good. My racial identity reminds me I’m not alone. A racial identity allows me to find my way in the midst of a racist country that hasn’t yet agreed I should exist. I have a community of people who share many of my same experiences. I have a community where we feed each other and laugh together at the madness of the world. I have a community of music and art and poetry and theology and worship.Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-73463972576243302182016-02-09T13:07:00.002-08:002016-02-09T13:29:46.429-08:00Mission & Anti-Racism<i>The text below comes from an interactive keynote presentation I gave at the Presbytery of Los Ranchos "Mission Connections: Listening to All Voices" event on February 6, 2016.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Introduction</i><br />
<br />
Greetings from Louisville, KY and greetings on behalf of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, one of the six agencies of the <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/" target="_blank">Presbyterian Church (USA)</a>. I work with the denominational publisher, home of the <a href="http://www.pcusastore.com/Products/CategoryCenter/PHYM/hymnal-products.aspx" target="_blank">Glory to God hymnal</a>, and the <a href="http://www.feastingontheword.net/" target="_blank">Feasting on the Word</a> commentary series. We are completely self-sustaining, a medium-sized religious publisher, better known by our major imprint <a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/" target="_blank">Westminster John Knox Press</a>.<br />
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My name is Laura Mariko Cheifetz. Cheifetz is my family name, from my Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian Jewish family members who fled persecution in Eastern Europe over 100 years ago. If you know my parents, serving in San Francisco Presbytery, you know that I pronounce our name differently. I have no tattoos or body piercings and never snuck out at night to joyride or get high. Instead I pronounce our name differently. I’d like to think in the realm of things children do to their parents, that’s not a bad deal.<br />
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My middle name is Mariko, from my Japanese American ancestry. My great-grandmother was the first Japanese American girl born in the town of San Juan Bautista, CA over 100 years ago. My Jewish Polish great-grandmother who lived in Hemet, CA wanted my parents to call me by my Japanese name, and please know how grateful I am that my parents stuck with Laura. It’s an easier cross-over name for my Spanish-speaking relatives, and explaining my family name is already a lengthy process enough.<br />
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<i>Why We Do Mission</i><br />
<br />
I am very grateful to be here with you to talk and learn about mission. I grew up assuming that mission is what we do as Christians, even who we are. Growing up, I went along on pastoral visits sometimes, had friends from different class backgrounds, helped deliver Christmas gifts to families who didn’t have as much, served meals to people experiencing hunger. I knew larger churches that went on trips to reservations and to other countries to help run Vacation Bible School, or build houses. I have many friends who served in the Young Adult Volunteer program and now as mission co-workers, telling me stories of being present to communities surviving on garbage dumps in the Philippines, of young people receiving an arts education in Palestine, of spending time with the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protesting the disappearances of their children during Argentina’s Dirty War, or the former “comfort women” who were sex slaves to the Japanese military during Japanese occupation of Korea.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/101/brief-statement-faith/" target="_blank">Presbyterian Brief Statement of Faith</a> affirms that God “calls women and men to all ministries of the church… to witness among all people to Christ as Lord and Savior… to strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks.”<br />
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<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+20%3A24&version=NRSV" target="_blank">Acts 20:24</a> says, “But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.”<br />
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We worship a God who sent Jesus to heal the sick, love the tax collector, and make the woman with five husbands an evangelist.<br />
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In this tradition, we are called to reach out, provide assistance, engage with those the world disdains. But there are a few things that shape our mission work besides Biblical mandates to share the good news and care for the least of these, including our own programmatic intentions and goals, and the history of European and U.S. mission. Mission, as you well know, is far from a pure endeavor.<br />
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<i>The Single Story of Mission</i><br />
<br />
Author <a href="http://chimamanda.com/" target="_blank">Chimamanda Adichie</a> has a great <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en" target="_blank">TED talk</a> on what she calls the Single Story – when she became an adult, she realized that the British literature she grew up reading as a child in Nigeria had given her a single story of what all literature was, and when she came to study in the U.S., the single story her white American college roommate had in her head about “Africa” did not resemble Adichie’s lived experiences as a Nigerian.<br />
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Often, we in the U.S. in a mainline Protestant church tell a single story about mission. Our single story is that mission means leaving our church building and our neighborhood, and going somewhere else to people who are wholly different from us, who are in some place of need and don’t have as much as we do, and we give them what we have out of our Christian generosity. This single story casts English-speaking suburban teenagers as the people who are qualified to provide Vacation Bible School to children in another country, or willing and eager urban and suburban seminarians as the people qualified to build a house in another country, or gainfully employed hyper-educated me capable of making a decent meal for the men’s homeless shelter in my own uninspected kitchen. This single story says we are surprised and #blessed every time it is we who are transformed after interacting with these other people. And while I’m oversimplifying this a little, I think you may recognize elements of this single story. This may be familiar.<br />
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<i>Context for Mission</i><br />
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This single story has a deep and complicated background. The history of Christian mission is, at best, checkered. Until very recently, mission has long been associated with simultaneous military conquest and the acquisition of land and wealth.<br />
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In the territory that became the state of California, missions began this way: competition between Spain, England, and Russia for land meant in order for Spain to hold on to its holdings of land (claimed despite the presence of indigenous peoples already on it), Spanish colonies needed a population that was literate in Spanish and paid taxes. The Roman Catholic Church and the government of Spain established missions to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity, teach them Spanish, and make them citizens who could pay taxes. Until 1800, the colonial economy was largely dependent upon indigenous labor.<br />
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While many in the missions were genuinely concerned for the immortal souls of the indigenous persons, that concern was not the primary motivation for the establishment of the missions.<br />
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This, and other colonial enterprises began after the Papal bulls of the 15th century, forming the basis for what we call the <a href="http://www.doctrineofdiscovery.org/" target="_blank">Doctrine of Discovery</a>, beginning with Pope Nicholas V’s <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_Diversas" target="_blank">Dum Diversas</a></i> in 1452, addressed to the King of Portugal, who was concerned about Portuguese trade rights. This gave Portugal the right to attack, conquer and subjugate “Saracens and pagans.” The document says:<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
"We grant you [Kings of Spain and Portugal] by these present documents, with our Apostolic Authority, full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers and enemies of Christ wherever they may be, as well as their kingdoms, duchies, countries, principalities, and other property… and to reduce their persons into perpetual servitude."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
In 1455, he issued the bull <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanus_Pontifex" target="_blank">Romanus Pontifex</a></i>:<br />
"The Roman pontiff…seeking and desiring the salvation of all, wholesomely ordains and disposes upon careful deliberation those things which he sees will be agreeable to the Divine Majesty and by which he may bring the sheep entrusted to him by God into the single divine fold, and may acquire for them the reward of eternal felicity, and obtain pardon for their souls. This we believe will more certainly come to pass, through the aid of the Lord, if we bestow suitable favors and special graces on those Catholic kings and princes, who, like athletes and intrepid champions of the Christian faith, as we know by the evidence of facts, not only restrain the savage excesses of the Saracens and of other infidels, enemies of the Christian name, but also for the defense and increase of the faith vanquish them and their kingdoms and habitations, though situated in the remotest parts unknown to us…"<br />
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In 1493 Alexander VI issued the bull <i><a href="http://www.doctrineofdiscovery.org/inter%20caetera.htm" target="_blank">Inter Caetera</a></i> stating one Christian nation did not have the right to establish dominion over lands previously dominated by another Christian nation, thus establishing the Law of Nations.<br />
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In sum, these papal bulls “<a href="http://www.doctrineofdiscovery.org/" target="_blank">gave Christian explorers the right to claim lands they ‘discovered’ and lay claim to those lands for their Christian monarchs. Any land that was not inhabited by Christians was available to be ‘discovered,’ claimed, and exploited. If the ‘pagan’ inhabitants could be converted, they might be spared. If not, they could be enslaved or killed</a>.” This led to the global slave trade we are familiar with in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Age of Imperialism.<br />
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This might feel far away from us. After all, the U.S. is young. My family has only been here for 100 years, 450 years after this period. But this is a huge shaping force in how we all came to be here.<br />
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The missionary movement in the U.S., which was booming at the turn of the 19th century, overlapped with a period we might call U.S. nation-building, with military and thereafter trade expansion into Asia-Pacific and Central America. Follow a war or an acquisition, and you will find missionaries from American mainline churches. Americans followed European imperialist patterns, too, sending missionaries to the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
My mother once told me that the wife of a couple who were rather conservative missionaries from the church my father served, who were placed in the South Pacific, once complained to her about how the women they worked with all wore long sleeve shirts and long skirts, even in the heat, and so she had to dress like they did, and it was so uncomfortable. My mother said, “blame the missionaries.” The missionaries the church sent around the turn of the century brought their own Victorian mores with them, enforcing white American modesty norms from a completely different climate onto Pacific Islanders living in a hot and humid climate.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Why We Need Antiracism</i><br />
<br />
I don’t think I need to give you all the data that demonstrate the very real impact racism has on all our lives. You can see it. And that little historical overview should give us a partial explanation for the structural and cultural and theological ways racism has developed.<br />
<br />
The structure of race in the U.S. is not something we can opt out of, because it isn’t something we do or don’t do, claim or don’t claim. It is a structure of laws, culture, history, and economics in which we have become enveloped as players, regardless of when we or our ancestors came to this country. We became participants upon entry, or if we were already here, upon invasion. Even if we opt out of checking the box on the form, the government assigns us a race. Census-takers are trained to evaluate certain markers in a household, and assign a race. The Department of Education requires schools to get or assign a race to each student. The structure of race in the U.S. is also not something we leave when we go to another country. We are so deeply enmeshed with our own national culture that we will carry it with us wherever we go. This is not necessarily all bad. Structures help us make sense of the world. They organize our thoughts. The problem is that these thought organizations are tied up in how some people are allowed to live their lives, the opportunities they face, the stories they get to live.<br />
<br />
I was a small group leader on a church trip to Israel/Palestine, and no matter how much one tries to orient a group to going to another country (or countries), especially one so vivid in the national and religious imagination, things happen. Two of us led the group through a brief cultural competency conversation, and upon our arrival, within a day in Jerusalem, it became clear that we had missed something. We heard that some group members, excited about being there, and really wanting to get to know the place, had downloaded a Hebrew language app on their phones, and were trying to speak Hebrew with some of the local shopkeepers. We realized they were trying to guess who spoke Hebrew. This is sort of bad because were in the Palestinian area, and while many Israeli Arabs speak Hebrew, it’s really awkward that people were trying to guess who spoke what language based on their own U.S.-based evaluations of people’s ethnicity or religious group. It’s poor form to take our own frameworks and impose them on a place we don’t know, that we are not a part of. <br />
<br />
It was good intentions, but bringing U.S. racial and religious and ethnic categories to another country really doesn’t work. And unfortunately, it’s not something we can avoid. We can’t not see the world that way. We cannot escape ourselves.<br />
<br />
But our contemporary mission is not all a series of awkward and inappropriate moments.<br />
<br />
Even the historical mission movement was, of course, not all negative. And I highly doubt that the intent behind all of the papal bulls and laws and assumptions was to hurt non-European Christians, that damage was just the consequence of the European Christian assumptions of superiority and greed. Christians really did care about the spiritual and material lives of the least of these. Presbyterians in particular were intentional about building girls’ schools in areas of the world where girls found access to education prohibitive, or built hospitals to provide much-needed medical care to populations with little access to health care.<br />
<br />
It isn’t now just Europeans or white Americans doing mission, and it isn’t just people of color or people in other countries being on the receiving end. It is no longer so simple. Antiracism helps us see that it isn’t about the race of people doing the mission, or the race of the people receiving the mission, it is about the structure that set up how we do mission, its origins, what it does to each party, and how we perpetuate old patterns, instead of living the gospel.<br />
<br />
Using an antiracism lens might help us see the problematic aspects of mission, even mission that was ultimately positive. The northern and southern Presbyterian churches divided up the countries of the world for mission between them, with, for example, the southern church taking Brazil and Congo. Mainline denominations divided the Caribbean amongst themselves for mission work, each taking an area for their work. A Presbyterian report entitled “<a href="http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/nativeamerican/mission-ministry/" target="_blank">Mission and Ministry with Native American Peoples: A Historical Survey of the Last Three Centuries</a>,” points out the pitfalls of this approach, however efficient it may seem: “The government assigned separate denominations to different Indian reservations, attempting to avoid denominational conflict on any one reservation. In 1872, out of seventy-three agencies assigned, the Presbyterians had nine, including a census of 38,069 Indians. Hence, Indian people by and large did not have a personal choice about denomination, theology or polity. If they decided to accept Christianity, they had to select the denomination assigned to their reservation.”<br />
<br />
<i>What is Antiracism?</i><br />
<br />
I have worked in the past with <a href="http://crossroadsantiracism.org/" target="_blank">Crossroads Antiracism and Organizing</a>, and am aware of a lot of different antiracism organizations, working groups, training facilities, and the church’s own antiracism policies.<br />
<br />
James Addington of Crossroads has a helpful definition of antiracism <a href="https://applyingtheanalysis.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/what-does-antiracism-have-to-do-with-racial-equity/" target="_blank">here</a>:<br />
… antiracism as an intervention includes the reparation of community. The term antiracism is especially relevant in reference to collective, collaborative action. While individuals can certainly be antiracist, their antiracism is especially relevant in common cause with others. Antiracism in this sense is about the reparation of the fabric of community and the role that institutions can play in that process.<br />
<br />
I know a lot of people don’t like the term, because “anti” is so negative. But antiracism is an active positive process, much as an antibody helps keep our own bodies healthy and strong. Or antifreeze keeps our cars running when the temperature dips into the single digits, something you experience less than I do.<br />
<br />
The powerful thing about an antiracist orientation is that it helps to keep us from getting bogged down in feeling guilty, but gives us something to do, and something to become. In the wider context of Christian mission, it is only very recently that our mission frameworks began to shift, from doing mission to, to doing mission with, in partnership and mutual accountability.<br />
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We in the U.S. mainline church often believe a single story about Christian mission – that the middle class and wealthy – are the ones to bring the gospel and hope itself to marginalized communities.<br />
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We bring water to rural villages and temporary housing to homeless people. We bring good news to pockets of despair in our cities, rural areas, and other parts of the world.<br />
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Often we bring programmatic expectations to mission work. We want our young people to grow up with a wider awareness of the needs faced by other people. We want to feel we have contributed something helpful.<br />
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These aren’t bad things. But they can be better.<br />
<br />
The single story can result in the denial of the full humanity and agency of the people receiving mission efforts. Handing over a pre-packed bag of groceries doesn’t allow people to choose what they really would like to eat. Giving toys to needy children doesn’t allow their parents the dignity of being the ones to choose the toys and doesn’t allow children to see their parents as the ones providing for them.<br />
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The single story positions us as those who have all the knowledge. we know what they need so they can have our standard of living. The single story sometimes means because we have people have capacities and gifts and abilities and frameworks, we think we can assess and determine what they need for themselves.<br />
<br />
And the single story can result in those of us wanting transformation to come into a community with our desires and leave whenever we feel we have been transformed enough, we have learned enough, with little thought as to whether or not the primary focus of mission should be to learn about ourselves.<br />
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The single story may not take into account the structural issues at play, why some of us do mission and some of us receive it.<br />
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What an antiracist orientation does is take these real needs into account, and examine also the structural oppression behind them. The needs are the symptoms of something that is wrong. And we can think of mission not just in a way that focuses on treating the symptoms, addressing the immediate needs, but expand mission to consider what lies behind the needs. And we can consider how to make sure that mission is about those experiencing need, not just as a way to engage in individual and personal transformation.<br />
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Jesus didn’t die on the cross so I could become more aware of my privilege and maybe give a little more to charity (although both are good things, in fact, absolutely essential). Jesus died on the cross for restoration of order in the world, so that people would no longer be demonized for their life circumstances, or shoved to the margins of society. Many of Jesus’ concerns were not only about a sick woman or a blind man, but about unjust structures, about a religious and cultural system that would render someone with a skin disease unclean, a complete outcast, reduced to begging for scraps. Antiracism has us ask the questions about the full picture and not just the parts. Antiracism is a way of thinking structurally.<br />
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If you look at your handout, you will see a framework for thinking about mission (three steps: Provide Services, Advocacy, Investment). Many of you probably already use something like this, if not in your own congregations, in your own thinking, and this is just an imperfect beginning. If we use an antiracism lens to look at the whole picture, we can see that many of us and many of our congregations put 100% of our resources into one of these steps. Most of us put it in the “provide services” category. It is entirely necessary to provide services. We know that children can’t learn if they are hungry, and often have behavioral problems at school. We know that the quality of food matters. We know bad food leads to major health problems. We know that it’s hard to work when you’re hungry, and we know that food insecurity is a very real problem across the nation and around the world.<br />
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Using an antiracist lens, we know it isn’t enough to collect canned goods for the homeless. What is the advocacy we could do to help change the conditions that cause food insecurity? People who are unauthorized immigrants are often stuck in low-paying, dangerous work, and until the system by which people gain the right status is fixed, they are more likely to experience food insecurity. Housing costs are rising around the country, and particularly in California, so until municipalities require, through zoning or other measures, that a certain percentage of its housing be affordable to lower-income people, some people will spend exorbitant percentages of their income to house their families and run out of money to feed their families. Some people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity just need a little boost, and maybe some help, that could be afforded by investment in supportive housing. Many people with low incomes live in food deserts, in which food is rare, healthy food is inaccessible, and what is there is expensive. Mission could mean working with businesses to bring further economic development so more people can find jobs, so that people can afford to live somewhere they like, close to work, near safe schools, and find a way to support themselves, and buy the food they need. It isn’t enough to feed people through the food pantry without advocating for funding healthy school meals for hungry children.<br />
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How can this cycle be applied to mission in your context? Looking at providing services, advocacy, and investment, those three steps, could be a useful way to think about a particular work of mission in which your congregation engages. How does your congregation engage multiple pieces of the puzzle in which people find themselves?<br />
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I would guess that mission has been transforming for those of us who are here. That’s not bad.<br />
But the way most of us in the US have participated in mission, this single story doesn’t let the people receiving the mission tell their side of it.<br />
<br />
I’m going to add one more piece. Another way to think about the antiracism lens is to think about how mission allows for the people we seek to serve to have their own agency in the matter.<br />
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People coming to the food pantry could come to a place where they can “shop” for the groceries they need, at accessible and affordable prices,, instead of handed a fully assembled bag of goods. The book “<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/9780062076212/toxic-charity--paperback-edition.aspx" target="_blank">Toxic Charity</a>” has some excellent examples of how to do mission in such a way that everyone’s dignity is respected.<br />
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Even we with our best intentions can fall into the single story. Many of us get really hung up on what we think we’re supposed to do to be in mission: we’re supposed to convert people to Protestant Christianity, share the gospel, we’re supposed to build a school or a house, but how we do let go of the single story that has us trapped in models of mission that prevent us from discovering a different relationship across international lines or class lines or urban/suburban lines that feed both of us and challenge both of us. An antiracism lens blows this away and transforms this single story into a more complicated and beautiful and Christ-like set of stories.<br />
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Mission is, at its best, mutual. It is transforming for all. Instead of getting nervous that we are falling into the single story, and deciding to never do mission again, we should consider what it would be to shift the model. Instead of using mission for personal formation, we could use it for relationship building, for committing to see those who experience need or who are not Christians as people who are their own people, with insights and wisdom, and we can use mission to address the whole picture of need, not just the immediate, but also the structural.<br />
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With this lens, we might work with partners to create different roles in mission, or come up with new mission based on what is very much needed in a given place, which might be tied to our own policies back at home. We might listen to and learn from our partners what development we need, and what perspectives all need. We might need to be in mission with ourselves, or need our partners’ help to be in mission with us.<br />
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With this lens, we can explore how mission work runs the risk of maintaining or exacerbating disparities in spite of our good intentions, and find ways to change what we do for the good. Tom’s Shoes are very comfortable, and every time someone buys a pair, a pair is donated to a shoeless child in another country. The result has been the decimation of the parts of local economies that make and sell shoes. What about, instead of flooding the market with a free foreign product, we look for ways to support the development of a local economy, so parents can afford to buy their children locally-made shoes?<br />
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Reiterate: mission isn’t bad. It’s good. It’s inherently part of our Christian calling. We can work for mutual accountability with our partners to make it better.<br />
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There is another way that an antiracist frame can shape our mission.<br />
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If we truly believe that God created each one of us beloved, mission work can mean siding with the marginalized and powerless. Mission work can mean showing up where people are oppressed and excluded – with deportations and detentions of immigrants without proper papers on the rise, and Native Americans and African Americans facing systemic violence from the hands of the state, with Sikh and Muslim Americans and their places of worship experiencing rising hate crimes, with low-income residents being evicted because they can’t afford rising rents, with children of color disproportionately suspended from schools (beginning as early as pre-school) for behaviors that most children display at some point.<br />
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An antiracist orientation would have us ask questions like:<br />
<br />
How does this work of mission repair community in the long term?<br />
Does this create sustainable community?<br />
How does this work of mission ensure the respect of each person’s full humanity and agency?<br />
How does this way of doing mission validate western dominant ways of thinking?<br />
How does this way of doing mission disrupt old patterns and make space for other ways of thinking?<br />
<br />
Mission of all kinds is important, and certainly meeting the immediate needs of members of our community is vital. But an antiracist orientation helps us, in the midst of mission, ask different questions, redefine how we serve, flesh out our mission so that we as congregations, as collective activity, are more fully accountable, more fully in partnership, learning together instead of imposing, finding new ways to serve that respect the agency of all, that respect that of Christ in all.<br />
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What does this make you think about? What are your ideas? How would these questions help shape your work?<br />
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<i>Additional Resources</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="https://dofdmenno.org/" target="_blank">Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/nativeamerican/mission-ministry/" target="_blank">Mission and Ministry with Native American Peoples: A Historical Survey of the Last Three Centuries</a><br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://store.pcusa.org/Practicing-Gods-Radical-Hospitality" target="_blank">Practicing God’s Radical Hospitality: Exploring Difference, Change and Leadership through the Spiritual Discipline of Hospitality</a> </i>by Teresa Chávez Sauceda. PWR #13060<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><a href="http://store.pcusa.org/7027004014" target="_blank">Living the Gospel of Peace: Tools for Building More Inclusive Community</a></i>, Eric H. F. Law, PDS #70-270-04-014<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><a href="http://store.pcusa.org/PWR06120" target="_blank">Becoming the Beloved Community: People of Faith Working Together to Eradicate Racism: A Study Guide for Presbyterian Women</a>,</i> produced by Presbyterian Women in DVD format, four 15-minute segments and accompanying study guide, PDS #PWR06120 (2007)<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i></i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664262171/race-in-a-postobama-america.aspx" target="_blank">Race in a Post-Obama America: The Church Responds</a>. </i>Multi-author. Westminster John Knox Press, forthcoming 2016<br />
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-61884619302080208442016-01-20T07:16:00.000-08:002016-01-20T07:25:30.602-08:00Communion for the MLK 2016 Worship at the Presbyterian Center<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">I was really mad about racism today, and reminded that we are all more than our worst moments (derived from Sister Helen Prejean's ministry and work). Some folks thought this liturgy was pretty good, so I'm posting it in case anyone else wants to use it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>MLK Worship</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>January 20, 2016</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Presbyterian Center Chapel</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Original by Laura M. Cheifetz, and quoted text from from Great Thanksgiving H in the Book of Common Worship (and also Scripture)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Invitation</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They have come from east and west, from north and south.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They came in great joy and with great suffering.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They were invaded, colonized, abducted, trafficked to generate wealth for others, their governments overthrown so that others might profit, their lands stolen from them and their children.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They are the ones who spread suffering throughout the world, colonizers, invaders, traffickers, and enslavers, overthrowing governments for their own small-minded desires of material gain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They left their countries because they were desperate, or because they wanted their children to have more opportunities, or because they wanted to live in safety.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Too many never wanted to leave their countries, but were forced to do so.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They are people who trade in the lives of others</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They are people who fight for the lives of others</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">They are people fighting for their own lives every day, and for the legacies their children will inherit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Yet all of them, all of us, inhabitants of this world house, sit at table in the kin-dom of God,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Drawn together by one who was crucified, dead, and buried, and who rose again in defiance of the powers of death.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">This is the Lord’s table, and the Savior invites those who trust him to share the feast he has prepared.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Great Thanksgiving</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“Holy God, we praise you.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Let the heavens be joyful,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And the earth be glad.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“We bless you for creating the whole world,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">For your promises to your people Israel,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And for Jesus Christ in whom your fullness dwells.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">God, you created this world beautiful, diverse, teeming with life, temperate rainforests and tropical jungles, wide-ranging plains and huge skies, steep mountains and old gentle hills, colorful deserts and oceans filled with coral, cold ice-scapes and rocky shores, a world dangerous and wild, yet care-filled enough to nurture the most delicate of creatures.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">You created humanity as one in a world of many,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And when your people rejected you, you continued to loved them fiercely,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Calling them, us, beloved, as we struggle to learn to live together in peace.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">You sent prophets to call your people back to your ways,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Prophets we persecuted and mocked and surveilled,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Prophets we bombed and threatened and falsely accused,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Prophets calling us to our best selves while we only showed them our worst selves.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">You sent prophets whose names we recall today in our own whitewashed versions of history</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And prophets whose names are lost because their work and lives were unacceptable to the victors.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">You sent Ph.D.s and the self-taught,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Those full of virtue and those barely able to hold it together</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">All speaking the words we needed to hear, and words we continue to ignore.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">You sent us your most beloved son,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">A Palestinian Jew from a humble family</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">With scandalous beginnings</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">A young woman pregnant before she should have been</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">A family of refugees fleeing for their lives</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">A boy full of questions who grew up to heal the most disgusting, to reach out and love the worst of society, one who cared more for the vulnerable, poor, and disliked than for his own power and safety.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“Dying on the cross, Jesus saves us.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Risen from the dead, he gives new life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Living with you, he prays for us.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“With thanksgiving we take this bread and this cup</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And proclaim the death and resurrection of our Lord.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Receive our sacrifice of praise.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">That this meal may be</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">A communion in the body and blood of our Lord.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Make us one with Christ</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And with all who share this feast.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“We praise you,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">through Christ your Word made flesh,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">In the holy and life-giving Spirit,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Now and forever. Amen.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Lord’s Prayer</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">As Jesus taught his disciples to pray, we join, each of us praying in the languages of our hearts, “Our Father…”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Words of Institution</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">"Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, Take; eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“In the same way he also took the cup after the supper, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you. This cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">The gifts of God for the people of God.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Serving</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"><b>Prayer After Communion</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“God of grace,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">You renew us at your table with the bread of life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">May this food strengthen us in love,”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">And help us to choose relationship instead of war,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Reparations instead of violence,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Social good instead of personal gain,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Faith instead of anxiety,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Accountability instead of prejudice,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Both/and instead of either/or,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">Difficult conversations and professional risk, instead of accommodation and silent complicity.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 19.9333px;">“We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.”</span></div>
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-80844460458271985492015-12-12T03:26:00.002-08:002015-12-12T03:27:05.388-08:00Equal Opportunity White Supremacy and the Race for the Presidency<i>This post was originally published on ecclesio.com in November 2015.</i><br />
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No one political party has ever, in the history of politics
in the U.S., attained a clean record when it comes to race and racism.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the United States, race-baiting during elections is not
restricted to one political party, despite one party increasingly identified
with white voters and the other identified as more friendly to most people of
color groups (see for yourself: <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/07/a-deep-dive-into-party-affiliation/">http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/07/a-deep-dive-into-party-affiliation/</a>).
Living into white supremacy is something every presidential candidate does,
whether it is for political expediency or an actual belief held by that
candidate. Just listen to what candidates say about the U.S. relationship with China,
and you’ll hear the shades of yellow peril slipping out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Neither major party is known to be particularly responsive
to the concerns of people of color, although the Congress did Native Americans
and immigrants a solid with the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against
Women Act, closing a loophole that had allowed perpetrators of violence against
Native American women to escape prosecution, and extending protections to
immigrants escaping domestic violence. When Gwen Ifill moderated a debate in
2008 between the two vice presidential candidates, Dick Cheney and John
Edwards, she asked a question about the rates of HIV infection among black
women. Now, as someone who has a tendency to pay attention to public health
policy and issues with a disproportionate impact on people of color, I thought
everyone knew that black women at the time were experiencing very high rates of
HIV infection. Neither vice presidential candidate was aware, and in my
opinion, both fumbled their answers. This is only a minor example of the ways
in which Democrats and Republicans remain largely unaccountable to communities
of color. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
President Clinton scapegoated “welfare queens” (not so
subtly referring to poor black women) for social ills. President Obama’s
administration stepped up deportations and detention of immigrants, most of
whom are racialized in the U.S. context as people of color. The first time
Hillary Clinton was a presidential candidate, her campaign engaged in cynical
race-baiting in an effort to raise her profile over and against Barack Obama. Clinton
talks down to Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists and has yet to address real
gaps in her platform and her policy record. Sanders fumbled his solidarity with
Black Lives Matters, showing much improvement with unveiling a racial justice
platform (only after being challenged by activists). And the Democrat presidential
field for 2016 lacks racial diversity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Republicans provide plenty of spectacular examples of statements
shaped by racism and white supremacist ideologies. Donald Trump thinks Mexicans
are rapists and murders. Jeb Bush thinks anchor babies born of Asian women are
a problem significant enough to merit mention during campaign speeches. Bobby Jindal
and Ben Carson think people of color need to quit making such a big deal about
race. Carly Fiorina thinks Chinese people can’t create anything (centuries of
history to the contrary); instead they are trying to steal all our ideas. (Alert!
Sharron Angle, of “some of you Latinos/as look a little Asian to me” fame, is
attempting to run for the Republican nomination to Harry Reid’s Senate seat in
2016. The part of me that loves gaffes can’t wait.) Entire Republican debates
have gone by without a reference to BLM. The persistent popularity of
candidates who make blatantly racist statements (Trump) or subscribe to a
colorblind ideology that limits appropriate diagnosis and treatment of racial
injustice (Carson) says something about the commitment to racial justice among
likely voters, many of whom claim to be Christian, and many of whom claim to be
evangelical.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have problems in this presidential race.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christians who vote have diverse approaches to understanding
and addressing racial disparities, racism, and injustice. This diversity often
aligns with one political party or another, and it is not necessarily the
problem. The problem is the lack of an articulate theologically based
commitment to ending racism in the U.S. The problem is that some American
Christian theologies continue to reinforce the false ideology of meritocracy
(if you are oppressed, it’s because you didn’t pull yourself up by your
bootstraps) and white supremacy (white people are, in fact, more created by God
than any other people).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christians who shrug when a black girl is thrown to the
ground by a grown man because she had her phone in class, or who think it’s a
good idea to round up all the immigrants and throw them out behind a wall paid
for by a poorer neighboring country demonstrate the insufficiency of our
theology. That many of us would protest about bringing politics into our faith,
and say that violence against black women and men, the same policing system
that is killing Native Americans at even higher rates, the indefinite detention
and deportation of immigrants (many of whom are from Latin America), the
invisibility of unequal access and persistent prejudice and poverty within
particular Asian American ethnic groups, and ongoing hate crimes against people
who “look” Muslim,” demonstrates our theology is thin, at best.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem is not that we have brought politics into faith.
The problem is that the faith many of us bring to our politics is anemic,
whitewashed, passive, privileges the already privileged, and prefers charity
over justice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But many Christians have a robust faith that pushes us to
work for human rights. It causes us to trust people who are different from
ourselves when they show us statistics and tell us stories about being unfairly
targeted and discriminated against. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This race is not about who is president. It is about who we
are and who we profess to believe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problems in this country are not someone else’s fault.
They are our fault. My fault. Your fault. We as Presbyterians know better. Our
confessions remind us weekly of our depravity and responsibility, while they remind
us we are saved, redeemed, and beloved. We are reminded of the ramifications
and inherent sinfulness of our actions and inactions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does it matter whether we end up with Clinton or Sanders or
Trump or Carson or Rubio? It matters from a policy standpoint. But as we know
from President Obama, one person with a pretty good analysis of racial
injustice in the U.S. can’t cure a whole country. (For a more robust discussion
of this, you can pre-order the forthcoming book on race <a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664262171/race-in-a-postobama-america.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>)
The presidential race is not just about the presidency. Focusing too much on
the presidential election ignores many of the races that make an even bigger
difference in our day-to-day lives – local and state elections.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The question is, will we take this election to step up,
claim responsibility, and work on our personal and systemic contributions? Or
will we default to what is easy? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Race-baiting in election season is easy. Refusing to play
this game is hard. Changing the game is harder. And creating new theological
discourses among the average Christian may be the hardest of all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only way to change the game is to play it, and switch up
the rules while we play. We can vote out of character. We can put pressure on
our candidates to play differently. We can work with others to find a way to
change the financing of campaigns and elections. We can use our moral voice;
but only if we participate. We can expose ourselves to diverse theologies that
challenge us to follow Jesus by moving between the pews and the streets.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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And pinning our hopes and dreams on one party to best govern
out of inclusion and justice instead of white supremacy? It’s foolish. We need
more than one party’s ideas and more people power than one party can galvanize,
to get us out of the mess. We need Jesus. And Jesus doesn’t have a party.<o:p></o:p></div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-23745287502930685902015-09-03T10:05:00.000-07:002015-09-04T10:38:38.287-07:00I'm Confused About That Part Where Blackface Is Still A ThingThere was a little blackface incident at Presbyterian-related Whitworth University. Click <a href="http://m.kxly.com/news/whitworth-students-pose-in-blackface-university-promises-action/35053234" target="_blank">here</a> for the story.<br />
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I like that university and I really respect the administration. See P.P.S. below.<br />
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What I find absolutely puzzling is that this kind of incident isn’t isolated. I have seen countless reports during the 21st century of people (mainly on college campuses) dressing up like "Mexicans" or dressing in blackface or donning "Indian headdresses" or any other number of offensive things.<br />
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I know I’m getting old when I think, “these idiots are going to be in charge of the world when I’m elderly and can no longer care for myself. Good luck to us.”<br />
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Here’s the thing. These people probably aren’t idiots about everything. As I have said before, <b>common sense isn’t common. It is taught.</b> A perfectly savvy and mature young person might make a racist decision because someone, namely parents-pastors-teachers-older siblings-grandparents-friends-pop culture, never bothered to teach her or him that some things are wrong.<br />
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So many people think it is okay to dress up in blackface/yellowface/red face/brownface. I’m here to tell you it’s not okay. In fact, I’m making a handy reference list for you.<br />
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<u>Things that are not okay:</u><br />
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<ol>
<li>Dressing like stereotypes of Mexicans for Cinco de Mayo (That’s called “brownface” and it’s racist.)</li>
<li>Dressing up in white face paint and knock-off imitations of kimono (That’s called “yellowface” and it’s racist.)</li>
<li>Dressing up in coconut bra tops and fake grass skirts (We colonized Hawaii and deposed their queen and have relegated indigenous Hawaiians to the margins of culture and history, and you think it’s cute to dress up in a stereotype of a deep and rich culture? That’s racist.)</li>
<li>Wearing an “Indian” headdress (That’s called “redface” and it’s racist.)</li>
<li>Painting your face with dark paint to look like a black person (That’s called “blackface” and it’s racist.)</li>
</ol>
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<u>Things that are okay:</u><br />
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<li>Think it’s fun to get together with your not-Mexican friends and get drunk on the fifth of May? Guess what? You can drink any day (if you're over 21)! Go ahead! Drink the tequila and eat food. Do it without a sombrero. I believe in you. (But drink responsibly. Responsible adults can drink and make merry without getting drunk. Just FYI.)</li>
<li>Think geishas are beautiful? Guess what? You can read about the geisha tradition and consider how you are helping your own cultural traditions live on through art and music and conversation.</li>
<li>Want to wear something festive and cute and appropriate on a hot day? Try a sundress. Sundresses can be worn by both men and women. Just ask my friends who went to a certain liberal arts college in Ohio and then all went to seminary and are now your pastors. </li>
<li>Want to honor the incredible contributions and diverse cultures of the first peoples? You can support cultural centers of various tribes, or contribute to tribal colleges. You can read Native American and First Nations literature. You can even get your books at a bookstore owned by a Native American award-winning author! It’s called Birchbark Books and it’s in Minneapolis. You can work for self-determination of all indigenous peoples. You can form actual relationships with people who are indigenous.</li>
<li>Want to honor the Jackson 5? Wear the clothes that look like they are from that period and carry around a Jackson 5 LP. How clever would that be? It is completely not necessary to put on a wig and paint your face. (Because… it’s racist! Yes, you’re learning.)</li>
<li>Want to dress like you love your body? You can do it! Yes! Show it off. Why not? Bodies are gifts from God. How about you wear a modern take on traditional clothing from your own ethnic background? If you’re more of a designer clothing person, there are some incredible contemporary American designers who are Asian American/Native American/African American/Latinx. Support them and their work!</li>
<li>Want to have some fun? Have your friends over and play a great game like “The Game for Good Christians” or watch a wholesome movie like “Big Hero 6” (my new favorite). It is completely possible to have fun and never insult an entire culture. I’ve been doing it for years. </li>
</ol>
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Yes, it's possible for people of color who do not identify as white to participate in cultural appropriation. STOP IT. It's embarrassing. We all internalize white supremacy and white supremacist behavior. If you see someone engaging in appropriation, say something.<br />
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If any of this is confusing and you think I’m being too judgy, I recommend a little internet reading. I’ve included a few starter links below.<br />
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"<a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/06/cultural-appropriation-wrong/" target="_blank">What's Wrong With Cultural Appropriation? These 9 Answers Reveal Its Harm</a>"<br />
"<a href="http://racerelations.about.com/od/diversitymatters/fl/What-Is-Cultural-Appropriation-and-Why-Is-It-Wrong.htm" target="_blank">What is Cultural Appropriation and Why Is It Wrong? </a>"<br />
<a href="http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/5-things-white-people-cultural-appropriation/" target="_blank">"5 things white people need to learn about cultural appropriation"</a><br />
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Next spring, we’ll be putting out <a href="http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664262171/race-in-a-postobama-america.aspx" target="_blank">a book for churches about racism</a>. Stay tuned!<br />
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<i>Late Addition: My in-house consultant pointed out that this post lacks solid grounding in an analysis centered around the larger issue of white supremacy in the U.S. White supremacy as a framework explains how some people believe it is acceptable to have "white trash" or "redneck" parties. When certain ideals are normalized, pinning the responsibility for bigotry on poor white people, or deciding poor white people are an acceptable class of people to mock, becomes a diversion from the real problems of white supremacy and widening economic inequality. Poor white people are trapped, too. "White trash" or "redneck" parties are offensive and classist. Don't do it. Instead, work for measures that will reduce economic inequality, increase educational opportunities, increase affordable housing and transportation availability, and invest in the growth of jobs that pay a living wage.</i><br />
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P.S. And if you’re more upset by this post and my judgmental tone than you are by the refugees fleeing Syria and Libya and not finding any country willing to take them, you need to re-order your priorities.<br />
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P.P.S. About Whitworth University: I chose to attend a different school for my undergraduate education in part because when I was applying for admission, the college (it was a college then) didn’t allow gay and lesbian students space to meet on campus. When your mom serves an open and affirming congregation that marches in Seattle’s Gay Pride parade, that kind of thing is important to you. But strides have been made. It’s a legitimately good place. They hosted a conversation on race and gender at which I was a speaker, and they are very hospitable. I have childhood friends and minister colleagues who are Whitworth alumni. This is not a Whitworth problem. This is an American problem.<br />
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<br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-14763117289275027182015-08-16T11:37:00.000-07:002015-08-16T11:40:01.275-07:00Beloved<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the sixth blog post for the <a href="http://cotiway.org/" target="_blank">Companions on the Inner Way</a> summer retreat. The featured speaker is <a href="http://enumaokoro.com/" target="_blank">Enuma Okoro</a>.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><i>You can find the other blog posts here:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogging-for-companions-on-inner-way.html" target="_blank"><i>Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me. </i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/seeking-home-where-do-we-come-from.html" target="_blank"><i>Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From? </i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i><i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/who-have-we-become.html" target="_blank">Who Have We Become?</a></i></span><br />
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<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/unbelonging.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">UnBelonging</span></a></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/exile-and-belonging.html" target="_blank">Exile and Belonging</a></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the second-to-the-last Lectio Divina group, the passage was <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A10&version=NRSV" target="_blank">I Peter 2:10</a>. My word was “mercy.” </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDb6zPmMN5DL7pjTslcTihGbSqg2SW4ixovNFl7y7PzDm6SzUq1vVFGVB9sd0WQMV39Xpxl5kGbrtzqd_wmtvGnjNjTYfyVZ9bzBISFOxdFXhtVSnWsfZ3j_d7Wpc365F710YgQ_p9fI/s1600/FullSizeRender+copy+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDb6zPmMN5DL7pjTslcTihGbSqg2SW4ixovNFl7y7PzDm6SzUq1vVFGVB9sd0WQMV39Xpxl5kGbrtzqd_wmtvGnjNjTYfyVZ9bzBISFOxdFXhtVSnWsfZ3j_d7Wpc365F710YgQ_p9fI/s320/FullSizeRender+copy+7.jpg" width="211" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well. I’m so good with mercy as a policy (people who have served time for the felony for which they were convicted should get the right to vote in all 50 states!). But when it comes to myself or others with whom I’m in relationship? Not so much. Sometimes I’m so wrapped up in all the stuff that I miss the whimsy and delight and <i>mercy</i> around me. Here’s a reminder of the mercy I have received and the mercy I might consider extending to everyone, especially the people I know. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Usually, and maybe this is because I’m a pastors’ kid, by the second or third worship in a row, I feel the temptation to skip it. That’s because I never skipped any worship as a kid (I really missed out on potential rebellion and I’m a little bit disappointed in myself). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I didn’t want to skip any worship at Companions. I ducked out of the healing service early, but that was due to needing to call home at midnight eastern time. And it left me wracked with guilt and feeling disrespectful. (This may explain why I never skipped as a kid.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was worth not skipping. The preacher for the Thursday afternoon worship was Scott Quinn. He had me at “Star Trek.” The sermon, with a reading from I Peter 2:9-10, opened with sadness about the death of Leonard Nimoy and confessions of devotion to Star Trek. The character of Spock lived a paradox, never quite fitting in. The scripture reading tells us the hearers didn’t quite fit in because of their faith. They are urged to live that paradox. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whether insider or outsider, we belong to God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not fitting in can be positive. Those of us who feel we don’t fit in are forced to look elsewhere for happiness. We can’t look for external validation; we have to look inside. We find belonging in God, in belonging to a purpose beyond ourselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Those of us who are fans of Star Trek remember that in “The Wrath of Khan” (the second movie in the classic Star Trek series, for you newbies), Spock says, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are given community; in community, we are re-membered. We are reminded whose we are. Sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many (cf. “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock”). Each one is precious enough for the community to sacrifice on her or his behalf. Each one belongs to God and a purpose bigger than yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The preacher for the final morning worship was Enuma Okoro, a treat for those of us who had been journeying with her throughout the week. The first reading was from the book “Passion for Pilgrimage” by Ellen Jones (the section I caught was, “I do belong to God, and this love affair is true”), and the second reading was from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+43:1" target="_blank">Isaiah 43:1</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enuma shared that where she is from, a name is given to a child on her or his eighth day at a naming ceremony with the elders, in the hope that the child will grow into her or his name. Names say something about who we are and who we could be. In Scripture, God does a lot of naming and re-naming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We’re familiar, of course, with Jacob being re-named Israel, Sarai and Abram being re-named Sarah and Abraham. A new name means a shift in identity, a new direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of us have taken on names or been given names that are not leading us closer to God. We experience people telling us who are, naming us as failures. We take on false names and labels, which make us smaller. One of Satan’s weapons, Enuma said, “is to try to convince us that we are not already named, that we do not belong.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But God has already given us names: saint, friend, daughter, son, beloved. We are already named, and God expects us to walk into that name. To be beloved means God is walking with you. “Beloved” is to be beckoned home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I neglected to tell you we held hands and sang and walked when the retreat began. We did the same as the retreat closed. This was lovely and meaningful, but it was about ten times less lovely because I’m a sympathy crier. At an event like this, a lot of people are dealing with a lot of things. Having space with God in community can remind you of your preciousness, provide you the space to grieve those lost. So when others cried, I almost cried. Ugh, empathy. Messy. (I’m sure empathy is a gift, right? I just hate crying.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the way home, with three flights I had plenty of time to think. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Things I will miss:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Morning prayer by the lake</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Space</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Structure for prayer and engagement with the holy in community</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Singing multiple times a day</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Things I’m looking forward to:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2-ply toilet paper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Coffee at its appropriate strength</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dogs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bourbon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A whole week of meals with no processed soy products</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Squeezing my friends’ baby</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Internet fast enough for talking with nieces</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are interested in attending a Companions retreat, next year’s retreat in Malibu will be February 28 and March 4, next year’s summer retreat at Lake Tahoe will be August 7-12, and the first weekend retreat will be October 14-16 in Newport Beach, CA. The weekend would be a great format for those of you who find it hard to take an entire week away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m so grateful for the opportunity to attend the Companions retreat and to get to blog for these good folks! And now that I’m back to the office, I carry with me a sense of delight cultivated by the past week. </span></div>
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-32544210693234210992015-08-13T14:20:00.000-07:002015-08-16T11:41:02.878-07:00Exile and Belonging<i>Questions for the reader are in <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>a different font</b></span>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>This is the fifth blog post for the <a href="http://cotiway.org/" target="_blank">Companions on the Inner Way</a> summer retreat. The featured speaker is <a href="http://enumaokoro.com/" target="_blank">Enuma Okoro</a>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>You can find the other blog posts here:</i><br />
<i><br /></i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogging-for-companions-on-inner-way.html" target="_blank"><i>Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me. </i></a><br />
<i><br /></i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/seeking-home-where-do-we-come-from.html" target="_blank"><i>Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From? </i></a><br />
<i><br /></i><i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/who-have-we-become.html" target="_blank">Who Have We Become?</a></i><br />
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<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/unbelonging.html" target="_blank">UnBelonging</a></i><br />
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<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/beloved.html" target="_blank">Beloved</a></i><br />
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After our break yesterday, we had our Lectio group. The Scripture passage was <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A18-21&version=NRSV" target="_blank">John 15:18-21</a>.<br />
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I am not particularly fond of the Gospel of John. And this is a particularly uncomfortable passage. The phrase that stood out to me was “on account of my name.”<br />
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What the heck is that about? I wondered.<br />
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I went to the art room (at least I’m persistent, eh?) and started with oil pastels. I wanted to draw the vortex that can be the national church.<br />
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I’m not saying this because I don’t love my work, or where I work, or my colleagues. It is a natural hazard of being national staff that it can become a vortex, both in the sense of how the place can feel during busy times, the number of hours I could work if I were feeling particularly unhealthy, and in the sense that in some settings you become a natural magnet for everyone’s complaints.<br />
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But I thought, “it’s about the call.” I don’t think that being national staff is akin to persecution. It is a privilege and a gift! I get to see things most people don't that are awesome. (Besides, I get to help publish books!) It’s just another way to serve the church. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I think following God’s call, however, can be a tricky beast. It gives life, and it can be very hard. Sometimes there are roses, sometimes the Holy Spirit shows up and says “I told you so!” and some times there are lovely gifts to be had. So. On account of the name.<br />
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When someone asks a why question, I always say “Jesus” – it’s a joke, but it’s true! Jesus is the reason!<br />
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Here’s my art. As you can see, I’m not 100% sure how oil pastels and watercolors work. I thought I’d contrast my work with my brother’s. You can find him at <a href="http://www.davidcheifetz.com/">www.davidcheifetz.com</a> and if you click on his art, you'll be directed to his website in another window.<br />
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Mine: </blockquote>
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My brother's:</div>
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<a href="http://davidcheifetz.com/workszoom/1768342" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwX3M5A3LRyjCLsq5nxp8V8A3HP4YwLT7PhtmNSE9b7n4ZpPARRV3tvStLuhdsY2sPVdhgPYXPepAnuTJHasdgUIijwa1rSPnQ9qltP3mPvskhQqNbnR_KQ78hBAaCnzZYOAzT32NUvhM/s320/in-the-void.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"In the Void"</div>
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"Sparks on Third"</div>
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Yesterday afternoon, I had a moment. I was getting tired. Writing makes me tired. Doing all the spiritual stuff can make me tired. And I was way behind on my Fitbit challenge with my colleagues. (I think being at 6500 feet elevation should give me extra points, but it doesn’t work like that.) So I had diet Pepsi at dinner. The beginning of the end.<br />
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After dinner was worship. Now, I thought it was a healing service, nothing more. Nope. It was a full service with the Eucharist and then a healing service. I love the Eucharist at every worship, provided the logistics aren’t too complex. I’m still impressed that at every Eucharist, the celebrants are wearing a different set of stoles that match the cloth over the altar. I was clearly tired, because I didn’t bring a note-taking device with me, which is why there are no Tweets from last night’s service!<br />
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Sharon Edwards was the preacher; the kind of preacher that makes me want to hang it all up and just go hear her. First, no manuscript. Second, completely coherent. Third, embodied.<br />
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I remember my own interpretation of the sermon, so forgive the inaccuracies. She pointed out that exile is not always a place we go. Sometimes it is waiting at home, and we get tossed into it. Sometimes exile finds us.<br />
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Exile is hard. In exile, sometimes it is all you can do to breathe. Being able to breathe is the first struggle. And when you can catch your breath, you might ask God “where are you?” And God says, “I’m in your breath.” Perhaps is it is no accident that the Hebrew word for the Spirit of God is ruach, interpreted as “breath” or “wind.” But exile is not all bad. Exile can give us new eyes; we can see new things.<br />
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This morning, I finally took a photo of the morning prayer by the lake. It is a series of movements, singing, readings, and a breath prayer. It is pure bliss.<br />
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When we gathered for our morning session, we began with a slide show of images and readings and song. Today’s theme was: “A People’s for God’s Own Possession: Belonging to God.”<br />
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The Scripture passage for the day is <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+44%3A1-5&version=NRSV" target="_blank">Isaiah 44:1-5</a>.<br />
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We talked about Jacob, and about God’s covenant with Jacob. Belonging to God, Enuma Okoro, the speaker, pointed out, isn’t easy. Based on this relationship between Jacob and God, being God’s people means a lifetime of wrestling. This passage says, whatever happens, I am God’s. I am already claimed. And I belong to a people (generations of them) who are God’s.<br />
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As a reminder, a covenant is a binding contract, and in this relationship, we see Jacob is bound to God’s purpose and love. He wasn’t bound because he was perfect (Enuma said, “Jacob was kind of a scoundrel.”), but because he is claimed by God in who he is. After wrestling with the angel of God, Jacob walked with a limp. Every step was a reminder of the wrestling and the blessing.<br />
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We were invited to draw how our bodies feel. We had to illustrate how we feel, physically. As the speaker said, many of us are taught to think with our heads and our hearts, but taught to ignore our physical bodies, and what they are telling us. She invited us to consider these questions:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Draw your body. How does my body feel? How does my stomach feel? How does my heart feel? Imprisoned? Scared? How do my hands feel? Why? Do they feel empty or fumbling?</b></span><br />
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Here is my drawing. For a fun contrast, I included one of my brother’s figure paintings.<br />
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Mine: </div>
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My brother's:</div>
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<a href="http://davidcheifetz.com/workszoom/1210934" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZj9XNA-_I-0ZkorasctnG9sFYM8l5GyM06dISWr4vr2gsE_sNB5lqsDKwzTujmexpozs8wvrCZ1ZeC0x1v9vw3tgeeGwbsP-37m2nfkZuvGVvkqHu-4O3Chy3rFcrXVaPz8BegQb7PI/s320/naiad.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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"Naiad"</div>
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After we drew our bodies, we engaged in a conversation with God. We imagined God was looking at our image with us, and asking us questions about it. We wrote God’s questions in pen with our dominant hand, and answered the question as ourselves in our non-dominant hand with colored pencil.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What does God want to know about your self-portrait?</b></span><br />
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Not surprisingly, in my conversation with God, God came off a little sarcastic. Unfortunately, in my imagination, God is like a little too much like me. Big oops. And I didn’t get to how my body FEELS in the first page. (I have a former therapist who used to say, “I hear how you THINK but how do you FEEL?” Apparently I’m not perfect yet.)<br />
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God in black ink: Those dark circles under your eyes... um...</div>
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Me in purple colored pencil: I'm tired, but I'm having too much fun to sleep.</div>
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Then we gathered in small groups to look over our prayer cards in groups. We did a shared exercise, in which we asked a question that we’re mulling over, and we looked at each card, in order, to answer the question. When you have three minutes to use your card to explain an answer to a question, and you have that time for three different cards, with nonjudgmental listeners, a lot can happen. I’m grateful.<br />
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Home</div>
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Identity</div>
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UnBelonging</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What are you working through, or asking about, in your life? What do your prayer cards show you?</b></span><br />
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Now, onto other important things. I put on my swimsuit to write this blog post because I really want to get in the water. This is where I’m headed. And here are some flowers for you, lovely reader.<br />
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<br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-8658937586378857042015-08-12T15:00:00.000-07:002015-08-16T11:41:13.957-07:00UnBelonging<i>Questions for the reader are in <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>a different font</b></span>.</i><br />
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<i>This is the fourth blog post for the <a href="http://cotiway.org/" target="_blank">Companions on the Inner Way</a> summer retreat. The featured speaker is <a href="http://enumaokoro.com/" target="_blank">Enuma Okoro</a>.</i><br />
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<i>You can find the other blog posts here:</i><br />
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<a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogging-for-companions-on-inner-way.html" target="_blank"><i>Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me. </i></a><br />
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<a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/seeking-home-where-do-we-come-from.html" target="_blank"><i>Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From? </i></a><br />
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<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/who-have-we-become.html" target="_blank">Who Have We Become?</a></i><br />
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<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/exile-and-belonging.html" target="_blank">Exile and Belonging</a></i><br />
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<i><a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/beloved.html" target="_blank">Beloved</a></i><br />
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Yesterday’s afternoon worship involved no internet access, so I didn’t tweet the sermon, delivered by Roché Vermaak. He preached as Joseph. He had several great lines, like “my brothers hated me for my Technicolor dream coat” and “we had a slightly dysfunctional family.” He also said that he (as Joseph) had made Egypt into his home, but after the reconciliation with his brothers, home was with his family in Egypt. Letting go of past resentments helped make a new home. Letting go is not the same as forgetting. We have to deal with the past in order to live in the future.<br />
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(As a side-note, I have to say that the conference staff are impressive. They are always moving around the worship space, keeping it fresh with different arrangements and elements. And the music is pretty darn amazing.)<br />
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The Scripture for last night’s Lectio Divina group session was <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+45%3A3-5&version=NRSV" target="_blank">Genesis 45:3-5</a>.<br />
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I found a website about Lectio Divina that might be helpful.<br />
<a href="http://www.centeringprayer.com/lectio_divina.html">http://www.centeringprayer.com/lectio_divina.html</a><br />
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The word that stood out to me, or “glimmered,” was “presence.” I have no clue as to why. But as we did further reflection, and went away and did some art and some prayer-walking, things became a little clearer.<br />
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I call this “Presence.”<br />
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Presence: I rarely feel alone. This is in part because I have great community, even if they live far away, and because after a childhood of running around in the woods and years spent in large cities, I know I’m never alone. There is always some critter or someone else out for a walk. And the cosmos is full of life. But presence is not necessarily something that can be controlled. It isn’t a docile pet.<br />
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I have also been thinking a lot about presence, because I know a few people who have been in Ferguson, being presence in the midst of vigils and protests and important work. I struggle with how I can be a presence for social change, as a couple of earlier efforts to be present and in solidarity without going to Ferguson did not exactly pan out. I've been in marches and vigils and actions in New York, Chicago, and Atlanta for various causes related to police brutality, war, worker justice, banking reform, and ending the death penalty, but I still haven't been able to participate in anything in Louisville, where I now live. And I'm not sure I would be the right person to show up at Ferguson, a year late. I can do important work within institutional structures, and none of what I do is visible. Of what use is my presence, really?<br />
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This morning I went down to the lake early. I might do the same thing again tomorrow, since I have yet to find time to use the bathing suit I brought with me.<br />
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Today’s session was about exile, or unbelonging. Of course, exile can mean many things. We were invited to consider what it is like when home is a place of exile, or when we feel we are in exile from a person or from a place.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What are the periods of exile in your life?</b></span><br />
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The Scripture passages were <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+15%3A18-21&version=NRSV" target="_blank">John 15:18-21</a> and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2029&version=NRSV" target="_blank">Jeremiah 29</a>.<br />
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As I listened to Enumo Okoro speak, and reflected on exile and unbelonging, I thought of a few things. The first is that the church can be a place that is both home and a place of unbelonging. This pertains particularly to those who are not cisgendered heterosexuals. Too often, people who identify as non-gender-conforming or transgender or gay or lesbian or queer find that the churches that raise them are also places of rejection. Some of us are incredibly fortunate, and never have that experience. But just because the church has changed its policy doesn’t mean individual churches are equipped to be true homes.<br />
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The other thing that came up for me is my relative comfort with exile. I’ve been in exile for years. Currently, it has to do with where I live. Sometimes it’s great. Sometimes it’s tiring. When people ask me where I’m from, I say I live in Kentucky, but I’m from the west. (After living for 15 years east of the Mississippi, the amount of land in the west I’m willing to claim as home has expanded dramatically. Sometimes I’m happy just to get as far west as Denver.) I live in the south, but I am not of the south. In the discussion we had in pairs, I started laughing, because after having had five years in the south, I now defend the south to people who look down on it or don’t understand it.<br />
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Yes, you heard that correctly. I defend the south, because the south isn’t just Fox News and Duck Dynasty. It is also Moral Mondays and queer activism and a fantastic food culture.<br />
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Exile isn’t always bad for me. But it is not just about location. It is also that I do not always fit into my social or professional group because of my Asian American biraciality. Just because I identify as Asian American or as a person of color doesn’t mean it’s easy for me to connect with Asian Americans and with people of color. The way my denomination is structured is that each racial or cultural group that isn’t white has its own group (caucus). But how you get connected with the caucus is either you do a lot of national church work (me) or you belong to a racially-specific or culturally-specific congregation that relates to the caucus. People like me, who are people of color but not affiliated with a culturally-specific (non-white) congregation, are not universally connected with the caucus. I really love my time with the Asian American caucus, and they have been nothing but welcoming, but it takes extra work on both our parts to be in relationship. It’s not bad. It’s just how it is for me.<br />
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The value of these explorations in community wasn’t lost on me. As the speaker pointed out, our individual paths and journeys are grounded in the larger Christian narrative, which already has an ending.<br />
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Walter Brueggemann writes about exile, of course. In Jeremiah 29:4-7, God makes it clear that being in exile is its own sort of call. The people are given instructions (build houses and live in them, plant fields and eat from them) that are about what they are to do in exile. They are to really live it. They are to make themselves at home, even marrying their children to others already in the land.<br />
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And because I consider myself somewhat in exile, it was striking when Enuma Okoro pointed out the text indicates that exiles can still be beloved and chosen. Exile is not forever. It does not mean God will forget you.<br />
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We listened to a partner’s story of exile. And then we did art about not-belonging. Here is mine.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What does un-belonging look like for you?</b></span><br />
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The last time we moved, we rushed to unpack. And we didn’t unpack important files or our clothes. We unpacked linens and put up art on the first floor. We made sure beds were made for guests and the vases for fresh flowers were available. A few months after the move, and I’m still pulling out clothes from boxes. Fresh linens and flowers and art are far more important to feeling settled and at home, even in a land I don’t yet much appreciate. We have people over for dinners and drinks and an open house, hosted a work retreat, had family for a few days, and we felt at home in the midst of exile.<br />
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A life-long question for me, that the speaker also raised, is how we go one without feeling we are home. (Clearly, I put out art and make up the guest beds and gather friends around for food and conversation.) Perhaps God is really our home, whether or not we are in our place of belonging or un-belonging. Even in exile, we are accompanied.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When you feel a sense of not-belonging, of exile, do you make your home in the midst of it?</b></span><br />
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Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-30855761304218958532015-08-11T15:29:00.000-07:002015-08-16T11:41:43.455-07:00Who Have We Become?<i>Questions for the reader are in <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a different font</span></b>, and resources are listed at the bottom</i><br />
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<i>This is the third blog post for the <a href="http://cotiway.org/" target="_blank">Companions on the Inner Way</a> summer retreat. </i><br />
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<i>You can find the first here: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogging-for-companions-on-inner-way.html" target="_blank">Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me.</a> </i><br />
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<i>And the second here: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/seeking-home-where-do-we-come-from.html" target="_blank">Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From? </a></i><br />
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<i>The fourth blog is here: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/unbelonging.html" target="_blank">UnBelonging</a></i><br />
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<i>Here is the fifth: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/exile-and-belonging.html" target="_blank">Exile and Belonging</a></i><br />
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<i>And the sixth: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/beloved.html" target="_blank">Beloved</a></i><br />
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Here is an afternoon Lake Tahoe photo for you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjT0WTlXh7V9F3ziwTTnv5LMhs7X8kSepfomqYDETSZlqRBtPpCuPTuQv-iu7p_i2U-bZp233-kmvVRUa0QAfaVWXpItlO5EUVnOb-3-GDz1illQne2BcmP2KFuDv36KsYApXp4wIMmg/s1600/IMG_3277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjT0WTlXh7V9F3ziwTTnv5LMhs7X8kSepfomqYDETSZlqRBtPpCuPTuQv-iu7p_i2U-bZp233-kmvVRUa0QAfaVWXpItlO5EUVnOb-3-GDz1illQne2BcmP2KFuDv36KsYApXp4wIMmg/s320/IMG_3277.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We left off yesterday during the afternoon break, the only time I can realistically write a blog post. After time to pray, relax, enjoy Lake Tahoe, or work (me), we reconvened with worship. The preacher was Jenna Meyers, on staff at <a href="http://seventhavenuechurch.org/" target="_blank">Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church</a>, which houses Companions. She preached about Elijah.<br />
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As Jenna says, stories help us peek below the surface of what is ordinary. Elijah’s encounter with the angel who feeds him after he prepares himself for death is full of ordinary things that do the extraordinary: a jar of water, a bush, a cake. He has enough for forty days.<br />
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The preacher shared that ever since she moved away from home, her mother has sent her full birthday cakes made from scratch, complete with candles to light and blow out. This cake might seem ordinary, but in times of feeling homesick, it reminded her where she belonged. The chocolate from her mother’s cupboard, water from Denver, baked in the family oven. A simple, ordinary object can become overlaid with memories and tap into a deep well of perseverance.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What ordinary object reminds you of where you belong? What ordinary thing helps you through difficult times?</span></b><br />
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After dinner, we met in our <i>Lectio Divina</i> groups. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the practice of <i>Lectio Divina</i>, it is a way of reading the Scriptures while allowing lots of space for the Spirit to speak. Or maybe a way to let the Spirit sneak through the cracks of our lives and holler, “Gotcha!”<br />
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The Scripture for reflection was <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+26%3A1-2&version=NRSV" target="_blank">Deuteronomy 26:1-2</a>. I’m not really into colonialism, which of course is what I heard immediately in this passage, but I focused on the word “ground.” I’m having issues with ground right now. Ever since leaving Chicago five years ago, I’ve felt like I’m merely floating along the top of where I live. I find good restaurants, good friends and neighbors, and nice places to hang out, along with a good church, but I’m less good about digging in and getting invested in the place. Learning the politics of Atlanta was very challenging, and trying to care about Louisville, where I have lived for just a year, is really hard for me.<br />
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This group gathering lasted 90 minutes, but it didn’t feel like too long, because we had space in the middle to go off and consider the scripture and the question, and the intimacy of the conversation was a gift.<br />
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Also, I did art. Check me out! I did art!<br />
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The top photo is supposed to be Kentucky, where I live. I’m the round tree and spouse is the palm tree. Maybe. I kept working with the same scratch-off piece of paper, and so the second is Kentucky’s Cumberland Falls at night with a moonbow, one of two waterfalls with moonbows in the world. I think I’m going to try to get connected to the ground where I actually live, not the ground where I wish I lived. As I told my group, I maybe shouldn’t be following the baseball in Seattle and the politics in Chicago and whatever else is going on in New York. I just need to figure out Louisville.<br />
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Last night was the first compline service, which I love. Yeah, I love sitting in a dark room lit only by candles, with song and silence and scripture and prayer.<br />
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(It occurs to me that my stuff with maybe sucking at spirituality isn’t a lack of knowledge, or even of practice. It’s that I just don’t really engage in it in my usual life. And because I have no choice this week, I’m finding that it is comfortable. I slip right back into it, and find meaning in it.)<br />
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Speaker Enuma Okoro set the theme for this morning: “Who Have We Become?” What are the key experiences that shape our sense of self and belonging? She then asked participants why we were drawn by the topic of home and belonging.<br />
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Answers varied, of course. Belonging can be anywhere, for someone whose home is always shifting. Some find home in community, in church, in self, in another person, with God. For some it is a landscape, or a childhood home, or a way of being. As we move more and more in our society, how do we maintain a space where we are nourished? When we are nourished, we are able to go out and nourish others. Sometimes there is a need to let go of old homes and old belongings that no longer fit us or are safe for us.<br />
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Enuma spoke about the key moments in our lives that shift the understanding of self. She thinks of them as doorways. Donald Miller calls them “story turns.” We were asked to think about those story turns that impact how we interpret our own lives/selves. Perhaps it is a loss of some kind that alters who we are becoming and where we belong.<br />
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To illustrate story turns, we looked at Joseph’s story in Genesis 39 through 41. A major story turn is when Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. We practiced reading parts of Joseph’s story out loud and suggesting potential titles of the story turns. We also looked at how many of his story turns might have started out positive or negative, but were the opposite in hindsight after knowing his life story.<br />
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The following exercises come from Donald Miller's excellent work. (You can find out more about his work here: <a href="http://storylineblog.com/">http://storylineblog.com/</a>). His book is listed at the bottom of the blog post.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An exercise: Think about the story turns in your own lives. Write down one for each age increment:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1-5</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6-10</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11-15</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">16-20</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">21-25</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">26-30</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">31-40</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">41-50 </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">etc. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Give each story turn a title, assign it “positive” or “negative,” and give it a description.</span></b><br />
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We turned the journal of the exercise above into a timeline. On the top of the timeline: titles of positive story turns. On the bottom, titles of negative story turns.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>In your story turns, what are the themes that have emerged from your life? Have negative stories been redeemed?</b></span><br />
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I won’t post mine here, because it needs more work. But I found something interesting… even the negative story turns had been redeemed one way or another (and probably thanks to all the therapy). I was able to grow in my sense of self. And the positive story turns were about growing in love. For instance, the story turn in the 21 to 25 range was the delightful discovery that the world is a lovely and big place, and so is the church. I was one of the Presbyterian representatives to a small World Council of Churches consultation of only women, and there I learned to not worry about the demise of denominations (honey, there are so many Christians all over the world), and I found there is so much more to learn. Learning is a beautiful thing.<br />
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I wasn’t able to come up with a story turn for my current age, which is perhaps because I have no distance, and distance helps us see ourselves more clearly.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The homework assignment is as follows:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Give yourselves five minutes on a timer. Write “I have come from…” and write until the time is up. Re-set the timer for five minutes and write “I am going to…” and write until the timer is up. Do you notice anything that helps you understand where home is, has been, could be?</span></b><br />
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We ended the morning with soul collage work. The prompts for our collage were the following: Acknowledge our lives are intricate. Don’t think. Just gather what grabs you.<br />
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Here is my collage, entitled: “Loved and Freed: But I Sure Do Work My Ass Off.” Includes empty space for growth.<br />
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We shared our collages with a conversation partner. We began with “I am the one who…” And when we had no more to say, our partners said, “And then?” to keep us talking. Try it. It’s a neat exercise.<br />
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<b>Some book resources for you</b><br />
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Donald Miller's book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Storyline-Finding-Your-Subplot-Story/dp/0615653715" target="_blank">Storyline</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664228704/the-way-of-discernment.aspx" target="_blank">The Way of Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Decision-Making</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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by Elizabeth Liebert<br />
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Just now published!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664239676/the-soul-of-discernment.aspx" target="_blank">The Soul of Discernment: A Spiritual Practice forCommunities and Institutions</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664252303/reformed-spirituality.aspx" target="_blank">Reformed Spirituality: An Introduction for Believers</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
by Howard Rice<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/0664239242/soul-feast-newly-revised-edition.aspx" target="_blank">Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
by Marjorie Thompson</div>
Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1182707644766769916.post-67378340198982227282015-08-10T15:50:00.001-07:002015-08-16T11:41:57.590-07:00Seeking Home: Where Do We Come From?This is the second blog post for the <a href="http://cotiway.org/" target="_blank">Companions on the Inner Way</a> summer retreat.<br />
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You can find the first here: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogging-for-companions-on-inner-way.html" target="_blank">Blogging for Companions on the Inner Way: It’s Not About Me</a>.<br />
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And here is the third: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/who-have-we-become.html" target="_blank">Who Have We Become?</a><br />
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The fourth is here: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/unbelonging.html" target="_blank">UnBelonging</a><br />
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Here is the fifth: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/exile-and-belonging.html" target="_blank">Exile and Belonging</a><br />
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Here is the sixth: <a href="http://churchrelations.blogspot.com/2015/08/beloved.html" target="_blank">Beloved</a><br />
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<i>Questions for the reader are in <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a different font</span></b>, and resources are listed at the bottom.</i><br />
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The conversation last night and this morning introduced us to the topic for the week. The speaker, <a href="http://enumaokoro.com/" target="_blank">Enuma Okoro</a> has been considering the topic of home and belonging, and is sharing that with the participants at this week’s Companions retreat. What is home, and where do we belong? She asked us to consider how we incarnate home and belonging in our own diverse lives.<br />
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We began with stories. Stories, as Enuma says, shape us. They are sacred, and form the unique spaces we come from. Today was a chance to honor where we come from.<br />
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This question of where we come from is a bit touchy for me. That’s in part because as an Asian American, one of the most frequent (and annoying) questions my fellow Asian Americans and I get is “where are you from?” Typically, “Seattle” or “Houston” is not the answer people are looking for. These people are not digging for where we’re from, they are trying to figure out our ethnicity. Why this is a game for people who aren’t Asian American (especially for white people), I’m not sure. Well, obviously, racism, the perpetual foreigner, blah blah.<br />
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It’s touchy for me on another level because I come from a family that moves. My mother told me she counted 19 times through the course of my parents’ marriage. My partner and I have moved seven or eight times. Many of these moves are within the same area, but many are interstate. When I visit my parents, I'm not going back to the same house where I grew up. I have been formed by each place I have lived. What is home?<br />
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Enuma invited us to think about another way of defining where we are from. We started by writing a poem.<br />
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I’m all about words, but not so much the poetry. I can engage in literary criticism of a poem, or use a poem as a reflection in worship, but I do not write it. So thanks, Enuma, for giving me a format I could use!<br />
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First draft of where I’m from. (Don’t overthink it, people. I sure didn’t.)<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
I am from coffee, from Trader Joe’s and Keen’s<br />
I am from open<br />
I am from evergreen needles<br />
I am from New Year’s day parties and a love of reading from Satoru and Diana and Howard<br />
I am from try-everything-once and listen-to-everyone’s-problems<br />
From “find one good thing about the person you dislike the most” and “choose your battles”<br />
I am from grounded, not closed<br />
I am from San Francisco, challah, satsumage, and bacalao<br />
From the rain-drenched asphalt and critical race theory<br />
I am from both/and.</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where are you from? What defines you? </span></b><br />
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The Scripture to ground the conversation was <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+26%3A1-29%3A8&version=NRSV" target="_blank">Deuteronomy 26:1-8</a>. It gives a narrative, as interpreted in the rabbinic tradition, instilled in Jewish people. Here is the gist of what Enuma shared: If the wandering Aramean is Laban, without Laban having cheated Jacob, Joseph would not have had those older brothers, so he would not have been sold into slavery, and the Hebrew people would not have been enslaved in Egypt. Instilling a narrative into each generation affects our sense of self.<br />
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Science has shown that those who have a sense of their family stories have a stronger sense of belonging. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html" target="_blank">According to one study, “the more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.”</a><br />
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In this vein of knowing where we come from, and exploring our narratives, we were all instructed to draw a family tree that went back to our great-grandparents. We were asked to consider what the family tree reveals to us, how much of our family story we don’t know, and which people in the family tree stand out.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Draw your family tree. What does it tell you about yourself? About your family?</span></b><br />
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I do not have a picture for you, because I didn’t have something to write with besides my computer (and a family tree in a document format is terribly unwieldy). My family system is also made particularly challenging by the adoptions (especially the open one), divorces, remarriages, multiple sets of siblings with different wives (it’s always new wives in my family), the family members that have cut each other off, and the fact that there is an entire branch of the family that isn’t technically related by blood or by marriage, but by circumstance/proximity/shared history. I couldn’t draw it if I tried. Besides, even if I tried, I’m pretty sure there are some family members or ex-spouses I’m not supposed to mention. (This right here is when I get very grateful that my parents and I and my partner have been through extensive therapy.)<br />
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We were then asked to consider what are the two or three instilling narratives we were raised with.<br />
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The predominant narratives I was raised with, which I assume were largely unintentional, are the following:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Japanese American internment. Two entire generations of my family were removed from their homes and schools and businesses and farms and placed for several years into concentration camp. That is why I still hoard boxes (I might have to leave at any time) and I’m pretty sure that’s how I ended up with a multiracial family (80% of the generation born after internment married out). My adult interpretation of the impact of this narrative is the following: your government can turn on you for who you are, so be ready to pick up and go. Don’t expect anyone else to speak up on your behalf. But because you have experienced this, it’s your duty to speak up for others who are victims of the government.</blockquote>
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“He’s white, but at least he’s Jewish.” We are discussing my dad. The narrative of the white Jewish side of the family wasn’t lost on me growing up, and my adult interpretation is this: the Jewish side of the family came to this country fleeing persecution, and ended up dealing with anti-Semitism in the U.S. for generations, so it is our duty to pay attention to those who are marginalized.</blockquote>
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Religion. My Christian upbringing shaped virtually everything about me. But because we have Buddhist/atheist/Unitarian (y’all get your own category)/Jewish/Pentecostal/ mainline Protestant/Catholic/no affiliation relatives (oh, add Muslim now), just because I adhere to one religion doesn’t mean it’s the only way of being with a significant contribution to make to society. And I’m not allowed to make my religion the dominant one in the room. That’s rude.</blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What family narratives have shaped you?</span></b><br />
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These musings have been interspersed with other types of spiritual disciplines.<br />
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As for spiritual disciplines, here’s where we stand. I’m going to try everything at least twice. This morning, I was a little late to the prayer by the lake. There was scripture, song, and movement. We did a breath prayer together. The facilitator read from Margaret Wheatley’s <i><a href="http://margaretwheatley.com/books-products/books/turning-one-another/" target="_blank">Turning to One Another</a>,</i> a book I have used for my own facilitation. One of the questions asked “what is important to the people I care about?” And because my Twitter and Facebook timelines had been blowing up about Ferguson in the past twelve hours, that’s all I could think about.<br />
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I haven’t walked the labyrinth yet this week (I’ve walked labyrinths plenty of other times, so I’m not in a rush). But this is where it is placed. Not a bad location.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVTQyZWVXqw-Q6c5tAQLxROISv4RfhU0ZW0IDcfVsDLwFO5PZge6PXhrJZsbW2mCQK78NJHYmRWpVSc3luSGqrvGCVJhC4Gyxxc57CHLW0SK7R0tXOtErG6d4b-D6IM4KuVTJq5EvD0Y/s1600/IMG_3262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVTQyZWVXqw-Q6c5tAQLxROISv4RfhU0ZW0IDcfVsDLwFO5PZge6PXhrJZsbW2mCQK78NJHYmRWpVSc3luSGqrvGCVJhC4Gyxxc57CHLW0SK7R0tXOtErG6d4b-D6IM4KuVTJq5EvD0Y/s320/IMG_3262.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Later this morning, we made a collage reflecting on the themes of the morning. (Yes, that’s a picture of the Rev. Dr. Christine Hong. I found it among our photo options and couldn’t help myself.) Clearly, I find home in food and nature and large cities and dialogue in difference. Because I tried not to overthink it, I completed the collage in record time. My number one challenge to this spirituality thing: the inability to slow down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0m79NaM15jD0ClymPOsV2LzSDYA5dwYz8Qr5U1p1R4-tc4ITKAE66Orlr1B3ozsnolsDRm24X1f8f9ZN3rx4qwOtCBK_oiH_Mqt-cBxib37NugoW1LIe8Qsn7n2eXI2gnQagEULDQ9Dk/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0m79NaM15jD0ClymPOsV2LzSDYA5dwYz8Qr5U1p1R4-tc4ITKAE66Orlr1B3ozsnolsDRm24X1f8f9ZN3rx4qwOtCBK_oiH_Mqt-cBxib37NugoW1LIe8Qsn7n2eXI2gnQagEULDQ9Dk/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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After the collage, I returned to do my own art project. I didn’t overthink it, so that may be why I ended up with glitter paint around the tissue paper. What does it mean? Who knows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRo6xepNgmK7iAzDuZmBhrWanzdyuqNogovaR-F41nKy3IRZvmLp4SXMwYj8TcRDv8U0JE-pZ6wBLpby6-fQz97xE0scrVDgx830rFzxMLUgsfnlFAGwDx8X7bkIcIMoPYXIH36bUNvho/s1600/IMG_3261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRo6xepNgmK7iAzDuZmBhrWanzdyuqNogovaR-F41nKy3IRZvmLp4SXMwYj8TcRDv8U0JE-pZ6wBLpby6-fQz97xE0scrVDgx830rFzxMLUgsfnlFAGwDx8X7bkIcIMoPYXIH36bUNvho/s320/IMG_3261.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I’m now questioning how I am treating this whole week. Am I treating it like work, or am I treating it like a genuine exploration of the spiritual life?<br />
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I think I’m treating it like work. This isn’t altogether bad; I’m here for work. I have things to do. That’s why I’m attending everything and trying new things at least twice. Make a to-do list, check off the items as they are completed.<br />
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However, I find myself faced with a challenge. Suppose the spiritual life is not about completing a check list? Suppose it is an openness with no list whatsoever? What if completing the check list allows for God to sneak in, anyway?<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do you explore the spiritual life? Is it a check-list or an openness?</span></b><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Downloadable Adult Study Resources for Exploring Spirituality</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0039/spirituality-101.aspx" target="_blank">Spirituality 101</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0333/benedictine-spirituality.aspx" target="_blank">Benedictine Spirituality</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0036/childrens-spirituality.aspx" target="_blank">Children’s Spirituality</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0447/adolescent-spirituality.aspx" target="_blank">Adolescent Spirituality</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/Products/TC0019/reformed-spirituality.aspx" target="_blank">Reformed Spirituality </a><br />
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<br />Laura M. Cheifetzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360589289400526538noreply@blogger.com0