Thursday, December 31, 2020

Nativity Scene # 13

 Nativity Set #13 For the last day of 2020 we have a puzzle nativity set. We are puzzled: When will we see full and equitable COVID vaccinations? What will happen next Wednesday when Congress is supposed to simply accept presidential election results? What will happen in the UK and EU when Brexit takes place tonight? "Love is Jesus within and among us." (ELW 292)




Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Nativity Scene #12

 Nativity Set #12 These snow-covered trees (It snowed last night) are our Christmas tree. This nativity set is from Peru. "O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the king and peace to all on earth." (ELW 279)



Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Nativity Scene # 11

 Nativity Set #11 "Let the heights of heav'n adore him, angel hosts, Christ's praises sing; pow'rs dominions bow before him" (ELW 295) This is the second smallest of our nativity sets. Jesus came as a small baby, yet he is worshipped throughout the world.


Monday, December 28, 2020

Nativity Scene #10

Nativity Set #10 It came upon the midnight clear. . . And you beneath life's crushing load. . . oh, rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing. (ELW 282)


Sunday, December 27, 2020

Nativity Scene #9

 Nativity Set #9 First Sunday of Christmas. People wait for relief from eviction, monetary relief from job loss, relief from food insecurity, relief from . . .

In Christ : "You are safe from danger; come and see; from all that grieves you, you are freed." (ELW 273)


Saturday, December 26, 2020

Nativity Scene # 8

 Nativity Set #8 "From heaven above to earth I come to bear good news to every home." (ELW 268) We pray for those without homes, for those who wait for financial relief, for those waiting for good news. We give thanks for Christ who dwells in our midst.


Friday, December 25, 2020

Nativity Scene #7

 Nativity Set #7. "O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today." (ELW 279)


Thursday, December 24, 2020

Nativity Scene #6 Christmas Eve

 Nativity set #6. It takes two pictures to show all who come to celebrate Jesus' birth. (From Africa) "I am so glad each Christmas Eve, the night of Jesus' birth!" (ELW 271)




Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Nativity Set #5

 Nativity Set #5 from Central America

"Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let all their songs employ, while fields and floods, ricks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy." (ELW 267)




Tuesday, December 22, 2020

 Nativity Set #4 

"Jesus is present in neighbors we see. God's truth and justice set everybody free." (ELW 266)



Monday, December 21, 2020

Nativity Set # 3

 Nativity Set #3.  Our son Kirk made this in a church program when he was a child.  We have put it out every year for 40 years.  From Luke: Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.



Sunday, December 20, 2020

Nativity Set # 2. Tanzania

 The fourth Sunday in Advent.  This second nativity set we brought back from Tanzania where I was teaching at the Lutheran Seminary. We have much to learn from the faith of the people of Tanzania.



Saturday, December 19, 2020

 I will be sharing over the coming days pictures of nativity sets from our home which we have collected over the decades. 

"While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to deliver her child." (Luke 2)


Seeing-Remembering-Connecting

 


By the Rev. Dr. Karen Bloomquist written today:

“Seeing-remembering-connecting”1 has become in 2020 far more urgent, subversive, even revolutionary. Although rooted in recognizable religious practices, these verbs are crossing boundaries that go far beyond the church. Many developments are coming together and reaching a fevered pitch: the pandemic with new ways of living, communicating and working; heightened awareness of systemic racism and vast inequalities; raging wildfires, intense storms, and other evidence that climate change is an urgent challenge. The current pandemic may be only a foretaste of what the 21st century may be like. We live in a revelatory time, provoking us to see-remember-connect in new ways.

This current pandemic may be waking us up that a far more sweeping revolution is needed. What has been “normal” may be no more. What is unknown, and spreading vehemently in ways that no human strategy or solution can meet, is being revealed. This virus is itself revelatory. Human life and nature have become out of sync, no longer mutually dependent. No matter how ingenious are any human efforts or even vaccines, what is being revealed again is that humans cannot control “nature” --- even how this virus spreads. What we can and must do is keep our distance or cover our faces so as to not contaminate others. Beyond that, what is unknown leads many to cave in to fears, which make them vulnerable to various appeals, including those that are authoritarian. Fears are especially manipulated through polarizing appeals, whether from the right or left.

What is being revealed again is that human beings are not in control, and cannot control this virus, or nature in general --- especially for the sake of human well-being and economic progress. We turn to science and technology to save us, and indeed, they are important --- especially in this pandemic. But being out of control, and unable to predict the future is especially feared. We live by predictability and normalcy as we have known it. Fears escalate when this is no longer the case.

See Dr. Bloomquist's Book, "Seeing-Remembering-Connecting" published in 2016.

Friday, December 11, 2020

About Iowa

 About Iowa: Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor, has been selected by Biden as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, a position he held for 8 years in the Obama administration. Vilsack will bring experience not only addressing the stress on family farmers, but also addressing long-term hunger. One in 6 Americans and ¼ of U.S. Children face a hunger crisis.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) says she was not asked to join the 17 State attorney generals who are supporting the Texas attorney general’s lawsuit to overturn the presidential election. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller (D) said he would have denied the request because he could not deny the votes of millions of Americans.

Some Iowa school districts plan to replace snow days with online learning days. Children could be safe at home, but what about the ongoing and additional burden on teachers?

COVID vaccinations will come—slowly—to Iowa, but the danger will not be over for months. It will be crucial to continue wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding large-group gatherings.

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Freedom from Having to Stop for a Red Light?

 I don’t believe it. But there it was, a “Letter to the Editor” in the Sunday morning paper. The man wrote, “I don’t think we need a law that requires Iowans to stop every single time at stop signs and lights.” I have been using the analogy of stop signs when writing that during a pandemic it is essential everyone wear a mask and social distance, saying “We accept laws that require us to stop for a red light.” That’s for the common good, so that we don’t cause other people to die.

The writer went on to make his case about not obeying traffic signs: “So what if there are a few more injuries or deaths. . . it’s a small price to pay for maintaining our constitutionally-protected freedom.” I don’t have a constitutional right to injure or kill people. Rather than worship the word, “Freedom” we need to believe that freedom is not just for me to do whatever I want. We have freedom from tyranny to “promote the general Welfare.” Oh, and what about seatbelts, and smoking regulations, and . . . ?

Friday, November 27, 2020

The First Amendment Does Not Prevent Us From Caring for the Neighbor

 



The US Supreme Court has overturned a N.Y. ruling concerning religious people gathering in crowds, some saying this was based on the “heart of the First Amendment.”
      The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” Neither the establishment clause nor the free exercise clause prevents guidelines and laws needed to protect people’s right to live.  Free exercise means freedom for me and my neighbor, not my freedom to endanger my neighbor.
      The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily barred New York from enforcing strict attendance limits on places of worship in areas designated coronavirus hot spots. Such restrictions are necessary during a pandemic; it has been demonstrated that large gatherings of any kind, including houses of worship, have directly contributed to huge outbreaks of COVID-19 and many deaths.
      The court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America that argued that the restrictions violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Headlines reading “US Supreme Court sides with religious organizations” are misleading. In my opinion the ruling did not “side with” religious organizations or two specific religious groups, which would have violated the establishment clause.
      This ruling has implications for future court cases which might base rulings on the free exercise clause, thus, in my view, misusing the First Amendment. This also has implications for all religious organizations. Some members might use this Supreme Court Ruling to insist their faith community be totally open to in-person services and to not insist on social distancing and wearing masks. We need to carefully study the First Amendment and also the Preamble to the Constitution which includes the words, “to promote the general welfare.” Freedom from means freedom for people to be able to live.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Masks up! Or not?

 


Mask up. Or, not! Whatever you want. Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds issued a confusing mandate Monday. People are required "to wear masks in public indoor space if unable to maintain a safe social distance." Faith communities were not mentioned. Many pastors took this to mean they should not have indoor services without safe distances and masks. However, Reynolds’ many exceptions later were said to include religious services.
And people "running a quick errand in a store" wouldn’t need to wear a mask. Nevertheless she "encouraged mask wearing." That is easily interpreted, "Do what you want to do."
My husband, Burton, wrote in a Letter to the Editor in our Globe Gazette, “Perhaps the governor’s failure to require everyone to wear masks did get her votes." Reynolds said the election (in Iowa?) supported her actions. Burton added that perhaps Reynolds "should overrule the law against smoking in public places."
Or maybe we as individuals should decide whether we want to or not go through a red light. After all, it does inconvenience me when I’m in a hurry. Or perhaps, because we have "freedom" in this country, I need not wear a seatbelt. It’s uncomfortable. Freedom does not mean we can do whatever we individually want. Freedom in a democracy means we are free to work together, including being guided by scientific evidence, so that all may be safe, and therefore free to live.
In a news conference Reynolds was later asked about the science which states clearly that wearing masks makes a big difference in containing the virus, to which she responded that there was "science on both sides." Later a spokesperson for the governor tried to correct her statement by saying that the science was clear but there were people on both sides of the issue.
So, what are people required or encouraged to do in Iowa? Where is the leadership? The confusion only adds to the divisions and invites cases of COVID to surge.

Sunday, November 8, 2020

First President from the "Silent Generation"

 The 46th president of the United States will be the first from the “Silent Generation” 1928-45. Characteristics: they are respectful and responsible, have a strong work ethic and will-power. That’s Joe Biden, b. 1942. Kamala Harris, the first woman vice-president-elect (on the 100th anniversary of women winning the vote), helps us celebrate black/brown citizens of immigrant parents, hers from Jamaica and India. Burton and I celebrated by a walk through downtown Mason City. We played the chimes and xylophone on one of our many city statues.

At the time of the election announcement we were having a party: a 5-person celebration of my birthday (b. 1938) yesterday. I give thanks for birthday greetings from across the U.S., Australia, Canada, Korea and Namibia, and from all generations from my kdg. friend to my new friends here at Prairie Place whom I have met in my 80's. I celebrate, give thanks, and pray for the challenges and possibilities ahead. I celebrate with the world!





Friday, October 30, 2020

Day 7 of Walk Around the Neighborhood

 Day 7 (the final post) of my “walk around the neighborhood”: Back at home (just in time; the snow has come) I show you Prairie Place on First, before and after the first snowfall. We moved in 3 1/2 years ago after leaving Dubuque. There are 32 apartments; ours is on the second floor, just above the entrance. Built in 2016, the building follows the Prairie-style and is part of Good Shepherd campuses. The long-term care facility is across the street to the North. Our Prairie Place residents have formed a fine community—at a distance now with masks—and none have contracted COVID. We need to continue to take precautions for everyone's sake, in every neighborhood around the country and around the world.









Thursday, October 29, 2020

Day 6 of Walk Around the Neighborhood

Day 6 of my "walk around the neighborhood" Seven churches are within a few blocks of our home. We are members of Trinity Lutheran (ELCA), 1/2 block NW of us. Due to COVID, the last time we were in the building was March 13. This large congregation is blessed with an on-line service for us and for people across the country. Trinity at 150 years, continues to be in ministry and mission by offering on-line Bible studies, health ministries, and more.


Back home again, here is a picture of the front door to our apartment, complete with memories from our visits to Australia. (The world is a larger neighborhood.)




Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Day 5 of Walk Around the Neighborhood

 Our neighborhood, Day 5: We walk back on Rock Glen, the nationally recognized historic district of Prairie-style homes, the largest collection in the world. Over a dozen homes in the Rock Glen, Rock Crest area on both sides of Willow Creek are in a beautiful setting. We could walk all around, by crossing the footbridge. It would take about 20 minutes.

For now, we simply walk by some of them and continue on our way back. We do pass the Stockman House (pictured here) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1908, only 1 block from our home. The Park Inn Hotel, 4 blocks west downtown, is the only Frank Lloyd Wright hotel left anywhere. Built in 1910, it was recently renovated as a wonderful place to stay overnight.

Stockman House

One of the Prairie style homes on Rock Glen.


This is the four-plex across the street from the Prairie style homes. My mother and I lived in the 2-room apartment upstairs on the left while I was in college. (My father had died when I was 11 and my sister was now off teaching.) Mother lived there many years. We would enjoy the Prairie style homes across from us.



Monday, October 26, 2020

Day 4 Walk Around Our Neighborhood

 Day 4, walking around our neighborhood: Just up the street from the Library, we walk over the Meredith Willson footbridge. (It's 3 blocks from our home when we walk up Connecticut) The footbridge, in scenes from the "Music Man," is in "River City" (Mason City). Below the bridge is Willow Creek, which flows behind the library and art museum. There's a waterfall just beyond the bend.




Friday, October 23, 2020

Day 3 of the Walk Around Our Neighborhood

 Day 3 of the walk around our neighborhood: Next door to the Library is Mason City's Art Museum. Across the street is Hospice where Burton made many pastoral calls. If we were to walk West instead of South, the Post Office is one block away, also our bank, the Court House and Central Park are within a few blocks. So good to walk.






Thursday, October 22, 2020

Number 2 of Walk Around our Neighborhood

 Continuing to take you on my walk around our neighborhood, three blocks further is the library. Built in 1939, it's beautiful. You may recall Marian the Librarian from "The Music Man." Meredith Willson went to school with my father. Here is a picture of the building and one of the statues on the grounds.









Walk Around Our Neighborhood Day 1

 Before the snows arrive, I'm going to share some scenes from our neighborhood here in Mason City. (I will share each day this week.) Across the street at the corner from where we now live is the old Mason City High School from which my sister and I graduated. Our father was in the first class to graduate from that building.



Friday, October 16, 2020

Women March Oct 17, 2020

 In 2017 an estimated 5,000,000 people marched (200,000 on the National Mall) across the U.S. and the world to protest the Trump inauguration. It was an unforgettable sight, people of all ages, backgrounds and genders. This Women's March was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. I spoke at the march in Dubuque, Iowa


.

Sat., Oct. 17, 2020, there will be a Women's March again (2:00 at Central Park in Mason City, IA) opposing Trump's record and agenda, including his efforts to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat. Check out if there is a March near you. This march is for reproductive rights, immigration reform, LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, healthcare, the environment and more. We march, and we vote!


Thursday, October 1, 2020

"Take my Yoke Upon Me": Invitation and Promise Today

 Gospel reflection by The Rev. Duncan R. Wielzen, Ph.D., The Hague Netherlands. Colleague and friend, Dr. Wielzen is a parish priest and president of URI Europe Board, a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30 – New KJV)

Hearing these verses – be it for the very first time, or after several times – may cause one to wonder about what Jesus means by the word ‘yoke’. It is therefore important to remember that His words are two thousand years old, and that He said them to simple, believing Jews, who were indeed burdened with a yoke, especially the yoke of the 613 precepts - 248 commandments and 365 Prohibitions - which made up Jewish law, and still exists today. Obviously, so many commands and prohibitions are burdensome to bear which made them a real yoke that weighed down on law abiding Jewish people at that time.

But yokes still exist today. So many of us too often suffer from the pressure of life. Under our workload, for example, because we have to deliver what is expected from us. Many of us experience societal pressure because of what commerce and media dictates for living so called happy lives. Entire communities are suffering from the yoke of violence and discontent that disrupt peaceful living together. The growing threat of gun violence, the reluctance to address local problems honestly and gently, the turmoil in Belarus, the insurmountable division among citizens in the wake of the US Presidential election… it's becoming a heavier yoke every day.

Compared to all of that, the yoke of Jesus is easy. He does not make hard demands, he does not impose heavy assignments, he does not expect the impossible. His words are an invitation and a promise. An invitation to learn and a promise to receive. However, as easy as His yoke is, it still requires a courageous heart and a brave spirit to encounter the full spectrum of His yoke: a yoke of love, humility and kindness. These are priceless, i.e.: they don’t cost a dime and won’t diminish our humanity. They are fundamental to healing and cementing justice and peace. In any case, we have the freedom to respond to Jesus’ invitation or not.

Friday, September 25, 2020

Beauty in the midst of Challenge

 Beauty in a tree just outside our deck. Remembrance of a creating and recreating God in the midst of climate change crisis, justice inequality, a continuing pandemic, threats to our democracy and peaceful transfer of power. Courage, my friends for such a time as this!


Saturday, September 19, 2020

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Commitment to Equal Justice

 I watched as first a handful and then hundreds gathered at the U.S. Supreme Court building to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her loss is devastating. She worked her entire life to overcome sexism and to work for equality and justice for all. Her death, Sept. 18, coincided with the anniversary of my ordination to pastoral ministry at Yale 43 years ago, which brought back so many memories of discrimination and the need to persist.

Experiencing exclusion as a student, Ruth worked diligently and persisted to become a brilliant lawyer and the first woman tenured law professor at Columbia University. Ruth argued cases before the Supreme Court against discrimination, opening doors for women, and therefore also freedom for men. Her husband supported her, as has mine.

Ruth’s work as a judge and then a Supreme Court Justice will live on. Her commitment to the Court and the Constitution and her diligence in the face of her own illnesses is an inspiration. We must honor her life and her death-bed wishes. I give thanks for her, in more ways than I can say.

Friday, September 4, 2020

ELCA Church In Kenosha in Public Ministry

Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Kenosha, WI, held an outdoor gathering and prayer service for community people of all races and religions on Wednesday "to address the fear, power, and powerlessness, confusion, anger, and the need for healing." ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod Bishop Paul Erikson addressed the people in attendance (all wearing masks). Grace Lutheran also was the setting for Joe Bidden, to listen to a broad range of Kenosha leaders on Sept. 3. https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/in-photos-elca-community-gathering-in-kenosha/collection_050acd93-d4c2-561f-8d17-6e5d510c6642.html#2

Friday, August 28, 2020

August 26 is our wedding anniversary together with the 100th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day. Women were not “given” the right to vote. For generations they worked, organized, marched, debated, lectured, were jailed, beaten, force fed, and organized some more. Finally, the papers documenting Tennessee’s ratification, arrived by train in Washington D.C. at 4:00 a.m. where the proclamation was signed by the U.S. Secretary of State at 8:00 a.m. Aug. 26! Burton and I were married in 1962. In our married life we have seen huge changes in women’s rights and the partnership of women and men, but there is still much to be done. We celebrate and pledge to continue to work against sexism, racism, abuse, oppression and exclusion.

For our anniversary we took our lunch to the Carrie Chapman Catt Museum farm and had a private quiet lunch on the back porch of her childhood home in the country. You see the old barn and the new wind farming today in the countryside. This leader in the long struggle for women's right to vote lived only 30 miles from Mason City where she taught, was principal and then superintendent at the age of 24.






Friday, August 14, 2020

U.S. Could Use International Election Observer Team

 My friend Duncan from the Netherlands recently asked me if the U.S. needed someone from the International community to be an observer for our 2020 election. I agreed we could use the help!

The Jimmy Carter Center has observed 111 elections in 39 countries since 1989. Observers bring impartiality, and their presence helps to reassure voters that they can safely cast their ballots.
The United States faces previously unimaginable barriers to people’s constitutional right to vote, including voter suppression, restrictive I.D. laws, and defunding of and slowing down the mail service. The presidential incumbent seems open to Russian interference. He says in advance the elections will be fraudulent and that he might not accept the results of the election These tactics and more make voting in a “peaceful” democracy as hard as possible.
Would the U.S. accept international observers? Probably not, but our issues are serious. Observers bring impartiality and help to reassure voters that they can safely cast their ballots. They begin well in advance of elections and assess registration practices. During elections, the observers monitor voting and remain afterwards to monitor vote tabulation. They can serve as mediators to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.
My friend Duncan is originally from Suriname which recently held elections. Their President, who had been accused of crimes, was defeated. This Dutch-speaking Caribbean country has a parliamentary multiparty system. The losing party said to the winners: “to every Surinamese of these coalition parties who will form the government, the blessing of the Most High of the religion you profess”.
Their election was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May authorities imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, ordered non-essential businesses closed and said people could travel only to get food or medicine. Facemasks are mandatory in shops; meetings of more than five people are banned. As of August 13, there were only 39 deaths in this country of 600,000.
What might we learn from other democratic nations? Might we now need an international team to monitor the 2020 elections in this democracy of the United States of America?

Sunday, August 9, 2020

75 Years later: No More Nuclear Tragedies!

 The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked its 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing where more than 70,000 were killed. The Aug. 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the United States dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima that killed 140,000.

On Sunday at the event at Nagasaki Peace Park, Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration raising concerns that countries have moved away from using nuclear weapons as a deterrent.  “As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real,” He said that “the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large.”  Today we work to make Nagasaki the last place of such nuclear bomb tragedy.

Friday, July 31, 2020

Final words from John Lewis

Final words from John Lewis, published in The New York Times the day of his funeral, July 30, 2020:


"While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.


That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.


Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.


Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.


Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.


Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.


You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.


Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.


When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

30th anniversary of the ADA: The Intersectionality of Racism and Disability


We mark the 30th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) this Sunday, July 26. What is the intersection of Racism and Disability? We need to address all isms in the work to eradicate systemic racism.
The summer issue of “Voice of the United Methodist Disability Connection” discusses the intersectionality: “Many of us are working for the end of the killing of unarmed black men and women by police. Thirty to 80 percent of those killed were persons with some type of disability. (The exact number is unknown because no one tracks these statistics.) There are instances of Black Deaf men being shot because they didn't hear the verbal command to stop. At least a quarter of victims were experiencing a psychiatric crisis and unable to communicate their needs. If one's disability causes slower or atypical speech or reactions, a person is at a higher risk of being injured or killed.”
We are trying to eliminate the school to prison pipeline. Black children are disproportionately punished, suspended, arrested, and incarcerated, and the rates for children with disabilities are even higher
Participating in antiracism protests, we need to make sure they are accessible as was a recent Milwaukee march. “The route was level and the march led by wheelchair users who set the pace. Sign language interpreters were stationed throughout. . . Ear plugs were available at rest stations for people sensitive to the noise level.”
There have been a lot of wonderful structural changes since passage of the ADA, Paratransit or buses with lifts didn't exist before, and there were no curb cuts in the sidewalks. Now people with disabilities can use power wheelchairs in public. People’s use of service dogs is accepted. Students receive extra time for tests and other accommodations to help them do well.
But attitudes change slowly. Former Iowa senator Tom Harkin, prominent co-author of the ADA and today still a strong advocate, recently said in a PBS special that the percentage of people with disabilities being employed is no higher than it was 30 years ago. People of color continue to face discrimination in employment.
Churches were exempt from the ADA. We have learned that having loud worship isn't always good for people with autism; others with disabilities also need a quieter environment. Many congregations now do have assisted listening devices, large print bulletins and hymnals, lever doorknobs, even some chancel ramps. Some have lowered their welcome center counters, redesigned a bathroom, installed better lighting, fixed the sidewalk, and installed automatic door openers to the sanctuary, fellowship hall, and restrooms.
What has not changed? We still have assemblies and conference meetings scheduled in inaccessible spaces, with no one questioning that choice. Parents still tell their children not to look or ask about disability, teaching them that disability is a bad thing.
Some churches are still stuck in ableist theology that says disability is either a blessing or a curse for sin. Candidates for ministry who have a disability often are discouraged from proceeding, or their application is simply “lost.”
Businesses still often do not comply with anti-discrimination policies/laws in regard to racism nor with accommodations for people living with a disability. There are few adverse consequents for such exclusivity. However, together we can help dismantle racism and confront ableism.

Saturday, July 18, 2020

John Lewis Still Guides Us

John Lewis: a gentle, strong Civil Rights leader until the day of his death, last night. He bore on his body the scars of beatings as he followed Jesus every day of his life. He was clear that Christ called him to work for justice and that meant sometimes you had to be in the midst of, "good trouble."
For many years I would say to seminary students: "When you get into trouble--and you will--make sure it is for the sake of the Gospel."
We carry John Lewis' legacy with us this very day: federal officers, unbidden by city or state, in unmarked cars, with no badges, in the streets of Portland. Systemic and blatant racism. Voter suppression. John Lewis knew the struggle would be long. May we, as he, have the strength of the Risen Christ, to continue on and on and on.

Friday, July 3, 2020

What if? Mandates are Given for All of the People!


Mandates are given and laws made for the welfare of all the people.
What if only ½ the people stopped at stoplights and stop signs and one could choose whether to do so or not?
What if only ½ the people were required to not smoke in a building open to the public?
What if only ½ the people in a car wore seatbelts and the car crashed?
What if only ½ the people were required to go through airport security and people were free to decide if they wanted to or not?
What if our president or governor refused to mandate or set an example?
What if only some people wear masks in a pandemic?  (Oh, that’s the case, isn’t it?)
Please add you own “What ifs” in reply. . .

Saturday, June 27, 2020

New U.S. Citizens Welcomed in Iowa

"Now, I wish to speak to you as United States citizens, which you now are,” said U.S. Sr. District Judge Robert Pratt in Iowa this week as he welcomed ninety-eight people from thirty-three countries, such as Burundi, Vietnam and Cameroon. (The ceremony was held outdoors in a parking lot this year.)
Pratt said: You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American religion. Do not believe it. As an American, you may freely and openly be a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or you may adhere to any other religion, or you may be an agnostic or an atheist.
You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American way to think and believe about political matters, economic matters and social matters. Do not believe it. As an American, you may freely and openly adhere to political, economic and social views on the right, on the left, or anywhere in between.
You may hear voices in this land say that there is only one true American set of values. Do not believe it. As an American, you may openly hold beliefs and values greatly different from those of others — even if those of others are shared by many and yours are shared by few.
Simply stated, there is no single American way to think or believe. Indeed, conformity of thought and belief would be contrary to the underlying principles of this great nation.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

We Tear Apart Prejudices

(Last of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)
We begin prayerfully, explaining, sharing, upbuilding. We begin everywhere racism sneaks in an ugly word, doubt and fear. We begin everywhere growing Christians open their hearts and minds.
We tear apart prejudices, fallacy by fallacy. We talk. We write. We help. Yes, we march. And when the time for marching slows, with eyes wide open, seeing this world and its people in the Creator’s will, trusting in Christ unafraid, we will continue to let God’s love conquer sin in whatever way God opens to us.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Church as a Redemptive Community

Church as a Redemptive Community
(Fifth of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

As a Church we begin each week in repentance, and then having worshipped as the Body of Christ, we begin to be the Church, functioning as a redemptive community. . . to make the Body One.  Love is not easy, but it does not count costs. Tokenism, “middle-of-the roadism,” gradualism, and calculated love have no place. Wisdom does.

We begin each day, not fearing “What might happen”: “We might offend,” “Some might leave the church,” “The Negroes [African Americans] might take over,” “The value of my home might go down.” We begin each day, not despairing: “The White community might not accept me,” “There’s no hope, why ask for trouble?” “Things will never be better.”  

We begin in the most real pessimism, knowing how sinful our hearts are, which no program of social justice, no national tragedy will cure.  And yet we begin with the most real optimism, trusting confidently that Christ has conquered sin and Satan, and the power of the Holy Spirit in the “Sleeping Giant” of the Church can indeed do more than we could possibly dream.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

We are Freed from Building Barriers

We Respond to Racism Because We Are Freed from Building Barriers (Fourth of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

We don’t respond to the present racial crisis because it is in the news, nor because of America’s image abroad, nor even because “democracy must be preserved.”

We don’t respond out of Christian “responsibility.” We respond as new creatures, freed from the bondage of having to provide for ourselves, having to be somebody, having to judge other people, having to pride ourselves on our accomplishment, having to love only paternalistically.

We are freed to accept people as people, to spend ourselves in love feeding on the means of Grace, so that our old selfishness may be defeated each day. In repentance of our attitudes and words which have built barriers, each day we begin anew to love people as God loves.

Monday, June 22, 2020

Love is Never Easy

Love is Never Easy (Third of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)
The Christian’s answer to racism will stem from the will of God. And this answer is unmistakably clear—not easy, but clear. Love is never easy.
God created all people to be God’s creation. God created variety to exist together in harmony. God created the personalities of people to live together in love. God saved us through the boundless love of Jesus Christ to be a new creation, that the barriers of pride, hate, fear, unconcern, and sin that separate us from God and each other might be forever gone. God recreated us through the cross to worship and to live together NOW.

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Racism has been Laid Bare Before Us

God’s Will – Clear but Not Easy (Second of six excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)

The issue of racism has been laid bare before us. Often, we have been so afraid to become involved in social problems for fear that our Lutheranism might be misunderstood, disarranged, theologically distorted, that we have stifled church members, disabling their love and thus disarming the heart of our theology.

We ARE involved. The immensity of articles, books, speeches, while seemingly making research on racism easier, only shows us clearly the complexity of the problem. Now our task, with all the repentant and redeemed wisdom we have, is to study, to work, and to love.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

God’s Will – Clear But Not Easy (First of 6 excerpts from an article I wrote in 1964)
There is a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking, and a time for acting. And there is a time when keeping silent speaks and acts. Our eyes, ears, mind, and tongues have been saturated with the topic of race relations.

Ignoring the subject no longer works. At this time our silence speaks. Too often it says, “I am afraid!” Afraid of what? Insecurity, discomfort socially and economically? We can no longer escape into silent inactivity because silent inactivity shouts “unconcern.”
God’s message of love for us is clear. As Christ’s death and resurrection fill us with new life, so too God’s power to be Christ’s action in this world means our love must permeate the world. As real as Jesus’ incarnation, so real must be our action of faith and love. It must dare to take on flesh.