Chants Can Encourage White Supremacy

"Send her back." "Go back to where you came from." It's not just a matter of toning down the talk. No matter how hard, we need to engage those who are picking up these chants. Otherwise the chants themselves increase the belief in white supremacy. People of color love this country and belong here. Only Native Americans could have--should have--told my white immigrant ancestors to "leave" these shores.

Nancy Pelosi spoke clearly, carefully, courageously yesterday. She is acting wisely to go slow on impeachment, knowing Trump would turn the Senate's clearing him into his win. The time will come. In the meantime, we all need to be wise, very wise, and pay attention to what this administration is doing on all fronts to harm this nation and world. Our words and work do matter.

School Bussing: History Presents a Racial School Integration Challenge Today

School Bussing! The Kamala Harris and Joe Biden interchange caught people’s attention. The issue itself, however, is not just old history but a contemporary challenge. Will all children have equal, excellent education together in their community public schools?

Sixty-five years ago the U.S. Supreme Court declared the doctrine of “separate but equal” unconstitutional (Brown vs. the Board of Education) and invalidated racial segregation in public schools, paving the way for integration in nearly every aspect of American life.  That was 1954.

For years, however, thousands of neighborhood schools remained segregated due to demographics; children who lived in predominantly black neighborhoods still did not go to the same schools as white children, and vice versa.

In the 1968-69 school year in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina, 14,000 of the 24,000 black students had attended schools that were at least 99 percent black. The NAACP challenged the school board and won the case in 1969: the school district must use bussing to achieve racial diversity in its schools. On April 20, 1971, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of bussing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

There were plans that called for the bussing of black students to suburban schools as well as the bussing of white suburban students to city schools throughout the country. Many of us who lived through that era remember school bussing of black children to white schools.  However, in most places white parents were enraged at the thought of bussing their children to predominately black schools.  Our family was living in a predominately black and Hispanic neighborhood at the 1970’s. Our children were the only white children in the school and so it remained.

This was also the time when four million whites moved from cities to suburbs.  Between 1960 and 1977 this white flight contributed to nearly all-white suburbs and predominantly black inner cities. White fear of people of color! Anti-bussing activism drew on the “dangers” of racial integration. Opposition to bussing was about preserving racial divisions.

School bussing was a predominant racial issue in the 1970’s.  In 1974 a second Supreme Court decision declared that integration plans could not extend beyond district boundaries and its ruling continues to shape American schools to this day. Although our society in many respects has become more integrated, in many other ways we returned to separate and unequal.

We know that today schools are more segregated by race, class and economic status than they were 65 years ago.  In intervening years people have chosen alternatives to public schools, citing all sorts of reasons. Meanwhile public school resources and teachers’ pay suffer. Some people raise the false alternate question, “Which is more important, “achieving diversity or raising academic standards?” Both of course. (That question assumes we lower standards by having white people join people of color in living and learning together.)

The issues of fear, discrimination by race and class, and the economic gap, remain.  And so does the challenge: for all children to have equal excellent education together in public, community schools. This is our nation’s need.

Note: The National Education Association (NEA) hosted its annual assembly in Houston July 5 with the “Strong Public Schools Presidential Forum” with Democratic presidential candidates as the centerpiece of its meeting.

I Remember D-Day: Words for Us all to Remember

So many words to remember from the 75th anniversary of D-Day (and some to forget). Angela Merkel, invited to participate, said that this military operation eventually also brought the German people liberation from the Nazis. It led to the reconciliation of Europe and 70 years of peace.

Queen Elizabeth, before whom others bow, rose to say thank you to a man who risked his life on the Normandy beaches. I remember her as a teenager actively participating in the war effort.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney stressed the word "Allies" saying that alliances are crucial. We must support the United Nations and NATO, and work together now as we did then. Even more so.

I was in kindergarten when D-Day was announced. I remember the "war plant" in Des Moines and the "brown outs" at night. And I remember being surprised when after WW II ended in 1945, radio broadcasts were about things other than war. I pray for and work toward a world of reconciliation, thank-yous, alliances, and peace.

30th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square: I Was There Two Years Later

Today is the 30^th anniversary of  the Tiananmen Square protests. The events of June 4, 1989, continue to haunt the Chinese. Each year as the day approaches, security is stepped up across Beijing and the rest of country and journalists are barred from the vicinity of the square.

I walked through Tiananmen Square freely in 1991, warmly welcomed yet watched.  Part of a globalization of theological education trip some Wartburg seminary professors were one of first groups to visit the square, two years after the massacre. At that time we walked freely.  We could tell our stories.  Today, Tiananmen Square is one of most heavily monitored locations in the world. Security cameras cover every inch of the square, and identification must be provided just to visit.

Much has changed in China since our visit; I remember the swish of bicycles through Beijing, people’s primary mode of transportation. However the growing suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests is not progress.

There has never been a definitive death toll from Tiananmen Square. Disputed estimates range from a few hundred to over 10,000.

The Chinese government, in fact, continues to maintain that no one was actually killed in the square itself, despite the event being best known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre throughout the rest of the world.

The Chinese government's generation-long censorship of the subject appears to have had its intended effect despite the event being known throughout the rest of the world. In planning her book, "The People's Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited," journalist Louisa Lim asked 100 students at four Beijing university campuses if they recognized the iconic photo of a man staring down a tank taken in the square on June 5, 1989. Only 15 students could identify the picture. Some asked, “What country is that in?”

I invite you to mark this 30^th anniversary with me because there is no remembrance of those who died in Tiananmen Square those days, no statue of the anonymous young man who bravely stood up to tanks, not even a small plaque to note the day. This is a reminder that each country needs to remember own oppression, its wrong-doings, its atrocities, and to teach rather than suppress them. In so doing we will learn how to be a free, really great nation. 

I Love a Parade

I love a parade. Watching a parade. Being inside a parade. This morning the 81st annual North Iowa Band Festival Parade units—116 of them—lined up on the streets all around our blocks.

 I remember this parade from my teenage years here in Mason City, Iowa. Yes, this is Music Man’s River City, 76 trombones and all.

Son and Daughter-in-law Joel and Rachel and their children Jennaya and Jackson were IN the parade announcing the high school summer musical.

We were first on our condo deck watching the line-up, and then, of course, on State Street AT the parade.

I love the Mason City Band Festival, 4 days of civic celebration, everyone outside together. This morning, no cars on our blocks, just people walking. And bands and floats, even a few horses, and varieties of people all in a line. No carrier boats lined up for a war with no reason, no guns piled up for sale.

It was safe to be outside together. We did not fear being outside. We did not fear or hate each other. We celebrated one another.  I loved this parade.

Abortion: What Our Church Said 28 Years Ago

“Women and men share equally in the responsibility and accountability for procreation, although it is women who are most intimately affected by decisions about abortion.” The ELCA 28 years ago adopted by more than a 2/3 majority vote in 1991 a Social Statement on “Abortion.” Amazing for its time. Although conversation on issues has changed through the years, I share some quotes from that church-wide teaching I find positive for this time.

“We are moved particularly by the anguish of women who face unwanted pregnancies alone.” “Poverty, lack of supportive relationships. . . oppressive social realities, sexism, and racism can intensify her sense of powerlessness.”

“Our ministry of hospitality to all people ought to include women who have had abortions, women who are considering abortions, children, families, and those who bear and raise children under all kinds of circumstances. This should be reflected throughout congregational life and church policy. Services and shelter should be provided, especially to enable young mothers and fathers to continue their education and care for their children. Members should also be encouraged to become foster and/or adoptive parents. By our policies and practices as a church we need to indicate that we are truly supportive of children through the long years after, and not only before, they are born.”

“Greater social responsibility for the care, welfare, and education of children and families is needed through such measures as access to quality, affordable health care, child care, and housing.”

“We affirm that the goodness of sexual intercourse goes beyond its procreative purpose. Whenever sexual intercourse occurs apart from the intent to conceive, the use of contraceptives is the responsibility of the man and of the woman.”

“An abortion is morally responsible in those cases in which continuation of a pregnancy presents a clear threat to the physical life of the woman. A woman should not be morally obligated to carry the resulting pregnancy to term if the pregnancy occurs when both parties do not participate willingly in sexual intercourse. This is especially true in cases of rape and incest. This can also be the case in some situations in which women are so dominated and oppressed that they have no choice regarding sexual intercourse and little access to contraceptives. Some conceptions occur under dehumanizing conditions that are contrary to God’s purposes.”

“Christians as citizens and this church as an institution should join with others to advocate for and support just laws and to work to change those, which are unjust. In our attempts to influence the shaping of public policy, we should not disregard the rights of others, but work faithfully through the public processes by which justice is sought for all.”

 "The concern for both the life of the woman and the developing life in her womb expresses a common commitment to life. This requires that we move beyond the usual ‘prolife’ versus ‘pro-choice’ language in discussing abortion.  If we are to take our differences seriously, we must learn how to talk about them in ways that do justice to our diversity.”

“Church members must not only be aware of the moral complexity of the situation, but be able and willing to listen and walk with women and men through the process of decision-making, healing, and renewal. . . ”

I Don't Lose Power When You Are Empowered

“When you are fully empowered, I do not lose power but

am empowered as well.”

North Iowa Area Community College announces the following class by Dr. Norma Cook Everist: “Power and Partnership: Personal and Social Power in the Workplace” Tuesday, May 28

Join us for an interactive seminar to build productive relationships.

We will explore together the power cycle which is real,

strong and so commonplace that we may not even notice it.

Once we do, there is opportunity for change as we develop

skills for what we can actually say, and do in difficult situations.

Participants will be invited to enter the conversation from wherever

they are as we open ourselves to ongoing growth, working

toward more just, equitable partnerships in the workplace.

You can find out more information about this course by contacting

Jamie Malek at 641-422-4076 or

Jamie.Malek@niacc.edu.

Should We Encourage People to Bring Their Guns to Worship? Or What Should We Do?

Faith communities are asking how to safely gather for worship in the wake of increasing shootings and bombings. Do we encourage our people to bring guns to worship? Do we hire security teams to guard us? Do we work for peace and justice in the world? Are we called to become places of “sanctuary”?

While some congregations may deny the issue exists, e.g. “That couldn’t happen here in our nice community,” others are becoming preoccupied with security plans: “We have a robust group working with law enforcement, including a fence and cameras.”

We want people--all people--Jews, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and more, to come to their holy places of worship feeling safe and secure. The challenge: Can we be safe inside by daring to go outside? The Gospel for the 2^nd Sunday of Easter showed us the disciples met behind locked doors in fear. Jesus came, stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.”  This coming week we hear the disciples went out. Jesus: “Feed my sheep.” “Follow me.”

Motive Yes, we need our worshipers’ eyes and ears used for precaution, but also to see the troubled one. How can we know who will enter a house of worship with a gun or bomb? So often we hear, “The motive is unclear.” I think the “motive” will always be unclear. The issues are complex. The person is complex. There are traits and signs, even profiles of a person who commits a shooting, but not just one type of person, or shall we say, stereotype. Each of us has the capacity to hurt, harm, even kill another. There are not “good people with guns” and “bad people with guns.” However, we can have caring concern for those who seem lonely, frustrated, angry, and as a community, reach out to them, not just after a tragedy, but every day. 

Mental Illness  Likewise so often we use the phrase, “A ‘crazed’ person.”  Mental illness is a broad and serious issue in our society to which we need to give much more attention. However, not every person who kills people in a house of worship is mentally ill, nor are all people who are mentally ill dangerous.  Many of us are mentally ill as are our family members and people who are strangers to us. People of faith have a calling to care about everyone with mental illness and to provide more care facilities and health workers.

It Can’t Happen Here  So what about the issue of  “I never thought it could happen here.”? Then where?  I live in a small city in the upper Midwest. After returning from almost every trip to a large city or to a coastal region, someone asks me, “Weren’t you afraid?” I respond, “No.” There are murders in my state, in my town. There is abuse in the homes on my block. We fear “those people” We are plagued with homophobia, anyone not “like me.” I also am capable of fearing and and hating people very near to me who look just like me. So, yes, HERE.

For 12 years our family lived among “others,” in terms of race and economic class. As we became acquainted, as we lived through stressful, and yes, even difficult times, we learned to care and depend upon and love each other. I often felt the most safe among those most different from myself.  Likewise, when traveling in some (even dangerous) places on other continents, I have had experiences of feeling far from home, but the most safe.

Violence and Guns  All of that is not to say danger from shooting and bombings in houses of worship is not real.  It is. I wrote twenty years ago about the rise of terrorism. One lone shooter can kill dozens. One mass shooting can multiply fear a hundredfold. So what should we do? We need welcoming places not to become armed camps. Yes, we need to take reasonable precautions and use safety measures. In this nation of ours we have become wedded to implements of violence as a way to stop violence. Arming parishioners is not the answer.  Encouraging parishioners to bring their guns with them to worship, and, even worse, to encourage them to purchase weapons so they have one to bring, will not make houses of worship more safe. All kinds of studies show how many people are killed in this country on purpose or accidentally with the proliferation of guns. Martin Luther King showed that nonviolence and nonviolent responses are most helpful in the long run in creating a “beloved community.”

A Community of Communities  But what about those most vulnerable? Muslims?  And also Jews?  (The religious right claims there is a war on Christians and encourages the sale of guns.) Rather than increasing this nation’s high rate of gun sales and ownership, we have the opportunity to increase our image in being a community of faith communities.  

Much happened after 9/11 in terms of Christian/Jewish/Muslim dialogues, real efforts to learn about our neighbors’ faith.  But in the recent escalation in the climate of hate, we have grown more dangerous to one another in our speech and in our actions.  We dare not continue on this path or we will simply fear going outside at all. We do not want to fear gathering together with those of our common faith, nor to gather as a pluralistic people. Rather we want to both worship in our sanctuaries and provide sanctuary. More on how to have safe sanctuaries and provide sanctuary in the public world in a blog coming soon.

Blessings for the Entire Easter Season

For the entire Easter Season Christ brings reconciliation, gives us life now and forever, creates community,  and calls us to vocations of justice and peace-making.  

The Dangerous Deception of White Supremacy

Why do people believe in white supremacy? Why do they need to? What a dangerous deception. I am white and therefore benefit from white privilege. The fear of losing what never rightfully belonged to privileged people increases fear of the "other."

 So we hear the same words from the shooter in New Zealand: "immigrant invaders" as we do from our leader about the "emergency" need for a wall because of "immigrant invaders." Fear reigns. Terrorism prevails. Does hope fade? 

However, also yesterday high school students around the world demanded a future of an earth safe for them to live on. And yesterday, while snow remained outside, four little birds returned to the rafter roof above our deck. They remembered their home and came in hope. 

So I am called to remember that this world is home to all and to work to make it so, well into the future.

"Snow Shut-Down" Brings Constant State of Uncertainty

There he was at 5:00 a.m. plowing out the parking lot across the street.  Faithful, he’s plowing now so people can use the government services building even though the man will have to plow again because the storm is predicted to not stop until evening.

The upper Midwest has been living in “snow shut down” for weeks.  National media shows storms as they move to the East Coast. They report airport delays and difficulties for “commuters.” Well, in small cities most of us don’t “commute.” We simply live and work here.

 And by now, school students aren’t rejoicing in having a “day off.”  They haven’t had a full week of school since the beginning of the 2019 term. They value education and are concerned how far behind their sessions are.

We live in a constant state of uncertainty. To cancel or not cancel.  And will the rescheduled date for our activity be cancelled again? I know, I know, a day snowed in means I have the time to clean closets, but the sneaky depression of snow shut-down does not provide incentive for closet cleaning. 

However,  we are thankful people: for a warm place to live and enough food.  And we are careful and aware of road accidents and heart attacks while shoveling. We worry about and reach out to care for those who don’t know where they will sleep in this snowy cold. 

The CEO of the Health Care Center around the block is also out. He and a few others with four-wheel drives are picking up their staff who can’t make it through the storm. Good Shepherd doesn’t have “snow days.”  They are needed to serve.  Thanks be to God for them.

WHY THERE’S NO NEED FOR A HONEYMOON PERIOD IN MINISTRY: Beyond Valentine's Day

God’s Love goes beyond Valentine’s Day. God’s love is more sustaining than any “honeymoon” period in ministry.   It’s not just about flowers, candy, one short day. God’s love is sustaining and unconditional.   

But that “Honeymoon” advice lingers: “Get as much done as you can right away before the normal life sets in with all the complaints and difficulties of really living together.” They loved your paperwork and were impressed with the interview. And you liked the looks of them. They loved the former pastor and will love you, too. Or, maybe they didn’t, so this will be a better “fit.” If we all put on our best behavior for a while, Valentine’s Day can last for a few months. Ah, beware of the “honeymoon” period in ministry and trust that God’s love endures beyond Valentine’s Day. 

Creation:  Before we came, God had created the congregation.  God is still creating—putting us together. Build on those foundations.  Rather than giving in to the temptation to change things quick before people notice, we need to ask and listen and give Valentine-like thanks to the faithful saints at work through the years. Then, together, we can create with the Creating God.  Oh, there will be suspicions that we are going to rip up everything and plant our new ideas. We can bring fresh ideas without totally ripping out what may simply be slow to grow. Creation involves change, but God didn’t rip things up each month and completely start all over.

Beyond favoring those who might seek our favor with Valentine-like flowers or candy, we need to seek out those less known people, those less appreciated.  We can walk around the neighborhood, and as a congregation build new relationships all over the place among those thought to be “outsiders.” We can give valentines to those who don’t usually receive them. God’s love multiplies.  

Christ: God’s love incarnate is among and between us.  Not that we need to fall in love with each other in Valentine-card ways. We are called to love before we even know each other. We are already the body of Christ, now being joined together, even when old congregational wounds need to be healed by the wounded One, Jesus. This will not be just a one-day celebration of being nice, or until the  liking-each-other period runs down.  Christ’s forgiving, reconciling love, which won’t let us down, even when we let each other down, is the forever kind.  

The Holy Spirit:  When I was called to serve a congregation years ago, I had to remind them I was not the coming Messiah. God had not sent me to “save” them. However, we could expect to be surprised by the Spirit. How would God be growing us? By pruning? By transformation? By numerical growth or some other kind of growth? By listening to each other and hearing everyone’s voice? By reaching out in radical hospitality without fear? (Grafting strangers on to the tree?) By building trust and trying new healthier patterns of making decisions? By really incorporating new people (corpus of Christ), and building more trust?

Happy Valentine’s Day all year long, my beloved sisters and brothers, as we live together in the trustworthy, unconditional love of God.

(based on a conversation with Rev. Christopher deForest)