|
Thought for the Week
John Lewis urges us to think about how, “We may have come here on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.” Fannie Lou Hamer reminds us, “Nobody's free until everybody's free.''
With the important exception of Native Americans, indigenous to the land, everyone living in our country is either an immigrant, or a descendant of immigrants. Whatever our ancestry, history, or cultural/ethnic/racial background, here we all are, together--all of us living in an increasingly diverse country on so many levels. All of us, in this time and in this place, decide how we will respond in our current context. How do we decide?
For reflection:
- If I am a person of color, or a person of white, do I see all of us “in the same boat now,” and if I do, what does this mean?”
- Am I willing to engage others in exploring how we are all “in the same boat now”---and how they may see this differently than I do?
- How do I understand the statement, “Nobody's free until everybody's free?” Do I believe this? Does this have any impact on how I decide to live in this country?
Fannie Lou Hamer also said, “I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired,” and she spent most of her life persistently challenging, and working hard to bring change to, the things that made her “sick and tired.” John Lewis said, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” I would add, “when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just” for yourself AND for others (and I think he would agree). Recently, recounting something her mother would say to her, as well as something Kamala Harris’ mother taught her daughters, Michelle Obama told the nation not to sit around and complain, but to “do something.”
For reflection:
- What makes me “sick and tired,” fed up and disgusted, wanting to give up and walk away—in the world, in this country, in my community, in my congregation?
- Am I going to just complain, or will I actually do something to improve the situation?
- What will I do? Where is the Spirit calling me to action?
Sharon L. Mook, Anti-Racism Team Member
revdrSLM@outlook.com
| 
