Issue 206 - Where God Shines Through
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October 2019
"We all exist solely for this - to be the human place God has chosen for his presence, his manifestation, his epiphany" - Thomas Merton*
In this issue we reflect on the lives of some people where we have seen God's presence shining through.
*quoted in Megan McKenna,
Listen Here! The Art and Spirtuality of Listening
(Paulist, 2015), 72
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As a member of Business and Professional Toastmasters Club for 30 years, and National Speakers Association for 25, I have met many people whose words were so passionate that I would have thought they were on fire. I could call Norman Vincent Peale, Nedo Qubein, Tony Robbins, and Zig Ziglar friends and colleagues – oh yes, add Billy Graham to that list of acquaintances. Many of those men inspired me for their passion and drive to make the world a better place. They now may be in the grave but their fiery message has not died out.
When I think about fiery women I have met,
Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J. comes to mind. Her 1982 prison ministry began as a spiritual adviser to a convicted killer, Patrick Sonnier, as she companioned him through the last days of his life and execution. That drama was related in the 1993 publication
Dead Man Walking and later, 1995, in the movie of the same title. She became incensed at the cruelty of capital punishment.
While I was preaching a 1994 parish mission (Isaiah Ministries church renewal program) in Jackson, Mississippi, there was an opportunity to attend a speech by Sr. Helen, who also just happened to be in town. Following her public appearance, I was invited for a fireside chat with her. She asked me about my ministry and the theme of the parish mission. The more I told her about Isaiah Ministries, based on scripture from Isaiah 43, the more her eyes filled with wonder. We talked about the theme of the parish missions, our theme song, “Be Not Afraid” and the theme of the movie,
Dead Man Walking, Prejean played by Susan Sarandon. She said to me: “You will never hear that song the same again, once you see the movie.” [Please see the video clip below of Sarandon singing "Be Not Afraid"]
Besides being a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, Sr. Prejean has founded the groups SURVIVE, to help families of victims of murder and related crimes. Sister Helen is known for talking about life, death and her burning passion for justice. And forgiveness.
-- Jan
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A Grave Where No One is Buried
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In a graveyard in Falmouth, Jamaica, the most prominent monument is for a grave where no one is buried.
The graveyard surrounds the William Knibb Memorial Church in Falmouth. I had never heard of
William Knibb
before going on a
Falmouth Heritage Walking Tour
while in Jamaica last month. Knibb (1803-1845) came to Jamaica as a young Baptist missionary from England. He soon became Jamaica’s leading voice calling for the abolition of slavery.
This did not make him popular with the island’s elite, whose wealth derived from sugarcane plantations dependent on slave labor. Knibb’s church in Falmouth was burned to the ground. He was warned of plots to kill him.
Knibb persisted. In 1832, he returned to England, and conducted a speaking tour, calling for the abolition of slavery in the British colonies. He testified before Parliament. The next year, Parliament passed the law abolishing slavery in British colonies, including Jamaica.
The law took effect August 1, 1834. On the night of July 31, Knibb gathered with his congregation in the re-built church for a service of prayer and thanksgiving. At the stroke of midnight, Knibb led his congregation, many of them newly-freed slaves, out into the graveyard where an open grave was ready. Into the grave, they threw the symbols of their slavery and buried them forever. It is over that grave that the monument (pictured above) stands.
Our tour guide did not say that this was holy ground, but that is what I felt. I thank God for William Knibb’s courage and his vision for justice. I thank God for his wisdom in realizing that such a momentous event needed to be celebrated in the gathered community, not only with words and songs, but with powerful, symbolic ritual. It is such rituals, and such monuments as the one over that empty grave, that help to keep such evils buried.
--by Bill
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Dear Friends, in a recent issue we celebrated 10 years and 200 issues of this newsletter. We also shared with you our dreams and plans for expanding
Soul Windows Ministries. We are so grateful to you for your feedback, support, encouragement, gratitude, and especially those of you who took the time to write us notes, emails, or cards. We appreciate you so much.
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Music video "Be Not Afraid"
by Bob Dufford, composer
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Susan Sarandon talks about Sr. Helen Prejean and making the film "Dead Man Walking"
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Recent Issues
Issue 177 - Mr. Rogers
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Please share Reflection freely by forwarding any issue (forward in its entirety), but remember to respect copyright laws by not altering, copying, or reproducing Reflection, text or photos, whole or in part, without written permission.
Copyright (c) 2019 Soul Windows Ministries
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Sincerely,
Bill Howden and Jan Davis
Soul Windows Ministries
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