We navigate this hazardous terrain
trying to advise You that there is indeed a struggle
there is a gap
…
Surviving a waking nightmare
beseeching You to break the shackles
You refuse to acknowledge even exist…
~ Martina McGowan
Navigating
One day…
“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail
How do you lift fear?
Growing up
“By refusing to ask what was wrong, I was holding the fragile bubble of my world in my hand, protecting it by not questioning it, keeping it from shattering into a million fragments. I put myself into a state of arrested development by staying a child.” Madeleine L’Engle, Bright Evening Star
What are you willing to ask?
Winter storm
“My father always used to say, “Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument.” Good sense does not always lie with the loudest shouters, nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best arbiter of what is right.” ― Desmond Tutu
How do you speak up in light of yesterday’s happenings?
Through the storm, through the night…
“ Those who have died have never, never left
The dead are not under the earth
They are in the rustling trees
They are in the groaning woods
They are in the crying grass
They are in the moaning rocks
The dead are not under the earth” Sweet Honey in the Rock
How do we learn to carry our grief? How does grief as a vital ongoing conversation accompany us throughout life? What spaces does grief open up?
We remember
Today is the third anniversary of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville that led to the deaths of Heather Heyer, and state police Jay Cullen and Berke Bates. It exposed racism as something that had always been here. How has our community changed as we revisit the trauma of that weekend?
How do you remember and mark this day? What have you learned about white supremacy in this country? Are you praying with your feet?
With the Eyes of the Heart 