Tag Archives: spirituality

Transform: Spirituality & Social Change — July 8

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

180_Liza180The first of four Tuesday night classes conducted by Rev. Liza J. Rankow, MHS, PhD on July 8 was very beneficial, for me anyway. With a diverse group of about twenty individuals, about half of whom were persons of color, a wealth of resources was abundant in the room. I was encouraged to be with such an impressive group of like-minded individuals.

During introductions, of particular interest to me was Joshua Gorman, who referred to his work with Generation Waking Up, a project with which I was not familiar. After glancing at their website, I am even more intrigued. Their site states:

GENERATION WAKING UP is a global campaign to ignite a generation of young people to bring forth a thriving, just, sustainable world. We strive to:
– Awaken in young people a clear sense of who we are as a generation, an understanding of the urgent global challenges and opportunities we face, and a calling to take action.
– Empower young people with the training, mentoring, and support needed to thrive as global citizens, leaders, and change agents in the 21st century.
– Mobilize young people locally and globally across issues, geography, and all lines of difference, unleashing the collaborative power of our generation.

During the discussion, Joshua asked if participants in the class would be able to interact directly with one another. In response, Dr. Rankow asked Jeremy Sorgen from the Center for Spiritual and Social Transformation, which is co-sponsoring the series with Dr. Rankow’s OneLife Institute, to reactive the comments feature of the class blog. I found that response to be an encouraging affirmation of horizontal communication.

At the end of my introduction, I said I hope to discover concrete, user-friendly tools that activists can use to support one another in their personal growth and political activism that gets at root causes, including the government in Washington.

One comment from the evening that I found especially helpful was a question that Evelyn Rangel-Medina asked: “Why is our activism not a form of prayer?” That statement rang a bell for me. It sums up “spiritual activism” in a way that challenges the conventional use of the word “spiritual” as referring only to inner work, when in fact action in the outer world can be spiritual as well. So, thanks to Evelyn, I no longer consider “spiritual” to be a synonym for “inner.” We can fully integrate the personal and the political.

That question led to other comments about the need to be “tactful” and to learn how to handle anger. Referring to traditional activism, one participant commented, “They’re so angry they’re not getting anywhere.”

Evelyn’s comment sparked in me awareness of one tool for nurturing deep community: language. We can stop referring to our inner work as “spiritual” and our outer work as “political.” Our whole life can be a meditative practice.

The same perspective leads me to question whether we can speak of a direct personal relationship with a “God” that is separate from the world. Rumi wrote, “There is no need to go outside.” But it seems to me that when we go inside we automatically go outside, unless we short-circuit the process with a mental construct. When we go down to the ground of our being we interact with all life.

Toward the end of the class, Dr. Rankow asked the students to select a daily spiritual practice “that stretches you a bit” and then “bring it into relationship with your work in the world.” I resolved to be more disciplined in my walking meditation and to re-start a daily journal.

On my first walking meditation, I reflected on my interest in peer-based mutual support and asked myself “What is a peer?” While alternating my reflections with awareness of my breathing, I came up with the following answer: a peer relationship is one in which no party considers herself or himself to be superior or inferior, tries to dominate, or is willing to submit.

That conclusion led me to a deeper commitment to “the priesthood of all believers.”

Fellowship Church: July 6, 2014

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

On my way to worship at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples on Sunday, July 6, Rev. Dr. Kathryn L. Benton, Co-Minister and Rev. Dr. Dorsey O. Blake greeted me.
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While Board Chair Bryan Caston set up the recording and made notes for his Announcement.
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Readying the Spirit
Silent Meditation.
Prelude. Alexander Major played a beautiful prelude on the piano.
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Ingathering of Community
Expressing a Sense of Awe
Dr. Dorsey Blake opened the service with the opening lines from “A Garden Beyond Paradise” by Rumi:

Everything you see has its roots
in the unseen world.
The forms may change,
yet the essence remains the same.

Every wondrous sight will vanish,
every sweet word will fade.
But do not be disheartened,
The Source they come from is eternal—
growing, branching out,
giving new life and new joy.

Why do you weep?—
That Source is within you,
and this whole world
is springing up from it.

Music. The congregation sang “Énter, Rejoice, and Come In.” The lyrics included “Open your ears to the song,” “Open your hearts everyone,” and “Don’t be afraid of some change.” Then Dr. Blake coached the congregation to sing the first and fourth verses again, which led to a much livelier rendition!

Invoking the Presence. Dr. Benton read the following poem by Hildegard of Bingen:

Holy Spirit,
giving life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
you are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.

Practicing the Presence
Meditation. Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey reflected on the Fourth of July by riffing on the double meaning of the second syllable of the word “freedom,” which can be heard as “dumb.” He said, “I want to find a way of feeling free without feeling dumb. I would like free from dumb.” He then reflected on how we only have certain degrees of freedom. “There’s something called gravity that keeps me on the ground…. I really don’t want complete freedom…. These constraints, our inter-dependence, are what gives us free-from-dumb rather than free-and-dumb…. We are the founding fathers and founding mothers who have to make this idea of freedom come about…. May I wish you free-from-dumb and interdependence every day from now on. Blessings.

Music. The congregation sang “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which includes the following lyrics:

Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams,
I’d be nearer, my God, to thee.

Prayer. Dr. Benton opened the prayer with an excerpt from “Be Melting Snow” by Rumi:

Lo, I am with you always means when you look for God,
God is in the look of your eyes,
in the thought of looking, nearer to you than your self,
or things that have happened to you
There’s no need to go outside.

Nearer to Thee, Great Spirit of this moment, of this place. We welcome your presence into the quietness of this place as we prepare for that moment of prayer. We center ourselves by breathing deeply the breath of life, bringing our heart to that breath. [Silence.] We find ourselves at the altar of the soul within and we pray. We long to be nearer to Thee in our thoughts as we strive to solve the challenges of our days. May we keep you near that we may not only think of ourselves but of all of your creatures, the insects, the birds, the reptiles, the other mammals. May we think also of the plants, the flowers, the trees, the grasses. And may we think also of the elements, water, earth, fire, air. May we remember the whole creation in our thoughts. We long to be nearer to Thee in our feelings, as we strive to love and not hate, as we turn our anger to a passion for all life. May we find on that altar of the soul your deep love for us. As we feel this love may we remember those who are suffering, those whose lives are nearer to us: [six names] and others we name here [silence]. And finally Great Spirit of this moment we long to be nearer to Thee in our actions bringing into our consideration the welfare of all creation, our fellow human beings, those that are homeless, those that are incarcerated, those living in poverty, those living in violence. We bring into our consideration the welfare of the animals, the plants, and the entire Earth. With each act, may we consider the consequences for all life. Nearer to Thee, O God, nearer to Thee than ourselves. There is no need to go outside. Amen.

Resting in the Presence
Music Meditation. Alexander Major

The Word. Dr. Dorsey Blake also reflected on the Fourth of July. First, he began by quoting from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Then he offered this prayer, “Let the words of my mouth that proceed from the meditations of my heart find favor in the heart of the universe and in the heart of those gathered in this place today. Amen.”

Recalling how his grandmother had challenged the notion of “Independence Day” by declaring, “I don’t know why you young black people celebrate Independence Day,” Dr. Blake said, “That prompted me to think about what does it really mean, this Declaration of Independence?” He went on to reflect on how the colonists were revolting against abuses. After trying to resolve them, they were breaking away to form their own government and affirming wonderful ideals. But as Dr. King pointed out, no matter how noble those ideals, how can you pursue happiness if you don’t have a job?

Dr. Blake then quoted from a speech that Frederick Douglass gave on July 4, 1852.

Fellow citizens, pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I or those I represent to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits, and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?…

What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.

Go search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

Many years later Dr. Thurman would say things very similar when he said the United States would end up being the most hated nation on Earth. Dr. Blake also reflected on Thurgood Marshall’s comment on the bicentennial of the Constitution when he said we should celebrate those who have continued to push for change to enhance human rights.

Today, in this country, even religions are oppressive. As Douglass said, “If you are going to have a slave master, don’t have a Christian one.”

Paul said you should always obey the law of the government. But when Jesus was asked the same question, he gave a different answer. In the midst of a popular revolt against “taxation without representation,” someone asked Jesus if he should pay taxes. Jesus replied by referring to the Roman coin, which had an image of Caesar on one side and an image of the High Priest on the other, and replied, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Jesus refused to sell out those who were revolting by telling people they should pay those oppressive taxes. That challenge was also reflected in his Prayer which affirmed the Kingdom of God on Earth. He refused to sanction loyalty to Rome. He was therefore seen as a threat for good reason.

Yet, Frederick Douglass still had hope. “If he had hope, how can I not have hope?” The Declaration states that when humanity is faced with a long train of abuse, “It is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” How many abuses have we experienced? Clearly we must act. “I am suggesting we not listen to Paul. He was wrong.” We need to proclaim “a new era. We are called to bring a new kind of community into being.”

Offering Our Gifts
Announcments. Bryan Caston.

Sending Forth
Music. “Love Will Guide Us.” Love will guide us, peace has tried us, hope inside us will lead the way on the road from greed to giving. Love will guide us through the hard night. If you cannot sing like angels, if you cannot speak before thousands, you can give from deep within you. You can change the world with your love.
Blessing. Dr. Dorsey Blake.
Postlude. Alexander Major.

After the service, the ministers greeted the parishioners, including Belva Davis, a local TV news anchor, long time Fellowship Church attender, and former associate of Dr. Howard Thurman and Sue Bailey Thurman.
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And I asked a parishioner if I could photograph the drawings she made during the service.

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Then I photographed the books on display for sale downstairs.

 

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Pressed for time, I only stayed briefly for the Social Hour, but I left with my spirit uplifted by a wonderful worship. Then at home, I noticed the following poem by Steven Biko on the back of Sunday’s program:

We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap
warranting endless competition among us
but as a deliberate act of God
to make us a community of brothers and sisters
jointly involved in the quest for a composite answer
to the varied problems of life.

NOTE: If you want a digital audio tape of this service, let me know and I can send it to you via wetransfer.com.

Developing a Theological Vision for Social Change

Posted on by Wade Lee Hudson

jakadaBy Jakada Imani

Excerpted from an essay by Jakada Imani, the Director of PSR’s Center for Spiritual and Social Transformation

The need for social and spiritual transformation is more critical now than ever before. It is important that we grasp the moment we now face to fully appreciate the peril and potential of the current age.

Most indicators underscore this point: the U.S. has the largest income gap of any industrialized nation; many of our communities have become re-segregated along class and racial lines; there are over 7 million people under correctional control in our prisons; America has been waging two major wars (and many “little ones”) for more than ten years. Perhaps most troubling, the hottest 9 of the 10 hottest years on record have been since 1998.

The current economic and social systems are oppressive, exploitative, and fundamentally altering our planet in ways that will have long-term, devastating consequences. These structures are maintained by time-tested method of “divide and conquer.” A “zero-sum game” only works if there is scarcity, whether it is real or perceived, and where there is an “us” and “them.”

At least two theological postures or assumptions fuel this current moment of challenge and opportunity. The first we might call “pop theology,” or what many people in the U.S. tend to believe rather unconsciously. One of the strongest tenets of today’s pop theology is the notion that the way things are is simply the way that God made them to be, including all the ways our society is stratified by the “undeserving poor” and the “deserving rich.”

hands_united_colorsA second explicitly theological posture, related to the first, is this: the mistaken belief that our differences reflect a divine plan to remain separate. Human beings tend to confuse what makes each of us distinct from one another to mean that we are and should be separate from one another and indeed from the rest of the world around us. This mistake leads to a host of horrific outcomes: racism, sexism, war, extreme poverty, and genocide, not to mention planetary-wide ecological disaster.

These theological problems demand theological solutions. And this will mean examining closely our various understandings of God, who humans are in relationship with and to God, and how God would have us live. In this way we can develop a self-aware and not merely an unconscious theology. We need, and urgently, a theology that respects the intrinsic dignity of all life on this planet. And I believe a range of theological traditions provides compelling sources for this approach, an approach to correct our mistaken ideas about God and thus transform the root causes of social and ecological devastation that threatens the future of all life on the planet Earth.

This great work could begin both modestly and profoundly with the three Abrahamic traditions, all of which share the opening words of Genesis in common: “In the beginning, God…”

These four simple words can be the anchor for a “reverence movement” that promotes respect for all of God’s creation. If we root our understanding in the truth that the entire universe is a divine expression of God, then everyone and everything we see is God manifest. None of it is throw-away. We are always in the presence of God to the degree we are conscious of it. If a theology for social transformation begins there and stays rooted there, we can work collectively to create shared prosperity, a fundamentally just society, and a sustainable ecology for our planet.planet

There are already thousands of organizations working to solve social ills. We have email lists, micro enterprises, online crowd-source funding platforms, Facebook, Twitter, blogs – all of these give us the ability to reach thousands of people in a moment’s notice. In addition there are more and more socially-engaged spiritual practitioners who are weaving together the “beloved community” in church basements, community gardens, clearings in the woods and start-ups.

Places all over the country are lifting people up, rebuilding hope, working to increase the peace, train new leaders who can lead with their whole self and live into a different vision of life. Places like: Urban Peace Movement, Pachamama Alliance, Home Boy Industries, Impact Hub Oakland, the National Day Labors Alliance. These and so many more are working out what it means to be with people and the world in a way that honors our intrinsic interconnection.

All of these are base camps for social transformation and we need strong spiritual practices and carefully honed theological ideas to expand these camps into an even broader movement for the thriving and flourishing of all.

Theology alone will not save us. But theologically informed and spiritually rooted leaders can help to lead us into a brighter future. That’s exactly what inspires me about PSR’s new Center for Spiritual and Social Transformation. Please join us – the future is now.

Original post.