Spiritual Resources for Our Election
The louder the world is, the more that we need spaces to “be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
The louder the world is, the more that we need spaces to “be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
Our National Cathedral offers various resources and opportunities in the lead up to Election Day, on Election Day and following Election Day.
https://cathedral.org/outreach-programs/wethepeople/
St. Marks, New Canaan is offering a new class on Election Day evening: Listen, Learn, and Love: How to Disagree Well in a Polarized World
https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org/go-deeper/new-class/
You might also appreciate this resource from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, with whom the Episcopal Church USA is in covenant. It provides scripture readings, prayers and music.
When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils.
The words below are from The King Center Web site.
The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and MILITARISM are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils. To work against the Triple Evils, you must develop a nonviolent frame of mind as described in the “Six Principles of Nonviolence” and use the Kingian model for social action outlined in the “Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change.”
Some contemporary examples of the Triple Evils are listed next to each item:
Poverty – unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, infant mortality, slums…
“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty … The well off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the least of these.”
Racism – prejudice, apartheid, ethnic conflict, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism, discrimination against disabled groups, stereotypes…
“Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission. It is the absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the progress of the future. Racism is total estrangement. It separates not only bodies, but minds and spirits. Inevitably it descends to inflicting spiritual and physical homicide upon the out-group.”
Militarism – war, imperialism, domestic violence, rape, terrorism, human trafficking, media violence, drugs, child abuse, violent crime…
“A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war- ‘This way of settling differences is not just.’ This way of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Source: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1967.
To learn how to put King’s philosophy into action, check out the web links below.
The Global Philanthropy Leaders continue…and to not let Covid-19 take something else from us: the sense of responsibility we have for each other.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had some form of an impact on every individual, yet the youth of St. Stephen’s Global Philanthropy Leaders have striven for continuity in their goals of providing international economic relief.
Earlier this week, nine Global Philanthropy Leaders met on Zoom with Jane Lindenburg and Rich Stein to discuss how they as a group and we as a society can strive to be conscious of others’ sufferings, rather than be distracted by only our own.
Now in the midst of its third year, St. Stephen’s Global Philanthropy Leaders seeks to inform high schoolers about their role in economic mindfulness; GPL teaches students how to use Kiva.org to allocate $25 micro-loans to struggling entrepreneurs around the world. After learning the ins and outs of safe investments, students gain crucial lessons in both financial workings and moral responsibility.
Over the past three years, the Global Philanthropy Leaders have allocated 208 loans to 43 different countries, but their greatest test stands in continuing their efforts throughout the pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic adds an additional element of risk to the micro-loans that these high schoolers make. But even with this uncertainty, the acts of these Global Philanthropy Leaders are more crucial now than ever. Tuesday’s meeting proved how even as society is distracted by elements of risk and personal losses, it’s crucial to recognize the importance of global empathy. The Global Philanthropy Leaders continue to meet and allocate loans during this time of panic in order to continue their efforts for financial relief and to not let Covid-19 take something else from us: the sense of responsibility we have for each other.
It’s what we seek to teach our children…, to continue to do God’s work in the world, even in this pandemic.
During a Trying Time, We Can Be and Share God’s Love – by Jane Lindenburg
It’s what we seek to teach our children…how to belong with purpose, how to rally our spirits and lean on our faith community to act with compassion, individually and together, to continue to do God’s work in the world, even in this pandemic.
Last weekend St Stephen’s confirmands and their families coordinated a response to the need to feed the homeless and vulnerable people who gather for nourishment every Sunday at Chapel on the Green, Trinity Church in New Haven.
Given the COVID-19 impact, Chapel on the Green’s coordinator, Reverend Deacon Heidi Oxford, was concerned that St Stephen’s would not be able to honor our commitment to provide food for the hungry, after other area churches had to cancel.
But there was good news: A number of St Stephen’s confirmation families raised their hands and were able to safely prepare at home all of the promised sandwiches. More than 125 sandwiches in all. These were packaged and delivered to Trinity Church in New Haven with snacks and hundreds of bottles of water.
Also included in the St Stephen’s delivery were further signs of God working through us. Our teens had created bundles of beautiful, handwritten notes and dozens of brightly colored Easter eggs to share with those in need. Even from a very long distance, our youth found a way to share and be God’s love on earth.
Anyone who would like to be on a list to help with future Chapel on the Green food needs, please reach out to Jane at jgiffordlindenburg@gmail.com.
