STAY
FAITHFUL,
STAY
CONNECTED,
STAY
COMMUNITY!
ANNOUNCEMENT
ZOOM GENERAL COUNCIL MEETING
AUGUST 23, 2020, 11:00
A.M.
ALL CCH MEMBERS ARE WELCOME
Gwen Murakami is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom
meeting.
Topic: General Council meeting
Time: Aug 23, 2020 11:00 AM Hawaii
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 827 8371 0925
Passcode: 380286
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A
LETTER FROM PASTOR HOLLY
Aloha
CCH Ohana,
I
have been so blessed to begin our relationship as pastor and congregation from
over here in Massachusetts. It has been
an amazing few months worshipping and fellowshipping with you virtually. We have prayed together, sung together,
laughed together, shared communion with one another, celebrated together and
lamented together. We have grown closer
and gotten to know one another. We have done our best to not only take care of
our own ohana, but also continued to look for ways that God can use us to help our
wider community. Even in the face of a
global pandemic, God has done amazing things among us and through us. There is
still so much more to do and I am so excited to do it alongside you!
I
wanted to update you on my progress here in Massachusetts. As you may know, I had one final piece of business
to complete in order to relocate home, which was to acquire legal permission to
do so with my youngest daughter Gracie.
Because of COVID, the Massachusetts court system has closed down,
suspending all of these matters, including mine. I have learned this week that my new
appearance date is November 23rd. This means that my arrival on island has been
delayed until then. I have done all that
I can do to expedite the process, but COVID has brought the world to a grinding
halt, and it is a slow, faithful, patient path to move forward safely.
The
same is true here at on Oahu. As we
watch our numbers spike and anticipate the opening of schools and colleges as
well as tourism, our commitment to keeping CCH a safe place for all is even
more important than ever. We do not
anticipate begin able to gather safely in person in the foreseeable
future. So our commitment to virtual
worship and fellowship will remain our priority. In addition to watching it using the links
we provide each week, I have begun a relationship with the Olelo channel and we
hope to soon be able to reach even more people by having our worship available
on local television.
The
Holy Spirit is alive and well here at the Community Church of Honolulu. We have been given so many opportunities to
continue God’s ministry together and explore how we can be a community of faith
in a world plagued with COVID. It is
more important than ever to be in close communication with one another, build
our relationships, and to try to be present in worship and fellowship. I hope that each of you will sign up for a
pastor’s visit, which can be a phone call, a FaceTime call or a Zoom call,
whatever you are most comfortable with.
I am eager to hear your joys and your concerns moving forward
together.
Remember,
my friends, church was never cancelled, nothing has the power to cancel church
because the church is the collective body of the living Christ. Each of us must continue to live and love,
worship and fellowship to bring about God’s peace in the world. Let us move boldly into the future together
and live into what God has in store for this world through us.
Mahalo
nui loa,
Pastor
Holly
808-371-4701
VIRTUAL PASTOR’S OFFICE
HOURS
AUGUST 2ND – AUGUST 8TH
I look forward to learning
more about each of you and sharing my life and my stories with you also. The following are the virtual office hours
for Aug 2nd – Aug 8th. Please email me or call me using the contact information
below and claim your spot! If none of
these time slots fits into your schedule, please let me know and I will find a
time that works for you!
Sunday, August 2nd 12:00pm,
12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm
Wednesday, August 5th 12:00pm,
12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm
Thursday, August 6th 12:00pm,
12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm
Friday, August 7th 12:00pm,
12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm
Saturday, Aug 8th 8:00am,
8:30am, 9:00am, 9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am
If you have any questions about the worship or
fellowship, please reach to:
Call or Text: 808-371-4701 -OR-
Email: hollynorwick@gmail.com
CCH IPT WEDNESDAY
(INTENTIONAL PRAYER TIME)
by
Kathy Young
"Just
as a body...has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with
Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body..."
[NIV]
Reverend
Holly Norwick just received heartbreaking news.
She wrote that because the nationwide pandemic has caused a delay in
legal proceedings, she must remain in Massachusetts until the end of
November. We pray for Pastor Holly and
her family. And we pray for God's
guiding hand upon us all in the months to come.
Our
congregation has not been together in Nu'uanu for almost 5 months, and because
of the climbing numbers of COVID-19 cases recently, it looks like CCH will not
physically worship in our beloved sanctuary for a while.
We
are called to be a vital, caring, loving body of Christ, "nurturing God's
beloved community by building relationships between and across all ages and
walks of life..." [New Calling].
Which part of this body are you? Where can you help?
This
second Sunday, August 9, is Stewardship Sunday.
We wear our "Here I Am, Lord" t- shirts, participate in
Prayers of the People, and proclaim that "We Are One in The
Spirit". So let's BE "Here I
Am, Lord" people!! Even though
sheltered in place, let's DO what we sang last week during worship: "We will work with each other, We will
work side by side...And they'll know we are Christians by our love!!"
Dear
Lord, we pray:
- with our hearts, minds, and souls centered on You, dear Lord. We offer praise and adoration for your holy name. "Your kingdom come. Your will be done"!! [NIV]
- asking forgiveness
for our sins and for failing to be more like You.
- with thankful hearts for your loving presence and protection as we watch the numbers of Coronavirus-infected people surge. We ask that you continue to keep every CCH member and their loved ones--here and far--safe.
- our deep and loving
prayers of gratitude for all of Community Church's pastors, past and
present. Special blessings upon Pastor Frances, dear Lord.
Thank you for sending us another one of your angels!!
- for Pastor Holly as
she continues to serve CCH from Massachusetts. Spirit, guide her and
the members of CCH. Infuse all with creative energy so that ideas can be
shared and work can be done in your holy name--for the good of your church
and our community!!
- our collective
appreciation for Ardis, Glenn, Hari, Nate, our CCH leaders [who face so
many challenges!!], and the generous, hard-working members who continue to
work for and at CCH!!
- for the future and
vitality of your body at Community Church. Let us continue our
journey on the Envisioning III path, remembering our new calling and
four pillars (Discipleship, Service, Inclusivity, Relationship).
- that we each use our talents to BE better "Here I Am, Lord" servants!! Reveal to ME HOW I CAN SERVE YOU, even when sheltered in place.
- prayers of support for Reverend Norwick and her family. Fortify them with your love, protection, and guidance during the coming months. Assure them of your presence and our support, Lord.
- remembering all who need your special embrace, sweet Jesus. We pray for those who have lost loved ones, struggle with health issues, face economic challenges at home or with their businesses, are lonely or sad, or beginning to feel hopeless. Let them know that You are with them!! Urge them to call on us.
- requesting your peace and provision for our daily needs.
- prayers for those in
our hearts.
CCH CONNECTIONS
WOMEN’S RETREAT
Editor's note: you can use this list to easily copy and paste to email these terrific women planners!
Sandy sandy_nish@yahoo.com
Marti tarwarshawaii@hotmail.com
Bobbi lumbbi@gmail.com
Gwen joyfulnoise28@gmail.com
Annie and Martha 808hermanas@gmail.com
PLEDGES!!
Don’t forget your pledges and offerings to the church! For those of us who are used to giving during Sunday services, this might be a good time to figure out a way to give electronically. If you pay bills by direct deposit from your bank or credit union or pay bills automatically directly from a credit card, please consider making the same arrangements for your CCH giving
Or, please simply remember to send your tithes and
offerings regularly to the church office:
2345 Nuuanu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96817.
Remember to write the check to “Community Church of Honolulu.” You cannot use the abbreviation “CCH”
because the bank won’t accept it.
Thank you so much!!
PASTORAL CARE
These “thermometers” were used with the kids for a Vacation Bible School project. Turned out that the grown ups also found it useful both as a self-assessment and as a way to begin a discussion. Give this a try!
Are you running a fever in one
or more thermometers? Please be assured
that pastoral care is not just for end of life concerns. If you need to chat with someone, Pastor Dean
and Pastor Frances are available. Just
call the church office to leave a message and one of us will get back to
you. The church’s phone number is 595-7541.
Editor’s note: Click on a photo to enlarge it. Then, click on the x in the top right-hand
corner to close the screen and get back to the newsletter. You can also download any of my photos for
your own use. But, please do not
download any other image without permission.
~~Pastor Frances
ANY HISTORIANS IN THE
HOUSE?
Tucked away in the Christian
Education office are gems of CCH history.
In the next several newsletters, these gems will be highlighted and then
placed in the library in the church office.
If you have an interest in preserving these more adequately, please get
in touch with Pastor Frances by leaving a message with Ardis. Even if you aren’t interested in this as a
project, do come in and look through them when the office is open again.
These are from a large picture book with no title.
These are from Aunty CCH!
RESPONSIBILITY TO EXERCISE
OUR RIGHT TO VOTE
VOTING MADE EASY IN HAWAII
Last year, the Hawaii
Legislature authorized an expansion of voting by mail. All registered voters will automatically receive
a mail ballot about 18 days before an election.
These ballots are mailed to the voter’s mailing address given on their
registration form.
Click on this sentence to find out more about this new system.
The state will also set up “Voter Service Centers” for 10 working days up to election day. You can register and vote at the same time at these centers.
Congressman John Lewis worked ceaselessly to secure voting rights for all Americans. “My dear friends: Your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union.” – A quote from a 2012 speech in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The state will also set up “Voter Service Centers” for 10 working days up to election day. You can register and vote at the same time at these centers.
Congressman John Lewis worked ceaselessly to secure voting rights for all Americans. “My dear friends: Your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union.” – A quote from a 2012 speech in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Ordinary people with
extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call
good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic
process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have
in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can
lose it.” Quote taken from the following NY Times article.
CONGRESSMAN LEWIS’ ARTICLE
PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES AFTER HIS DEATH
Together, You Can Redeem The Soul Of Our Nation by John Lewis
Mr. Lewis, the civil
rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death,
to be published upon the day of his funeral.
July 30, 2020
While my time here has now
come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life
you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great
American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society.
Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens
of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language
and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.
That is why I had to visit
Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital
the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many
years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.
Emmett Till was my George
Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14
when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever
forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In
those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling
thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the
bars.
Though I was surrounded by
two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could
not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family
circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had
the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent
morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive
as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our
hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest
and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the
hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.
Like so many young people
today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I
heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking
about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all
complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will
get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up,
speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say
something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and
each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved
Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.
Ordinary
people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in
what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the
democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change
agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not
guaranteed. You can lose it.
You must also study and learn
the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this
soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every
continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you.
The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can
help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union
between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our
willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.
Though I may not be here with
you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for
what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that
the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way.
Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.
When historians pick up their
pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your
generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace
finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with
the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of
everlasting love be your guide.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html?auth=login-google
(accessed 7/30/2020)
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S EULOGY FOR LEWIS
Barack Obama delivers eulogy at John Lewis
funeral,
July 30, 2020
Many misleading and derogatory remarks have been stated in the media about this eulogy. Before believing in such hyperbole, it is important for you to listen to the whole address.
The President’s remarks about voting were made in the
context of describing the Congressman’s life work in civil rights. He described Lewis’ civil rights legacy, and
said that although his faith was tested “again and again,” he was “a man of
pure joy and unbreakable perseverance.”
President Obama observed the official acts taken to
make voting more difficult (and unsafe in this time of a pandemic), saying
"there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage
people from voting" and "undermining the postal service in the run-up
to an election."
"John Lewis devoted his time on this earth
fighting the very attacks on democracy." President Obama added that Lewis
knew "that the fate of this democracy depends on how we use it, that
democracy isn't automatic- it has to be nurtured."
"John Lewis will be a founding father of that
fuller, fairer, better America."
Editor’s note on watching
videos: Click once on the arrow in the middle of the screen. If another arrow pops up, click that
arrow. Click on the broken square on the
bottom right side of the screen for a larger picture. Get rid of pop up ads by carefully clicking
on the “x” on the upper right side of the ad.
TWO MUSICAL SELECTIONS
SUGGESTED BY AUNTIE BOBBI
TobyMac - I just need U.
(Separate Altogether Acoustic),
June 7, 2020
Lauren Daigle - Still
Rolling Stones (Social Distancing Version),
Premiered April 12, 2020
Premiered April 12, 2020
And two suggestions from
me (Pastor Frances).
Untitled Hymn - Adam Young [Owl City]
(Cover) Lyrics [CC]
"I recorded one of my
favorite songs ever written. 'Untitled Hymn' by @ChrisRiceMusic" — Adam
Young
To
see the lyrics:
Turn on the captions button
Songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist Adam Young made a remake of Rich Mullins' song "If
I Stand."
To see the lyrics: Turn on
the captions button
PRAYER—OPEN HEARTS AND OPEN MINDS
by Pastor Frances
INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
This idea of “inclusive language” is not an
attempt to strip our language of the binary notions of gender. This idea seeks to modify our church language
and rituals to include rather than exclude. There is no ready formula to follow but it
leads to a healthy process of asking ourselves “who are we excluding”?
Here is an excerpt from “The Symbols, Space, and
Sanctity of the Place of Worship” a 2004 article written by Rev. Dr. Thomas
Dipko explaining the 12 theological principles that informs the UCC Book of
Worship (this book is the primary worship resource for all UCC ministers). By
way of background, our denomination conducts its business as a national church
and denomination at biennial meetings (the General Synod) where representatives
from UCC churches and conferences come together to “BE” the church together,
including setting policies to guide the denomination. In 1977, the General Synod of the UCC requested
“the Office for Church Life and Leadership to develop, if feasible, a book of
worship for the United Church of Christ, using inclusive language.”
“Inclusive
Language is Central to An Inclusive Church’s Worship
Related
to the language issue is the question of inclusiveness of all sorts. If our
buildings exclude because we are not barrier free, we have made a statement
that presumes to limit God's grace as surely as when we speak words that deny
existence to women, dignity to people of races other than our own, or
compassion to the poor.”
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Let’s apply our whole selves (heart, mind, senses,
life experiences) to bring freshness to a public prayer that nearly all of us
know by heart.
I have included different versions of the Lord’s
Prayer for you to experience. Open
your mind and your heart—have fun!
Frank Sinatra "The Lord's Prayer"
From the Guest Star Radio Show, recorded with the Jeff
Alexander Orchestra & Chorus, on October 26, 1949 and originally broadcast
on December 25, 1949.
Another way to open your heart to new dimensions is to read other translations. Frank sang the prayer in the form we all know (but I suspect that hearing a prayer from this musical icon gave you a different take!). As people in my Bible classes have learned, all words, including those in the Bible, may not mean what we think they mean (or have been taught that they mean). Matthew’s rendition of the Lord’s Prayer from the original Aramaic is, of course, a translation into rustic Greek. So, I have included a scholar’s rendition of the original Aramaic directly into modern English.
Here are three different versions of the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps you could choose one to use as grace at
three separate meal times.
Lord’s Prayer (from
the Aramaic, translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz)
O Birther! Father- Mother of the Cosmos
Focus your light within us - make it useful.
Create your reign of unity now-
through our fiery hearts and willing hands
Help us love beyond our ideals
and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.
Animate the earth within us; we then
feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.
Untangle the knots within
so that we can mend our hearts' simple ties to each
other.
Don't let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back from our true
purpose.
Out of you, the astonishing fire,
Returning light and sound to the cosmos.
Amen.
Our Creator, in heaven and on earth
Holy is your truth
May your wisdom come
Your circle be one uniting, heaven and earth
Give us today a nurturing spirit
Heal through us as we ourselves are healed
Lead us into Fullness of life
And liberate all that is good
For the Wisdom, Presence and the Goodness are Yours
Now and forever
Amen
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of
the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our
hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever.
Amen.
- The New Zealand Book of Prayer | He Karakia Mihinare
o Aotearoa
POEMS AS PRAYERS
Like praying, reading or writing a poem requires us to
use words in a denser way than in day-to-day usage. We can use poems as a way to pray in much the
same way as we can use Bible passages and, of course, the poems and songs of the Psalms.
Read slowly (or aloud); don’t just think about the
words but feel them, sense them, let them work in you. Here are four poems to pique your interest.
Marilyn Nelson
The poet Marilyn Nelson was born into a military
family; she is the daughter of one of the last of the Tuskegee Airmen and her
mother was a teacher. Nelson has
received many prestigious writing awards.
“Nelson’s work for both children and adults deftly manages lyric
tradition and historical truths, examining complex issues around race,
feminism, and the ongoing trauma of slavery in American life in narratives
poised between song and speech.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/marilyn-nelson#tab-poems (accessed 8/2/2020)
In an interview with Krista Tippett in the public
radio “On Being”, Nelson spoke about contemplative prayer and Abba Jacob, one
of her contemplative teachers.
“He is a
very intriguing character. He says that meditation, after you’ve practiced,
it’s an attitude. It’s not — you don’t have to sit in a certain way and hold
your hands in a certain way. It’s an attitude. You look at the world with this
attitude. In a similar way, I was thinking today, earlier, about methods of
prayer, which I’ve found just beautiful and meaningful. One of them is the prayer
of just gratitude, just feeling grateful.
And one
of them is a prayer I found in a book by a nun who lives as a hermit. I don’t
remember her name or the name of the book. But she offers a kind of prayer
which she calls the prayer of the loving gaze. It’s a prayer. Just put
your love into your eyes and just look at the world with that gaze and that’s
what contemplation is about, really. It’s learning how to find that gaze in
yourself and to put it in the world.”
A poem about her meditation teacher:
Abba Jacob said:
There’s a big difference
between
the mentalities of magic and
of alliance.
People who spend their lives
searching for God have a
magical mentality:
They need a sign, a proof,
a puff of smoke, an
irrefutable miracle.
People who have an alliance
mentality
know God by loving.
“This next poem is about the life of Venture Smith, who was enslaved in Connecticut in the 18th century.
He was captured as a boy in, I think, Ghana, brought to North America as a
slave, served for about 30 years under several different masters in
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. And then he purchased his own freedom,
and then he purchased his children and his wife, and then he went into the
freedom business, saving up money and setting people — buying people so he
could set them free. So this is from his life.”
By the time I was thirty-six I had been sold
three times. I had spun money out of sweat.
I’d been cheated and beaten. I had paid an enormous sum
for my freedom. And ten years farther on I’ve come
out here to my garden at the first faint hint of light
to inventory the riches I now hold.
My potatoes look fine and my corn, my squash, my
beans.
My tobacco is strutting, spreading its velvety wings.
My cabbages are almost as big as my head.
From labor and luck, I have much profited.
I wish I could remember those praise-songs
we used to dance to, with the sacred drums.
My rooster is calling my hens from my stone wall.
In my meadow, my horses and my cows look up,
then graze again. My orchard boasts green fruit.
Yes, everything I own is dearly bought,
but gratitude is a never-emptying cup,
my life equal measures pain and windfall.
My effigies to scare raccoons and crows
frown fiercely, wearing a clattering fringe of shells,
like dancers in the whatdidwecallit? dance.
My wife and two of my children stir in my house.
For one thirty years enslaved, I have done well.
I am free and clear; not one penny do I owe.
I own myself—a five-hundred-dollar man—
and two thousand dollars’ worth of family.
Of canoes and boats, right now I own twenty-nine.
Seventy acres of bountiful land is mine.
God or gods, thanks for raining these blessings on me.
I turn around slowly. I own everything I scan.
Lovesong
How shall I hold my spirit,
that it not touch yours?
How shall I send it soaring
past
your height into the patient
waiting there
above you? Oh, if only I
could shut
it up, leave it to gather
velvet dust
someplace where it would echo
you no more.
But like two strings
vibrating as the bow
ripples them with a long
caressing stroke,
we tremble, drawn together by
one joy.
What instrument is this?
Whose fingers make
a chord beyond our capacity
for awe?
How sweet, how: Ah!
https://onbeing.org/programs/marilyn-nelson-communal-pondering-in-a-noisy-world/
(accessed 8/2/20200)
bell hooks
“bell hooks is an acclaimed intellectual, feminist
theorist, cultural critic, artist, and writer. hooks has authored over three
dozen books and has published works that span several genres, including
cultural criticism, personal memoirs, poetry collections, and children's books.
Her writings cover topics of gender, race, class, spirituality, teaching, and
the significance of media in contemporary culture.
Born Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky,
bell hooks adopted the pen name of her maternal great-grandmother, a woman
known for speaking her mind. hooks received her B.A. from Stanford University,
her M.A. from the University of Wisconsin and her Ph.D. from the University of
California, Santa Cruz.”
http://www.bellhooksinstitute.com/ (accessed 8/2/2020)
“Throughout her life, hooks has explored the
relationship between sexism, racism, and economic disparity in books aimed at
scholars and at the public. In an interview with Bomb Magazine, she said, ‘To
think of certain ways of writing as activism is crucial. What does it matter if
we write eloquently about decolonization if it’s just white privileged kids
reading our eloquent theory about it? Masses of black people suffer from
internalized racism, our intellectual work will never impact on their lives if
we do not move it out of the academy. That’s why I think mass media is so
important.’”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bell-hooks
(accessed 8/2/2020)
hooks wrote the following in her introduction to Appalachian Elegy:
“Even as a child I knew that to be raised in the
country, to come from the backwoods, left one without meaning or presence. . .
. Country folk lived on isolated farms
away from the city; backwoods folks lived in remote areas, in the hills and
hollers. To be from the backwoods was to be part of the wild. Where we lived,
black folks were as much a part of the wild, living in a natural way on the
earth, as white folks. All backwoods folks were poor by material standards;
they knew how to make do. They were not wanting to tame the wildness, in
themselves or nature. Living in the Kentucky hills was where I first learned
the importance of being wild.
By their own practice of living in harmony with
nature, with simple abundance, . . . Their religion was interior and private.
Mama’s mama, Baba, refused to attend church after someone made fun of the
clothes she was wearing. She reminded us that God could be worshipped everyday,
anywhere.
Folks from the backwoods were certain about two
things: that every human soul needed to be free and that the responsibility of
being free required one to be a person of integrity, a person who lived in such
a way that there would always be congruency between what one thinks, says, and
does. These ancestors had no interest in
conforming to social norms and manners that made lying and cheating acceptable.
Since much sociological focus on black experience has
centered on urban life—lives created in cities—little is shared about the
agrarian lives of black folk. All my
people come from the hills, from the backwoods, even the ones who ran away from
this heritage refusing to look back. No one wanted to talk about the black
farmers who lost land to white supremacist violence. No one wanted to talk
about the extent to which that racialized terrorism created a turning point in
the lives of black folks wherein nature, once seen as a freeing place, became a
fearful place.
[I]t has been difficult to speak about past
exploitation and oppression of people and land, to give our sorrow words. Those
of us who dare to talk about the pain inflicted on red and black folks in this country,
connecting that historical reality to the pain inflicted on our natural world,
are often no longer silenced; we are simply ignored.
It is the recognition of that pain that causes a
constant mourning. Poetry is a useful
place for lamentation. . . . Poems of lamentation allow the melancholic loss
that never truly disappears to be given voice. Like a slow solemn musical
refrain played again and again, they call us to remember and mourn, to know
again that as we work for change our struggle is also a struggle of memory
against forgetting."
This poem by hooks is part of a longer work called Appalachian
Elegy: Poetry and Place (Kentucky Voices).
4.
earth works
thick brown mud
clinging pulling
a body down
heard wounded earth cry
bequeath to me
the hoe the hope
ancestral rights
to turn the ground over
to shovel and sift
until history
rewritten resurrected
returns to its rightful owners
a past to claim
yet another stone lifted to
throw against the enemy
making way for new endings
random seeds
spreading over the hillside
wild roses
come by fierce wind and hard rain
unleashed furies
here in this touched wood
a dirge a lamentation
for earth to live again
earth that is all at once a grave
a resting place a bed of new beginnings
avalanche of splendor
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148751/appalachian-elegy-1-6
(accessed 8/2/2020)
PROSE AS POEM AND PRAYER
“Howard Washington Thurman (1899–1981) played a
leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the
twentieth century. He was one of the principal architects of the modern,
nonviolent civil rights movement and a key mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.
Thurman grew up in Daytona, Florida and was raised by
his grandmother, a former slave. As a child, Thurman complied with his
grandmother’s request that he read the bible aloud to her, and he developed an
interest in the text at a very early age. As a young child, Thurman also
learned not only of the trials of slavery, but also of the slaves’ deep
religious faith, which profoundly shaped his later vision of the transformative
potential of African American Christianity.”
https://www.bu.edu/htpp/thurman/
(accessed 8/3/2020)
Here is a long quote from Howard Thurman. I’ve taken his prose (without changing any of the words) and constructed it into
a poem format. This one is a good one to
read aloud.
Waiting is a window
opening on many landscapes...
It is
the experience of recovering
balance
when catapulted from one's place.
It is
the quiet forming of a pattern of recollection
in which
there is called into focus
the
fragmentary values from myriad encounters of many kinds
in a
lifetime of living.
It is to
watch a gathering
darkness
until all light
is
swallowed up completely without the power to interfere or bring a halt.
Then to continue one's journey
in the darkness
with one's footsteps guided by
the
illumination of remembered radiance
is to
know courage of a peculiar kind—
the courage to demand that light continue
to be light
even in the surrounding darkness.
To walk in the light
while darkness invades, envelops, and surrounds is
to wait
on the Lord.
This is to know the renewal of strength.
This is to walk and faint not.
SING ALONG
I am SO over this pandemic—juuuust kidding, kinda. Perhaps you feel the same way once in a while. No matter your age, please play these two
videos (the first one was suggested by Bobbi!) and belt them out! (Hey! Seriously. We all still have to continue to follow the rules of physical distancing, hand
washing, using hand sanitizer, disinfecting products brought into the home,
wearing masks, avoiding crowds. The virus
is REAL.)
Editor's note: There is one (yeah, just one) advantage to being 68 years old. I can belt out songs from Hamilton AND from after WWII! Awesome.
DAT DA DA DA DA
A priest gives Hamilton’s King George and Jonathan Groff a run for their money!
Dancing Priest Does Hamilton | Church Parody | "You'll
Be Back"
Parody written and performed by the Rev. Lonnie Lacy,
St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Tifton, GA. Based on "You'll Be Back"
from Hamilton, the original musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
AC-CENT-TCHU-ATE (APOLOGIES TO ALL THE ENGLISH
TEACHERS OUT THERE) THE POSITIVE
ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE ~ Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers (1945)
Music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by
Johnny Mercer.
You've got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In Between
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene
(To illustrate his last remark)
(Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark)
(What did they do)
(Just when everything looked so dark)
Man, they said we better
Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In Between
No, do not mess with Mister In Between
Do you hear me, hmm
(Oh, listen to me child'in and a-you will hear)
(About the eliminating of the negative)
(And the accent on the positive)
And gather round me children if you willing
And sit tight while I start reviewing
The attitude of doing right
(You gotta ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive)
(Eliminate the negative)
(Latch on to the affirmative)
(Don't mess with Mister In Between)
You got to spread joy (up to the maximum)
Bring gloom down to the minimum, (then)
Otherwise, (otherwise)
Pandemonium liable to walk upon the scene
(To illustrate) Well illustrate
(My last remark) You got the floor
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
(What did they say) What did they say
(Say, when everything looked so dark)
Man, they said we better
Ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In Between
No, don't mess with Mister In Between
"Do
not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is
not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a
lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble,
necessary trouble."
Congressman
John Lewis
So
I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of
peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.
Congressman
John Lewis
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