California Council of Churches
Follow Us, Like Us, Write Us
  • Home
  • CCC Blog
  • About & Contact
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
  • Current Issues
    • Civil Rights
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Care
    • Marriage Equality
    • Peace & Justice
    • Religious Liberty
    • Resources & Study Guides
  • Support Our Work
    • Car Donations
  • Church IMPACT
  • Financial Coaching

United Church of Christ Warns of Credible Threats to Liberal Churches Now through Inauguration Day

1/16/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
The United Church of Christ has issued a warning to Conference Ministers and others to be on alert for attacks on liberal churches. Those supporting racial justice, LGBTQ equality, immigrant rights, economic rights, etc. may become targets of extremists. 

The alert is based on threats made to various churches in advance of both promised rightwing extremist actions at state capitol buildings and at the upcoming inauguration.  The alert particularly focuses on January 17-20.  

Here is a link to a Newsweek brief story on this alert.     Here is the UCC statement.  

We do not think this is alarmist.  We think it is a prudent warning.

Many of you may recall that a few months ago an historic Black church, Asbury United Methodist, in Washington DC was vandalized for its "Black Lives Matter" banner.  The same happened in Sacramento, CA to a UCC church there.

This warning, while originating with UCC, is not limited to that denomination's churches.  Any church that has promoted justice issues or possibly with congregations that are dominated by immigrants or people of color may also be vulnerable.

Clearly state capital cities are a prime area of concern, but any area that has encountered contentiousness, threats, or high levels of political action need also to be on alert.

We recommend contacting your local police department and noting this warning.  As UCC recommends, those churches able to hold gatherings due to their COVID status, may wish to revert to online or other remote forms of worship from tomorrow through next week.  

Blessings on all of you, part of our beloved community, with heartfelt prayers for your safety and for that of your churches and centers of worship.  May all be safe from harm.

 

​

0 Comments

Our Generational Day of Infamy.  Let's Bring Hope out of Hate

1/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dear Friends,

Today we saw the violent unfolding of the first active attack on our nation's Capitol since 1812.  How do we process this attack on our democracy and our most cherished national symbol - our Capitol?

The riots today that have caused our elected leaders in Congress to go into lockdown were impelled by not just a false narrative about a "stolen" election. They were impelled by the fear of a multi-racial and diverse society.  That includes all of us, people who should be part of the large body of Christianity but are considered massively dangerous because we are largely justice seekers not fundamentalists.  It includes everyone of color, every immigrant, every medical person fighting COVID that the rioters dismiss as a hoax,  everyone not in a small set of white revolutionaries who wish to see America not what it is.

We who bear witness to justice for all, who live for peace and inclusion, who love our fellow humans whoever they may be, WE have been called to stand clearly for our nation's ethos of justice, of inclusion, of fairness, of democratic process.  I don't have to tell you all any of this. It's why we know one another. But we now have to be more outspoken, more present about affirming those values publicly and actively.  We are ignored too often by the media which is our means of contemporary information sharing.  We must raise our voices to be heard loudly proclaiming our devotion to our Christian principles and to the work of democracy unimpeded.  

We learned early this afternoon that the attack on our nation's Capitol was duplicated here in Sacramento.  The Calfornia Highway Patrol and Sacramento Police Department had to shut down streets around our Capitol Park to tangle with insurrectionist rioters intent on breeching the building which, ironically, is empty due to COVID.  Arrests were made, the building is safe. But where will this happen next?  Who is safe?  

Please begin some serious teaching moments in your congregations and communities. Please speak up for the entire process of democracy regardless of electoral outcomes.  Our nation  as a whole is more important than a specific election outcome. Respecting the truth, respecting the process, respecting the Constitution are far more important than that.  Please bear witness as is safe to do for what we believe and for those we value.  We had hoped always that it would never come to this.  It has come.  We can be passive adn quiet no more.

Please stay safe and keep the faith in both our beliefs and in our nation's commitments to a democratic republic.  We have everything to gain. We also have everything to lose.  We must count on your voices to protect what we all value. Democracy is about all of us, together.  Keep that in your hearts and in your actions.

Thank you.

Picture
0 Comments

Getting Through Hard Times - Resources from Jim Burklo

9/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dear Friends,

These have been hard days. Pandemic and its spiritual, emotional, and physical impacts; social unreset and violence with all the attendant worries and sorrow that brings; economic crises affecting us and those around us; fear of the future with its deep uncertainties and unknowns.  

So we share with you some uplifting resources from our friend and ally, Rev. Jim Burklo.  We hope you find them useful and helpful.  Any light we can shine in dark hours seems well worth the doing.



​My Resources for Churches (and everyone else!)


More MUSINGS by Jim Burklo
Every so often, I put out a "musing" that is a guide to my writings and videos.  It's that time when churches make plans for their program year, so this is a good moment to share links to my materials for worship, study, and spiritual practice.  Use freely.  All I ask is attribution! 
My BOOKS on Amazon -- Open Christianity (2000) - an introduction to progressive Christianity.  Birdlike and Barnless (2008) - a progressive "book of common prayer" for use in churches.  Hitchhiking to Alaska (2013) - the spirituality of service and social activism.  SOULJOURN (2013) - a novel about religious diversity in America.  Deeper Love: Faithful Rhetoric for Progressive Social Change (2016) - a handbook for activists and candidates.  Mindful Christianity (2018) - how mindfulness is woven into the contemplative tradition of Christianity - a great resource for church prayer/study groups.  Mindful Christianity - a video intro to my book .  Coming soon:  Tenderly Calling: An Invitation to the Way of Jesus - an introduction to the faith for beginners - great for confirmation and new member groups. 


LITURGICAL RESOURCES:
New Words to Old Hymns
Deeper Love - a song for communion - very timely for the election, etc -
Jim Burklo's Book of Common Prayer - liturgical resources including invocations, benedictions, litanies, prayers, poetry, etc
SKITS - for worship - Against or Through? With or For? But or And?

RESOURCES FOR STUDY/PRAYER GROUPS:
Resistance Bible Study - a study series that would be ideal to run in the time between now and the November election.   My short rendition on video of a mash-up of Wm Jennings Bryan speeches - he was a fundamentalist Christian who ran 3 times for the presidency as a progressive Democrat.  A shorter study:  Samaritan Care: Health Care in America
Contemplative Christian Practices - my series of 3 half-hour videos introducing the mystical tradition of the faith.  Good for study/prayer groups.  Each video introduces practices that take about 30-40 minutes, so devote an hour to each one - and add time for discussion, etc.  Contemplatio - The Questions of Jesus - practices for study/prayer groups - Ten Ways to Meet God - more practices
Mindfulness Practice - five short videos that cover the basic content of the classes I teach at USC for Mindful.USC.edu - good for prayer/study groups:  Mindfulness: an Introduction - Mindfulness of the Body - Mindfulness of Emotions - Mindfulness of Thoughts  - Mindfulness and Compassion  - Mindful Habits 
How to Read the Bible- some basics for progressive Christians, good for study groups - related: Book of Nature, Book of Scripture - Sacred Myth of the Gospel - The Bible and Bob Marley
The Varieties of God - an outline of different understandings of God, within and beyond Christianity - a great conversation-starter in study groups

SPECIAL SUNDAYS, etc:
Fearless Sunday - 2nd Sunday in Sept (or any other Sunday) - a time for pastors and members of churches to "come out of the closet" about their real theological beliefs (or unbeliefs) - Questions to Ask Your Pastor on Fearless Sunday - What They REALLY Meant When They Signed That Statement of Faith
Election Day:  Blessing the Hands That Cast Ballots - Voting Rituals - How to Be a VOTIVATOR (sharing with each other how we vote)
Christmas Poems by Jim Burklo
LENT:  Mindful Christianity Practices - WORD JAZZ for Fat Tuesday and Lent
Tax Day: Blessing of the Taxes (in worship) - Prayer for Tax Day - Progressive Taxation and Christian Faith -
Pluralism Sunday (first Sun in May, or other Sunday of your choice) - celebrating in worship the religions of the world - and the principle that other religions may be as good for others as ours is for us!  Religious Pluralism and the Bible - A Song for Pluralism Sunday - Seven Principles for Interfaith Engagement
St. Buddha's Day (Aug 26 - or whatever day you choose to celebrate it)  - Buddha was once accidentally canonized as a Christian saint... let's revive that tradition as a way of celebrating religious pluralism, and of the striking parallels in the teachings of the Buddha and the Christ!

CHILDREN'S MESSAGES:
The Clay Bird (an interfaith message - Christian/Muslim)
The Prodigal Pig
For Sneeches, Both Starful and Starless - the Sermon on the Mount, Dr Seuss-style
Elephant Eggs - pure silliness! punch line: what you need is probably already here.
Of Seeds and Stardust - a poetic science-based creation story
Parable of the Parrot - short story about the heart of the gospel
The Tumbleweeds - a family of tumbleweeds rides with the wind (which blows where it wills...)
Breaking Free - a flower becomes a butterfly - and learns to appreciate flowers

PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN IDENTITY - "messaging" for progressive congregations:
SIGNAGE for progressive churches  - "elevator speeches" - one-liners that set your church apart
QUESTIONS for "church shoppers" to ask - progressive churches' answers are "yes" to all!
A SHORT HISTORY OF PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY - good for new members groups, etc
THE FOUR SPIRITUAL AWES - a short "tract" that expresses the essence of progressive Christianity - print freely!


We wish you, our members, our communities, our state, nation, and world a brighter tomorrow.  Blessed be.

0 Comments

Please help the people of Beirut Lebanon - Here's how

8/7/2020

0 Comments

 
Dear Friends,

Whether you saw the video of the horrific explosion on social media or witnessed the appalling aftermath on news broadcasts, few people cannot be stunned at the breadth of damage done to the people and buildings of Beirut. 

Reports confirm that unstable substances, confiscated from a ship some many months ago, erupted in a violent explosion sparked by a nearby fire. The devastation is almost impossible to take in. 

So far the death toll is 150, but that will no doubt increase.  Over 4000 people have been injured, and entire blocks of buildings destroyed leaving already imperiled families and individuals homeless.  Beirut and Lebanon in general have been suffering grave economic insecurity due to the upheavals in the Mid East and the influx of refugees from war torn areas.  

Now comes this explosion and it's threats to so many lives going forward as well as impacted by the explosion.

Please help the people of Beirut.  There's not a lot we can do from so far away, but if you are able, please help with a contribution toward their medical needs, housing, food, etc.  If you are inclined, please go here to make a donation today.   The tally is given in pounds, but your donation will be calculated by the dollars you can contribute and converted by the charity.  

Thank you for any help you can give.
Picture
0 Comments

Help Refugee Children Here in California

6/24/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Dear Friends:

We are sharing a message from our friend and ally, Fred Morris, a United Methodist Church minister who has long championed the plight of immigrants and refugees.  He has made it his life's work to protect especially children in need of protection from the dangers to their well being in their home countries and now the threats to their lawful status here.  

Last Friday was Juneteenth that we celebrate annually to commemorate the end of slavery and to affirm our belief that all men, women and children are created equal.    Saturday, June 20th, was World Refugee Day.      Let us carry both ideal through our lives by helping raise funds for the children from the San Fernando Valley Refugee Children Center. This is the organization  Fred founded in 2015 to aid the hundreds of children who came to us, unaccompanied, fleeing from gang violence in their home countries in Central America.  
 
With so much going on in the world, we can’t forget that hundreds of children are still fleeing life-threatening violence and traveling to the United States looking for refuge. The Covid-19 pandemic has limited the Center’s ability to raise funds, which means we are struggling to provide children with the resources they need to survive.
 
As a big win this week, the Supreme Court blocked Trump from ending DACA. However, we still have a lot of work to do.

You and I have the influence on social media to bring awareness to this issue and help raise enough funds to help the hundreds of children at the Center. If you’re able to make a donation, please go to tinyurl.com/world-refugee-day to donate, and give a child the support they need and deserve. A donation of even $25 can make a big difference to us. And if you could do that on a monthly basis, it would be even more wonderful.
 
Help us spread the word through social media by sharing the three images attached or click on our Digital Toolkit for suggested copy, videos, more images, hashtags and other ways you can help. #WorldRefugeeDay  #SFVRefugeeChildrenCenter
 
On behalf of the hundreds of children at the Center we thank you for your support.

The Council thanks you for remembering these children.  While we fight for the little ones still locked in cages at our border, let's make sure no other child is further endagered by our fear of "the alien among us".  Please help Fred help the children with care and legal assistance to keep them safe.

Thank you.

0 Comments

June 24th, 2020

6/24/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Dear Friends:

Once again we share an insight from our friend and ally, Jim Burklo.  His posts, "Musings" always give us uplift and something to reduce our stress and worries.  We share this with you today.

Sighs Too Deep: Breathing in a time of pandemic and protest

More MUSINGS by Jim Burklo

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words."  (St Paul, Romans 8: 26)

I needed to sigh. 

So up to the mountains I went this past Saturday, and hiked among the huge slabs of sandstone at 4,000 feet on the desert side of the San Gabriel Mountains.  I paused to stand under a scrubby 
piñon pine tree and listen to the voice of its stubby needles in the cool clear wind. 

Last week, while I was teaching a mindfulness meditation class for USC students and staff on Zoom, we got into a discussion after I led the group through a "body scan" meditation, guiding them to attend to any emotions that might be associated with sensations in their bodies.  Several said that their breath was the focal point.  One woman said she found herself sighing in the meditation - and sighing a lot in general.  Others reported the same experience.  Then a graduate student in the class spoke up:  "Isn't this what's up for everybody now?  The coronavirus takes away your breath.  George Floyd, as he was dying under the policeman's knee, cried 'I can't breathe!'  And we are all sighing because of the mix of emotions we are feeling!" 

Her astute observation reminded me that when the virus started spreading, and the lockdown began, I found myself sighing a lot.  What was happening to the entire human race, all around the planet, was truly breathtaking.  In recent weeks I have noticed that the sighing stopped.  I habituated. 

I also habituated to police violence against black people. When the news about George Floyd's murder came out, I was saddened and disgusted, but my breath was not taken away.  Just another incident in a long series of examples of the lingering scourge of racism in America. 

Until I read a Facebook post written by a fellow member of Mt Hollywood Church in Los Angeles.  Hilary's anguish was palpable.  As a black woman with a son, she was in despair that what happened to George Floyd could happen to her own child.  Her despair broke through my spiritually-insulated, white-privileged soul.  With hers, finally, my sighs were too deep for words. 

I'm grateful that Hilary took my breath away.  I'm grateful to belong to a church where the Spirit can blow down the walls that inhibit our vulnerability, as she did for me. 

If we're sighing, we're not alone.  We're sighing with the Holy Spirit of divine Love who comisserates with us.  The biblical Greek word for "spirit" is "pneuma", which also means "breath".  If we're sighing, we're feeling emotion.  And emotion is energy.  Mindfulness practice and contemplative prayer are not about breathing deeply and being relaxed.  They are about paying attention to our experiences and thoughts and emotions and letting them be, even if they're hard.   And if we know our emotions, we'll be in touch with their energy, and then we can channel that energy into creative, positive work to relieve the suffering and injustice around us. 

Contemplative practice is the very opposite of withdrawal from the world and its struggles.  It is what we do in order to feel again when we've become hard-hearted, and to get clarity about how best to direct that power for the good of others.  When I am hard-hearted, when I am complacent, I don't know how to pray as I ought.  I need help.  Hilary helped.  And so did that piñon tree in the mountains.

Each kind of pine has its own voice in the wind, tuned to the length of its needles.  I stood and listened to the piñon, until divine Love made me sigh once more.

 
JIM BURKLO
Blog: MUSINGS
Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life, University of Southern California
JIM BURKLOSenior Associate Dean, Office of Religious Life, 
University of Southern California
 
 
Copyright © 2019, Jim Burklo. All rights reserved.

​

Picture
0 Comments

The Arc of Justice in an Age of Extremism: Which Side Are We On?

6/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dear Friends:

Sacramento is under curfew.  The National Guard is in our streets.  Glass still litters our sidewalks, and a friend dubbed the Sacramento downtown "Plywood City". .The whole city is in mourning, over 130 businesses shattered by violence. The original protests for justice have been overshadowed by mindless rampages not from within the protest but inimical to it. 

These scenes are being played out across California and also across our nation. 

We are under siege and have not seen the likes of this since the end of the Civil War. 

The protests against police violence that kills and harms so many Black and Brown people are not the cause of but the excuse for the violence sweeping our land. By and large the rioters seem to be white, have their own nihilistic agendas. They pay no attention to Black community leaders trying to keep their movement peaceful, the issue focused on harm to people of color by excessive police actions. 

The rioting has its own momentum, takes no heed of anyone.  Too many times the community has found neo Nazi graffiti, anti -"Black Lives Matter" slurs, hate messages against many groups. It's not clear who is behind the violence at all. And yet the White House and media keep referring to the protest on racial justice as the source.  It is not. It is just the extremists' excuse.

There are now threats from the White House that active military will be sent to places with unchecked rioting and looting. The president told Governors on a conference call Monday  that he would use the Insurrection Act to bring control. The threat is horrifying. Yes, this happened in limited ways during the 1950s school desegregation uproar. Again it was applied during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. It has never before been threatened against an entire nation. 

The laws are clear: the 1807 Insurrection Act can be triggered by civil unrest, but only with the consent of Congress who are not likely to give it.  That was briefly changed in 2006 giving more unilateral power to the president, but the provision was repealed in 2008 thus restoring the original meaning of  the dominant Posse Comitatus Act (1878) that limits federal power over troops on domestic soil and removed the president's unilateral authority from the Insurrection Act.  No one person can order the placement of active military into our communities, our states, our lives.


Following  the phone call with Governors. we witnessed active military from Fort Bragg, NC arriving in Washington, DC. The District of Columbia is the one place troops can be placed without Congressional approval since it is federal jurisdiction.  At their arrival, the president directed that protesters be tear gassed and removed from the White House area despite the fact they were peacefully standing and sitting, nothing else.  In the ensuing assault,  clergy at nearby St. John's Episcopal Church, compiling medical kits for the protesters, were also gassed and driven off their property. The president then walked from the White House to the church to simply hold up a Bible for a photo op. 

This, according to analysts who understand the symbolism, was not just an odd public relations moment. This gesture was an affirmation to ultra conservative Christians that the actions the president was taking were being done under the rubric of fundamentalist Christianity. He was signaling his belief he would be both king and prophet, bringing End Times and the Second Coming through his work. It was affirmation to his followers that he was indeed acting our their version of the Lord's business as read by them in prophecy.  It was a sign he is the "Chosen". He is their man.

But that vision is not ours. It also isn't that of our members in the Episcopal Church. where he stood.  Bishop Mariann Budde of the District of Columbia dioceses was infuriated. She denounced both his use of force against protesters and clergy and his use of St. John's without anyone's permission.  She said it was craven and that they at St. John's were on the side of the protesters seeking justice for people of color. 

And here is where we are. We are called to respond to the great schism of today.   Which side are we on?  We at the Council have long embraced the principles of justice, of equality and equity, of love and compassion, care for our fellow humans. We seek to Bend the Arc toward Justice not capitulation to the anger of either mobs on one hand or tyranny on the other.  Which side are we on?

We have military in our streets,  troops in DC and National Guard elsewhere.. We still have Black men and women, elders and children begging America to respect their worth and protect their lives while seeking justice, seeking changes in policing, seeking safety in our society.  Which side are we on?

These are dark days. Choices and actions will have to be taken by us individually and by us together.  Which side are we on? 

We at the Council stand with those in pain, those who are hurt and left behind by our society. We stand with justice and love and community. We stand with joy and laughter and kindness.  We stand with all good people of good heart whoever they may be, protester and police officer alike.

We stand for what Jesus taught us in the two commandments. Love thy God and Love Thy Neighbor.  They are equal in our lives.

We will stand by that. We hope our nation will do the same.

May God shed blessings on this nation to be what our Constitution promises and upon us all to have the strength to carry that promise to fulfillment.

Thank you. 


0 Comments

How can we be non-complicit in an age of hate?  Some suggestions

5/27/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dear Friends:

Our post yesterday about the hate incidents and crimes we've seen unfold via internet links calls for suggestions on how to be a witness for equity and justice.

We see today that last night the police in Minneapolis, MN drove people protesting the death of George Floyd into the streets with tear gas and rubber bullets. Mr. Floyd is the man who apparently died when a police officer knelt on his neck for what witnesses said was several minutes.  The crowds that came to protest were very diverse, many people outraged by this death. That diversity did not stop the use of force by the Minneapolis police.  We have no knowledge of what transpired last night, but we do see that for once people's 'whiteness' did not confer privilege. Yes, there are risks to standing for justice no matter who you are.

So we are confronted as well by our own apprehensions and fears if we, no matter who we are, stand up to power, speak truth to power.  What can we do if we are of brittle bone and unfirm stance but still wish to make our anger and our anguish known on these issues of injustice?  More to the point, how can we be proactive in preventing hate actions rather than reactive to them?  I once said I'd never again go to a candlelight vigil for victims of hate. My work in life was to create whatever conditions I could to assure we didn't need them. That work goes on.

If we genuinely wish to stop acts of hate, we need to begin with opposing it. We need to attend city and county public meetings, generally safe spaces, to raise our voices. Silence implies indifference if not actual consent to crimes against people under "color of authority".  This is where we can make sure that's not swept under the rug, where we demand that our officials act with decency.

But this is a long process that needs, once again, to interrupt "common sense" bigotry at the start.  Yes, it's true hate is not inborn but taught. We can reverse that process.  In 2000 I was living in Yolo County, CA, a fairly rural community but a diverse one.  It's also the home of University of California, Davis making Davis a pretty liberal town in a fairly conservative county.  Nevertheless, Yolo has been a leader in confronting hate crimes.  The county obtained a grant from the Southern Poverty Law Center to have a three-year program implementing their excellent program, "Teaching Tolerance".  There was a wonderful man from the Sheriff's office whose sole job was to go from school to school with this program.  He was welcomed in every school but one, and over the course of time, hate crimes dropped off, and bullying subsided.  Of the crimes or incidents that did occur, the perpetrators could all be traced to the one school where the "Teaching Tolerance" curriculum had not been used.  You rarely get data that are this blatant, but the experience served to show how important education of young people can be to ending hateful behavior.

As adults move to make their voices heard by public officials, we can simultaneously educate our young people.  Denominations, interfaith groups, youth ministries as well as civic organizations and school districts can access "Teaching Tolerance" curricula including online resources. Grants are available with simple, clear guidelines if personnel are needed to implement an extensive program.  For more information on where to start, you can go here

For specifics on interfaith understanding, don't forget our "oldie but goodie", Building Bridges of Understanding.  Produced by California Council of Churches in the wake of 9/11 and the uptick of anti Muslim hate (that is once again revived), you can self instruct via our online and downloadable study guide.  For a copy of the guide, please go  here  Building Bridges is at the bottom of the list.  The video that accompanies the guide is in very short supply, so please let us know by return on this email if you're interested, and we will try to ferret out a copy.

For combating anti-LGBTQ hate, also on the increase, that same link can take you to our study guide, Living Lovingly.  With all our study guides, directions on how to lead study circles and to engage conversations are given.  We see these as ways to interact with people who are uncertain about how our faith principles dovetail with justice issues, how to give safe space for hard discussions and meaningful resolutions.  

This is how we start. We need the commitment and the will.  We don't have to be maced to make a stand. 

Do whatever you can, however you can, for as long as you can.   It all counts.

Thank you. 

​

bbu-edition2.pdf
File Size: 2897 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
0 Comments

Reach out and touch someone - with a stamp and a letter. A child's story

5/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dear Friends,

We came across a deliciously wonderful story about a young girl who "reached out and touched someone" through her letters.  We got permission from her father to repost it here.  We think this is something that will brighten your day and will remind all of us that we can contact people the "old fashioned way" - via letters.

We hope you enjoy this story.   


Em's Story as Told by Her Father
  
Emerson, my 11 year old, is on a bit of a wild ride with the @USPSand our local mail carrier, Doug.

And, I think there’s a deeper message to it all.

First, the backstory...

Em has a serious letter writing habit. She maintains active correspondence with over a dozen of her favorite people. And, if you’ve been the lucky recipient of one of Em’s hand decorated letters and envelopes, then you have a pretty good idea of the joy they bring. 
 
A letter from Emerson is likely to include some art, a joke or two, a mention of her younger brother, confessions of her love for Taylor Swift and enough questions to guarantee a response.

So, when she decided to thank our mail carrier for the service he provides us, she left nothing out. In went Taylor Swift, in went the little brother, in went the jokes.

Q: Why do you never see elephants hiding in trees?
A: Because they’re really good at it.

Em wrote, “I’m Emerson. You may know me as the person that lives here that writes a lot of letters & decorated the envelopes. Well, I wanted to thank you for taking my letters and delivering them. You are very important to me. I make people happy with my letters, but you do too.”

She continued, “The reason you are very important in my life is because I don’t have a phone so how else am I supposed to stay in touch with my friends? You make it possible!”

She put it in the box, smiled when he took it & that was enough.

The next day a package arrived with some stamps & two letters.

Doug had shared Em’s letter with his supervisor, Sara, and they both wanted to share how touched they were by her note. 

Picture
Sara said that, as an essential worker, Doug might not be able to maintain regular correspondence, but she sure could. Em started writing that very afternoon.
​
This is when things get interesting. The next week, we got a letter address to “Mr and Mrs Weber.” It seems that Sara had shared Em’s note as a “Token of Thanks” in the internal newsletter for the Western US and there were some postal folks that wanted to thank her.
Picture
​Today, we saw Doug getting out of the truck with two BOXES of letters from around the country. We snapped a quick photo through the door as he and Emerson met for the first time. It was a beautiful moment on silent reciprocity.
Picture
​These letters are so deeply human. They are filled with family, pets, hobbies, community and an overwhelming sense of kindness.
Picture
​Because Em was fully vulnerable, they were too.

Em shared jokes, so they shared jokes.

Em share her brother, so every gift that was sent came in duplicate.

Em shared @TaylorSwift13 and it turns out that the US Postal service is filled with lots of undercover Swifties.
One maintenance manager from Minnesota wanted to inspire her to start collecting stamps so he sent along two stamps of his own from the bulletin board in his office to start her collection.
Picture
​And, they sent stamps to be used as well. Stamps for her to write back. Stamps for her to write others. Stamps, stamps, stamps. (218 by Em’s count.)
Picture
​But, there was something more in these letters. People felt seen - some for the first time in a long time.

“I work alone in a small rural post office...”
“My kids all live far away...”
“Not a lot of people think about how hard we work...”
One wrote,
“I can’t tell you how much it means to read your letter...”

Another,
“I have a son in Kuwait and if you have a second to send him a letter he would love it.”

And another,
“I know you can’t write back to all of us, but maybe I can drop you a line from time to time?”
With dozens of new pen pals, Em did what she does best.

She wrote the dad.
She wrote his son.
She assured the secret swifties not to be embarrassed because her dad likes TSwift, too.
She acknowledged that there WERE a lot of letter but that she had time.
She sees them all.
Picture

​I’m not sharing this because I’m a proud dad.

I’m sharing it because it is relatively easy, if we take the time, to give others the one thing they need to be well - human connection.

I have a friend that says we all just want to be seen, known and loved.

Em does this boldly.
It’s #MentalHealthAwareness month and I want to be bold and brave like Em.

We’re all in a moment of physical isolation that is amplifying a real epidemic of loneliness, anxiety and depression.

I’ve been feeling it personally since long before we locked our front door.
In the second week of quarantine, I responded to hundreds of DMs from creatives who are feeling this disconnect in a significant way.

I heard from college students to senior executives who personally and professionally are stressed, worried and/or afraid.
Two weeks ago, I personally started working with a Talkspace therapist for the 1st time.

For years I’ve travelled the country talking about relationships of influence, but I’ve used that travel as an excuse not to seek the support I know I need.

This pause gave me time to act.
I have incredible family & friends, but the truth is that I needed more.

And, sending texts via an app has been the small step I needed.

Moral of the story: it’s the small things that matter most, friends.
Send a letter.
Make a call.
Practice self care.
Take a step of boldness.
For yourself or for others.

And, thank your mail carrier (from an appropriate distance.) They are working extremely hard to keep us all connected.
And, if any of you are feeling isolated, anxious, scared or depressed, those feelings are valid.

I’m feeling them, too.

And, I’m here if you need me.

❤️
We weren’t sure that a day could be more emotional than yesterday, but - my friends - you’ve topped it. We’re seeing all of your replies & retweets. We’re reading them aloud as a family. We’re absolutely in awe of the ripples of impact that have come from one letter. #WeSeeYou
And, if you’ve gotten this far, just know that you can start the same waves of goodness with the people that you count on, respect & love. (Maybe even your @USPS mail carrier.)

Just tell them that you miss them, love them or just see them. And, then, let us know what happens. ❤️
0 Comments

Resources for Congregations on Responding to ICE Raids

6/25/2019

0 Comments

 
Dear Friends,

Although new reports seem to indicate wholesale round ups of immigrants have been postponed, the threat remains.

For those concerned about the threat against both undocumented and documented immigrants, we offer a resource.

Interfaith Mobilization for Human Integrity, a California based activist and advocacy organization we trust, has a comprehensive guide to action.

Take a look here   

We encourage those in California to join with IM4HI in their trainings and with their activist alert rapid response efforts, all spelled out in this link.

Please do whatever you can.  

If you wish another action, you can call the office of Sarah Fabian of the Justice Department who argued that children in concentration camps (our words, not theirs) don't need soap, toothpaste and brushes, and other items such as beds and blankets. She made this argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday, June 18.  If you'd like to address these issues, her office number is 202-532-4824.

If you'd care to address these issues with your Senator or Representative, please call 202-224-3121

Below are examples of posters you can print out and display at your home, place of worship, or place of work.


Whatever you can do, please do it. This is a potential crisis of historic dimenstions. Human lives are on the line. We need your witness and your action to protect families, channel them into human and responsible paths to residence and citizenship.

We must never be left with the question: where were YOU when the families were rounded up?

Thank you.
Picture
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    The Rev Dr Rick Schlosser

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Civil Rights
    Economic Justice
    Elections
    Financial Coaching
    Healthcare
    Marriage Equality
    Peace & Justice
    Racism
    Religious Liberty

Website by L2Designery