![](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/51df3d67ff5215c400a77ca6aa9f63c8\/f7cb92eedea4b1f4-dd\/s540x810\/05907a1aff40dc52c892f062c5d5241bf87db9fa.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n(Interfaith Chapel at the University of Rochester)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nevent was particularly moving, even as the need for it was
\ndistressing. \u00a0Schenectady Clergy Against Hate are well practiced in
\npulling together community witnesses after attacks on faith
\ncommunities. \u00a0In our country today, that’s a good skill to have.
\nThat said, I deeply wish we didn’t have the first idea how to respond
\nto violent attacks in faith communities. \u00a0I wish we’d never had a
\nviolent attack to respond to.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yet,
\nwe have. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And
\nwhile the acts of violence have often been perpetuated by individuals
\nacting as lone wolves, there is a disturbing connection between them.
\n Within a society, violence and the threat of violence act as means
\nof control, particularly of disempowered groups. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I
\nwould love to believe that in this forward thinking year 2020 we have
\nreached new heights of open-mindedness and equity, but evidence
\nproves me wrong. \u00a0Violence against people of minority faith
\ntraditions, against people of color, and against women and non-men
\ncontinues, and indeed in some areas are expanding. \u00a0I believe this
\nviolence functions as a way to maintain control over each of those
\ngroups. \u00a0That isn’t to say that is a coordinated effort, but rather
\nthe way that power works in our society impacts who gets attacked and
\nwhat impact is felt. \u00a0As each \u201clone wolf\u201d acts, they function to
\nperpetuate the system of control.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And,
\nI believe this is against the will of God.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I
\nhope is is painfully obvious to say this:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\nGod’s love is for Christians,
\nJews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sihks, Pagans, Druids, Agnostics,
\nAtheists, and members of other faith traditions. \u00a0God’s love is not
\ndetermined by a person’s faith tradition nor faithfulness, and to
\nclaim otherwise makes God very small and mean indeed.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nSimilarly, God’s love knows no
\nnational boundaries, language barriers, or income requirements, nor
\nis it impacted conviction histories. \u00a0That just isn’t how God works. <\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n
\nAnd, consistently, God’s love is
\nfor females, males, people who are intersex, and people who are
\nnon-binary all the same. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/p>\n
None
\nof this is news. \u00a0We KNOW this. \u00a0And yet, perhaps we have not been as
\nvocal as we need to be about sharing this. \u00a0It is painfully obvious
\nthat the world around us does NOT know this. \u00a0There are a multitude
\nof forces around us that define who has value and who doesn’t, and
\ntherefore imply that some people matter more than others \u2013 and GOD
\nDOES NOT AGREE. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The
\nIntersectional Justice Book Club discussion yesterday was on Michelle
\nAlexander’s The New Jim Crow<\/i>,
\nin which Alexander names the ways that the War on Drugs has created a
\nracial underclass by imprisoning mostly men of color and then
\nenabling discrimination of those with convictions. \u00a0She points out
\nthat drug use and drug sales occur across racial groups equally, with
\na little bit more happening among white people, and yet 90% of
\nconvictions are of people of color (with the vast majority of those
\npeople being of African American descent.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She
\nnames, quite directly, that if we cared equally about people of
\ncolor, we would not permit such a system in our society.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And
\nyet we do. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
At
\nthe service last weekend, the speakers gave us work to do. \u00a0Their
\nmessages included that we have to: \u00a0\n<\/p>\n\n\tAdvocate
\nfor religious freedom for each other.<\/p>\n\tSpeak
\nrespectfully and affirmatively of other faith traditions AT ALL TIMES<\/p>\n\n(For me, this works mostly as:
\ncall out the problems in my own tradition before looking for others,
\nand I haven’t finished on my own tradition yet. \ud83d\ude09 \u00a0)<\/p>\n\tCall
\nout anyone who doesn’t speak respectfully of a faith tradition\n<\/p>\n\tRepent
\nof the times we have contributed to messages of hate<\/p>\n\tRemember
\nthe contributions of people of other faith traditions<\/p>\n\tSeek
\nlegislation that makes attacks on faith groups hate crimes\n<\/p>\n\tHave
\nhope<\/p>\n\tBecome
\nmore loving<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Rabbi
\nRafi Spitzer, of Congregation Agudat Achim in Niskayuna, specifically
\nreminded us to attend to the things of the Spirit, as a means of
\nbecoming more loving and more peaceful. \u00a0That’s the particular
\nrole of those of us who are part of faith traditions: to become more
\nloving and more peaceful as part of contributing to the world become
\nmore loving and peaceful. \u00a0(May it be so.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This
\ngot me thinking about how well we are doing at developing the things
\nof the Spirit. \u00a0There are lots of ways that things are going well \u2013
\nwe have many ways for people to meaningfully contribute to building
\nthe kindom, we have space for people to be loved as they are, there
\nis beauty that feeds us, there is space for questions and for being. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I
\nthink there are also ways we could be making more space for the
\nthings of the Spirit. \u00a0The most historic Wesleyan question of all is
\n\u201cHow is it with your soul?\u201d \u00a0Let me tell you, this is NOT an easy
\nquestion to answer, and it is not a question you can ask others if
\nyou are unprepared to hear the real answers. \u00a0That said, it is a
\ngreat question. \u00a0\u201cHow is it with your soul?\u201d invites us to think
\ndeeply about the answer, and share it with someone else. \u00a0It brings
\nour faith journeying into contact with each other. \u00a0A course I taught
\nonce invited participants to answer the question with weather
\nmetaphors, which turned out to be amazing (\u201cit is cloudy, with a
\ndistinct change of tornadoes\u201d, \u201cit is bright and beautiful, but
\nbitterly cold,\u201d \u201cthe fog is very, very thick\u201d) but I think that
\nthere is even more value in having to answer the question directly.
\nSo, one tiny little thing we could do: we could ask each other \u201chow
\nis it with your soul?\u201d \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Perhaps
\nyou might even be willing to ask someone this during the time of
\npassing the peace? \u00a0And, dear ones, if you don’t want to answer,
\nperhaps a weather metaphor might share the gist without being too
\nvulnerable?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On
\na similar note, I don’t think we check with each other enough about
\nour spiritual practices. \u00a0During Lent two years ago we did a study of
\na Richard Rohr book, and thus had a regular shared practice of
\ncentering prayer. \u00a0It was amazing. \u00a0For many of the participants it
\nwas the most regular prayer practice they had, and it was a wonderful
\naddition to their lives. \u00a0(I believe centering prayer is easier in a
\ngroup.) \u00a0My suspicion is that many of us in this community do not
\nhave regular prayer practices. \u00a0Some of this may be due to not ever
\nhaving found a prayer practice that works, some of this may be due to
\nnot being the sorts of people who want REGULAR practices, some of
\nthis may be due to allowing other things to take precedence. \u00a0I will
\nadmit to you that while I had INCREDIBLE prayer times during my
\nrenewal leave, I allowed them to become lax again this fall and have
\nbeen struggling to pick them up again. \u00a0I adore prayer, but it is
\nvery (VERY) easy to allow myself to get distracted with \u2026 well,
\nanything and everything else.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Yet,
\nI know that my own development as a person, and a person of faith,
\nand into being more loving and more peaceful is directly correlated
\nto the time I spend in prayer. \u00a0My prayer practices tend to be the
\nquiet and reflective sort, and thus the kind that let me see myself
\nclearly and make decisions at the right pace for me. \u00a0Without them,
\nI’m pretty anchorless.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
So
\nthat’s the second thing I can think of \u2013 we could be more
\nintentional about checking in with each other about prayer and\/or
\nmeditative practices \u2013 including sharing what works for us,
\nadmitting what isn’t working for us, and being willing to talk about
\nwhat impedes us from practicing. \u00a0My personal experience says that
\nwhen I’m avoiding prayer, I’m mostly afraid of that some judgement
\nI’m making on myself is shared by God. \u00a0Thus far, it never has been. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Of
\ncourse, prayer practices are a WIDE range of things that can include
\nwalking, or dancing, or bike riding, as well as sitting quietly,
\nwriting, or coloring, and for many they even include conversation.
\nWe as a church talk about and develop our prayer and meditative
\nskills more \u2013 I think it would benefit us and the world. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For
\nthe first time this year, when I read Isaiah 42, I didn’t get worried
\nabout the servant like I always have before. \u00a0Instead, I heard it as
\nbeing all about the nature of God. \u00a0The passage tells us about God
\nwho has joy in people, who wants justice for all the nations, who
\ndoesn’t move us towards justice with violence, who is patient and
\nconsistent and trustworthy. \u00a0This God, the very one who made all of
\ncreation, is with us and working towards good with us. \u00a0What has been
\nand has been hurt and broken is NOT all that can be, there is new
\ngoodness that can and will come with God. \u00a0Healing and hope are
\npossible. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
These,
\nyou see, are things of the Spirit. \u00a0They are things of seeing clearly
\nwhat is, and yet seeing what can be. \u00a0And those things of the Spirit
\nare what our baptisms are all about. \u00a0Baptism welcomes us into the
\ncommunity of the Spirit, so that we can work together towards love
\nand peace for all. \u00a0And baptism teaches each one of us that we are
\nbeloved by God, \u00a0which means we don’t need to prove ourselves worthy
\nof love, and means that we have love in abundance to share. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dear
\nones, there is a lot broken in the world, but God isn’t done with us
\nyet. \u00a0And as we share with each other and seek out the Divine, we
\nmake it possible to bring more goodness into the world. \u00a0May we do
\nit! \u00a0Amen <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
\u2028https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
January 12, 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"