Reporting back from Raleigh: The Moral March

At the Moral March, February 8. Colleague Barb Greve on the left; I am on the right.

If you've been reading this blog, you know that this past weekend I was in Raleigh, NC for the Mass Moral March.

I will be reporting back here on my impressions and learnings from the event... [Addendum: my "report back" post is here.]

But I will first offer those reflections at a worship service this Sunday, February 16 at 10:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Andover.  Join us, if you can!  After Sunday, I will post my summary here on this blog. (If you are very anxious to learn more about the event, there are many articles online; one is this post on Bill Moyers' website.)

Sunday's worship service will a "Standing on the Side of Love Sunday". We have, as many congregations in the UUA, re-imagined Valentine's Day as an occasion to celebrate a broader love for all of humanity, and humanitarian rights.  Come and be a part of it!

Joining the "Most Massive Moral Rally in the South since Selma"

Rev. William Barber II at a Moral Monday.

In a couple of days, I will be in Raleigh, NC responding to the call to clergy and people of faith to join the “Most Massive Moral Rally in the South since Selma”. 

The Forward Together Moral Movement (the broad coalition of activists issuing the call) writes, “As ministers and citizens of North Carolina… we have borne witness to a movement across our state that is resisting the immoral and undemocratic actions of our legislature and governor.  With many from the congregations we serve we’ve taken part in Moral Mondays… On Saturday, Feb. 8th, the Forward Together Moral Movement is calling on all people of faith and conscience from Southern states and across the country to join us for a Mass Moral March on Raleigh.”  

The Forward Together Moral Movement was largely started by The Rev. William J. Barber II, a Disciples of Christ minister and president of the North Carolina NAACP.  In 2013, “Moral Mondays” were held in Raleigh, NC to protest state legislation that was hurting low income residents.  Specifically, North Carolina legislation has created voter ID laws that threaten voting rights in the state. There have been harsh cuts to unemployment benefits and public school funding. There have been efforts to reject Medicaid expansion that is part of the Affordable Care Act.  There have been tax “reform” proposals that would further reduce benefits for low income residents (and that generally seem to take from the poor to give to the wealthy).

 

As Rev. Barber says, “We believe North Carolina is the crucible… If you’re going to change the country, you’ve got to change the South. If you’re going to change the South, you’ve got to focus on these state capitols.”

Protesters in the Moral Movement have been gathering on Mondays all year, engaging in civil disobedience – in some cases, getting arrested. Clergy and other faith community leaders have been prominent, and many of those (including UU clergy) have been among the arrested for “trespass and failure to disperse” and similar charges.

As of this writing, more than 750 Unitarian Universalists are signed up to participate in this weekend’s march and activities, and several hundred more UUs are planning to drive in from local congregations on Saturday.  I am very happy to be the UU Congregation in Andover's representative this weekend.  

On February 16, I will be leading a “Standing on the Side of Love Sunday”.  For several years now, the UUCiA has participated in the UUA’s effort to reimagine Valentine’s Day as a day for a greater love, the work of humanitarianism and justice.   I will report back from Raleigh, and we will think together about how to bring more love into the world.  

In the meantime, check back here for an update from the trip... [Addendum: My "report back" post is here.]

The passing of Pete Seeger

The great Pete Seeger died earlier this week. Interestingly enough, this sparked some discussion among UUs in the world of social media about the tendency to have Baby Boomer nostalgia in our congregations. There's a great discussion over at Rev. Tom Schade's The Lively Tradition blog.

To paraphrase what I said over there... I'm a Gen X-er. I know it's always dangerous to generalize about the generations (though I do it all the time). I was born in 1968, slightly on the older end of Generation X. My parents, and most of my friends' parents, were actually from the Silent Generation. The Boomers were an in-between generation. We didn't hate them; we looked up to them. We felt left out - the Boomers had such a cool coming of age (or so it seemed) whereas we came of age in the era of HIV/AIDS. Plus theirs was a large and influential generation, whereas we are so tiny and a little "lost". So for me personally, and I think I'm safe in saying for many of my Generation X friends from "back home", Boomer music isn't a nostalgia thing; it's before our time. But we respect it. I have no youthful memories of the sixties. But I love the music. And that goes for Pete Seeger. I respect his music and his larger legacy. I will not devote an entire Sunday service to memorializing him, but we will sing one of his songs this coming Sunday. It seems appropriate, to me.

See the banjo pictured above? Seeger's banjo said, "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender". This is a more beautiful and peaceful variation on what his mentor Woody Guthrie's guitar said: "This machine kills fascists."

Did you know that Pete Seeger was a Unitarian Universalist? Obviously this was just one part of his life; I'm not sure how active he was.  Seeger's mother, apparently, was briefly a Unitarian (before the UU merger).  And he himself joined the Community Church of New York later in his life (that's a UU congregation).  Apparently he originally went there as a renter, needing a place to rehearse some singers.  He did perform at some UUA functions over the years.

Spanish.... español...

My never-ending quest to learn Spanish continues. I was thinking about getting back to Mexico this February, but the stars just weren't aligning for that. So now I'm thinking about this summer, July or August, when my time is more flexible.

Mexico in July/August is WAY too hot for me. I don't think I could take it. But the good news is, July/August is winter in South America, and I hear they speak Spanish there (except for Brazil).  Some people like to escape winters in New England but in my "old age", I think I'd rather skip July/August in New England, where no one seems to know about AC.

(I'm from Pennsylvania originally, and we know about hot summers and the miracle of AC.)

So... I'm thinking a summer escape from the heat down to South America. Right now, I'm leaning toward Bolivia. I think it would be a real adventure. And... there would  be few English speakers around, as I understand it, making the Spanish immersion more complete. There are lots of Spanish schools there...

I'll keep you posted.