Kairos & Ambiguities

Remembering a Saint Martyr

I wanted to depart from the stories of my summer journeys for a moment to remember a Saint and Martyr.  We don't often follow the calendar of saints in the United Methodist Church, but as this is day is set aside by our mother church for one of only two recognized 20th century martyrs, Jonathan Daniels, I feel that it is appropriate.

Jonathan Daniels was an Episcopal seminarian, killed for his work in the American civil rights movement.  His death helped to galvanize support for the civil rights movement within the Episcopal church.  He graduated from Virginia Military Institute the year I was born 1961.

On Friday August 13th Jonathan Daniels and others went to the town of Fort Deposit to join in picketing three local businesses. On Saturday they were arrested and held in the county jail in Hayneville for six days until they were bailed out.  After their release on Friday August 20th, four of them undertook to enter a local shop, and were met at the door by a man with a shotgun who told them to leave or be shot.  After a brief confrontation, he aimed the gun at a young girl in the party, and Jonathan pushed her out of the way and took the blast of the shotgun himself.  He was killed instantly.

Because Bernard of Clairvaux is remembered on August 20, Jonathan Daniels is remembered on the day of his arrest, August 14th.

Here is his prayer:

O God of Justice and compassion, who put down the proud and the mighty from their place, and lift up the poor and afflicted:  We give you thanks for your faithful witness Jonathan Myrick Daniels, who, in the midst of injustice and violence, risked and gave his life for another; and we pray that we, following his example, may make no peace with oppression; through Jesus Christ the just one:  who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen

Until next time...Grace & Peace

Letter to Martin

I just got my copy to the Interlink and eagerly read Bishop Woodie White's letter to Martin.  I think went a found a link to the letter for this post. 

I have been following this letter for years and am thankful for the encouragement this gives to this vital issue of unity in our church and in our conference.  As I noted in an earlier post, my civil rights hero is Jonathan Daniels.  Since I started reading Bishop White's letters, I have been putting my own observations down to Jonathan.  In the past I've worried about the KKK or talked about race relations around the country.  It might just be a list of things to do, or things to pray about.  Maybe a list of successes, like when the Imperial Wizard's house was bulldozed in Walston (thank you Brookville EUM member).

This year when I thought about what to write, I have been greatly concerned about African American Churches in our Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference.  With some moves and deaths that took place over the last 18 months, we are down to a handful of African American clergy in our conference.  There was also difficulty at annual conference to elect ethnic minority persons to General Conference.  Here are some things that we may be able to do to help this situation.

1.  We are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into new church starts, can we recruit African American leadership and back them with equivalent funds for ministry?

2.  Can we change the rules in our annual conference so that those nominated for General & Jurisdictional Conference might submit pictures to be given to annual conference delegates along with their bios so that the conference can make adjustments for diversity in its delegation?

3.  Can we change the conference rules so that if an ethnic minority member is on one conference committee, they might serve on several committees?  That way we might have broader representation of these issues.

4.  Can we pay our mission shares in full so that we can support at 100% the Black College Fund and Africa University?

5.  Can we pray for our historically black churches in the conference and pray for the communities that they serve?

I don't know if we can, but we should try and with God's help we shall overcome.

Remembering you Martin & Remembering you Jonathan

Until next time...Grace & Peace

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

One hero of the faith for me is Jonathan Myrick Daniels.  I guess what has tied me to him is he also graduated from Virginia Military Institute.  He graduated in 1961 the year of my birth and his story has always been an inspiration to me. 

Jonathan Daniels as they say, "stuck it out" at VMI after some uncertainties in his sophomore year and graduated as the Valedictorian.  In the fall of 1961 he entered Harvard to study English literature.  In the spring of 1962 he underwent what he described as a conversion experience and renewal of grace while attending Easter services at the Church of the Advent in Boston.  He enrolled at Episcopal Theological seminary in Cambridge expecting to graduate in the spring of 1966.

In March 1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, asked students and others to join him in Selma, Alabama, for a march to the state capital in Montgomery.  The march was to demonstrate support for his civil rights program.  Jonathan Daniels prayed about this and wrote:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.'  I had come to Evening Prayer as usual that evening, and as usual I was singing the Magnificant with the special love and reverence I have always felt for Mary's glad song. 'He hath showed strength with his arm.' As the lovely hymn of the God-bearer continued, I found myself peculiarly alert, suddenly straining toward the decisive, luminous, Spirit-filled 'moment' that would, in retrospect, remind me of others--particularly one at Easter three years ago.  Then it came. 'He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek.  He hath filled the hungry with good things.'  I knew then that I must go to Selma.  The Virgin's song was to grow more and more dear in the weeks ahead."

He did march in Selma, I will save that story for another time.  He did go back and take exams at the seminary and was so moved by his experience in Selma, that he returned during the summer to continue civil rights work.  His main work over the summer was to help produce a listing of local, state, and federal agencies and other recourses legally available to persons in need of assistance.

On Friday 13 August Jonathan and others went to the town of Fort Deposit to join in picketing three local businesses.  On Saturday they were arrested and held in Haynesville for six days until they were bailed out.  (They had agreed that none would accept bail until there was bail money for all.)  After their release on Friday 20 August, four of them undertook to enter a local shop, and were met at the door by a man with a shotgun who told them to leave or be shot.  After a brief confrontation, he aimed the gun at a young girl in the party, 17 year old Ruby Sales, and Jonathan Daniels pushed her out of the way and took the blast of the shotgun himself.  He was killed instantly.

He was named as one of the fifteen modern martyrs recognized by the Episcopal Church in Canterbury Cathedral.  Of the fifteen there are only two Americans Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jonathan Daniels.

May we all be as courageous with these issues in our time.  May his life speak to yours as it has spoken to mine.

Until next time...Grace & Peace

Reading the Interlink

I got my copy of the Interlink in the mail.  I was reading about Rev. John Cross, Jr.  He was 82 and was the leader of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama during the civil rights era.    He was pastor of the church when three Ku Klux Klan members bombed the building in September 1963, killing four girls while they prepared for a youth service.

I thank God for Rev. Cross's ministry.  The article noted that in the years after the bombing, Rev. Cross's ministry focused on reconciliation among people of all races. 

I pray that each of us might follow in his footsteps in the place we are planted as we pursue ministry in the name and power of Jesus Christ.  May you (and I) have that courage.

Until next time...Grace & Peace

KKK & Beauty

I have been praying for the youth in high school this morning.  I have been thinking about how the issues down south with race relations and the tension surrounding this terrible act of white youth putting up nooses in high school and the violent response between black and white high school students.  I have also seen news reports that this act is being copied at several high schools across the south.   Then there is the whole issue of how the justice system local, state, and federal is responding to this crisis.  We need to be praying for the youth in our high schools,  youth of all races and places.

There is a temptation to say that these race relation problems are only problems down south.  And since we are in the north we don't have these kinds of issues.  It made me reflect on a couple of incidences of dealing with race relations in the north, in Jefferson County.

In the time period I was serving Timblin and Brookville Evangelical UMC, roughly 1993-2000 the KKK was very active in Jefferson County.  The headquarters was in a small village outside Punxsutawney.  One of the activities of the KKK at this time was to do a rally on the Court House steps in Brookville.  Because of Freedom of Speech issues and the representation of the ACLU there was nothing that the government officials could do to stop this rally.  It was scheduled for a Saturday afternoon.

The ministers in the area prayed about what actions they could take and included strong lay leadership from the churches in the community to develop a response.  We felt the call was to clear out the down town so no one would attend the rally.  So we talked to all the merchants on main street surrounding the courthouse and asked them to "close for inventory" the afternoon the KKK was speaking from the court house steps. 

We printed up flyers from the merchants to put in their window to announce that they would be closed that afternoon.  The flyers were on light blue paper (this becomes important in the story later) and soon the windows were filled with the flyers.  I believe every single building, shop, and office had a blue flyer in the window.

The day of the rally, I peeked down main street a couple blocks up from the courthouse, there were about 20 people at the foot of the steps.  I think most of them were reporters.  The main street was deserted on a normally busy afternoon.  And I can remember seeing a blue piece of paper (I assume it was one of those flyers) blowing down the deserted street by the wind.

The problem of race relations wasn't in the south it was here and we had to make a choice how to respond as a community.  I can't tell you how proud I was of the people and the churches and the Christians of Brookville and Jefferson County that day.  It was truly heart moving and a thing of beauty.  It was moving in and with the Spirit of God and brought great joy to the heart.  And it was symbolized in my mind by looking on that blowing piece of blue paper. 

I think a shadow of those feelings for me are connected with the Award Winning Film "American Beauty" and the scene of the declaration of beauty in the video of the blowing paper.  It really is a beautiful thing.

May you make choices of justice and love in your life and community and may you experience that beauty in your walk with God.

Until next time...Grace & Peace