What did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children?
“If your father could see you now, he’d turn over in his gravy.”
Why did the police arrest the turkey?
They suspected it of fowl play
What sound does a space turkey make?
Hubble, Hubble, Hubble.
Why did the turkey cross the road?
It was the chicken’s day off.
Dear Justice Seekers,
For 109 years, MFSA has been a prophetic voice for justice-seeking people of faith in The United Methodist Church, in our nation and the world. We will continue to be that voice. We are a voice for peace with justice in Israel and Palestine. We are a voice working against racism and white privilege. We are a voice for reproductive health and justice. We are a voice for a healthy planet. We are a voice against colonialism, militarism, and misuse of power. We are a voice of inclusion for all God’s children, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We are a voice that welcomes our migrant neighbor. But most importantly, we are a voice at the crossroads where these concerns for justice intersect.
We believe the recent decisions made by President-elect Trump with respect to leadership in his administration speak against the very foundation of our justice seeking faith. We are alarmed. We believe these individuals have not shown the necessary skills for leadership and whose past words and actions have not represented the values of civilized society. As justice-seeking people of faith, we stand opposed to not only one individual, but the emerging pattern that President-elect Trump is building a cabinet founded on white supremacy, fear, and bigotry.
MFSA calls our church to expand its understanding of the radical call of the Gospel to be an inclusive, justice-seeking, risk-taking Body of Christ. We live out our belief that to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be involved in the transformation of the social order. Therefore, we call The United Methodist Church, the Council of Bishops, congregations, and its members to join us in taking active steps to publicly “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”
Experiences of injustice do not happen in a vacuum, and therefore it is imperative to: develop the most effective strategies to create space for understanding privilege; organize in an intersectional framework led by marginalized communities; and build effective systems of resistance and cooperation to take action for justice. We invite you to join us in this work.
We invite United Methodist leadership including our bishops, clergy, and lay leaders to join us in signing the “Faith Leaders Call on Republican officials to reject Mr. Trump’s Cabinet of Bigotry” letter distributed by Faith in Public Life. You can find the link here: https://goo.gl/J9zXSx
We call on all Justice-Seeking People of Faith to join us by:
Contacting your legislators to express as a justice seeking person of faith your concern that the leadership of our nation must reflect justice for all people.
Speaking and working against the narrative that privileged communities are being oppressed when they are asked to acknowledge the ways their privilege perpetuates bias and injustice.
Committing to create opportunities for education and advocacy to publicly and actively resist white supremacy, white privilege, and implicit bias in your communities.
If you are so moved, we invite you to support the work of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, so we can continue to be a voice for justice for all people.
Seeking Justice Together,
The Staff and Board of Directors
Methodist Federation for Social Action
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In 1920, the United States opened its first coast-to-coast airmail delivery route. Before radio navigation was common in airplanes, pilots had to navigate by landmarks. Therefore, bad weather and nighttime essentially grounded the airplanes. The solution was to build a system of concrete arrows — stretching 70 feet along the ground — every ten miles from New York to San Francisco. Each arrow had at its center a steel tower with a beacon on top.
When I first saw this picture, I asked myself, “Why is an arrow made of concrete doing in the middle of nowhere?” The caption to the photo provides the answer. Sometimes I wish had signs large pointing in which direction to go in life. It also made me see how far technology has taken us in 96 years!
Have you heard of Brad Meltzer?
If you haven’t you are in for a treat!
Here are a few of Brad’s accomplishments:
The quote I have at the top of the page is Brad’s advice to all of us who ever get angry and then must decide where to channel our energies. Everything Brad writes is designed to bring out the best in people. That is his mission and I applaud him for that!
Last week I began wearing a safety pin on a badge to support this movement. I was shocked to learn people who saw me wearing it thought I was my way of protesting the outcome of the Presidential Election earlier this month. So, I temporarily stopped wearing the safety pin because I was intending to make a political statement. My focus was on making a statement for Justice.
Next week I will resume wearing the safety pin. I will also carry copies of this graphic that I can hand to people who inquire about my purpose in wearing it. It is concise and to the point: Everyone deserves to life in safety!
The graphic here is the famous “Priority of Needs” chart. Basically, people look to climb the pyramid by meeting their basic needs for survival and then move up the pyramid depending how the need of each step in the pyramid is reached.
An Illustration: If you don’t have food for the week, not having an IRA does not seem like a big sacrifice.
Those at the higher steps of the pyramid often have trouble relating to the mind-set of those who are living on the lower steps of the pyramid.
People have asked me why I think the country is so split on opinions. I think the redistribution of where people fall on this Priority of Needs gives us a clue. More people are on the bottom two steps now than when I graduated from high school in 1976.
I am committed to the theory that the nation can’t move forward until we decrease the numbers of people who remain on the bottom two steps.
I was surprised to find this chart and learn that people are counting how many true and how many false stories are posted to Facebook. (I am sure other social media sites are experiencing this phenomenon.) People post a story and mark at as “TRUE” whether there are objective facts to confirm what has been said.
Today we live in a day where more information comes at us than we can possibly remember. When you read, a statement look to see if the writer references any factual independent sources to verify their writing. Posting on the internet is easy and relatively inexpensive (compared to printing books) which makes it a ripe forum for people to post their opinion as fact. When I read something on the internet I try to verify what I have read before I pass it along.
I wish everyone did this the result would be a lot few falsehoods filling the screens we read!
When people interact sometimes they agree and other times they disagree. Today I am addressing those situations where two people disagree. Disagreement causes anxiety, and when we are highly anxious our minds are hard wired to do either of these options:
I am not going to tell you which option is best, because there is no universal rule that works in every situation. I am writing to put the concept in your mind in an analytical way before the disagreement takes place. That way as you feel the emotions you will know why they are being triggered.
If we feel we can reason with the person we disagree with pursuing a conversation to resolve the issue might seem reasonable. (Fight)
If we feel there is no way to get the other person to listen fairly to our situation, then we simply want to leave as quickly as possible. (Flight)
When these situations happen for me, I find that if I can temporarily leave the situation and reflect on the matters that cause disagreement then I can more clearly see if I want to engage the person in conversation or if it is better just to avoid the person. My decision generally comes down to whether I am willing to tolerate the stress involved to confront the person or if I prefer the absence of stress and eliminate myself from the situation.
We all must make the same type of decision. It is part of our survival process. Seeking the counsel of people, we trust can help us in our decision making but in the end, we must decide what is best for ourselves whether others agree or not.
The other day I was talking with a friend about a topic. I offered a fact in the conversation that he was not aware of. He asked me I was sure I was correct, and I affirmed I knew what I was talking about. He did not run to Internet to “fact check” me. He responded, “If you truly believe it, then I know it is true.”
How did he instantly believe in the truth of this new fact I presented him? Because in his mind I have integrity. As a Chaplain, it is my “stock in trade” as I deal with people. With integrity, I can function effectively. Without integrity, my ministry would be greatly diminished in its effect!
Romans 12:18 – English Standard Version (ESV)
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
PEACE
We say in public that we desire peace. For peace to happen it takes more than desire it takes effort! I like the image of the rope in this picture because I am certain the person who tied it took more than one attempt before the knot came out just the way it was envisioned.
I am not a person who ties many knots. I am a person who values peace, and the passage from Romans reminds me daily that peace begins with how I look at and treat others. This is doubly true when I am dealing with people that are doing something or represent something that with which I have a strong disagreement.
The path of peace is precarious, but I have it is the only path that in the end allows me to be comfortable with who I am as I go to sleep in the evening and wake up in the morning. Being able to be at peace as I end the day and as I begin a new day is a precious gift, and as the hymn “Let There Be Peace on Earth” says: IT BEGINS WITH ME!