“The Limits of Prayer” – The Weekly Liberal August 17
Read this week’s email newsletter, The Weekly Liberal, here.
In this week’s email, Rev. Justin Schroeder writes:
Every Sunday, during the Cycle of Life in Worship, we make space to sit together in silence, to notice the turnings and changes in our lives, to remember we are mortal, and to hold the larger human family in our prayers. Our prayers matter. Holding those we name in compassionate care helps remind us that someday it will be our name that is spoken out loud, because being human means living with joy as well as with great struggle and sorrow. These weekly prayers matter a great deal, and they are one of the things that anchor me. And yet, what comes after we pray matters just as much. When we pray for a congregant recovering from surgery, it matters. But the prayer takes on additional life when we send a card, or bring a meal, or follow up with that person several months later. When we pray for Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, or the family of Heather Heyer, the young woman killed by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend, it matters. But it’s what we do next that matters even more. Do we reach out to our Muslim neighbors? Do we deepen our racial justice learning and commitment, especially if we identify as white? Do we ask: ‘What concrete steps can I take to bring these prayers to life?’
One concrete step you might consider is to attend “BlackWomenBeing: An Evening with Safety Pin Box,” on August 24 at 7 p.m. at First Universalist. (“Safety Pin Box” is a monthly subscription box for white people striving to be allies in the fight for Black Liberation. You can learn more at www.safetypinbox.com. )
The program on August 24 will be “a fireside-style discussion with Safety Pin Box Co-Founder & activist Leslie Mac and #SPBLive Director, Paige Ingram, moderated by Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Executive Director, Lena K. Gardner. These women will discuss what it means to be a Black Woman doing liberation work in 2017 and how white people do or do not fit into the work of fighting oppression.”
There are many ways to make our prayers come alive with concrete actions; this is but one possibility. I’ll be there. I hope to see some of you there as well!
I’ll see you in church,
Justin
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