Last Monday afternoon 94 people gathered in our Parish Hall, to pray, listen, learn, and reflect on how the Holy One invites us as people of faith to stand with and to serve the least and the most vulnerable among us, including our immigrant communities.
We began by taking three deep cleansing breaths and praying together. A mini-teaching on Benedictine spirituality followed, echoing what our Diocesan Bishop Carrie Schofield-Broadbent taught at a recent workshop and mirroring basic principles of community organizing: before acting, it is important to take the time to listen deeply for the voice of the Holy One (speaking through a variety of ways, including through prayer/meditation, scripture, and relating with other people), from a place of stability, grounded in the reality that God is “not elsewhere” but present.
After this mini-teaching, people were invited to read and reflect on passages from sacred scripture (Leviticus 19:33-34, Micah 6:8, Matthew 2:13-15a, Matthew 25:34-40) as well as on the fifth promise of our Baptismal Covenant (“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being? I will with God’s help.”) We then took a few minutes to share with the person next to us which of these passages resonated most deeply. We also considered drawing from our own sacred stories of family history and ancestry, as well as stories of personal connection and relationships.
From there, we listened to several Redeemer parishioners who had attended the presentation by CASA https://wearecasa.org/maryland/ at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on MLK Day. To guide our public debrief, they were asked to reflect on and answer these guiding questions: Why did you attend the CASA presentation? How did you feel before the presentation? How did you feel afterwards? What did you learn? How are you feeling moved to act? Stories of regret and hope, despair and possibility, wrestling and considering were voiced with authenticity, clarity and power.
An informal presentation by ERICA https://erica-baltimore.org followed. The mood and energy in the room shifted. A palpable desire and restlessness could be felt. Haven’t we done enough praying, listening and reflecting together, already? What can we actually do?!
Next Monday at 4pm in our Parish Hall, we will gather again and organize ourselves for action, to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before our God” as followers of Jesus the Christ, in our place and time. Areas of action will include advocacy, direct service and ongoing learning.
Won’t you join us?
Cristina