I often read Johan Mauer’s fifth day commentaries on CanYouBelieve.me. Recently his writing included an excerpt listing “Quaker Testimonies” taken from the developing Faith and Practice of Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting. I found it refreshingly…. er, Quaker?
I mean that in contrast to the drift of many Friends groups toward generic American evangelicalism, abandoning testimonies historically valued by Friends. I’m not advocating a stance that ignores the times in which we live in favor of some idealized past. (Frankly, our past has never been ideal!)
However, these are testimonies that faithfully represent Jesus’ character and teachings that Friends have tried to seriously pursue and embody. They remain Jesus’ teaching and character; they are not obsolete! If we are to follow Him, we try to live these testimonies in an age of 21st century technology and in the face of an often violent global society where living and worshipping in these ways remains relevant and necessary as the life to which Jesus calls.
But let me get to the testimonies! You can read the whole commentary by Johan here. The testimony portion that I want to highlight (by quoting) follows.
We understand the Quaker testimonies as a call:
to live simply and sustainably;
to seek nonviolent responses to conflict, and refuse participation in war and preparation for war;
to speak the truth and keep our promises;
to make common decisions based on our community’s practice of prayer and discernment rather than majority rule or force of personality;
to regard each other—and all people—with a commitment to equality and equity, rejecting all false distinctions based on social, cultural, or economic status;
in the wider world, to support, advocate, and initiate efforts toward peace, justice, care of Creation, and relief of suffering in ways that are consistent with these testimonies;
in all things, to put Love first.
As we set forth these values and commitments, we acknowledge that they are to some extent aspirational, not an inventory of our successes as of today.
“Loving, forgiving, and doing good to our adversaries is our duty. Yet we must do this without giving up and without being cowardly. We shall resist whenever our adversaries demand of us obedience contrary to the orders of the Gospel. We shall do so without fear, but also without pride and without hate.”
-from a sermon preached by André Trocmé the sunday after France fell to the German attack in World War II
I mentioned in a Zoom worship time that there are many Advent resources that you may find helpful during this Advent season. This is the list of links to resources that I promised. I may update the list from time to time…. So let me know if you find errors or things that should be added.
Jesus and John Wayne is the eye-catching title of a book by Kristen Kobes Du Mez. The subtitle is even more provocative: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. It’s a fine historical account written for a general audience detailing exactly what the subtitle says, with extensive documentation of sources. I lived through much of it what she is writing about. It is troubling, indeed, and helpfully contextualizes much that is troubling in the church today.
This is a book that many are talking about, and rightfully so. Kristen Kobes Du Mez will take some heat for this work – just like her Lord did, when He told the truth.
A recent trilogy of Rough Translation podcasts tells an amazing story of two people who make great sacrifices. I was struck by the display of the often unseen cost of war and violence and by the great display of love demonstrated by one who joined in with the sacrifice of a hurting veteran for whom she grew to care a great deal. There are many dimensions to the story and its implications; I’m still processing. The humanity, vulnerability, loyalty, love, sacrifice…
Here are links to the three podcast episodes that tell this story. They are worth your time. Beware if you are squeamish; the first episode tells the story of terrible injury and suffering in war.
Below is the obituary that I put together for my mother shortly after she passed in early February. It’s not really much in the way of special memories or deep thoughts – though I captured a couple of hers in very brief form. It’s more the formal obituary that one finds in the newspapers. Or used to find in the newspaper and now one finds…. where? Well, here at least.
My sister Janice and my brother John and I called her (unsurprisingly) “Mom.”Mom was the branch for my ancestral Quaker roots, and her father Albert the one through whom much of the lifeblood of the Quaker incarnation of following Jesus flowed to me. Family. Anderson First Friends Church. Mom and Dad began taking in foster kids when I was in middle school, I think. It was just a thing we did…
Services in these strange and tragic times are difficult for family spread across the country and we are still working that out.Well, I said this was the formal part, so below is Mom’s obituary.
Rachael Ann Ginder, 83, of Anderson, passed away on  February 3, 2021, at Community Hospital of Anderson. She was born on December 8, 1937, in Anderson, the daughter of Albert E. and Cicely (Lancaster) Pike. Rachael was a member of First Friends Church in Anderson for much of her life and later attended Madison Park Church of God.
Rachael retired from Gaither Music, Alexandria after several years of service. She served on the board of several non-profit organizations and was a Court-appointed special advocate for a number of years. Her primary life-calling was as a mother to foster and adopted children, many with serious special needs. Over the years, with her husband Ron, she cared for over 200 children. In 1986, she received the Golden Deeds Award given annually by the Exchange clubs. She also received the Foster Parent of the Year Award twice. Featured several times in published interviews, she would emphasize, “My daily goal is to be sure disabled and dying children are not alone. You can find beauty when you allow God to give you the ability to see these little ones as he does.”
Rachael is survived by her loving husband Ronald Ginder, whom she married, July 25, 1953; her children, Joseph (Susan) Ginder, John (Belinda) Ginder; adopted children Susanna Ginder, Rebecca Ginder, and their special sibling, Jana Marie Craig; grandchildren, Laura, Ben, Sam, Brian, Joe, Lara, Monica, Gabriel, and Gene’; and 5 great-grandchildren; her sister Phyllis Van Duyn; and many nieces and nephews.
Rachael was preceded in death by her parents and daughter Janice, and adopted children Michael, Melissa, Elizabeth, Patricia, and Alissa. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made to White’s Residential and Family Services, 5233 S. 50 E.,Wabash, IN 46992 (or whiteskids.org/donate).
I’ve been engaged in quite a bit of recent discussion about the presence of racism and prejudice in the United States today. This is a list of resources that come to mind this morning and are thus weighted towards the recent. I think they are useful as background or direct input for consideration of the issue of racism in the United States today (June of 2020). I decided to document them in one place (and possibly update the list over time) in order to be able to share the resources list easily. Note that this list is particularly oriented towards the issue of racism related to African Americans. I’ve read, watched, or listened to all of these. I’m sure there are others that are valuable that I have forgotten or never experienced. I have attempted to leave out mere political demagoguery.
Some definitions are in order. First of all, some decades ago one of my teachers helped clarify some definitions for me after a race riot at my high school. As an African American teacher, he explained that racism is a belief in the superiority of one race over another. He further clarified that prejudice is a preconceived opinion or expectation. Thus prejudices may or may not be racist. I found this a useful distinction. Many people will admit to prejudices. Not that many will admit to racism. This distinction may prove useful in breaking the ice in what can be heated discussions. It won’t change the reality; but it might be helpful in defusing the heat.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption – This is a book by Bryan Stevenson that I believe should be (if such a thing were possible) mandatory reading for every American Christian. The witness of Stevenson as he offers aid to the abandoned and condemned is challenging. His redemptive and loving response to racist attacks upon himself and others is even more telling. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. And yes, it was made into a feature movie called Just Mercy. The movie is really great. The book is better. See the movie. Buy and read the book. There has been progress; but what you see here is not over. Bryan Stevenson, whom I have never met, is a hero of mine nonetheless.
John Perkins books and life work. I have listened to John Perkins tell his story, teach, preach, and have met him personally. Rarely does any human being impress me so deeply as a godly man. He is genuinely an American hero, and a man of God whose leadership and teaching I admire greatly. He has founded several organizations and authored numerous influential books. I highly recommend his book Dream with Me: Race, Love, and the Struggle We Must Win. I have given away many copies of this book, including to many of the leaders of Long Beach Friends Church. Immediately after writing that book, he wrote another:One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race. It’s excellent too. John Perkins has written and co-authored quite a few other books. I’ve read most of them. Good stuff. You can find him on YouTube and other places. The Christian Community Development Association has many audio recordings of John Perkins. He tells his story in a ten-minute video. There’s a longer, 21 minute video available on YouTube also.
The “Minnesota Paradox” episode of The Indicator from Planet Money: “OK. So in those particular instances, everybody’s acting rationally. There are a lot of racial disparities that occur that are not meant to be racial disparities, that were not intentional to be racial disparity. But they happen.“
The “Melissa Dell On Security and Prosperity” episode of The Indicator from Planet Money… This one is an episode with implications for race in the United States rather than presenting conclusions: “I think that the main questions that motivate me are thinking about why poverty and insecurity persist and what society needs to do if they want to promote economic growth, if they want to promote security.“
“The Persistence of Poverty” episode of The Indicator from Planet Money: “Why are some parts of Peru and Bolivia poor and others are not? The answer actually explains a lot about the modern world. And one of economist Melissa Dell’s papers answers it by looking at something that happened roughly 450 years ago.” (Again, this podcast episode is one with implications for today’s America rather than directly addressing it.)
“What A 1968 Report Tells Us About The Persistence Of Racial Inequality“, a Planet Money newsletter. This newsletter has a number of links to interesting reports. “Fifty years later, Americans are taking to the streets again, protesting systemic inequities that haven’t gone away. How much has really changed?“
“Minneapolis Ranks Near The Bottom For Racial Equality“, a Planet Money newsletter. This newsletter has a number of links to interesting reports. “So, about Minneapolis… we found it, and the Twin Cities area more generally, has some of the most abysmal numbers on racial inequality in the nation. Here is a snapshot…”
The Economist for June 6, 2020 has several relevant articles addressing issues brought on by protests over the killing of George Floyd.
Race in America 2019, published before the recent awful incidents and resulting protests, this Pew study shows perceptions of race in America. “More than 150 years after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, most U.S. adults say the legacy of slavery continues to have an impact on the position of black people in American society today. More than four-in-ten say the country hasn’t made enough progress toward racial equality, and there is some skepticism, particularly among blacks, that black people will ever have equal rights with whites, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.“
I’ve heard a lot of talk about the Haitian Revolution – the “only successful slave rebellion” – and its tactics recently in discussion of violence associated with recent protests. I certainly pray we don’t go there. Hate, injustice, and violence begets hate, injustice, and violence. If you are a podcast listener, Mike Duncan covered Haiti in his Revolutions podcast. Chapter 4 was the Haitian Revolution, which he began podcasting about on December 6, 2014. It is quite the story of developing racial perceptions and prejudices and hates and, well, unspeakable violence by and against all sides. You can begin listening to the episodes on this revolution here.
A 14-part film series called Eyes on the Prizewas broadcast on PBS as a part of The American Experience beginning in 1987. It is quite good as a background primer on the struggle for civil rights for black Americans.
A film called Freedom Riderswas broadcast on PBS as a part of The American Experience in 2010. It is another good background primer on the struggle for civil rights for black Americans. You will be able to find quite a few relevant films from The American Experience series.
The New York Times published The 1619 Project. There is some scholarly dissent from the data and conclusions presented in this project. In addition to the history and interpretation of history, and relevant to racial issues today, episode 5 (in two parts) details the experience of black sugar cane farmers June and Angie Provost and their family in Louisiana. Find the 1619 podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
Whatever you think of the case for reparations, it is worth at least understanding an intelligent young black man’s perspective. You may or may not find yourself agreeing with Ta-Nehisi Coates 2014 argument. However, understanding his perspective is key.
Former president Barack Obama @BarackObama recently tweeted “In our @MBK_Alliance town hall yesterday, I mentioned James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. From 1962, it remains a seminal meditation on race by one of our greatest writers and relevant for understanding the pain and anger behind the protests.” You can read an excerpt online at the New Yorker. I can say that the pain and anger certainly come through. James Baldwin is, indeed, quite a writer. It will stir you up and inform you of his perspective. I will say up front that I found his understanding of Christianity and scripture quite flawed, but his experience of the church all too true of much common practice in America. Regardless, he represents a perspective that has been prominent for the better part of a century.
Update June 13, 2020 – Here is one fairly elaborate definition of “systemic racism”. It’s surprisingly difficult to find an agreed upon definition! I just think we continue to have a problem with racism and prejudice in the United States. I don’t care that much about the labels – except we need to communicate.
Update June 19, 2020 – The second season of the podcast series Scene on Radio is called Seeing White. It is about that “structural racism” that you hear folks talk about. Listen carefully. It’s very easy to think the topic is individual attitudes of bigotry or prejudice. It is not, even though that’s what most people think of when they hear the word “racism”. One could argue that the term “structural racism” is confusing for most people – and maybe it is. It is about pervasive systems that maintain a power imbalance in favor of white people, whomever “white people” are. Do you know who is white? How do you know? Are you white? Are you being co-opted to be white? Is there such a thing as “good white”? You may find yourself challenged by this listen. I learned a lot when I listened to it.
Update June 27, 2020 – My friend Art Gray posted publicly as below on Facebook recently. He is such a treasure and gift to the church in Long Beach!