Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This is the week when we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation. ABSOLUTELY worthy of joy and celebration! You don’t get to achieve that age, though, without some speed bumps in the road. (Actually, you don’t get to be 30 or 60 or 80, without speed bumps.) If you remember your American history at all, a number of them probably come to mind: the War of 1812; the Civil War; abuses of First Nations folk, theft of their lands and attempts to eradicate their cultures; battles over Civil Rights and oppression of minorities; Watergate; two World Wars. Add more to your personal lists.
Many of us feel that this is a similarly hard time in our nation’s history. And sometimes it seems like it’d be easier to give up. But we have also done wonderful things in our 250 years, and it’s important to claim them, too. The question that lingers in my mind is, “How did we get through the hard times?” And the answer leaps onto the page: ‘TOGETHER!” The same way the Church has survived for millennia. The same way families survive. And individuals survive.
Kristen Wheeler, an online friend and iconographer, just posted a wonderful reflection that I felt provided exactly what we need to hold on to in this time. She gave permission to share it. Alone, it’s easier to be defeated, but TOGETHER we have the strength not to give up. Giving up is not an option if our nation is to survive for the next 250 years.
“i won’t give up
i can’t afford to”
i’m allowed to wallow
i’m allowed to weep
“and i won’t give up
i can’t afford to”
they want us to lose hope
they know exactly what
they’re doing
“but i won’t give up
i can’t afford to”
they deceive you, yes you
by destroying the narrative
“then i won’t give up
i can’t afford to”
so you can blame poor people
instead of the rigged system
“i still won’t give up
i can’t afford to”
they remove the unhoused
from the only homes they know
“i won’t give up
we can’t afford to”
they’re peering in my shopping cart
my grocery list > the help people actually deserve
“i won’t give up
none of us can afford to”
he’s in his gilded-gold and ivory tower
his reflection in an emerald pool
while people are losing themselves
to fear and hopelessness
yet they continue denying
the real cost of denial
“i won’t give up
i can’t afford to,
can you?”
Kristen A. Wheeler
(icon is Kristen’s. Claire of Assisi, patron saint of the poor and destitute. See more of her work in my office. L.)
Don’t give up! Together!
Mo. Laura+
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COMING UP!
- July 6-10: Ellie Escher’s Music Camp I – Music Camp Show 7/10, 6:30 p.m.
- July 12: Groceries Plus & Animal Food Bank Ingathering
- August 10-14: Ellie Escher’s Music Camp II – Music Camp Show 8/14, 6:30 p.m.
- November: shampoo and soap collection
- 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, Girl Scouts, Parish Hall, 6:00-7:30
- Wednesdays, noonday prayer via zoom at 12:00
- Wednesday evenings, yoga class at 6:00 (discount for St. M members)
- Fridays, Iglesia’s Pathfinders Group, 6:00-9:00
- Saturdays, Iglesia Luz de Esperanza, 9:00-3:00