Category: social justice

Whole Lives Matter: Embracing Intersectionality in a Complex World

by Christopher Schouten

At this month’s national gathering of the United Church of Christ’s Open and Affirming Coalition, I heard a phrase for the first time that struck me deeply: “Whole Lives Matter.” While it echoes the call for dignity that “Black Lives Matter” represents, it points to something both universal and deeply personal—the recognition that we are all complex, multifaceted beings created in the image of God. It calls for the acceptance of every aspect of who we are. To truly see each other, we must see the entirety of each person’s identity—embracing all the layers of race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other aspects that make us human. This is intersectionality in its truest form.

The Complexity of Intersectionality

Intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, was originally used to describe the overlapping oppression faced by Black women in systems of racial and gender inequality. It has since expanded to include the myriad ways in which different aspects of identity intersect and affect one’s experience in the world. In the LGBTQIA+ community, intersectionality is crucial because queer identity doesn’t exist in isolation from race, class, ability, or gender identity. We are all many things, and each part of us shapes how we experience the world.

To simply label someone as “gay” or “trans” without acknowledging their other identities—whether they are Black, disabled, working-class, or a woman—reduces them to a single facet of their existence. Instead, we are called to look at the whole person. When we do that, we create space for empathy, respect, and an acknowledgment that everyone’s lived experience is unique and valuable.

A Biblical Call to Wholeness

The message of “Whole Lives Matter” resonates deeply within the Christian tradition. From the beginning of the Bible, we see God creating human beings as whole and complex. Psalm 139 celebrates this, proclaiming, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14). These verses remind us that every part of our identity is sacred, lovingly woven together by the hands of God.

Jesus’ ministry also demonstrated this profound respect for the whole person. He didn’t engage with people based on just one aspect of their identity. Whether it was the woman at the well, the tax collector, or the woman caught in adultery, Jesus saw and loved them for their full humanity. He didn’t overlook their struggles or dismiss their complex circumstances but acknowledged their worth in every encounter.

In this way, Christ calls us to reject partial, simplified understandings of one another. We are tasked with seeing our siblings in faith and the broader human community as whole, integrated beings—not merely “gay,” “straight,” “disabled,” or “Black,” but as a synthesis of all those things. And when we recognize the entirety of a person, we can offer them the kind of love and respect that God offers us.

Identity and Assumptions

In today’s fast-paced, judgment-laden world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of labeling people without truly seeing them. We hear someone’s race, their gender identity, or their sexual orientation and, almost automatically, make assumptions about their beliefs, experiences, or behaviors. This tendency not only flattens the rich diversity of the human experience but also shuts down opportunities for genuine connection.

Studies on identity formation indicate that people often struggle with their intersecting identities, especially in environments that force them to prioritize one identity over another. A 2019 study published in The Journal of Social Issues found that LGBTQIA+ individuals from marginalized racial or socioeconomic backgrounds often feel torn between different aspects of their identity, as they try to navigate spaces that don’t fully accept them as a whole person. This highlights the need for communities that embrace the whole person rather than asking them to fragment their identity for social convenience.

When we walk through life assuming we know someone’s story based on a single characteristic, we miss out on the fullness of who they are. We also reinforce societal structures that divide and diminish people, reducing them to just one aspect of their existence. Instead, the call of “Whole Lives Matter” encourages us to move beyond assumptions, to see every person as a reflection of God’s diverse and magnificent creation.

Wrestling with Identity & Faith

It’s important to recognize that many people, especially within marginalized communities, are still wrestling with the complexity of their identities. For some, reconciling the intersections of race, gender, ability, and sexuality is a life-long journey. As a community of faith, we must make space for this wrestling. We need to hold space for people who are figuring out who they are and who God is calling them to be.

In our churches and wider society, we should foster environments where people feel free to explore the complexity of their identities without fear of rejection or ridicule. The intersection of different identities can sometimes feel like a source of tension, but it can also be a source of strength. As LGBTQIA+ people of faith, many of us know what it’s like to navigate the intersection of queerness and religion. It can be challenging, but it can also lead to a deeper, richer understanding of both our faith and our identity.

Moving Forward with Compassion

If we are to take “Whole Lives Matter” seriously, we must begin by listening. We need to listen to the stories of those who have been marginalized by society—whether because of their race, their gender, their socioeconomic status, or any other aspect of their identity. And we need to listen without judgment, without rushing to impose our own understanding of who they are.

In doing so, we build bridges of compassion and empathy. We create communities where people are not only tolerated but celebrated in their wholeness. And we make space for people to continue wrestling with their identities without feeling that they have to fit neatly into preconceived boxes.

In a world that too often divides us, the call of “Whole Lives Matter” is a call to unity—unity through diversity, and wholeness through love. It is a reminder that every person we encounter is a beautiful, complex creation of God, worthy of respect and kindness. And it is an invitation to see, and love, the whole person.

Balancing Justice Work, Worship, and Spirituality: Being the Church

by Rev. Dr. Derrick Elliot

Twelve years ago, one of the things that drew me to the United Church of Christ was our commitment to justice work and the inspiring God Still Speaking campaign (spiritual and worship) on TV. This journey began as a member of Casas Adobes Congregational Church UCC, where I became a Member in Discernment. Now, I am the pastor of two UCC churches. Throughout this journey, I have seen the importance of balancing our call to justice work with our worship and spiritual life. In the  United Church of Christ, we are deeply committed to all three. Our work for justice, our worship, and our spiritual practices are not mutually exclusive but rather three essential aspects of our mission of being the church in the world.

Biblical Foundations

The Bible offers us numerous examples of the inseparability of justice, worship, and spirituality. The prophet Micah summarizes this beautifully: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). This verse encapsulates the essence of our calling—justice, mercy, and humble devotion to God.

Jesus himself emphasized this balance. In Matthew 23:23, He rebukes the Pharisees, saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” Here, Jesus points out the necessity of both outward acts of justice and inner spiritual devotion, which includes worship.

The early church also embodied this balance. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers, while also sharing their possessions and ensuring that no one among them was in need. Their worship and communal life were deeply connected to their acts of justice and mercy.

The Consequences of Imbalance

When we heavily focus on justice work without nurturing our spiritual life and worship, we risk burnout and disillusionment. Justice work can be demanding and emotionally taxing. Without a solid spiritual foundation and regular worship, the relentless pursuit of justice can lead to feelings of frustration and exhaustion. For example, activists who neglect their spiritual practices and worship may find themselves overwhelmed by the enormity of the issues they are addressing, leading to a loss of hope and motivation.

Conversely, when we focus solely on spirituality and worship without engaging in justice work, our faith can become insular and disconnected from the world around us. Spiritual practices and worship that do not inspire action can lead to a form of complacency where we feel spiritually fulfilled but fail to address the pressing needs of our neighbors. This imbalance can result in a church that is rich in spiritual life and worship but poor in social impact, failing to live out the Gospel’s call to love and serve others.

Real-Life Applications (Evangelism)

Evangelism isn’t a dirty word; it’s a heartfelt invitation to share the love and hope found in our faith. I would like to write more about this in another article. However, balancing our call to justice work with worship and spiritual life is essential, as they are all integral aspects of our mission in the United Church of Christ.

Community Engagement, Prayer, and Worship: Many churches find that organizing regular food drives to support local food banks is an effective way to serve their community. These drives provide much-needed resources for food banks, which in turn help families in need. To integrate spirituality, each food drive can start and end with a short prayer, led by a volunteer or one of the participants. Incorporating moments of worship, such as singing a hymn together or sharing a scripture about generosity and caring for the hungry, can also deepen the connection between giving and faith. This practice grounds the act of giving in faith and emphasizes the importance of compassion and sharing God’s blessings with others. By intertwining justice work with moments of prayer and worship, churches reinforce the message that acts of service are expressions of spiritual commitment.

Education, Meditation, and Worship: Churches offer educational programs that address social justice issues, ensuring these sessions begin and end with meditation or prayer. Including moments of worship, such as reflective songs or responsive readings, can help participants connect their learning and activism with their spiritual growth. This practice, as seen in many series on racial justice, helps participants connect their learning and activism with their spiritual growth. This echoes the instruction in James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Education coupled with worship encourages us to be doers of the word.

Personal Balance: On a personal level, it’s crucial to integrate justice, worship, and spirituality into daily life. Many people find that setting aside time each morning for scripture reading, meditation, and worship helps them approach justice work with a spirit of compassion and humility. Additionally, engaging in justice work with a prayerful and worshipful heart transforms tasks from burdensome duties into acts of devotion. Colossians 3:17 reminds us, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” This scripture encourages us to integrate our faith into every action, making our justice work an extension of our worship.

The Wisdom of Spiritual Leaders

Howard Thurman, a prominent theologian and civil rights leader, often emphasized the critical need for maintaining a deep spiritual life while engaging in social activism. He believed that neglecting one’s spiritual foundations could lead to a disconnection from the very essence that drives meaningful and sustainable social change. Thurman’s writings, such as “Meditations of the Heart” and “Jesus and the Disinherited,” highlight how spiritual discipline and inner reflection are essential for those involved in justice work, ensuring their actions remain rooted in a profound sense of purpose and humanity.

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest and theologian, emphasized the necessity of balancing activism with times of prayer and reflection. He argues that without returning to a quiet place of contemplation, our actions risk losing their grounding in God’s love and can become self-serving and disconnected from their true purpose. Nouwen’s extensive writings, such as those found in “The Way of the Heart” and “Out of Solitude,” highlight the importance of integrating inner spiritual practices with outward actions to maintain a deep connection with God and ensure our activism remains aligned with divine love and purpose.

Parker Palmer, a noted Quaker author and educator, emphasizes the necessity of balancing activism with times of rest and reflection to maintain a connection with one’s inner light. He argues that true social change arises from a deep spiritual grounding. In his book “A Hidden Wholeness,” Palmer highlights that living with wholeheartedness requires integrating our inner spiritual practices with our outward actions. He states, “The power for authentic leadership is found not in external arrangements, but in the human heart” (Palmer, 2009). This underscores the importance of inner reflection and grounding in sustaining meaningful and effective social change.

Balancing justice work, worship, and spirituality requires intentionality. As members of the Southwest Conference, let us embrace this threefold calling. Let us act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God, knowing that our work for justice is deeply rooted in our spiritual life and worship. By doing so, we truly embody what it means to be the church in our world today.

Understanding Project 2025

by Rev. Dean Hokel

Project 2025 is a 900-page plan for an ideal America.  It is a Presidential Transition Project spearheaded by Heritage Foundation and supported by more than 80 organizations, many well known for pushing hate and (white) Christian Nationalism.  The goal is to take back our country from the radical left by developing a robust governing agenda and the right people to implement it. 

Project 2025 greatly enhances the executive branch’s powers.  The entire project is devoted to aggrandizing executive power by centralizing authority in the presidency.  Opposition elements are seen as attempting to destroy the real community.  Project 2025 paints progressives and liberals as outside acceptable politics, and anti-American. 

Project 2025 imposes on all Americans policies favored by (white) Christian Nationalists.  Targeting vulnerable communities is a core tenet of Project 2025.  It would strip rights protections from LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, women, and people of color.  It would dismantle much of the federal government and replace our apolitical civil service with far-right partisans it is already training in anticipation of a power shift.

There are two factors that are key to growing authoritarianism: stoking violence and corrupting elections. A Reuter’s investigation published in August 2023 showed that political violence began rising in 2016 in tandem with Trump’s leadership.  National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) published that same month found that threats against public officials are growing.   

Project 2025 would politicize key institutions such as the Department of Justice and strip civil rights protections from multiple communities.  Racism is evident in the Project’s denunciation of Critical Race Theory.   Project 2025 appears to describe a two-fold threat.  Internationally it is China.  Domestically, it is the left, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and those advocating for racial and social justice.  They are treated as enemies of the state.

 The LGBTQ+ community is treated as deviants with ill intent.  The LGBTQ+ community and the “woke” are described as subversive elements aimed at destroying the country and its real values.   

The Convention of the States (COS) president is Mark Meckler who is also co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots.  Among the senior supporters of COS is ALEC, Michael Farris, former CEO of the anti-LGBTQ+ Alliance Defending Freedom and former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.  Also supporting COS is Ben Shapiro and Charlie Kirk (Turning Point USA).  The Convention of the States plan is to alter the constitution using Article V, which empowers states to call for a constitutional convention.  The article reads, “on the application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments.”  It should be noted that almost no rules apply to an Article V Convention and the consequences could be dire for our democracy and our civil and human rights.  So far, 28 states, six shy of the required 34, have called for a constitutional convention aimed at sharply reducing federal powers.  COS adopted a proposal to restrict the Commerce Clause, which is the basis for most federal environmental, labor, consumer and civil rights protections, and nullify all existing laws and regulations in conflict with COS reading of the Constitution. 

(White) Christian Nationalism favors a government mandated by biblical principles, which excludes certain communities from civil rights protections.  It rejects the separation of church and State, privileging religious beliefs over civil laws.  Christianity should enjoy a privileged place in society, and that the government must take steps to ensure this is clear in every section of the plan. 

The Project’s Christian Nationalist goals are inherent in its dehumanizing language about LGBTQ+ people, putting them in the same sentence as pornography and pedophilia, rejection of “wokeness,” its promotion of the “traditional family” writing that, “Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society.  The federal government should recognize only two unchanging sexes, male and female. The Project wants a statement that the government will not enforce any rules against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination by healthcare providers who receive federal funds in the Affordable Healthcare Act and indeed, the DOJ should aggressively defend a provider’s right to discriminate.  Project 2025 supports Conversion Therapy.   Under the banner of “Restoring the Family” Project 2025 aims to gut protection for the LGBTQ+ community.  Rescind regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status and sex characteristics.  The Project dehumanizes the trans- gender community.  Gender affirming healthcare is considered child abuse.  Reverse policies that allow transgender people to serve in the armed forces.  They would restrict medical care for the transgender community. Project 2025 would abolish the Gender Policy Council and eliminate comprehensive sexuality education.

Regarding education, the Project would upend the accreditation requirements for schools and universities to remove rules the Project sees as biased against religious schools or doctrine, but still allow Title IV funds to be available to these institutions.

One of the Project’s key efforts is to replace as many civil service employees as possible with conservative partisans, and materials indicate they are already identifying and training those people.  The plan is dedicated to eviscerating departments and agencies, essentially gutting the federal government.  They have laid out in detail how to fire supposedly ‘un-fireable’ federal bureaucrats; how to shutter wasteful and corrupt bureaus and offices; how to muzzle woke propaganda at every level of government.  Any employee that has been involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion should be subject to termination.

A particular target of Project 2025 are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.  Such projects are viewed as hostile attacks. The Project would end efforts to improve racial equity.  It would end the teaching of Critical Race Theory.  They would pass a new law barring the use of taxpayer dollars to teach Critical Race Theory. 

Project 2025 would ban all abortions, ban all abortion pills, and restrict people’s body autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights.  The DOJ would be required to prosecute providers and distributors of such medication.  Because I don’t believe in abortion, you can’t have one!  They would end Medicaid funding of Planned Parenthood. The Project would force all Americans, to abide by the wishes of those Americans for whom abortion violates the conscience and religious freedom rights.  The Project actually attacks contraception in many different ways. 

Project 2025 will defend the borders. “Immigrants are a crime-ridden-plague.”  They would dismantle the Department of Homeland Security and use the military to protect the border – expanding the border wall.

Project 2025 would end programs to address climate change.  Department of Energy should end its war on Fossil Fuel, respect the right of Americans to buy and drive fossil fuel cars.  The Project opposes the eye sore of windmills.  They want to open up many areas to oil, gas, and coal development.

Witnesses to Resurrections

by Becky Klein, a Desert Palm UCC member and Welcome Center volunteer

During the Easter Season, Pastor Tom from Desert Palm UCC asked members of the congregation to share their own personal stories of resurrection.  Becky Klein submitted this reflection in response:

For those of us who volunteer at the Welcome Center, we are witnesses to ‘resurrections’ every time we visit the Center.

We see the exhausted faces of refugees who have made their way to the southern border where they were allowed into the US and detained in a border facility for several weeks while paperwork is processed. After having satisfied the requirements for asylum, asylees board a bus and are taken to one of several Phoenix locations where they are fed, given clean clothing and a place to sleep. Many depart within 24 hours, traveling by plane or bus to their final U.S. destination.   

When the asylees arrive at the Welcome Center it must feel like they have entered another holding facility. Imagine their relief when they realize the Welcome Center is different. They are signed-in, checked by medical doctors, given legal assistance, and, just as the rock was rolled away from the tomb, a new door opens before them! Colorful hallways with signs written in different languages welcome them, offering choices as to what to do next. When was the last time they had such opportunities within reach? Do they see this moment as one of resurrection, remembering when they made the decision to leave everything they knew, to come to America?

Resurrection observations have included the following moments at the Center.

  • The baby will never know the tears his father shed when given three pairs of infant socks, socks that had been worn by another baby before him. The father’s decision to come to the US was affirmed, he knew someone cared about his tiny son, and he cried.
  • Women are looking for a broom, as they offer to sweep the floors in gratitude for their meals, showers and a cot to sleep on. Like the baby’s father, they have found a sanctuary where they can shed themselves of the anguish they suffered on their journey to this building with murals on the walls. At the Center they have renewed life and faith, knowing strangers are helping them.  
  • The man has a confused expression on his face when he is served a meal that is not anything like what he remembers from his homeland. He takes the food, and soon returns to the kitchen serving window with his empty plate, hoping there might be more. He is given a clean plate, with another helping of his now ‘favorite’ American meal. His new reality started with a warm plate of food.
  • We see a stress-free family sitting on a small bench outside the doors of the Center, soaking in the warm sunrays while letting the slight breeze sweep away their anxiety. Even if only for a moment, here was calm, and it felt good.
  • The happiness on the face of a wide-eyed child as she giggles out loud – and then looks to her family to see if her robust antics are ok. The laughter only grows, as her mother joins in the spontaneous bliss in the Center’s cafeteria. There is laughter, and it felt good.

Before closing, we remember the successes for families immigrating to the East Valley hosted by the EV Network at University Presbyterian Church. Three families from Iran, a family from Afghanistan, and a man from Uganda have been given sanctuary as they are guided through the regimen to become US Citizens. Their hopes are being realized, granted sometimes at a very slow pace, with the support of the EV Network which includes Desert Palm.

Everyday there is a moment of resurrection for asylees, a moment filled with hope that cannot be tamped down.

As Pastor Tom says, “May It Be.”

That Was Me

The Church of the Palms used the following litany, written by Rev. Max Klinkenborg, at the dedication of the “Homeless Jesus” sculpture on Saturday, November 18, 2023.

Jesus said, ”I’m telling the solemn truth; whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it unto me.” Matthew 25:40

Leader: Once I saw a man eating from a buffet of leftovers in a dumpster.

All: That was me!

Leader: Once I smelled the urine soaked clothes of an old women wearing two coats on a city bus.

All: That was me!

Leader: Once I saw a frozen body covered in snow with no coat, hat, shoes or gloves.

All: That was me!

Leader: Once I saw a man fall to the street; his shoes were stolen before he could get up.

All: That was me!

Leader: Once I heard the screams of a man set on fire in a dumpster for stealing drugs.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I felt the despair of a man turned away on a cold night from an overcrowded shelter.

All: That was Me.

Leader: Once I saw a woman on a bike pulling two carriers filled with her earthly possession.

All: That was Me.

Leader: Once I heard a person arguing with themself at full volume as they pushed a grocery cart.

All: That was Me.

Leader: Once I gagged at an infected blister under a blood soaked sock on the sole of a woman’s foot.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I wept as I saw a boy and his sister eating ketchup on crackers, alone in a restaurant.

All: That was me!

Leader: Once I saw three adults, four children and a dog sleeping in a minivan.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I heard a shivering man in a wheel chair, stuck in snow, calling to no avail for help.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I saw a man asleep on a park bench covered by newspaper.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I smelled burning flesh when a woman fell on a steel grate in August and no one helped her get up.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I sent Christmas cards to a woman’s prison; a woman thanked me later for her only card or gift.

All: That was Me!

Leader: Once I heard a bone-rattling cough from a pile of rags holding a blood soaked rag to her mouth.

All: That was Me!

Recycling Old Blood

by Rev. John Indermark, written the day before the Hamas attack on Israel, and the crisis that has resulted

After Pilate attempted to deny his responsibility for putting Jesus to death, Matthew 27:25 records this: “Then the people as a whole answered, His blood be on us and on our children!” No other gospel records those words, only Matthew. But whatever reasons may have first led to their inclusion in Matthew and nowhere else, those words spawned disastrous consequences in the wholesale smearing of Jews as Christ-killers and the rise of anti-Semitism.

The history of the Church’s active role in promoting anti-Semitism goes back at least to the time of the Crusades, when several massacres of Jews took place not in the battlegrounds of the Holy Land but in the homelands of Germany and France. While we may delight to the music of Fiddler on the Roof, its historical setting involved the violent pogroms that victimized Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and Russia. In the background of all these and other persecutions was a twisted lie known as “blood libel” – the claim that Christian boys were slaughtered so their blood could be used in secret Jewish rituals. Too often, the Church kept silent in the face of the lie – or worse yet, promoted it.

The power of that lie, and its association with “blood,” infested 20th century fascism. In 1930, the same year he joined the Nazi party in Germany, Richard Darre wrote a book whose title in English is A New Nobility Based on Blood and Soil. Darre, whose field was agriculture and eugenics, argued in it for a program of selective breeding (the blood part of the title) to insure Nordic and Aryan racial purity. And once again, except for the courageous witness of a small Christian movement known as the Confessing Church, much of the rest of the Church remained silent as Aryan purity transitioned from far-fetched ideas into concentration camps not only for Jews, but also for others deemed unfit – Gypsies, Gays, Slavs, the infirm, Bonhoeffer.

So why bring this up in a 21st century church newsletter? The leading presidential candidate for one of our nation’s parties made the following statement this week about migrants and immigration: “It is a very sad thing for our country. It’s poisoning the blood of our country.” Sound familiar? It is not an accident, and it is deadly serious.

Poisoning the blood. Its origins in anti-Semitism stretch now to include whoever is the stranger, the other, the outsider. We have seen its results before. In the past, too often, the Church has stood silent in such times, and the world suffered. We cannot do so again. Never again.

The Power of Listening

How the simple act of listening furthers the creation of God’s beloved community

by Christopher Schouten, Black Mountain UCC

Though many of us (including me) have grown up and spent much of our lives around others that look and behave very much like we do, in our ever-diverse world, the tapestry of human experiences is intricate and varied in ways we sometimes can’t even imagine. As Christians, we are called to navigate this tapestry with love, grace, and a willingness to listen and learn. Indeed, the act of listening is at the heart of true understanding, especially when we are confronted with stories and realities that are different from our own.

The Bible emphasizes the importance of listening time and time again. James 1:19 reminds us, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Proverbs 1:5 says, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” The importance of these verses lies not just in the act of listening but in the transformative power it holds. Author Steven Covey said “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” and this requires us to listen.

Especially in our diverse society, there are many situations in which we are called to listen.

Dialogues on racial justice demand our full attention and our ears. While the narratives of racial disparity and systemic injustice may be uncomfortable for many, listening to them is essential for fostering the change that brings equality to all God’s people. We must remember the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), a story that emphasizes the love for one’s neighbor, regardless of racial or cultural differences. By listening to the experiences of our Black, Asian, Indigenous, Pacific Islander and Latino brothers and sisters and allowing them to transform our understanding of unjust, structural racism in our society, we get closer to fulfilling Christ’s call to love unconditionally.

Genesis 1:27 tells us, “God created humankind in God’s own image.” This means that people of all genders reflect God’s image. Our society is rife with gender biases and rigid gender norms, often causing hurt and misunderstanding. To bridge the gap, it becomes imperative to listen to the experiences of people of all gender identities, acknowledging their pains, struggles, and victories, thus appreciating the full spectrum of God’s creation and helping us to grow into wholeness and community.

Heteronormativity, the belief that heterosexuality and everything that is associated with it is the norm, is another area where listening is crucial. Jesus, in Matthew 19:12, speaks of eunuchs who have become so from birth, created by men, and by choice, urging us to accept those for whom marriage, in the traditional sense, isn’t for them. The experiences and the lives of LGBTQ+ people are often very different from other people – often in ways that aren’t immediately visible. By listening to LGBTQ+ stories, we begin to see the breadth and depth of God’s creation and the different forms that love and family can take in the world.

The road to understanding is not always comfortable. There will be moments when the stories we hear will shake us, make us confront difficult personal material, or challenge our worldviews. But it is in these moments of discomfort that growth occurs. Christ, too, often found himself in uncomfortable situations, whether dining with tax collectors or speaking with Samaritan women. His example reminds us that transformation often begins at the edge of our comfort zones.

As members of the United Church of Christ, we have chosen to be a people that provide an extravagant welcome to all, as Christ did. In Romans 15:7, Paul urges, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” This acceptance starts with listening.

It is through the act of truly listening that we pave the way for understanding, empathy, and love. Let us commit ourselves to listen actively and then really HEAR what the other person is saying and let it impact our hearts, even when it challenges us. For it is through these challenges that we inch closer to a world that embodies Christ’s vision: a world filled with love, justice, acceptance, and unity; God’s beloved community.

Standing on Their Shoulders

by The Reverend Dr. Kristina “Tina” Campbell, Black Mountain United Church of Christ

I am standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before me.

I am stronger for their courage, I am wiser for their words.

I am lifted by their longing for a fair and brighter future

I am grateful for their vision, for their toiling on this Earth.

-Joyce Rouse

Last weekend commemorated the sixtieth anniversary of the March on Washington where The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech.  Many of the organizers of the march were recognized and honored, and we had an opportunity to pause and ponder… upon whose shoulders do we stand?

I entered the ministry due to the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  At the time his life was coming to a close, I was living in an all African American community as a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteer.  I clung to the words of Dr. King, and was utterly taken aback by the influence he had on the lives around me.  He influenced people to be brave, to have hope, to take action, to live out their faith, to move beyond restriction into liberation.  On the day of his death, I stood beside grown men who openly wept at the loss of this great soul.  I wanted to stand on the shoulders of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When I first moved to Phoenix, I was looking for a church, and one of my colleagues at St. Luke’s Hospital said to me, “If you want to go where they’re doing something, go talk with Don Heinrich.”  Don was the long time pastor at Shepherd of the Hills United Church of Christ, and Don was in the crowd in Washington, D.C. when Dr. King articulated his vision of a dream.  Don carried  the momentum of Dr. King’s dream in the Phoenix area.  Don stood firmly on all social issues, but he did more than that.  He suited up and he showed up for his congregation.  He showed up to receive the Peggy Goldwater Award for Reproductive Rights, and he also showed to hand wash dishes at my father’s memorial service.  I stand on Don’s shoulders.

All of us stand on the shoulders of those who lived before us, who dreamed before us, who put their faith into action.  God has blessed our lives with great souls upon whose shoulders we stand.  Thanks be to God.

We have always existed

by Rev. Louis Mitchell, Senior Pastor at Rincon Congregational UCC

Wikipedia offers this:  Jewish law, or halacha, recognizes intersex and non-conforming gender identities in addition to male and female.  Rabbinical literature recognizes six different sexes, defined according to the development and presentation of primary and secondary sex characteristics at birth and later in life.  Jewish literature describes what today would be referred to as intersex such as the concept of a Tumtum being a person of ambiguous gender and/or sex as is the concept of the androgynos, being a person characterized with elements of both sexes. One aspect of Gender and Jewish studies is considering how the ambiguity recognized in Rabbinical literature has been erased and constructed into a binary and how this translates into Jewish practices.
 
It’s also been amended by some to include eight gender designations found in the Talmud –
The 8 Talmudic genders identified are as follows:
(1) Zachar (male), (2) Nekevah (female), (3) Androgynos (having both male and female characteristics), (4) Tumtum (lacking sexual characteristics), (5) Aylonit Hamah (identified female at birth but later naturally developing male characteristics), (6) Aylonit Adam (identified female at birth but later developing male characteristics through human intervention), (7) Saris hamah (identified male at birth but later naturally developing female characteristics), and (8) Saris adam (identified male at birth and later developing female characteristics through human intervention).
 
But what is the Talmud?
 
The Talmud (/ˈtɑːlmʊd, -məd, ˈtæl-/; Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד, romanized: Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to “all Jewish thought and aspirations”, serving also as “the guide for the daily life” of Jews.
 
The term Talmud normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi).  It may also traditionally be called Shas (ש״ס), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, or the “six orders” of the Mishnah.

The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (משנה, c. 200 CE), a written compendium of the Oral Torah; and the Gemara (גמרא, c. 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The term “Talmud” may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara together.
 
The entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in the standard print, called the Vilna Shas, there are 2,711 double-sided folios.  It is written in Mishnaic Hebrew and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis (dating from before the Common Era through to the fifth century) on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law and is widely quoted in rabbinic literature.
 
I’m not a Hebrew scholar, but I wonder when these observations of our ancestors of faith became unacknowledged and a hard binary came into being.
 
Even as many feel that this “new thing,” gender expansiveness, is confusing and born in modernity, there is much evidence that we have always existed all over the world and in most every culture.
 
If you’re interested in learning more, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_history
 
All of this to say, names and pronouns are important. When someone trusts you enough to tell you who they are and how they’d like to be addressed, try not to take that tender trust lightly.
 
In our radical and expansive welcome, we will all have to learn, shift, and grow. I believe we’re ready and able to the task!
 
Be thoughtful, listen well, and love with your language.

All Shall Be Well: “The Doctrine of Discovery: Hearing and Healing”

by Rev. Deb Church

I’m writing this reflection as I near the end of a travel study seminar offered by the Presbyterian (PCUSA) Peacemaking Program: “Native Lands of the Southwest: The Doctrine of Discovery and Its Legacy Today.”

Now if you find yourself thinking, “The doctrine of what?”, you’re not alone! Lots of people are in that boat, and I was, too, until somewhat recently. As I learn about it, however, I can’t not invite others into the conversation…

In a nutshell, the Doctrine of Discovery, whose roots can be found in a collection of 15th-century papal bulls (i.e., Pope-issued decrees), provided the theological and then legal justification used by European explorers, and later, American settlers, to claim lands that had been occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years, and additionally, to either convert or remove (which often meant, kill) those people as needed–or desired.  

It’s a part of our country’s history that’s uncomfortable and painful–but true nonetheless. And we who have not learned about it (generally through no fault of our own) are left with an incomplete–and inaccurate–understanding of who we are and where we’ve come from as a nation. And even though none of us who’s alive now did any of those things, our lack of awareness and lack of acknowledgement of them contributes to the ongoing injustice and trauma experienced by Native people in our country. And it keeps all of us–not just our Native sisters and brothers, but all of us–from experiencing true healing and wholeness, as God desires for all of God’s creation!

So, fueled by a desire for greater healing within myself, as well as within our Native siblings, as well as within our country, I joined thirty-four others from fifteen states on the travel study seminar mentioned above. Gathering in Albuquerque last Friday [April 28], we boarded a bus, Phoenix-bound, and embarked on a journey of listening, learning, grappling, and growing. 

As we’ve traveled hundreds of miles together through some of the Native Lands here in the Southwest, we’ve had the honor of meeting and hearing from quite a few Native Americans. They’ve shared stories of ancient ancestors and of grandparents, of lands lost and traditions preserved, of passed-down pain and passed-on lessons, of dances and foods and memories and faith, and so much more. Some stories have brought tears, and others, laughter; some generated shame and others, pride; some carried heartache and others, joy.

These Native folks have shared so much, and all they’ve asked was that we listen. That we bear witness. And so we’ve listened. And in listening, we’ve learned. In listening, we’ve been deeply moved. In listening, we’ve been changed. In their sharing and our listening, I hope and pray that we’ve all begun to be healed. 

The pain is deep. The pain is old. The pain is real. 

Hope and healing and transformation are also deep and old and real…

May what is Holy and Sacred within us and above us and below us and beside us and between us create a space among us where we can bear witness to each other’s pain, and in bearing witness, may hope be born and healing begin and transformation become possible…for all of us and all of God’s creation. 

May it be so.