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A poem as the bombing began in
Afghanistan |
| We received this note and the
accompanying poem the day after American raids on Afghanistan began.
[10-11-01]
The author, Mark Koenig, is Associate for the Anti-Racism
Program in the Racial Ethnic Ministries program area, in the offices
of the General Assembly in Louisville.
Hi Doug,
I don't know if you have any use for this, but I pass it along.
While driving from Chicago to Louisville along I-65 yesterday, I
realized that three events were happening more or less concurrently:
1) death and destruction were descending from the skies over Afghanistan
2) my friends in the organization 500 Years of
Resistance had gathered on Public Square in Cleveland to protest and
bear witness as they do every year on the day that is set aside to mark
the arrival of Columbus and the Europeans in this hemisphere - or from
my friends' point of view, the day when death and destruction waded
ashore
3) people of faith and peace and good will were
seeking ways to respond to the new war which has come upon us
These three themes commingled and the following came out. I send it to
you to do with as you will.
Peace,
Mark
8 October 2001
On this day,
NPR reporters spoke
in sober, somber tones
of bombs raining on Kabul
and missiles showering Kandahar.
On this day,
retired generals provided
precision dissection
of varied information
that we might know exactly what had happened.
On this day,
public officials voiced
calm explanations for violent actions and
passionate calls for commitment and
vague reassurances as anxiety levels rose.
On this day,
descendants of the First Nations
gathered on Cleveland's Public Square
and drummed and sang
songs whose roots entwined deep into the past
to bear witness
that their people still endured
after more than five hundred years of
dispossession,
murder,
enslavement,
trickery,
disease,
forced removal,
rape,
suppression of religion,
pillage,
plunder,
broken treaties,
wholesale slaughter,
diverted water,
unemployment,
allotments,
stolen resources,
concentration camps,
boarding schools,
denied rights,
their people were not obliterated,
their people were not broken,
their people still endured,
evidencing
a depth of spirit
a steadfastness of heart
a rootedness of soul
a strength of mind
that well would serve
all who resist
violence and terror,
warfare and hate,
in any form
and in every form,
and who work
for justice,
co-equality
wholeness,
right relationships,
on this day
and on every day.
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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