Beautiful Trinity Episcopal Cathedral near Downtown Cleveland. Frida Berrigan's Talk

Last evening Brian Rice and I traveled downtown to hear Frida Berrigan speak. The venue was a comfortable room at Trinity Cathedral, near E. 20th and Euclid Avenue (across from Cleveland State University). Before the talk Brian and I visited the magnificent cathedral and I took a few photos (below). This looks like a 13th Century European Gothic Cathedral, complete with flying buttresses, rosetta windows, and a magnificent interior space. Trinity is Cleveland's oldest church, founded nearly 200 years ago.

So Trinity is a magnificent building, but what is even better is its welcoming nature. The Dean of Trinity, The Very Rev. Tracey Lind, welcomed us to the talk saying, "You are all welcome at Trinity--no exceptions."

Frida Berrigan gave a wonderful talk and reading from her new book, It Runs in the Family. She is a warm and engaging young woman. Frida was there with her mother, Elizabeth McAlister, and her two young children (they were in the nursery, so I didn't meet them). I briefly met her afterwards and told her her uncle, Rev. Daniel Berrigan, wrote the introduction to the book Judith Bechtel Blackburn and I wrote, Building the Beloved Community: Maurice McCrackin's Life for Peace and Civil Rights (originally published by Temple University in 1991--new edition available on Amazon).

Frida Berrigan (left) and the Very Rev. Tracey Lind

Magnificent pipe organ

Incredible carved limestone

"Just Thoughts"--Do We All Have a Role to Play?

[Originally written for the St. Mary's (Painesville, Ohio) church bulletin]

 Does everyone have a responsibility to build a Just World? What if you are too busy, too young, too old, too sick?

Catholic Christians (and those of many other faiths) believe everyone has a responsibility and a role. For some people, the role is to try to shape policy, by way of participation in politics or agencies that make policy. And of course all adult citizens have the right (and responsibility) to vote! But not every person can shape policy, and some people are not eligible to vote.

If you are too young, say an infant and or a child, your role is to be that very baby or child. Learn to understand the world, learn about love from your parents and family. 

If you are a busy young parent, your role in bringing about the Just Kingdom is to raise healthy, happy, well-adjusted children. You will teach them love, justice, and service. You will teach both by your words and your example.

If you are too old or too sick for active work, pray for the world. Remember that every time we pray the Our Father we are asking for the Lord's Kingdom to be established and we are asking for forgiveness, for ourselves, and for our enemies. That is a huge contribution to building the Beloved Community. 

If you have been blessed with time and energy, you can do what some of your St. Mary parishioners and friends do: chop onions and carrots (or do a dozen other jobs) for St. Mary's Wednesday and Thursday night meal for the homeless and hungry; go to daily mass and pray for the world (and then maybe serve food and beverages at St. Mary's meal); take communion and comfort to the sick and homebound; staff St. Mary’s food pantry for the hungry; visit prisoners in the county jail (several of your fellow parishioners do that); play liturgical music and prepare luncheons for the grieving at funerals--your neighbors do that; help immigrants adjust to life in America--that's a central ministry of St. Mary's. There is so much to do--and so few workers in the vineyard.

You build justice by living out the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy (see Matthew 25:34-40), central elements of Christianity, and a particular focus of Catholicism. These are right there in the Gospels, and part of the mission of our own parish. Everyone has a role; it can be very modest, but that doesn't matter. 

Get out there and do something!

[The above essay was written for a particular church (and its ministries). But I think these ideas can be generalized far beyond St. Mary's! I myself am so honored to be an active participant in some of these ministries.]

Below is part of Wikipedia's entry on "Works of Mercy":

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy

Corporal Works of Mercy are those that tend to bodily needs of others. In Matthew 25:34-40, in the The Judgment of Nations, six specific Works of Mercy are enumerated, although not this precise list — as the reason for the salvation of the saved, and the omission of them as the reason for damnation. The last work of mercy, burying the dead, comes from the Book of Tobit.

1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To harbour the harbourless. (also loosely interpreted today as To Shelter the Homeless)
5. To visit the sick.
6. To visit the imprisoned (classical term is "To ransom the captive")
7. To bury the dead.

The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy

Just as the Corporal Works of Mercy are directed towards relieving corporeal suffering, the even more important aim of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to relieve spiritual suffering. The latter works are traditionally enumerated thus:

1. To instruct the ignorant.
2. To counsel the doubtful.
3. To admonish sinners.
4. To bear wrongs patiently.
5. To forgive offences willingly.
6. To comfort the afflicted.
7. To pray for the living and the dead.

The Arc of the Moral Universe Bends Toward Justice (MLK)

I have recently been adding this line at the end of my emails, a kind of signature tag:  “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Martin Luther King Jr. I found this on Mike Rivage-Seul's latest blog entry. I thing MLK was exactly right about this--but the road to justice is a long and winding road indeed, with lots of setbacks--the old idea of 2 steps forward and one step back (and sometimes many steps back and several off to the side!). The other important thing unstated in MLK's quote is the fact that the arc toward justice is not automatic. It is the hard work, sacrifice, and focused will of flawed human beings that lead to justice--it is not automatic. Another point that has just occurred to me is that I don't always know what constitutes justice. We all have our own blind spots, selfishness, perspective, and errors. Here is an example. I am pretty sure that the great human being that I co-wrote a biography on (Building the Beloved Community: Maurice McCrackin's Life for Peace and Civil Rights--co-authored with Judith Bechtel Blackburn) . . . that this man and his parents were probably ardent advocates of Prohibition. Now in retrospect, Prohibition was a gigantic mistake, even a form of cultural imperialism. But it came out of good intentions and even a Progressive perspective. Prohibition was a mistake, a doozy!

If social justice is one of our life's goals, we are going to make many mistakes along the way. But we must not give up the struggle. For many, it is our life's work, our vocation. As for a baby learning to walk--you don't give up even when you fall down a hundred times. Get back up and get walking!

Rev. Maurice McCrackin, in his old age

I'm a "Gray Panther" Now! Living My Life Like Maggie Kuhn

Yesterday I went into a Mentor-on-the-Lake Subway shop, ordered a sandwich, and as I took out my wallet to pay, I noticed the woman serving me gave me a 10% senior discount--without my asking. She winked at me and I said, "Thank You!" And lately if I run into a McDonald's and order a cup of coffee, I automatically am given the "senior discount." There's no getting around it--I look like a senior citizen, though I feel only 17 years old (sometimes!).

When Judy Bechtel Blackburn and I co-wrote the biography of Maurice McCrackin (Building the Beloved Community: Maurice McCrackin's Life for Peace and Civil Rights), we borrowed a quote by one of Mac's friends, Maggie Kuhn, one of the founders of the "Gray Panther" movement. Maggie said,

 "Old age is not a disaster or a disease. It is freedom to innovate. It is freedom to build upon your own past and to get a historical perspective on what you have seen and known and suffered and lived through. It is a marvelous state of being. Old age is the time to engage in a new life style of outrage and to go down swinging. And with that kind of agenda ahead of you, you know nothing 

will keep you in bed."

Well I won't yet admit to being "old-aged," but I will stand up, like Maggie Kuhn, Maurice McCrackin, Ernest Bromley, Marion Bromley, Wally Nelson, Juanita Nelson, Chuck Matthei, Kathy F., Pat D., Linda C., Bill Wahler, Tim Musser, and so many others that I have been blessed to know . . . I will stand up for peace and justice. My voice will be heard. My presence will be felt. I will not be silent!

Bob-Gray-Panther

Beloved Community--graphic for Maurice McCrackin

"Stubborn Ounces of My Weight"--Bonaro Overstreet's Great Little Poem

A friend of mine, Kathy Flora, signs off her emails with a wonderful little poem by Bonaro Overstreet, who lived from 1903 to 1985. Overstreet was an author, poet, and psychologist, and her obituary can be seen here: Bonaro Overstreet obit.

Here is her powerful little poem:

Stubborn Ounces of My Weight

by Bonaro Overstreet

You say the little efforts that I make 

will do no good: they never will prevail 

to tip the hovering scale 

where Justice hangs in the balance.

I don't think I ever thought they would.

But I am prejudiced beyond debate

in favor of my right to choose which side 

shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

Judy Bechtel Blackburn and I used this poem in a biography of Maurice McCrackin we published in 1991--Building the Beloved Community: Maurice McCrackin's Life for Peace and Civil Rights. Hardback copies of this book are hard to find (try Amazon.com), but a revised paperback version is readily available. We used this poem because it was one of McCrackin's favorites.

Anyway, Kathy, just like Maurice McCrackin, puts the "stubborn ounces of her weight" to work in her service to the environment (Frack-Free Geauga), and in her work for the hungry and homeless. So many fine people around here also lend the stubborn ounces of their weight for justice and peace. I will try to acknowledge these extraordinary people from time to time.

The Irish Writer James Joyce

Recently I've gotten interested in the Irish writer, James Joyce.

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born in Dublin, Ireland on February 2, 1882, and died in Zurich, Switzerland on January 13, 1941. Joyce is often acclaimed as one of the greatest writers of his era, but his two most famous books, Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake, are rarely read. A collection of short stories, The Dubliners, might be more accessible and more widely read than his two monumental works.

I've been reading a biography of James Joyce by Richard Ellman; it could have been titled "More Than You Wanted to Know about James Joyce." I have written a biography (co-authored with Judy Bechtel Blackburn, Building the Beloved Community: Maurice McCrackin's Life for Peace and Civil Rights), so I have some sense of the work involved. Ellman's work is a quantum leap beyond our book in the detail of Joyce's life and writings. I can't imagine how Ellman found out so much! Let's just say that this is a brilliant and fascinating work, and has increased my understanding of James Joyce tremendously. [more coming]

"The Torch Has Been Passed . . . ."

At noon today, Barack Obama will be sworn in as 44th President of the United States of America. On Friday, January 20th of 1961, forty-eight years ago today, I watched on our little black-and-white television as John F. Kennedy took the oath of office and gave his memorable inauguration speech. I must have had an ear for good language even back then at age 12 because I remember the poetry of that speech, crafted by Jack Kennedy and the genius Ted Sorenson: "The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans . . . ."

The torch is passed again; indeed to a generation younger than my own! Let us ask the Good Lord to bless this President, our country, and our world, and let the "Beloved Community" that Martin Luther King, Jr., worked for, that my friend Maurice McCrackin worked for and that I have written about, blossom and thrive.

Here is the text of JFK's inaugural address:

Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens:We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom -- symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.This much we pledge -- and more.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom -- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support -- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run. Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course -- both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah -- to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free."¹And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor -- not a new balance of power, but a new world of law -- where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this Administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,"² a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.