Social Justice Saturday: A Prayer for Wearing Masks


Creator,
as I prepare to go into the world,
help me to see the sacrament
in the wearing of this cloth –
let it be “an outward sign
of an inward grace” –
a tangible and visible way
of living love for my neighbours,
as I love myself.

Christ,
since my lips will be covered,
uncover my heart,
that people would see my smile
in the crinkles around my eyes.
Since my voice may be muffled,
help me to speak clearly,
not only with my words,
but with my actions.

Holy Spirit,
as the elastic touches my ears,
remind me to listen carefully –
and full of care –
to all those I meet.
May this simple piece of cloth
be shield and banner,
and each breath that it holds,
be filled with your love.

In your Name
and in that love,
I pray.

May it be so.
May it be so.

-The Right Rev. Dr. Richard Bott

Social Justice Saturday: Mass MOCA Exhibit addresses Violence Perpetrated on Young People of Color

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I wanted to share info about an exhibit at Mass MOCA by artist Shaun Leonardo called “The Breath of Empty Space,” which addresses violence as its perpetrated on young people of color.  The exhibit was originally scheduled for MOCA Cleveland and was cancelled under controversy (https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/06/moca-cleveland-apologizes-second-time-publicly-for-canceling-show-after-black-artist-accuses-it-of-censorship.html).  The description of the exhibit and the artist is on the Mass MOCA website is here:  https://massmoca.org/event/shaun-leonardo-the-breath-of-empty-space/. 

An interview with Shaun goes much deeper into his art and activism practice and is really worth watching, even for a little bit (it’s over an hour long).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJguihsQMk

 Shaun discusses the work, the censorship, the way art can engage a community in having difficult but potentially healing dialog.  Shaun says: “I take some of the most widely disseminated images of police violence, both recent and historical, and make choices that I think will slow down our looking.”  By slowing down, by creating a space for engaging with these images in a different way other than flashed on a screen, it creates a space to have a dialog.

 

Here are some highlights of the interview:

 In addition to drawing, Shaun works in what he calls Social Engagement projects.  Some examples are:

  • “Assembly” is a Diversion program, where he collaborates with the D.A.s office in Brookline to work with young people in Brookline aged 18 to 25 who have been arrested for misdemeanors and felonies. Instead of going to jail, they work with Shaun Leonardo and cofounder nonprofit “Recess” in a performance-based program and after 4 weeks, their cases are cleared and records are sealed. The program removes language and works with how a story can be conveyed through the body – how the body holds trauma. They collectively investigate on their own terms the experience of trauma. The young people embody their story and then invite others to join them in their memories and “occupy their story and sense it within themselves.”

  • I Can’t Breathe – A performance in galleries, museums, community centers, schools, on the street. Participants are invited to a self-defense class, eventually addressing the aggressive acts of police culminating in the choke hold both as victim and aggressor.

 Eulogy – New Orleans style jazz funeral. https://massmoca.org/event/the-eulogy/

  • Primitive Games - Four groups that are engaged with violence go through separate workshops – NYPD, military veterans, those impacted by violence in the community, firearm enthusiasts. For the public presentation, two intermingled teams are created and asked to debate the issue of gun violence only through body language.

 

His drawings Studio practice as its represented in the exhibit, creates carefully rendered images from body cams, dashboard cams addressing violence, and by doing so creates a space for difficult conversations.  The media determines the interpretation of the images on the screen.  We are not given the opportunity to sit with the images and contemplate them on our own terms.  He provides a space to “grapple with them differently.”  “Healing is a process that requires, often, that we stay with the trauma… In the difficulty we can find ways to collaborate, cooperate, dig through the material and have conversations carefully that hold BIPOC with care.  Conversations which I think are necessary.” 

©Shaun Leonardo.  Taken from the Interviewhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJguihsQMk

 

Social Justice Saturday: A Prayer Before Turning on the News

Prayer Before Turning On The News

 I sit before the TV screen

with remote control in hand.

I want it to stay this way.

This dark, quiet room

without a world in it.

This nothing, this sweet

nothing. The fire truck

toy on the shelf beneath the TV,

look how it saves no one. In this room

there is nothing

burning. Dear God, it is

possible.  You are the one

with wings. Shelter us.

Let something have been fixed today:

The deal among the nations signed,

the guns, all of them, taken away,

a woman believed,

a man contrite. A border

covered in dust. God,

I need to know what happened

to those who tried to cross.

What happened after the storm

and earthquake and fire.

I can't be everywhere at once,

but you can. How can I convince you

we are worthy of miracles?

How much longer can I delay

the inevitable knowing,

the daily ritual of witness?

At least bear it with ne,

dear God. Come sit

on the couch, put  your feet up,

I'm making tea. Tell me

how this will end.

Tell me if there is a chance.

Or maybe we can bargain for peace?

Trade for redemption?

Give me something,

anything, before I let

the messengers into my room.

I will not look away.

Promise me

you won't either.

Hila Ratzabi.  When We Turned Within: Reflections on COVID-19, edited by Rabbi Menachem Creditor & Sarah Tuttle-Singer. 2020.

Social Justice Saturday --A Season of Prayer: For an Election

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We have been talking at St John’s about creating home altars to bring our worship more fully into our homes, at this time of less contact directly with the church sanctuary and space. One way to bring prayer to our altar is to join a 9-day prayer practice for the upcoming election.

Forward Movement and The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations are calling Episcopalians and all others to join in A Season of Prayer: For an Election.

 “We come together, asking God for courage and wisdom, thanking God for love and joy. As we move toward the election of leaders for the United States, may we all join in a season of prayer, committing to offer to God our fears and frustrations, our hopes and dreams.”

Starting October 27 and continuing through the day after the election, A Season of Prayer invites us to pray for the election of leaders in the United States.

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Social Justice Saturday: Migration, Climate Change, and Art

“Voyagers”, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

“Voyagers”, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

Artist and parishioner Terry Boutelle has been working on a series of paintings in response to the daily images of migration and the climate crisis. These abstract paintings result from a meditation on migration and the forces that move populations away from their homelands: Escaping war, oppression, poverty, famine and the effects of climate change, seeking peace, security, safety, freedom, and a future.

“Kivalina”, mixed media

“Kivalina”, mixed media

“Voyagers”, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas. The year 2015 was the peak of the refugee crisis in Europe, with over a million people migrating to Europe (UNHCR), the majority over the Mediterranean Sea. People have been migrating over the Mediterranean for centuries: To Africa, in the 15th century Jews and Muslims being expelled from Spain, in the 16th through 19th centuries, Europeans moving to colonize African regions and exploit the natural resources there. To Europe, in the 20th century after decolonization, Europeans moving back to Europe, and because of a need for workers, migrants were encouraged to move to Europe in late 20th century. Today refugees from Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East are escaping war, poverty, and the effects of climate change.

“Aralkum”, mixed media on canvas

“Aralkum”, mixed media on canvas

“Kivalina”, mixed media Among the first villages in the U.S. to be displaced by sea level rise, Kivalina, Alaska sits on an island predicted to be under water by 2025 (Wiki). Others include: Newtok, Shishmaref, Shaktoolik, and Port Heiden.

“Aralkum”, mixed media on canvas The South Aral Sea in Uzbekistan has been diminishing since mid-20th century, resulting in increased child mortality and maternity deaths, and shortened life expectancy. The salination of soils has made them unsustainable for growing food, and the fish population has declined to zero.* *Columbia Univ., The Aral Sea Crisis

“Remnants of War”, acrylic, mixed media on canvas Inspired by the film White Helmets (2016) about the Syrian Civil Defense in Aleppo, Syria, and images of the destroyed city, this painting uses materials such as soil, rebar, cinder blocks, bullets, charred wood, natural material, and acrylic paint. During the Syrian civil war, now in its 10th year, about 5.6 million Syrians have fled to other countries, and another 6.2 million people are displaced within Syria (worldvision.org).

See more at terryboutelle.com

“Remnants of War”, acrylic, mixed media on canvas

“Remnants of War”, acrylic, mixed media on canvas