Spirit and Heart in Action
Comments By The Rev. Susan Manker-Seale, Libby Johnson, and Galina DeRoeck
Introduction by Rev. Susan Manker-Seale:
In this winter 2005 issue of World magazine, published by our Unitarian Universalist Association and free to all members, there was an article highlighting the UU presence at the United for Peace and Justice Rally in Washington, D.C., in September. Over half the article is about one congregation’s actions in witness for peace: ours! The Ribbons of Resistance Project, which we told you about in September and which you supported both financially and through writing anti-war messages on ribbons to give to President Bush, was successful not only in gathering support from other congregations, but in getting our folks physically to Washington and resulting in this article—a visible expression as well of the conviction many of us have that we must stop this war in Iraq.
I’m really, really proud of you all for supporting this effort, and of Libby Johnson for her daring dash to hang the ribbons, which were in a clear suitcase, on the Whitehouse fence, resulting in her arrest and detainment on our behalf. Her trial is scheduled for January, by the way, and it is a reminder to us all that protest not only is never-ending, but can have severe consequences – and we, as a congregational sponsor, need to remember to continue our support to her in this time. She was unable to be here today, but Marion Erickson will be reading a report Libby wrote later in the service, a report not necessarily about the Ribbons project, but about the results of the survey the Social Action Committee took of this congregation’s interests and concerns and what we value and care most deeply about.
Social Action is integral to religious life, for many of us. The last General Assembly which met in June voted to adopt a Study Action entitled “Moral Values in a Pluralistic Society.” We are encouraged to consider the role our moral values play in our lives both individually and as religious communities. Last spring, the Social Action Committee, co-chaired by Galina DeRoeck and Vince Pawlowski, asked me if I would work with them to create a service to share with you the results of the survey you took and to encourage you to join them in their efforts to bring about change in the world and to protect those things we do care most deeply about: life, health, happiness, peace, respect, justice, love, beauty, balance and more.
We began this service with the invitation to you to join us and the children in collecting money for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s holiday service project. We will end the service as well with talking about the UUSC’s efforts to stop torture around the world and by our own government. Vince has become involved with UUSC issues and participated in leading workshops at the Rally in Washington. Since Vince was unable to be here as well, Galina will share some of his concerns along with her own around this terrible issue of torture.
These people before you today care deeply about social justice issues and donate their time, energy and money to making a difference. You do, too, and we invite you to join us as one community in defending what is good and beautiful in the world. May your spirit and heart find inspiration in this community’s actions for peace and justice.
Soulsearching Survey Results, by Libby Johnson:
Early last spring our social action committee was fully engaged in the strategic planning process. We had identified our mission and were grappling with our long and short term goals. Through these discussions some of us realized that we really didn't know enough about what you, the congregation, thought about social action. We also thought that those of us on the committee needed to closely examine our own positions and concepts. Our social action committee decided to include a one year goal in our strategic plan to do some "soulsearching".
Soul has been defined as a quality or dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart and personal substance. We also might call it spirit and heart in action. We needed to learn and share what we cared about, what our congregation cared about, what kinds of events and activities we wanted to do, what kinds of events and activities you wanted to participate in.
We realized that without some guideposts and better information we could easily squander our precious human and material resources. We might try to chase scores of different projects and ideas without accomplishing much. We might spend time replicating activities that are more effectively offered elsewhere. We might use up energy pursuing issues and concerns that just don't resonate with our community. With so many daunting challenges and issues in the world these days, we needed to learn how to be more efficient activists.
It is no secret that those of us who cleave to social action often tend to have pet peeves or just causes. We carry torches. We lead crusades. We are ready to engage. We are even combative sometimes. We want to right wrongs and make justice happen and just plain help the world be a tad bit better somehow, some way.
We thought that this soulsearching process might help us find a way to work together. We needed to look within ourselves and within our congregation for our strengths and direction, for our voice and our soul. The social action committee survey was an important tool we developed to help us try to figure these things out.
Ninety-four of you took the time and made the effort to fill out our social action survey. We thank you heartily for participating. We have noted those who placed themselves on "no call lists". We promise to hardly call you at all! The survey data results are listed on the handout that was included with the social action committee brochure. We encourage you to take a few moments to look the data over. What do these results really mean?
Clearly, this congregation appreciates the gravity of our environmental challenges, the scope of human rights abuses and the incredible military threats we face. But what about children, the privatization of education and the lasting effects of poverty? What about social support systems? We are witnessing the collapse of humane social support systems throughout the country as budgets are slashed on the backs of poor people. Is it just that so few of us are directly affected? Why are so few concerned about criminal justice? In other congregations the fact that our prisons are overflowing with people of color might be uppermost in people's thoughts. Our social action committee invites not your judgments, but your reflections.
The survey also revealed the extent, the depth and the personal substance of this congregation's involvement with social justice issues in the greater community. We were blown away by the diverse range of support for groups spanning environmental causes, civil liberties, women's issues, gender issues, animal rights, vegetarianism, soup kitchens, and I could go on and on...To illustrate this phenomenal involvement we listed all these various organizations on the pillars here. Take a look. The social action committee is humbled by the commitment and engagement of our congregation in the world.
Finally, the survey offered us information about how to involve those of you who want to participate in our activities and events. We learned that most of you would support presentations, workshops and forums but you don't want to go on TV. Bravo to Dale Golis for braving that front recently on behalf of peace! A significant number of our congregation is willing to step out of their comfort zones and march, protest, lobby, act and vigil. Our little congregation was extraordinarily well represented in Washington DC for the recent national antiwar march and rally.
Our committee will consult these survey results as we consider various social action projects in the coming months. We truly want your voice and spirit to be heard in our actions. We recently completed the Ribbons of Resistance project. Your very strong response on the survey to "peace and antiwar" as the number one most urgent and important issue fueled our resolve to undertake this ambitious project. Your enthusiastic support kept Ribbons of Resistance afloat from start to finish. We think it was a great partnership and an example of how we intend to work together with you to make social justice happen.
We composed our survey not just to solicit information, but to give you a strong message. It was our way of telling you how important you, the congregation, are to us social action folks. You sustain us with your support and your affirmation. The social action committee is shaped and influenced by your concerns and your needs. We also want you to know that we finally understand what these things on the side of our heads are for!
Antiphonal Reading:
Stop Torture, by Galina DeRoeck:
I am speaking today for Vince Pawlowski, who is out of town to attend a UUA environmental workshop on Earth and Green Sanctuary. If he could have been here he would have reported on the piece of the United for Peace and Justice events, which a number of us attended in D.C. last September, which had to do with the UUSC efforts to STOP the use of torture. Vince had connected with UUSC and made us aware of their work. This work took an especially active role after UUSC hired Jennifer Harbury to represent the issue. An attorney whose husband had been tortured to death in Guatemala, Jennifer Harbury made it her life’s goal to bring the issue of torture to the attention of the American public. The disclosures about the interrogation methods used at Abu Ghraib in Iraq reinforced Jennifer’s contention that torture is a widespread practice and not only indulged by “a few bad apples.” She documents that it has been an established CIA policy for years and is now routinely used by the U.S. military.
Torture is not a sexy topic. To attempt to present the complex issues involved, the UUSC team organized a Mock Trial during the United for Peace and Justice events in D.C. Actors played Rumsfeld, Tennet and Gonzales, as well as two men, one Egyptian and one Pakistani, who had undergone torture. Sister Diana Ortiz, an American nun who had suffered torture in Guatemala, presented her own testimony. The attempt, I suppose, was to present something like “Law and Order,” but scripted by lawyers rather than TV producers, it was based on real documents, painstakingly detailed and on the whole, hard to sit through. Luckily, Jennifer Harbury has written an excellent book where all the information can be absorbed at leisure: I recommend it highly for its thoroughness and measured approach to a difficult issue. We were hoping to have the book on hand for you to purchase, but it could not be ordered in time. If you are interested, please write your name on the list prepared for this purpose, and I will be glad to order it for you.
Why read a book on torture? To some it is a no brainer: torture is immoral, against the law of this country as well as international law, and it must stop. To others, questions may arise that need to be addressed: what about terrorists? What about legitimate intelligence gathering? What about the proverbial case of the ticking bomb in New York’s Grand Central Station which could be stopped with appropriate pressure?
Jennifer Harbury addresses all these questions with clarity and intelligence.
Senator McCain, for one, has come to the conclusion that good intelligence cannot be had under torture, and that the harm done to America far outweighs any presumed benefits. I hope we don’t all have to undergo torture as he did to come to such a conclusion. The battle is joined in Congress as we speak, and I urge you to exercise your right to speak out and thus to uphold our most treasured UU principle which affirms the dignity of every human being.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northwest Tucson