#Tunesday: “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke

February 21, 1965: In New York City, Malcolm X, (later known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) an African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. He was 39.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/malcolm-x-assassinated

Malcolm X is frequently differentiated from fellow civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. in his stance on non-violence. What sometimes is misconstrued however, is that Malcolm X did not advocate for the fomenting of violence, but instead in fighting back against anyone perpetrating violence upon African Americans.

What to do with this differentiation? Consider what Swedenborgian Minister, Rev. Lee Woofenden cites on his website. Swedenborg does not believe in not making wars for the sake of glory or vanity, but states, “that the nature of good is to defend;” even the angels are constantly coming to our defense.

https://leewoof.org/2018/11/22/war-military-service-violence-and-self-defense-whats-a-christian-to-do/

Video excerpt from the movie “Malcolm X” featuring Denzel Washington, with the song “A Change is Gonna Come,” by Sam Cooke.

#MLK Day 2023

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

By Gloria Toot, originally with this MLK quote affixed to the front

#ThursdayTheology: Chauncey Giles

Via: https://prabook.com/web/mobile/#!profile/3766351

“Rich people often assume a great deal of superiority on account of their wealth. They think this gives them some advantage and makes them better, and others are apt to accept their own estimate of their superiority… It is best, however, to forget our outward conditions far as possible and to feel kindly toward all, and to act out your kind feelings freely to one person as to another when opportunity offers.”

Chauncey Giles – Swedenborgian pastor 1864-1870

Spiritual Thanksgiving

The image of living on the earth in harmony with creation and therefore the Creator, is a helpful image for me… Each day we are given is for Thanksgiving for the earth. We are to enjoy it and share it in service of others. This is the way to grow in unity and harmony… It allows for diversity within the unity of the Creator… There are many teachings in the aboriginal North American nations that use the symbol of the circle. It is the symbol for the inclusive caring community, where individuals are respected and interdependence is recognized. In the wider perspective it symbolizes the natural order of creation in which human beings are part of the whole circle of life. Aboriginal spiritual teachers speak of the reestablishment of the balance between human beings and the whole of creation, as a mending of the hoop.

James Treat, Native and Christian: Indigenous Voices on Religious Identity in the United States and Canada (New York: Routledge, 1996), 54-55.

Photo of balls of dew on a leaf, copyright 2020 Maggie Panyko

#BeOfGoodUse #MLK2021

“We are now faced with the fact my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

How will you be of service today? Tomorrow is today. Love your enemies. “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”-Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr.

A reading for #Friday from @CACRadicalGrace

Good morning, please enjoy the selection link below that reminds us “we can survive and even grow from this tragedy” -Center for Action and Contemplation

https://cac.org/stumble-and-fall-2019-03-31/

#InternationalWomensDay: #CelebrateWomen #HonorWomen #FreeWomen

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” www.womankind.org.uk

What does Swedenborg say about Freedom?

Doing harmful things in freedom seems to be freedom, but it is actually slavery. It comes from selfish and materialistic loves, which come from hell. (The Heavenly City §142)

and also…

All freedom is a matter of love, even to the point that love and freedom are the same thing. Since love is our life, freedom is also essential to our life. Every pleasure we experience comes from our love; there is no other source of pleasure. Acting for the sake of the pleasure of our love is acting in freedom, because pleasure leads us along, the way a river bears its burdens quite naturally along its current. Since we have many loves, some of which agree with each other and some of which disagree, it follows that we likewise have many kinds of freedom. In general, though, there are three kinds: earthly, rational, and spiritual. (Divine Providence §73:2)

#MondayMeditation: #75Years #AuschwitzLiberation

http://www.nwlsd-orc.org/8th-grade-holocaust-research.html

“I feel strongly that we should not wait for our political leaders to make this world a better place.  No, we should make this happen now in our homes and at our schools.”  ~Miep Gies

Remember these words from the woman who risked her life to help Anne Frank and her family hide from the Nazis.

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz.

Anne Frank and her sister began their time in Auschwitz before they were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen camp where they later perished due to Typhus.

 

Anne Frank,  Unknown photographer; Collectie Anne Frank Stichting Amsterdam [Public domain]

 

The Beloved Community #MLK #WednesdayWisdom

“Long before he was a leader, I think he had a deeply felt dream of the Beloved Community, a concept he envisioned where people could work and live together, no matter their differences.” -Christine King, MLK’s sister from the book, “Martin Luther King, Jr. A King Family Tribute”

“…The Time is Ripe…” #MLK

“…the time is always ripe to do right” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.