A Letter from Jail, for Us

Southington's "MLK39: Racial Equity" Mural

In the church, we love to talk about Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a civil rights activist, of course, but he was a minister, too. Active in the movement for civil rights from 1955 until his assassination in 1968, Dr. King is known for many things. Many of us can probably bring one of his famous quotes to mind.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.

The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Especially for that last one, I can hear his voice ringing out that refrain: “I have a dream, I have a dream...”

But Dr. King wasn’t just a person who said a lot of beautiful words about unity. He spent his life afflicting the comfortable, demanding justice, and organizing people to take direct action.

In 1963, eight white clergymen in Birmingham, Alabama wrote an open letter called “A Call for Unity.” The signatories included two Episcopal bishops. The men critiqued the civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, urging the people to negotiate and use the courts, not protest.

In response, from his cell in a Birmingham city jail, Dr. King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (download and read it by clicking here).

It’s a little long, but I encourage you to read the whole thing. Pray with this letter this week. While you do, I encourage you to consider these questions:

• What parts of the letter make sense to you, and where does it make you feel uncomfortable?

• How (if at all) are these words applicable to today’s world?

• Where are you in this letter?

And, for fun, here is a video documenting the process of making our own mural in town that's inspired by Dr. King's legacy: Southington's "MLK39: Racial Equity" mural.

Becoming Beloved Community

Did you know that our House of Bishops has a theology committee? They released a report entitled “Reparations and Beloved Community” after their meeting last month. (You can download and read the 10-page report at that link.)

My favorite part of the report is where they talk about what it means for us, as Christians, to passively participate in the sin of racism. They write,

“The failings in our common life are no less sinful if we have not individually committed them: systemic sins are real sins, and complicity is a form of participation in them.”

Even I’m not actively, loudly being racist—even if I never enslaved people or forced someone to sit in the back of the bus—I’m still out of step with God when I benefit from the racist structures in our society.

All too soon, we’ll be in the season of Advent. That’s a season when we prepare for the coming of the baby Jesus, yes.

dBut it’s also a time to repent, as John the Baptist will no doubt remind us in our Bible readings. Part of repenting of the sin of racism is recognizing my passive participation in it. Only when we recognize where we’ve diverged from God’s path can we begin to make our way back to it.

So, today, I offer this prayer to God, written by the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops:

Creator God, you call us all your children,

inviting us to be renewed in your love season after season and in every age and time.

We gratefully accept your love and blessing,

acknowledging the abuse and rejection

we as a church have willfully handed out.

We seek your healing streams of life,

aching to honor those whom we have hurt

and repair the broken places.

Abide with us, Creator God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

loving, living and true. Amen.

A Visit with the Neighbors

Since I started serving St. Paul's in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many staples of our common life that I haven't yet had the chance to experience: e.g. famine weekend, the Apple Harvest Festival, and volunteering at Bread for Life. A few weeks ago, I was invited to Bread for Life so we can restart that connection.

Executive Director Donna Ayer and Missy Cipriano, Director of Operations, showed me around the dining room, kitchen, storage facilities, and garden. I also got to see the new bee hives! It's truly a remarkable operation. I had the pleasure of touring these facilities with (and getting to know) Michael Pavano, the new Director of Youth Ministry at the Catholic Youth Ministry of Southington.

The genesis of this re-connection came when we were launching the St. Paul's Little Free Pantry. (Read more about that process here.) Missy generously agreed to speak about food insecurity in Southington to those gathered at the blessing of our Little Free Pantry. So, I was thrilled when she invited me for a tour of this place that's so important to people in our church community—and in our town.

Missy Cipriano, Rev. Helena Martin, and Michael Pavano outside the garden at Bread for Life

Bread for Life feeds people with 130 meals per day, which is impressive. But what stood out to me even more was their commitment to serving their clients with utmost dignity at every moment. Their kitchen is as highly certified as a restaurant. In non-COVID times, they serve food on real plates and offer real dining chairs to sit in. No paper plates or folding chairs in sight! To keep everyone safe during COVID, they wrote a grant to create a similarly dignified outdoor space for the people they serve.

You probably know that Bread for Life bought the property for its building at 31 Vermont Avenue from St. Paul’s a handful of years ago. And then two or so years ago, they bought the land with our garden so they can grow fresh produce to serve to their clients. I loved getting to see the ways they’re using this land to serve our whole community.

Missy and Donna speak with passion about their love of caring for people by feeding them. During the tour, I kept thinking of all the times that Jesus fed hungry people and commanded us to do the same. I'm really looking forward to the time when Bread for Life invites volunteers back into their space!