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Voices-Of-Moral-Mondays.Pdf Table of Contents & Credits Introduction: Mustard Seed...................................3 About the NC Council of Churches I Could Not Not Do It............................................4 Since its inception more than 75 years ago, Three Young Men.................................................5 the North Carolina Council of Churches has Six More Years......................................................6 used Christian values to promote unity and to work toward a better tomorrow. This is re- Failure to Disperse on Command..........................7 flected through the Council’s motto: “Strength Hot, Tired, and Hungry..........................................8 in Unity, Peace through Justice.” This Is What Democracy Looks Like......................9 Today, the Council consists of eighteen mem- Let the Little Children Come to Me......................10 ber denominations, with more than 6,200 con- What Does the Lord Require of You?..................11 gregations and about 1.5 million congregants across North Carolina. The Council enables My 150 New BFFs..............................................12 those denominations, congregations, and It Takes A Village to Eat Breakfast.......................13 people of faith to impact the state on issues of Furious...............................................................14 health and wellness, climate change, immigra- tion policy, farmworker rights, legislation, and Maintaining My Sanity..........................................15 much more. Created in God’s Image.......................................16 To learn more about the Council and its work, It’s Personal.........................................................17 visit: www.ncchurches.org. A Small Thing......................................................18 The American Demonstrations............................19 Meet Me On the Corner.......................................20 Moral Mondays - Join the Movement Without Hesitation...............................................21 Where Do We Go From Here?............................22 While Moral Mondays in Raleigh have ended for this year, the NAACP-NC and other orga- From Asheville to Raleigh....................................23 nizations have continued to organize similar Turn On the News, Stay Calm.............................24 events around the state. Get the latest at: www.naacpnc.org The Work of the Holy Spirit..................................25 Since 1920.........................................................26 The Common Heritage of This State...................27 Credits Seventy-Three....................................................28 Thanks to all the individuals who submitted Shining a Bright Light..........................................29 stories for this project, and the thousands more who have participated in Moral Mon- From My Journal.................................................30 days. NC Council of Churches’ staff Aleta Bending the Arc..................................................31 Payne and George Reed edited this booklet. Communion and Community...............................32 Chris Liu-Beers did the layout and design. Duke Divinity School intern Michael Burns The Wrong Side of History...................................33 provided photography, including the cover No Longer Alone.................................................34 photo. Voices of Moral Mondays 2 ncchurches.org Introduction: Mustard Seed By Rev. George Reed Executive Director, NC Council of Churches, Raleigh I’ve been thinking about mustard seed as I reflect I am proud of the participation of Council people on Moral Mondays. Jesus once described the from the start. Several of the heads of our member coming kingdom of God by comparing it to a tiny bodies attended. Many Board members, pas- seed that grows into a large tree. tors and lay members of congregations affiliated with the Council, and our staff (past and present) Moral Mondays started with a simple call to were there as witnesses/supporters, and a goodly people of faith to prayer, to pursue the “moral number were arrested. There was an air of home- high ground” of nonviolent protest and peaceful coming to Moral Mondays, and I never attended assembly, to register distress at the direction our without seeing a host of Council friends. state was being taken by the General Assembly and Governor. The call came from the Rev. William For those of you who did not attend any Moral Barber, pastor of Goldsboro’s Greenleaf Chris- Monday, each included a rally – singing, praying, tian Church, president of the state chapter of the speeches – followed by the sending in (i.e., into NAACP, and the creator and prophetic force be- the legislative building) of those who were going hind Moral Mondays. On April 29 (my birthday, but to engage in civil disobedience and be arrested. I’m pretty sure that’s just coincidental) there was a Many of the witnesses/supporters waited to cheer “pray-in,” followed by a rally at the General Assem- on those arrested as they were loaded into prison bly, followed by civil disobedience that resulted in buses and carried away for processing. Rev. 17 arrests. Barber said from the start, and many of those ar- rested have said the same, that the thousands of From that modest beginning, what became Moral witnesses/supporters were as significant for Moral Mondays (as far as I can remember or find in my Mondays as were the hundreds who were willing email, that name was not used for the first Monday to be arrested. gathering) grew into a movement that attracted national and international attention, drew crowds I hope you will appreciate the personal reflections that were repeatedly several thousand in number, which follow. They come from those who were and produced more than 940 arrests from April arrested and those who were there as witnesses/ through July. It also drew attention from the state’s supporters. All have powerful stories to tell, though elected leaders, including the Governor, who words alone cannot adequately communicate the famously proclaimed us to be “outsiders,” but also energy and emotion felt by those who were actu- from the legislative minority, who felt undergirded ally in attendance. in this dismal session by the support of Moral Mondays. Jesus also used the mustard seed to describe the faith expected of his followers. As Moral Mondays The first inkling I had that it was becoming news become a series of local and regional rallies across beyond the state was when I got email from an the state this fall and as participants look ahead to old high school friend, someone I hear from very the need for civic engagement in registering new infrequently, saying that she had just read about it voters, many people of faith are demonstrating our on Yahoo and wanting me to tell her more about faith as we water and fertilize the mustard seed it. The national news media came in to report. (I and see it continue to grow. was interviewed by reporters from American Public Media’s Marketplace and PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, though, sadly, I didn’t say much that they thought useful.) I heard from several friends and colleagues across the country who had heard about Moral Mondays. Voices of Moral Mondays 3 ncchurches.org I Could Not Not Do It By Larry Gaissert St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Raleigh I am an educated, financially secure, slightly- I am not a skilled writer. I am not a strong beyond-middle-age, healthy, white, heterosex- leader. I lack the power of persuasion. But ual, southern male. In other words I am a per- I am passionate, and from time to time that son of privilege. As a teenager in the 1960s, passion simply must be channeled into action. I lived in Birmingham, Alabama and was an I came to realize that getting arrested was the almost eyewitness to the events that occurred way I was to channel my passion. I could not there during that era’s civil rights struggle. not do it. I am also a person of faith, and my faith tra- dition tells me that my privileged status is a My faith tradition tells me gift that carries with it certain responsibilities. that my privileged status is a Primary among those responsibilities is to care gift that carries with it certain for those whom we refer to as the least of responsibilities these…those on the margins, the ostracized, the powerless, the voiceless. I watched the Moral Monday events, attended a couple, saw two friends get arrested. All On July 8, I attended the civil disobedience the while, memories of the events, the brave training, had a green armband tied to my left people, the martyrs in Alabama during the arm, and, with 63 other people, entered the 1960s were flooding back. Soon I realized that General Assembly Building. When ordered to attending the Moral Monday rallies, posting disperse and leave the building, we did not do links to Facebook, and commenting on oth- so and were arrested. ers’ posts were not enough. Do I believe my arrest will make a difference? Not for a minute! But eventually more than 900 of us were arrested. I do believe, I must believe, that cumulatively our efforts will even- tually make a difference. Voices of Moral Mondays 4 ncchurches.org Three Young Men By Aleta Payne NC Council of Churches, Raleigh The three most important people in my life Anyone who actually walked among the happen to be young, African American men. crowd on that last or any other Monday knew None was born in North Carolina, but all have it represented North Carolina. Those protest- lived here most of their lives. ing care about this state
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