Bellringer-June-2020
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Holman United Methodist Church | JUNE 2020 | Church of the Bells RACISM REV. PAUL A. HILL It had been a challenging journey as my mother hurriedly led me and my siblings on a trek across town in Dallas in pursuit of new shoes for her 6 children. I was the third of 6 scheduled to get new shoes on what had been an exhausting trip. This journey would require 2 buses to and back home to address a normal need in every person’s life. Understandably fatigued from the journey with small children in tow, my mother took the first seat available in the shoe store upon arrival in an attempt to catch her breath. We were the only people of color in the store; I was 4 years old. We waited and waited and waited for someone to offer us some help with the purchase of some shoes. However, we must have become invisible to the store staff as they hurriedly waited upon all of the white customers, making several trips to the stockroom to satisfy their white customers without them having to ask for help. Finally my mother asked (in a calm and quiet way) if someone could help us. In a harsh and angry way the white customer service person turned to my mother and said, “Girl, we can’t help you unless you go into the stockroom behind the curtain.” Hurt and probably also angry, my mother gathered us up like a mother hen and led us to the stockroom. At the age of 4 years I received one of my first lessons of racism that service, common courtesy, and equality was not to be extended or expected by Black people from White people. That was reserved for Whites. Particularly if you are a black person who has the rare opportunity to be hired and to extend service to white people. I didn’t fully understand all that this encounter meant to my mother, but judging by the tears that ran down her face I could tell something hurt her and maybe going to buy shoes is not something to look forward to again. The protest against racism has been a constant experience in my life for as long as I have lived, and it started at age 4 years for me. I know what it means to be ignored, overcharged, to be followed in almost any store (and in some cases to become the target of suspicion even before crossing the threshold of some retail establishments). I know what it means to be assigned as a United Methodist pastor who has jumped through all the hoops of United Methodism seeking to love God’s people no matter who they are and where they are from. I even know what it means to be drafted into the United States Army and assigned to protect and defend the people of South Korea (in South Korea) only to be shoved, pushed, overlooked and told that the mistreatment of Black people is due to how we are treated back home in the USA—in South Korea we are third class people. Need I say more about this pain I have lived with since I was 4 years of age??!! Perhaps there should be a pre-warning given at conception of what is in store for people born of color!!! Two weeks ago I heard the recording of rhythm and blues singer the late Marvin Gaye entitled “What’s Going On.” This collection of songs not only give you an insight into my life as a young man becoming, but seeks to address the same pain and anger exhibited during the 60s and 70s as I became a young man. The experiences of racism have never stopped but often are more cleverly levelled on people of color. “What’s Going On?” Dare we ask in the face of another senseless “murder” by those (Continued on page 15 -— RACISM) FAITH FORMATION Deborah A. Mitchell Director of Children’s Ministries There Is More than One Way to See John 9:1-12 (NIV) 3 . said Jesus, . “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” God has equipped us with many ways to see. We not only see with our eyes, but with our understanding. Our eyes are able to view an image, view anything that is visible, but our understanding is from within. It is like a light bulb turning on or an idea that just pops into one's mind. Jesus taught us about this in the scripture above when He gave sight to the blind man who had been blind from birth. People asked how it was possible for the man to see. They questioned if his blindness was caused by the sins of his parents. Even though the people doubted, the formerly blind man did not. He knew Jesus had given him sight. He only knew that his eyes had been opened! Jesus asked the man, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" The man said, "Lord, I believe!" and he worshipped Him. There is more than one way of seeing. The man who had been blind came to realize that there is also a “spirit way” of seeing. We see with our eyes and we also see and come to understand the love of God with our hearts. America is going through a very rough spot right now. The killing of George Floyd has sparked protests here and abroad. People's eyes are now being opened to the reality of what it means to be a black man in America. They are now "seeing" from within and saw with their own eyes how a black man was “lynched” because of the color of his skin. It is sad that circumstances had to get to this extreme for the American people (of all ages) and the world to open their eyes to the plight of the African American community. Let us keep our eyes wide open, physically, and spiritually for a move of God that ends systemic racism in this country and let us abide by the Word of God which states, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Questions for reflection: • Why is it important to understand that people are born spiritually blind? • What practical implications does this have when you present the gospel? 2 In Fellowship LOOKING AHEAD 1 DIANE BERNSTEIN 1 DAWN GLENN OUR WORSHIP 2 INGRID E. VERNON CELEBRATIONS 4 RICK ALLEN PERSAUD 6 JANE WILSON VIA RADIO BROADCAST ON 7 DOLORES GRAHAM KJLH RADIO 102.3 FM 7 HAZEL STOREY WWW.KJLHRADIO.COM 7 ROZALIN A. SMITH and 8 DAN SIEVER 8 MARY BOYD LIVE STREAM VIA FACEBOOK 9 BEN BROWN, SR. 9 THEODORE KING Sun. June 7 10 AMA THOMAS Worship 11 am 11 JUNE BLEAVINS ⬧TRINITY SUNDAY 12 PATRICIA QUAYE Peace With Justice Sunday 13 BRIGETTE THOMPSON Holy Communion Sunday 13 DON WATERS 14 LEVAUGHAN WELCH 14 DARNELL MITCHELL-CLAY Sun. June 14 17 JOAN GILL Worship 11 am 18 JOYCE ALLEN ⬧2nd Sunday after Pentecost 18 SAUNDRA VARNADO-WILBURN 18 KAROLYN HAMM Sun. June 21 19 VIVIAN HALL Worship 11 am 20 MAUREEN NEAL ⬧ 22 ROBERT LEWIS Father’s Day 22 JOANN LANCASTER-WILLIAMS 24 KERRY L. NORWOOD Sun. June 28 25 CARLA HILL Worship 11 am 27 WALTER CATHEY ⬧4th Sunday after Pentecost 27 MILLARD LATHROP 28 JACK HAYES 29 MARZUK LEWIS 29 RICARDO LJ MOWATT 3 Nurture through Witness The 2020 RESET MEMO By Howard Hobson III Every year after December 31st a new year begins. I see this first day of the New Year as a clean slate. An opportunity to reset my plans, and jot down new goals in my life that I want to pursue to advance and improve my quality of life in the New Year. For 2020, I looked forward to completing my last semester of my history degree program at Cal State University Northridge, traveling to Europe for the summer, and then returning in the fall to begin the teaching credentialing program at Northridge. Unfortunately, it seems that the rest of the world did not get the reset memo, because 2020 has not gone as intended, and many of my plans have been interrupted or completely terminated. The disruptions in my plans, however, are not as devastating as those for others. In each month of the new year the news has been more heartbreaking and devasting then the last. From the death of Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant and the 7 other victims in a helicopter crash, to the Coronavirus outbreak that has infected and changed the lives of millions on a global level, to the recent suffering and uproar that the black community is facing with the death of so many of their brothers and sisters due to senseless murders and police brutality. It seems as if 2020 is just going to continue to get worse and worse as the months go by, until December 31st comes back around. Will 2021 allow us to reset and forget about these tragic couple of months and start anew like every other year? Can I/ we reset? Can I/we forget? Yes, I/we can reset, but no, I/we cannot forget.