Our vision for Christ Church Cathedral is that we be "a place where people, all people, can gather to seek God and to be present to each other while being a catalyst for change and growth within the wider community." Chapter has adopted this vision as part of our strategic planning process. It is the "heavenly Jerusalem" we believe we will become as we live into the mission we have discerned to "seek a deeper relationship with God and each other in Jesus Christ through:
*Celebrating the sacraments faithfully.
*Proclaiming the Gospel boldly
*Embracing diversity joyfully
*Serving all passionately
as a Cathedral."
From 5-7 pm on Saturday, Oct. 11, Christ Church Cathedral will be hosting a training session in nonviolent resistance as a part of the Ferguson October National Mobilization Weekend. I am writing to share what this training will be (and to invite your participation), who will be conducting it, why we have agreed to host and the process used in making that decision.
The training will be facilitated by members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (http://forusa.org/). FOR is a longstanding and respected interfaith organization that has been working for peace, justice and nonviolence for nearly 100 years. Historically, it's supporters have included such people as Albert Einstein, Corretta Scott King and Thich Nhat Hanh. You can read about FOR's history here - http://forusa.org/about/history. FOR's Director of National Organizing is Ethan Vesely-Flad, an Episcopalian. I am proud to be a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Specifically, the training will be led by the Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, a graduate of Soldan High School and Baptist pastor. I have met Rev. Sekou on several occasions, and he was with me on Monday evening as we served as peacekeepers with the young protesters in Ferguson.
I have been a student of nonviolence since my youth, and in particular have read and prayed deeply with the writings of Mohandas Gandhi and, to a lesser extent, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I believe our call to follow Jesus is consonant with the principles of nonviolent resistance when faced with situations of extreme injustice.
This was enough for me to consider FOR's invitation to host the training. I then took it to the Executive Committee of Chapter for their consideration. We had first an email conversation and then a conversation at our meeting Thursday evening. We agreed that gathering people together to be trained in nonviolence was a good thing no matter what the circumstances ... and particularly at this time where we have been experienced violence in our city recently and the potential for greater violence looms, the more people we can engage in nonviolence the better. We also agreed that this was a way to live into the vision of Christ Church Cathedral as a "catalyst for change and growth within the wider community."
I will be attending the training, and I hope you will consider attending it, too. I know there will be people there who will be attending it as preparation for direct nonviolent action ... potentially even that weekend. I also hope there will be plenty of people there who will see this as an opportunity for what is essentially a spiritual journey and way to engage powers with the heart of Christ's love.
FOR has offered to pay our security costs so that we are not out of pocket any expenses for this event.
If you have any questions about this event or any event we host at Christ Church Cathedral, please contact me and I will be happy to talk, listen, meet and pray with you. And I hope you will be a part of this gathering at Christ Church Cathedral.
*Celebrating the sacraments faithfully.
*Proclaiming the Gospel boldly
*Embracing diversity joyfully
*Serving all passionately
as a Cathedral."
From 5-7 pm on Saturday, Oct. 11, Christ Church Cathedral will be hosting a training session in nonviolent resistance as a part of the Ferguson October National Mobilization Weekend. I am writing to share what this training will be (and to invite your participation), who will be conducting it, why we have agreed to host and the process used in making that decision.
The training will be facilitated by members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (http://forusa.org/). FOR is a longstanding and respected interfaith organization that has been working for peace, justice and nonviolence for nearly 100 years. Historically, it's supporters have included such people as Albert Einstein, Corretta Scott King and Thich Nhat Hanh. You can read about FOR's history here - http://forusa.org/about/history. FOR's Director of National Organizing is Ethan Vesely-Flad, an Episcopalian. I am proud to be a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Specifically, the training will be led by the Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, a graduate of Soldan High School and Baptist pastor. I have met Rev. Sekou on several occasions, and he was with me on Monday evening as we served as peacekeepers with the young protesters in Ferguson.
I have been a student of nonviolence since my youth, and in particular have read and prayed deeply with the writings of Mohandas Gandhi and, to a lesser extent, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I believe our call to follow Jesus is consonant with the principles of nonviolent resistance when faced with situations of extreme injustice.
This was enough for me to consider FOR's invitation to host the training. I then took it to the Executive Committee of Chapter for their consideration. We had first an email conversation and then a conversation at our meeting Thursday evening. We agreed that gathering people together to be trained in nonviolence was a good thing no matter what the circumstances ... and particularly at this time where we have been experienced violence in our city recently and the potential for greater violence looms, the more people we can engage in nonviolence the better. We also agreed that this was a way to live into the vision of Christ Church Cathedral as a "catalyst for change and growth within the wider community."
I will be attending the training, and I hope you will consider attending it, too. I know there will be people there who will be attending it as preparation for direct nonviolent action ... potentially even that weekend. I also hope there will be plenty of people there who will see this as an opportunity for what is essentially a spiritual journey and way to engage powers with the heart of Christ's love.
FOR has offered to pay our security costs so that we are not out of pocket any expenses for this event.
If you have any questions about this event or any event we host at Christ Church Cathedral, please contact me and I will be happy to talk, listen, meet and pray with you. And I hope you will be a part of this gathering at Christ Church Cathedral.
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