Stand UP KC, faithfulness matters!

On April 14, 2016, a national day of labor action for low-wage workers, I was asked by the worker’s organizing group to offer a faith-based reflection at an event focused on the hardships and difficulties of low-wage childcare workers.  Sadly, childcare workers all over this country are entrusted with our most precious gifts from God and are paid minimum wages or near minimum wages for their time.  Ironically, most childcare workers cannot afford childcare.  I offered them a reflection written after I read the journal of a symposium hosted by William Temple (later Archbishop of Canterbury) when he was a young priest.  The symposium and the subsequent journal were titled,  “The Industrial unrest and the living wage (a series of lectures) given at the interdenominational summer school, held at Swanwick, Derbyshire, June 28^th-July 5^th, 1913.”  In 1913, this symposium was arguing for a basic minimum wage in Britain of about 26 shillings/week or about $13/hour in US 2014 dollars (converting for inflation, pounds to dollars conversion, labor values, and the longer work week at that time). Let this sink in  . . . in 1913, this group (albeit in Great Britain) was arguing for a minimum wage about 60% greater than the minimum wage in the USA today.   Moreover, it was arguing for a higher livable wage!  One hundred and three years later, we are still trying to solve the challenge of a just and livable wage.  May God be patient and merciful with us!

My reflection:

Thank you all for being here today.  Today, all over the city, all over the country, low-wage workers are standing up for themselves. You are standing up for fair and living wages.  You are standing up for dignity and respect.   You are standing up for the American ideals of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Ideals that are the bedrock of our nation.  You are not asking for charity!  You are not asking for favors!  You are asking for respect, dignity, and a living wage!  You are asking for your fair share of the American Dream!  Today, I am privileged to be here with low-wage workers who are standing for our country’s time-honored, though sometimes obscure, belief in justice.

Some ask me, “What has this to do with religion?”  As a Christian minister I am compelled to recognize God’s calling to do justice and love mercy!  God expects this of me and every person who embraces the God of all creation.  As a faithful person, I recognize all people as souls created by God.  All of you here today, especially you working men and women that struggle with low-wages, you are souls of God’s making.  You are made in the image of God and aspire within yourselves to seek God’s purpose in your lives.  Yet we know low wages burden you with the constant fear of not being able to meet basic needs like food, housing, utilities, healthcare, childcare, and uncertainty about the future for yourselves and your children.

You are “souls,” brothers and sisters in Christ, who I am commanded by God to love and for whom I am commanded to do justice and to seek mercy.  A society as rich as ours in which a large portion of honest and industrious workers are unable to secure continuous, full-time employment at a living wage which will maintain a family in a condition compatible with the requirements of stable and decent living is, in my opinion, an unjust and poorly managed society and an unfaithful and unrighteous society.  Christian people who stand passively unresponsive to such sinful injustice, unfaithfulness, and unrighteousness are people who have lost the vision of their calling by God to do justice for the least among us.  A Christian who does not act for justice and dignity for all people, especially the vulnerable and poor, is a faith-challenged Christian indeed.

The deepest guilt:

–is on those who do not shed penitential tears for our brothers and sisters in Christ who struggle to survive on wages too low to survive.

–is on those who do not burn in their hearts and souls for changes in these unjust economic and employment systems.

The deepest guilt:

–is on those who do not understand that poor, excessively low wages are destroying people by assaulting their character, poisoning their minds, demoralizing their humanity, and breaking their immortal spirit.

–is on those who do not agitate and work and sacrifice and pray for the ending of low wage misery for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Faithful people, God’s people, religious people everywhere should be demanding the dawning of a new time of fair, livable wages and that dignity, respect, and economic security should be counted as an inalienable right for all working people and their families.

Today, I am privileged to introduce to you three persons who are personally involved in the plight of our childcare workers.  Childcare workers are trusted with God’s most precious gift to us:  Children.  Yet for them and many of their fellow low-wage workers, the resources of professional, licensed childcare is unaffordable.   Our speakers will help us better understand the reality of this human tragedy . . .

Scriptural influences:

Isaiah 1.17—Learn to do good; devote yourselves to justice, correct oppression; aid the wronged . .

Proverbs 31.8-9—Speak up for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate.  Speak up, judge righteously, champion the poor and the needy.

Proverbs 14.31—He who withholds what is due to the poor affronts his Maker; He who shows pity for the needy honors Him.

Proverbs 29.7—A righteous man is concerned with the cause of the poor; a wicked man cannot understand such concern.

Proverbs 22.16—To profit by withholding what is due to the poor is like making gifts to the rich—pure loss.

Micah 6.8—What the Lord requires of you: Only do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

Jeremiah 22.16—He upheld the rights of the poor and needy—then all was well.  That is truly heeding me, declares the Lord.

Acts 18.9– the Lord said to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent. 

Matthew 25 Parable of the sheep and Goats . . .

My thoughts on Baltimore

Violence is rarely the best way for an individual or a community to register its protest against any injustice or oppression. There are certainly times in history when a strict exclusion of violence as an option may be considered irresponsible (e.g. apartheid in South Africa); however, to leap to violence too quickly or without a significant period of non-violent engagement through the social systems (government, etc) would certainly seem questionable. The ANC and its precursor in South Africa tried for decades to work in non-violent ways to achieve their goals before they switched to violent protest.

Notwithstanding this historic caveat, the mob violence we observe in Baltimore, which should not be confused with political protest, violent or nonviolent, is a reflection of something much deeper and more challenging than just the death of Mr. Freddie Gray. Since the 1964 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ( living wages & voting rights) our country has been in a slow and insidious decline in both jobs and freedom. Despite a steady increase in American worker productivity, lower and middle income wages, adjusted for inflation, continue, since 1964, to decline. Not only this, but job opportunities offering a survivable income are shrinking for many of the most vulnerable in our nation. Despite lip service to our grand experiment in representative government, there is an unrelenting effort to suppress voting rights, generally targeting socially and economically vulnerable groups. Yet, the charge of voter fraud as a casus belli for this effort of voter suppression has no valid data to support it. In such an environment, the desperate and hopeless experience the chaos of mob violence and riots as simply passing on to the greater community the frustrations experienced daily by the least among us. While certainly not a justification of such behavior, it is a compelling reason for us to suspend a severe critique of such violence and attempt to pay closer attention to underlying causes of such clearly self-defeating behavior among a community made vulnerable and exhausted by recurring injustices.

Rioting as an effective strategy is ultimately pointless and cannot be condoned or tolerated–it is destructive in every way. However, I equally posit that those of us who are comfortable and benefit from the opportunities of our country can no longer tolerate from our comfort zone the unrelenting physical, emotional, economic, etc assaults visited on vulnerable members and groups of our society–not only in isolated events like Mr. Gray but also in societal wide depreciation of whole groups in our society.

Let me be clear in this, it is not the police I blame. Though in too many circumstances police violence and abuse serves as a catalyst, I see this as localized and not representative of the thousands of police officers and first responders around the country who seek to serve with honor and compassion. Rather, these isolated (and currently too many) police related events are something more akin to “canary in the coal mine” warnings to us of a growing brokenness and dis-ease in society generally. If the elected leadership, local/state/national, is not willing to provide the actions necessary to change our countries despicable record on justice for all, then “We the people” must stand arm in arm with the most vulnerable and demand change. Our non-violent solidarity with those most victimized by the current injustices and inequities of our political, economic, and social systems is a far more powerful testimony to our history and, for the faithful among us, our religious values than is complacent quietness. Our acts of non-violent civil and/or religious solidarity with the vulnerable enables us to move toward Francis Bellamy’s grand vision in 1892 of “. . . one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Let us embrace the expansive vision of the Founders, a vision that transcends even their own actions and imaginations, and demand “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” be not an American ideal only but an American reality for all her citizens. Moreover, let we the faithful more radically embrace the challenge of the Good Shepherd and reach out with generosity and love to the most vulnerable among us. Let such actions of justice begin today and let them begin with me . . . and you.

Praying with our Feet

My opening statement at the #KCPrayerfulResponse prayer gathering on December 9, 2014

My name is Stan Runnels.  I am the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.  On behalf of my parish, I want to welcome all of you here tonight.  It is a privilege for us to be able to host this continuing prayerful response to the challenges and heartaches of our time.  I asked our organist to play Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” tonight because this prayer response upon which we embark is about common people.  It is about us, you and me, as we seek to find a way forward in a time of great sadness and turmoil.  For all time, it is us, the common people who are called upon to stand for truth and justice.  The common people are the greatest people; it will be the common people who change the world for the better.  Copland’s piece is a celebration of us and I pray it is an inspiration for us to reach for our greatness in this challenging time.

I am also a member of #KCPrayerfulResponse.  I count it an honor to work with this group of committed men and women of all colors and faith traditions who believe in God’s high calling to all God’s creation and especially God’s people.  In the service sheet you received, there is a fuller explanation of what #KCPrayerfulResponse is—I encourage you to read it.   What is most important for all of us tonight is that #KCPrayerfulResponse believes it is time to pray with our feet—that is, it is time for real action, it is time for change, it is time to embrace God’s promise–the Kingdom of God is near . . . it is so near God wants us to reach out our hands and grab it and know that it is real . . . . that it is here . . .  that it is  powerful . . . and that it is for all God’s children . . . not just some of God’s children . . . it is time not to quietly and privately support justice for all . . . not to quietly and privately support living pay for all . . . not to quietly and privately support real access to health care for all . . . not to quietly and privately expect that people, especially young, black men, not to be shot and killed when unarmed on the streets,  in their homes, at the mall, or anywhere . . . NO,IT IS TIME TO SHOUT OUT WITH THE BOOMING VOICE OF ALMIGHTY GOD THAT JUSTICE SHOULD FLOW LIKE A MIGHTY RIVER FOR ALL PEOPLE, ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE!

On March 14, 1968, Martin Luther King gave a speech at Grosse Pointe High School in Michigan.  The speech was titled “The Other America.”

The speech begins: “I want to discuss the race problem tonight and I want to discuss it very honestly.  I still believe that freedom is the bonus you receive for telling the truth . . . And I do not see how we will ever solve the turbulent problem of race confronting our nation until there is an honest confrontation with it and a willing search for the truth and a willingness to admit the truth when we discover it. “

King continues “. . .  there must be a recognition on the part of everybody in this nation that America is still a racist country. Now however unpleasant that sounds, it is the truth.  And we will never solve the problem of racism until there is recognition of the fact that racism still stands at the center of so much of our nation and we must see racism for what it is. . . .  It is the notion that one group has all of the knowledge, all of the insights, all of the purity, all of the work, all of the dignity. And another group is worthless, on a lower level of humanity, inferior. To put it in philosophical language, racism is not based on some empirical generalization which, after some studies, would come to conclusion that these people are behind because of environmental conditions. Racism is based on an ontological affirmation. It is the notion that the very being of a people is inferior.”

King goes on to point out that in history when racism is extended to its logical conclusion, the result is genocide.  I want to tread carefully here, but it becomes more and more difficult not to connect these words spoken by Dr. King in 1968 to the general trajectory of recent killings across this country, especially of young, unarmed, black men and children.  Moreover, when the judicial system we expect to dispense justice seems unwilling to hold any person accountable for any of these killings, we must bear the burden for allowing a society to persist that seems to be moving more and more toward violent racism, implicitly if not explicitly condoned by the society.  Or, we can, in faith, challenge the behavior and the systems and advocate for a change, a real change in our country!

King continued “Now I wanted to say something about the fact that we have lived over these last two or three summers with agony and we have seen our cities going up in flames. And I would be the first to say that I am still committed to militant, powerful, massive, non­-violence as the most potent weapon in grappling with the problem from a direct action point of view. I’m absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. And I feel that we must always work with an effective, powerful weapon and method that brings about tangible results. But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years (written in 1968, current minimum wage adjusted for inflation has declined since 1968). It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met (voter suppression is on the increase).  And it has failed to acknowledge that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”

Martin Luther King once suggested that a faithful person does not start really living, fully living their faith until they rise above the narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity, especially the marginalized, the injured, the suffering, the poor, the hungry, the helpless, the abused, the sick, etc.  Every person must decide, at some point, whether they will walk by the light of a creative loving God who challenges us to serve the least so to serve God; or will he or she walk in the darkness of destructive and broken selfishness.  America is at a crossroads right now.  Do we walk by the light of real justice or do we turn off the light and let the darkness surround us.

We are here tonight to declare we are not about tranquility and the status quo.  We hear the groaning of the earth as it waits for the children of God to bring the light of justice to bear for all of God’s creation, all of God’s people.  We do not merely hear the word of God, we are ready to DO the Word of God . . . We are ready to pray with our feet as we, like Joshua, march to bring down the walls of injustice and oppression.

#Icantbreathe

I can do no better than my colleague Fr. Marcus in expressing my feeling this day.  I encourage you to read his blog “Icantbreathe.”  The link is below:

http://blackandwhiteandinlivingcolor.com/2014/12/04/how-do-i-pray-when-icantbreathe-theology-in-the-shadow-of-mike-brown-and-eric-garner/

#KCPrayerfulResponse

As we prepare to host the next prayer gathering of #KCPrayerfulResponse at St. Paul’s on December 9 at 6 p.m., I offer you this as a broad statement of what motivates this group, what they seek to accomplish, and how they intend to achieve their goals:

#KCPrayerfulResponse is sponsoring a series of prayer gatherings to provide a prayerful and forward looking response for the Kansas City faith communities to the circumstances surrounding and including the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson as well as the proliferation of deaths of other African-American men around the country.  While the circumstances, causes, and legal outcomes of any singular case may be debated or disputed, the frequent and disproportional victimization and deaths of young, unarmed black men points toward a festering and virulent disease . . . racism: structural, institutional, political, economic, and societal racism.  #KCPrayerfulResponse, a coalition of ministers and other persons of faith, is an interfaith and interracial response to this disease in our midst.  While acknowledging the heartache, pain, and even injustice of the deaths of Michael Brown and others, #KCPrayerfulResponse wants to move forward faithfully and prayerfully toward reconciliation, redemption, and restoration.  We believe the grace and love of God is sufficient to heal the long festering wounds of racism and bring new pathways of living in community to all God’s children.

#KCPrayerfulResponse seeks to shine a light on the many of challenges we face moving forward toward God’s goal of harmony for all creation.  We recognize the economic hopelessness and educational disparities that afflict and perpetuate divides in our communities.  We know the struggles of hardworking peoples who only want a fair and equal chance at a modicum of success in their endeavors.  We know the hardships of those who must choose between paying the rent, putting food on the table, keeping the lights on, or buying the medicines needed for good health.  We know the anguish of a parent who must say “no” to a child because there simply is no money left for the music lesson or the movie or the special treat.  We know the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness of the person caught in the tightening noose of the payday loan trap.  All of this and more becomes sacredly and sacrificially bound up in the violent deaths of young, unarmed, black men.  Even the stones cry out, “Where is justice?  Where is righteousness?  Where are the faithful?”

#KCPrayerfulResponse believes there are nonviolent and creative responses to this challenging time.  Desiring to change and improve race relations in our communities:  1) we intend to exercise non-violent protest (including, when warranted, acts of civil disobedience) to racism and racial violence in our midst, 2) we want to create environments of solidarity among all constituents of our communities, especially with law enforcement; and 3) we aspire to collaborate with our young adults and youth, creating solutions and strategies for surviving and succeeding in the challenges of this time and their futures.  #KCPrayerfulResponse invites all of faith and goodwill to join in this movement of the Spirit of God.  May the breath of God move over the chaos of this moment and form us into a new creation that more authentically and faithfully represents the fullness of God’s grace and love for all people.