Ten Things on Inauguration Day
Ten things running through my head as I watched the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president:
1. While I have no desire to belittle George W. Bush, I am relieved beyond words that we now have a president who considers rhetoric to be a worthy art.
2. I remembered back to my first semester in seminary when I took "History of the African American Religious Experience" and had my eyes opened to the anger and frustration that many of my black sisters and brothers in Christ had carried with them for generations.
3. I remembered that at that same seminary, all the executives except one were white and the entire custodial staff were black.
4. I remembered the lay leader at the church I served in Batavia telling me that the contractor who built the church building in the early 20th century was also a known leader in the KKK in Clermont County.
5. I was offended at the blatantly Christocentric prayer offered by Rick Warren. To my mind, this was an opportunity for someone in the evangelical wing of the church to offer a non-sectarian, multifaith prayer.
6. I was thrilled that Joseph Lowery quoted James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing." That hymn has been running in my head all day.
7. I remembered our son telling me at dinner before we moved to north Columbus (and thus into the Columbus City School district) that it would be nice to go to a school where there were more than just white people around. "Because that's the way the world is," he said.
8. I remembered hearing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech for the first time in elementary school - with the sound on a 45rpm record and pictures in the form of a slide show! :-)
9. I recalled a recent conversation with an African American parishioner who told me he still couldn't believe Mr. Obama had been elected. In fact, he said, they were so sure it was impossible for him to win in November that they had voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary.
10. My children will never know a world in which it seems impossible that an African American could be elected to the most important job in the country.
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts ... but those are my top ten right now!
1. While I have no desire to belittle George W. Bush, I am relieved beyond words that we now have a president who considers rhetoric to be a worthy art.
2. I remembered back to my first semester in seminary when I took "History of the African American Religious Experience" and had my eyes opened to the anger and frustration that many of my black sisters and brothers in Christ had carried with them for generations.
3. I remembered that at that same seminary, all the executives except one were white and the entire custodial staff were black.
4. I remembered the lay leader at the church I served in Batavia telling me that the contractor who built the church building in the early 20th century was also a known leader in the KKK in Clermont County.
5. I was offended at the blatantly Christocentric prayer offered by Rick Warren. To my mind, this was an opportunity for someone in the evangelical wing of the church to offer a non-sectarian, multifaith prayer.
6. I was thrilled that Joseph Lowery quoted James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing." That hymn has been running in my head all day.
7. I remembered our son telling me at dinner before we moved to north Columbus (and thus into the Columbus City School district) that it would be nice to go to a school where there were more than just white people around. "Because that's the way the world is," he said.
8. I remembered hearing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech for the first time in elementary school - with the sound on a 45rpm record and pictures in the form of a slide show! :-)
9. I recalled a recent conversation with an African American parishioner who told me he still couldn't believe Mr. Obama had been elected. In fact, he said, they were so sure it was impossible for him to win in November that they had voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary.
10. My children will never know a world in which it seems impossible that an African American could be elected to the most important job in the country.
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts ... but those are my top ten right now!
Comments
Went to church on Sunday and the pastor mentioned a quote that she heard on NPR....
Rosa sat so Martin could walk, Martin walked so Obama could run and Obama ran so our children could fly!