Dear People of Christ Church,
This week, I'm writing to ask you to mark your calendars for May 12, Mother's Day. Of course it may already be on your calendar, but this year we've been invited to participate in a new way, to accompany our bishop and other friends from the diocese and Boston on the Mother's Day Walk for Peace.
Bishop Shaw called me up this week and started with "Hi, Sara, It's Tom. And I have a big favor to ask of you." Naturally disposed as I am to do what the bishop tells me to do, when he asked me to skip church at my own parish and come and concelebrate with him at the Boston service (i.e., stand at the altar with him and a contingent of other parish clergy), my first thought was not "of course!" It was "ummmm, okay." But then I remembered my first mother's day.
I was on maternity leave with newborn Isaiah. We participated in the peace walk as a new family with members of St Anne's, Lincoln, where Noah was the assistant rector at that time. I think Isaiah must have been about six weeks old, strapped snugly onto my chest, and I could not imagine what a nightmare it would be if harm ever came to him. The Louis D Brown Peace Institute, which is are organizing the walk, was started by Tina Chery in memory of her son, Louis, who died at age 15, struck by a stray bullet in a gunfight while walking down the street (to a "youth against guns" gathering, at that!). The institute offers resources for survivors of homicide; grief counseling, groups for children to process the loss of a sibling, and other help for parents and community members. They've also created a nationally recognized "Peace Zone" curriculum to be used in schools on violence prevention. Their seven core principles are love, unity, faith, hope, courage, justice, and forgiveness.
It's easy to sit back and wonder, "Well, what does this have to do with us?" and I think it's exactly because we have the luxury to ask that question that we have to go out of our way to make it our concern. My son's asthma is made worse by pollen, not city smog. I don't worry that my daughter could get shot while learning to ride her bicycle. But if I can go and walk together, to witness, as a Christian, for peace-if I can do just that one small thing, how can I not?
There are a whole variety of opinions about what to do about guns. I know I raised a few eyebrows a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned gun control in a sermon. And yes, I do believe that the second amendment does not protect the right to own an assault weapon. But this isn't about that (there is an event in Lexington coming up-see announcements below). Teaching peace works. Youth employment programs work. Helping the sibling of a murdered teenager deal with those feelings will make it a lot less likely that they'll pick up a gun and try to kill somebody else. This is one thing that pretty much everyone can get on board with.
And it's Mother's Day! In 1870, Julia Ward Howe, who also wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic, wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation," declaring, "Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs." The walk is not long-it's 3 ½ miles. The opening remarks are at 8am, and it wraps up at 10, and we'll celebrate the Eucharist with Bishop Shaw and other friends right at the end of the route. The goal is to have 15 people from each parish, but I would hope we could get more than that!
You'll be home for lunch. Please sign up on the bulletin board and I'll give your name to the bishop's secretary so she can register our group. No donations are required, but of course they are welcome.
blessings,
Sara+
For more information:
A diocesan registration page will be set up shortly.
http://www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org
http://mothersdaywalk4peace.org/
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