August 19, 2020: Finding our Way and Healing the World through Story
“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.” James Baldwin
It doesn’t matter whether you grew up in Nashville or even whether you grew up in the United States. Every place, every people has a history.
Right now, we in the United States feel we are in one of the greatest crossroads in our history. For me, it’s particularly effective that people who have been adversely affected by the policies and actions of the past four years are telling their stories.
It is through story, and through the particulars of story, that we come to know one another, and are moved to action. But also, those to whom we truly listened are affected too: they are healed; they become more whole.
What does it mean to say people are trapped in history?
One of my resources for this Sunday is a book called The Nashville Way. It’s a chronicle of the civil rights years in Nashville, through stories, stories told to an author, who is white and who was not from Nashville. The “Nashville way” he speaks of applies to both white and non-white Nashvillians. It’s a certain way of acting with civility, deference, following a script, that isn’t written anywhere but is understood.
The history is also trapped in them because until it has been told, it will cast a pall of dishonesty over all our interactions. Or, as the educator J.E. Windrow put it, in 1945, those who “buried their heads in a magnolia scented past” will never make progress. I believe this pattern still exists, and I also believe it can be found in some form in most urban US places, as well as in many other parts of the world.
I read several books about Nashville, but I can’t possibly tell the whole story of what occurred here, even if I gave a dozen sermons, which I doubt you’d appreciate! You may have or decide to buy some of these books. I especially recommend The Nashville Way and The Children.
You can also go online to read about the movement and some of the personalities.
Tennessee article with wonderful photos
Civil Rights Walking/Driving Tour Map
So, I will be talking about a few things:
· How these situations of disempowerment by race, class, caste are universal
· How liberals have sometimes enabled them whilst trying to “help”
· How to think about and discern whether/what you might do in response.
· Why feeling guilty is a complete waste of energy.
There will be a Time for All Sages about the situation of the aboriginal people in Australia. Often, it’s easier to see the speck in someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own. To go along with that, I’ve chosen some Aboriginal and Australian musicians. Hope to “see” you on Sunday.
Meanwhile: think happy thoughts and stay safe.
Cynthia