Category Archives: Faith and Social Justice

items from Not in Our Town Princeton (http://niotprinceton.org) and Princeton United Methodist Church (http://princetonumc.org)

“Let every man in mankind’s frailty
Consider his last day; and let none
Presume on his good fortune until he find
Life, at his death, a memory without pain.”

Those are the last lines of Oedipus Rex, quoted by Anna North in a NYT online oped column about people who can’t experience joy without worrying about future pain.  And maybe worry is not such a bad thing.

Perhaps both optimism and pessimism are OK, according to  today’s Hebrew Bible verse, chosen at random and printed in the Moravian Daily Text

The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse—who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways. Jeremiah 17:9-10

It is paired by a Moravian author with this New Testament verse. 

 Whenever our hearts condemn us; God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John3:20

Therapists generally try to “cure” those with a fear of happiness, citing Norman Vincent Peale and his ilk. But we pessimists (I am notoriously one, married to an unquenchable optimist) feel validated by the new theories of defensive pessimism. After all, if WE don’t worry, who WILL save the world/ our family/ our future? Who will accomplish change? The world, our families, need both optimists and pessimists.

Direction might be found in this prayer, again from the Moravian Daily Text today:  

Gracious Comforter, remind us that you know us better than we know ourselves. So when we are filling the voids in our lives or are in need of a change, help us look to you for what we need.

Asked to describe myself in one word, the word that popped out was “driven.” And why:

From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. Luke 12:48

Meeting Mercy

Faith and Social Justice, ,

Mercy-Neal-sm

Meet Mercy Neal. Vacation Bible School students at my church, Princeton United Methodist, will have the chance to make friends with her and her family from 8,000 miles away. In our evening program entitled “Can You Hear Me Now? God Calls Kids Too!” preschool children through incoming 6th graders will meet — through videos — this missionary family that works in Fiji.

Set for Tuesday to Thursday, July 29 to 31, 5:30 to 8 p.m., the VBS program is free by registration. Dinner is included, and parents are invited to stay. The dinner and classes are on the street level and begin in the Sanford Davis Room, on the corner of Nassau and Vandeventer.

Twelve-year-old Mercy Neal and her eight-year-old brother, Josiah, are moving from their home in Belleville, New Jersey to Fiji, an island in the South Pacific. Their parents — Rev. Wesley Neal and Rev. Jerusha Neal, both graduates of Princeton Theological Seminary — will teach at a seminary there.

“The children and youth of Princeton UMC will be writing to Mercy and Josiah, and they will also support the Neal family with prayer and fund raising,” says Anna Gillette, associate pastor for discipleship. “VBS children will hear Bible stories about God calls children into discipleship.”

I’m looking forward to working with Anna, who is returning after a year’s stint in Lambertville and has written this curriculum. It will be fun to introduce Mercy and Josiah to the older students with crafts, music, mission projects and games. We will continue our pen pal friendships when Sunday School begins in the fall.

You’ll likely see VBS students playing games on the tiny lawn at the corner of Nassau. If you have children of VBS age, or are interested in helping out, call 609-924-2613 or email Anna@princetonumc.org. Also don’t forget there is a Cornerstone Community Kitchen dinner this Wednesday and every Wednesday, 5 to 6:30 p.m., in the lower level Fellowship Hall (the red door). All welcome!

Singers and dancers alike say, ‘all my springs are in you’

This is verse 7 from Psalm 87, today’s reading from Moravian Daily Texts.

Changing the way they see the world

Faith and Social Justice, Healthcare, , ,

2014 anna students2014 7 looney John at camp

These days, student doctors with hefty loans likely gravitate to high-paying specialties rather than primary care. Here’s an inspiring example of how Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encourages them to change that viewpoint. It is the Community-Oriented Primary Care Summer Program, “Changing the Way You See the World,” directed by Anna Looney.  In this interdisciplinary program, students come from medical schools, pharmacy, nursing, social work, and physician assistant programs. Looney says the program aims “to give them experience working with New Jersey’s underserved populations and hopefully light their fire to into primary care.”

As examples, the photo on the right shows a migrant farm in Hammonton where two students did health screenings with the workers. On the left, volunteering at Elijah’s Kitchen.

The closing celebration and poster session is today, Friday, July 18, 4 to 6 p.m. in the Great Hall at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway.  Keynoter Deborah M. Spitalnik of the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities will speak, and 20 interdisciplinary students from four institutions will present posters summarizing their community service projects (732-235-4200).

Today’s Google Doodle commemmorates the 96th birthday anniversary of Nelson Mandela, whose inspiring statements include  “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

It is an apt coincidence.

Everyone is a racist at heart, says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Time Magazine (5-14-2014).

Says Kareem: Maybe the worst racism of all is denying that racism exists, because that keeps us from repairing the damage. This country needs a social colonoscopy to look for the hidden racist polyps. And we aren’t doing ourselves any good by saying, “I feel fine. Everything’s fine. Nothing to see here.”

“The truth is, everyone has racism in his or her heart. We feel more comfortable around people of similar appearance, backgrounds and experiences. But, as intelligent, educated and civilized humans, we fight our knee-jerk reactions because we recognize that those reactions are often wrong and ultimately harmful.”

Moravian Roots

Faith and Social Justice, Memoir, ,

prague hus

Statue of Jan Hus in Prague

On this Sunday, Moravians observe the martyrdom of John Hus, burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.

In 1965 my husband and I were founding members of Redeemer Moravian Church,  and it is dear to our hearts. I still use the Moravian Daily Text as a spiritual guide.

I knew Hus was a hero — and he was among the first rebel in the Reformation, predating Martin Luther by a century. He promoted the teachings of Wycliffe, objected to indulgences, and thought of the Lord’s Supper as consubstantiation rether than transubstantiation.

I just learned, reading Fox’s Book of Martyrs that Hus was a popular hero — acclaimed by commoners, nobles, and the clergy of Bohemia, now Czechoslovakia. And a colorful one. When stripped by the church court, forced to wear a paper dunce cap with devils on it, he reportedly said “My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His sake, again wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do it, and that willingly.”

When the chain was put about him at the stake, he said, with a smiling countenance, “My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?”
When the fagots were piled up to his very neck, the duke of Bavaria was so officious as to desire him to abjure. “No, (said Huss;) I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood.” He then said to the executioner, “You are now going to burn a goose, (Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language:) but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil.” If he were prophetic, he must have meant Martin Luther, who shone about a hundred years after, and who had a swan for his arms.

The flames were now applied to the fagots, when our martyr sung a hymn with so loud and cheerful a voice that he was heard through all the cracklings of the combustibles, and the noise of the multitude.

Read the Wikipedia version of his life for a more historical account, complete with political intrigues involving King Wenceslaus, of Christmas carol renown.

In 1457 the followers of John Hus founded Unitas Fratrum, now known as the Moravian Church. Moravians are known for colorful spiritual practices, including their “Daily Text” selections, their early efforts in missionary work, their Easter celebrations (they are the ‘Easter people’), their Love Feasts — and their four-part harmonies. Moravians really known how to sing.

 

lost childOne of the last films to be screened at the Trenton Film Festival, today (Sunday) at 4 p.m., is Lost Child, Sayen’s Journey, pictured above, the work of Rocky Hill resident Janet Gardner.

For an overall view and schedule of the festival, which returns after a hiatus, here is the article at http://www.princetoninfo.com (U.S. 1 Newspaper).  Here is the detailed schedule.

As Kate Newell points out, the “special sauce” of this festival is that it welcomes both new and experienced filmmakers, and they get to mingle with a select audience.

Ann Yasuhara

Around Town, Faith and Social Justice, Memoir, , ,

 

Yasuhara June 1 2014

Ann Harris Yasuhara, 82, died at her home in Princeton, New Jersey, on Wednesday, June 11. A logician and computer scientist, she was known for combining her Quaker faith with action focused on peace, social justice, racial equality, and the environment. Her life balanced her love for the sacredness of all life, the compassionate concerns of a Quaker activist for the world and the local community, her delight in music, gardening, and art, and her generosity to friends and family.

Born on March 8, 1932 in Madison, Wisconsin, her parents were Julian Earle Harris (a French language educator at the University of Wisconsin who received the Legion of Honor) and Elizabeth Marshall Harris, a sculptor. She studied cooking and fashion design in Paris, attended Swarthmore College. and earned bachelors, masters, and PhD degrees in mathematics from the University of Illinois.

In 1970 she and her husband, Mitsuru, settled in a cozy little house and garden in Princeton and pursued their vibrant interests in mathematics, music, and art. Ever adventurous, they traveled widely, including regular trips to visit his family in Japan. Perhaps her favorite place was her garden.

In 1972 she joined the new department of computer science at Rutgers University, where she was an associate professor; she supervised the PhD theses of Frank Hawrusik, Venkataraman Natarajan, and Elaine Weyuker. Ileana Streinu, now the Charles N. Clark Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Smith College, remembers Ann’s classes on Recursive Function Theory and Logic and her textbook. “It was an exquisite topic, beautiful mathematics that Ann was conveying to generations of graduate students. In a department with only a few women on the faculty, she was a model to look up to. With grace and generosity, she touched my life and the lives of many students like me.”

Ann Yasuhara belonged to the living tradition of Quaker spirit-led peace and justice activists. Unflagging in her resistance to war and violence, she studied the philosophy and  methods of non-violent resolution of conflict with George Lakey, the noted Quaker peace activist. In turn, she led many training groups and action activities.

Within the Society of Friends (Quakers) she served terms at Princeton Friends Meeting as Clerk of the Meeting and clerk of the committee on peace and social concerns. She also served on committees in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, an association of 103 Quaker meetings.

Most recently she enthusiastically supported — and went on protests with — the nonviolent direct action group, Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), which works to end mountaintop removal coal mining.  On her 79th birthday she protested on a strenuous mountain climb in West Virginia mining country. In January, just before she was diagnosed with cancer, the Philadelphia-based group honored her as one of its outstanding “wise elders.”

“Ann was a leader in the Quaker faith and an inspiration to all of us. She set the bar very high and gave us confidence to fight for a better world,” says Janet Gardner, a documentary film maker with the Gardner Group and a member of Princeton Friends Meeting .

Within the Princeton community, she helped found Silent Prayers for Peace, which keeps silent vigil every Wednesday in Palmer Square. She was a founding member of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF) . As a founding member of Princeton’s Not in Our Town (NIOT), an interracial, interfaith social action group committed to racial justice, she was instrumental in creating programs that honor and support youth of diverse backgrounds. She also teamed with the Princeton Public Library to develop, through NIOT, thought-provoking community discussions on race, white privilege, bullying, and the environment. Her work withstudents was notable. She was a volunteer tutor, supported Committed Princetonians (a mentoring group), and served on the Minority Education Board of Princeton Regional Schools.

In 2010 Ann was featured in a U.S. 1 article about retirees who are making a difference.

She is survived by Mitsuru Yasuhara, her husband of 49 years; her godchildren Josue Rivera-Olds, Grecia N. Rivera, and Julio R. Rivera; cousins including ​Sarah Rogers Pyle Sener (Pikesville, Maryland), Jan Marshall Fox, J. Laird Marshall, Nancy Marshall  Bauer (Madison, Wisconsin), Jane Marshall (Birmingham, Alabama), Richard H. Marshall (Toronto, Canada), James R. Marshall (Gardnerville, Nevada), and Barbara Figge Fox (Princeton, New Jersey) and their families.

Interment was at Forest Hills cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 5, at 2 p.m. at Princeton Friends Meeting. Donations in her memory may be made to any of the many charities she supported and/or to Princeton Friends Meeting, 470 Quaker Road, Princeton NJ 08540. For a list of the charities she supported, click here.

(This post is based on the obituary that appears at Kimble Funeral Home. Also it is on the Town Topics website. Photo by John Kelly was taken on June 1, 2014).