Any human can do hurtful, harmful things.
Any human.
Any human can perform cruel, evil acts.
Any human.
Any human can break a law.
Any human.
But …
no human is illegal.
No human.
No human is garbage.
No human.
And …
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
All humans.
All humans are unique.
All humans.
All humans are precious.
All humans.
All humans deserve respect.
All humans.
All humans deserve dignity.
All humans.
All humans deserve love.
All humans.
Filed under Human Rights, Current Events, Antiracism, United Nations
The drums beat,
the people continue.
The rattles shake,
the people continue.
The bells jingle,
the people continue.
The dancers move,
the people continue.
The singers chant,
the people continue.
Out of the past,
the people continue.
In the present,
the people continue.
Into the future,
the people continue.
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Friends, Human Rights, Music, New Mexico, Prayer
I thank you, God,
for friends who share photos and stories
of their participation in Pride Parades and events.
The joy, the love, the faith, the freedom,
the courage, the hope, and yes, the pride
in their faces and their bodies
fills my soul with gladness
almost beyond words.
I thank you for their witness.
It touches me profoundly and
deepens my understanding
that you create each of us
in your image and that
each person of
every sexual orientation and
every gender identify
is your beloved child.
I pray, God,
for each friend, each person
who, for whatever reason or reasons,
chose not to participate
in public events.
May they know they are loved by you and
that they too fill my soul with gladness.
Help me remember that Pride
is a focus for a month
and a way to live each day.
Inspire me to love you
and all your children more dearly.
Guide me to work
more faithfully for
a community, a church,
a state, a country, and a world
where everyone knows welcome
and everyone belongs;
where everyone is treated
with dignity and respect;
where all people can participate in Pride events: and
justice and equity prevail for all.
May it be so, Rainbow God.
Amen.
2 July 2025
Filed under Current Events, Family, Friends, Human Rights, Prayer
(on the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
and as the Pentagon renames the USNS Harvey Milk)
When fear calls us to forget,
when bigotry seeks to rewrite and erase,
we remember, God.
We will remember.
We remember Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera,
and all your beloved children
who participated in the Stonewall Uprising,
demanding dignity, respect, and justice.
We will remember.
We remember your beloved child Harvey Milk.
Even as the Pentagon removes his name from a U.S. naval vessel.
We remember his service in the U.S. Navy.
We remember his service in San Francisco.
We remember efforts to recruit us,
to recruit us for the fight to preserve democracy
from those who are trying to constitutionalize bigotry.
We remember his challenge and inspiration.
”you have to give them hope.
Hope for a better world,
hope for a better tomorrow,
hope for a better place to come to
if the pressures at home are too great.
Hope that all will be all right.”
We give thanks for the hope Harvey Milk gave,
the hope he still gives,
and we will remember.
We remember individuals and organizations
who have worked through the years
for the recognition, rights and inclusion of
the LGBTQIA2S+ community
within society and the church.
We will remember.
We remember with thanks those
engaged in this work and ministry
who we knew, and perhaps worked with:
who we know and work with now:
(say names aloud or silently in your heart).
We will remember.
We remember with thanks those
engaged in this work and ministry
whose names we did not know,
whose names we do not know,
and yet who touched our lives
and made life better, more whole, more just.
You know their names, God.
You made and love each one.
And we will remember.
We remember and confess
that some organizations
and individuals (myself among them)
have been too careful, timid, and fearful
through the years.
We accepted the status quo
and failed to challenge the oppression
endured by your beloved LGBTQIA2S+ children.
Forgive us. Renew us. Inspire us.
Help us find our voices.
Help us locate our places in the struggle.
We will remember.
And by your grace, may we do better.
We pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
words in italics are a paraphrase of Harvey Milk’s words in “That’s What America Is” a speech delivered by San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, June 25, 1978 (Gay Freedom Day); words in quotation marks are from “You’ve Got to Have Hope” by Harvey Milk delivered on June 24, 1977; note that like many public speakers (and preachers) Harvey Milk presented the same ideas in numerous speeches; words in bold italics are stage directions for your prayer
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Human Rights, Prayer
I speak for no others,
only for myself.
For me, this day has
nothing to do with
green beer or
green clothing,
this day has nothing to do with
pinching me or kissing me;
my bad jokes aside,
this day has nothing to do even with Jameson.
Today is a day
to remember oppression
to honor resistance
to recognize that, despite the efforts of
systems of race and racialization
to separate us,
struggles for dignity and justice,
freedom and equality,
human rights and humanity
are inseparably linked:
none of us are free until all of us are free.
for that reason, in that spirit, and in my own fashion,
I mark this day, and each 17th of March.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Fitzgerald, from County Cork, on my mother’s side
Filed under Current Events, Family, Friends, Ireland
Friends –
I had another prayer prepared for today. It was loaded in my email and ready to send.
Last night, after the Session meeting, I learned about three Asian American friends who had recently experienced acts of hate. No one was hurt, thank God. But that is not always the case. There are at least reported hate incidents in New York City in which people have been injured. Again, thank God, the injuries have not been serious. But – all such behavior is inconsistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality that all people are made and loved by God.
Clearly this situation worked on me overnight. This morning the following came out.
A prayer
God for all the world,
we give thanks for your work of creation.
You make all that is and call it good.
You make the human creature
in a wondrous array of diversity:
all in your image,
all beloved by you.
Pour your Holy Spirit upon us and upon all people
that we might:
give thanks for the diversity you create,
honor all people,
welcome the diversity you create as a gift
that enriches and blesses us all.
Lead our community, our city, our nation, and all nations and peoples
to reject hate
and to embrace love.
We pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Affirmation for the time of Covid-19
3/19/2020
As well as I am able
(and when I know better, I will do better)
I reject racism and white supremacy and will work to disrupt it;
I reject “othering,” scapegoating, belittling, demeaning of any person or any group of people;
I reject violence directed against a person or group of people because of their perceived race, ethnicity, nationality, or any other factor.
As well as I am able
(and when I know better, I will do better)
I affirm the worth and dignity of every person; I give thanks for the Asian Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders who I know, and who I have never met—I am grateful that I can share this community, this country with you;
I give thanks for the Asian Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders who have entrusted me with your friendship and trusted me to be your pastor—I am honored, I hold you in my heart, I see you in my mind’s eye, I am grateful for you.
As well as I am able
(and when I know better, I will do better)
I confess that I have often fallen short of my own affirmations, my own aspirations;
I commit to picking myself up when I fall short and continuing to work for a community, a country, and a world where everyone is welcome and justice and equity reign.
*****
Note: this is an affirmation for this moment. Other moments would elicit other affirmations.
Note two: my blog, my rules. Any comments I deem objectionable will be deleted. No questions. No debate.
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Prayer
This year is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
The Declaration, and the commitment of UN Member States to affirm and implement its principles, has resulted in the dignity of people uplifted, untold human suffering prevented and the foundations for a most just world have been laid in the treaty regime built upon the Declaration. It is both an aspirational, visionary document and a set of standards that permeates international law.
The Declaration articulates a vision that has been built upon and used to extend rights and protect people around the globe. In a world where exploitation and violation are so strong, we can be grateful for the many ways in which the Declaration has had an impact. Its successes are many.
At the same time, violations of international law and human dignity are perpetrated in many countries. In a report released on Friday, a team of experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council noted that:
Recent memory is replete with multiple examples of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Impunity reigns supreme in many countries undergoing conflicts or political upheavals, encouraged by narrow national objectives, geopolitics and political impasse at the United Nations Security Council.
The report expressed concern that an “upsurge of nationalism and xenophobia seen in countries of asylum, at a time of rising forced-migration” is “reversing the gains of international humanitarian cooperation of the last 70 years.”
UN News notes that :In honour of the 70th anniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, the UN is urging people everywhere to “Stand Up for Human Rights”.
One way to do that is to choose a place in the world where human rights are abused (including in the United States of America) and become informed. Take one action today that affirms and celebrates the worth and dignity and rights of others.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Death Penalty, Human Rights, United Nations
I oppose the death penalty for a number of reasons. Andrew Stroehlein, European Media Director of Human Rights Watch, expressed one of the most important reasons in these terms:
You don’t reject the death penalty because the criminals are decent people. You reject the death penalty because you are decent people.
Our position on the death penalty says as much about us and our characters as it does about the person and the character of the person facing the death penalty.
Brian, the wife of my friend Bruce Reyes-Chow, was murdered at his place of work in 2008. In the wake of the execution of Kelly Gissendaner and the four executions (Richard Glossip’s execution was stayed until Nov. 6 due to questions about the lethal injection drug that would have been used) scheduled between now and October 7, Bruce shares some “Thoughts on the Death Penalty and Remembering Brian.” He writes in part:
We are that family who has lost a loved one and we do not believe that the death penalty is right, just, or humane. Did the killer of Brian extend the same compassion, justice, or humanity, no. Are there times when rage and sadness manifest themselves into wanting revenge, certainly. But we also know that responding to evil with evil, hate with hate, and murder with murder pays no honor to the person that Brian was or to the world that he hoped we would become.
So for the very reason that so many scream. “Death! Justice! Vengeance!” in honor of the person who has been lost, even in the midst of our own rage, sadness, and our own yearning for retribution, we plead, “Life! Compassion! Dignity!” in honor of the person we lost.
Our position on the death penalty says as much about us and our characters as it does about the person and the character of the person facing the death penalty.
I am honored that Bruce and his family have chosen to be friends with me.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Capital Punishment, Current Events, Death Penalty, Friends
I speak for no others,
only for myself.
For me, this day has
nothing to do with
green beer or
green rivers or
green clothing,
this day has nothing to do with
pinching me or kissing me;
my bad jokes aside,
this day has nothing to do even with Jameson.
Today is a day
to remember oppression
to honor resistance
to recognize that, despite the efforts of
systems of race and racialization
to separate us,
struggles for dignity and justice,
freedom and equality,
human rights and humanity
are inseparably linked:
none of us are free until all of us are free.
for that reason, in that spirit, and in my own fashion,
I mark this day, and each 17th of March.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Fitzgerald, from County Cork, on my mother’s side.
See you along the Trail!
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Human Rights, Ireland
Sign a petition to the Mississippi Department of Transportation officials calling for an investigation into their treatment of Jagjeet Singh.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that officers of the Mississippi Department of Transportation harassed Jagjeet, an observant Sikh, calling him a “terrorist” and then arresting him when he refused to remove his turban.
The judge who heard the case compounded the discrimination. According to the ACLU, ” he ordered that Jagjeet be removed from the courtroom and said he wouldn’t let Jagjeet return until he removed ‘that rag’ from his head.”
The United Sikhs have filed a complaint on Jagjeet’s behalf about Judge Rimes with the Department of Justice, the ACLU notes.
Concerned for the actions of the transportation officers, the ACLU has created a petition to Commissioner King and Director McGrath of the Mississippi DOT.
The petition asks: “Investigate and discipline the MDOT officers for their unacceptable treatment of Jagjeet Singh, and train officers on religious diversity so violations like this don’t happen again.”
I believe that all people and religions should receive respect and be treated with dignity. I signed the petition. You can too.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Current Events, Human Rights
Along the Graybeard Trail 