“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…”
Troubling Times……
These are hard troubling times. Remember last week we talked about the immigrant children coming across our border? Did you hear this week that at least five of the children deported to Honduras were killed shortly after arrival back in Honduras? BISHOP MINERVA G. CARCANO, the first Hispanic woman to be appointed a United Methodist district superintendent (1986), is now the Resident Bishop of the Los Angeles Episcopal Area. She serves as the official spokesperson for the United Methodist Council of Bishops on the issue of immigration. She will discuss the desperate situation of these children.
And what of us, the “huddled masses” on our streets?
We know we have the strongest military in the world – probably stronger than all the other militaries combined. Have we, the people on the streets, become the enemy? We applauded when one student stood up right in front of the tanks in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. While there may not be tanks in Ferguson, it certainly looks militarized to me. DR. GWENDOLYN ZOHARAH SIMMONS will share observations from her unique perspective on civil and human rights. If you remember, we talked with her about her involvement during the Mississippi Freedom Summer and years working with Voting and Civil Rights. She was then on the staff of the American Friends Service Committee and was involved with human rights, justice and international development throughout the world for 23 years. She is currently Assistant Professor of Religion and affiliated faculty in the Women Studies Department at the University of Florida.
The conditions of these times are exposing some of the worst aspects of the American soul. I can only hope that we will respond with the best in us yet to be seen.
