In the Name of Love: The Example of Dr. King Lives On, Even 50 Years after his Deathpost from the blog, Mosaic by Cory Lockhart
In the name of love,
What more in the name of love?
These lyrics of the U2 song “Pride,” a song written in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., have been playing in my head all day long. April 4 marks the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
In the Name of Love: The Example of Dr. King Lives On, Even 50 Years after his Death by Cory Lockhart in Mosaic, News & PressIn the name of love,
What more in the name of love?
These lyrics of the U2 song “Pride,” a song written in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., have been playing in my head all day long. April 4 marks the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
In a statement to mark this milestone, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Administrative Committee writes “On this day, as we reflect on [Dr. King’s] life and work, we need to ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to build the culture of love, respect and peace to which the Gospel calls us… This anniversary gives us an important moment to draw inspiration from the way in which Dr. King remained undeterred in his principle of nonviolent resistance, even in the face of years of ridicule, threats and violence for the cause of justice.“
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
On March 24 in cities and towns across the United States and even outside the U.S., hundreds of thousands of people, led by young people, gathered for the March for Our Lives to “assure that no special interest group or political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country.” Students from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, many of whom have been harassed and even received death threats for speaking out again gun violence and calling out politicians who have received millions of dollars from the National Rifle Association, spoke at the Washington, D.C. rally. That event also included students of color from Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other places. Naomi Wadler, age 11, from Alexandria, VA, named three young Black women killed in gun violence– Courtlin Arrington, Hadiya Pendleton, and Taiyaina Thompson. She went on:
I am here today to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper…I represent the African-American women who are victims of gun violence. Who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls and full of potential…I am here to acknowledge their stories, to say they matter, to say their names. Because I can, and I was asked to be.
The USCCB statement says, “Our faith urges us to be courageous, to risk something of ourselves, in defending the dignity of our neighbor who is made in the image of God. Pope Francis reminds us often that we must never sit on the sidelines in the face of great evil or extreme need, even when danger surrounds us.”
The young people in this movement “created by, inspired by, and led by students of all ethnicities, religions, and sexualities across the country” are courageous, are risking themselves, and are defending the dignity of their neighbors.
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
In 1968 Dr. King was organizing a mass movement of poor people of all races to march in Washington, D.C. Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy explained that the intention of the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968 was to “dramatize the plight of America’s poor of all races and make very clear that they are sick and tired of waiting for a better life.” Fifty years after Dr. King’s murder, tens of thousands of Americans are mobilizing to join the renewed Poor People’s Campaign, led by Rev. William Barber of North Carolina, and the Rev. Liz Theoharis of New York. The campaign, “uniting tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality,” begins on Mother’s Day and will include six weeks of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience.
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
After the Sacramento, CA police shot and killed unarmed 22-year-old Stephon Clark on March 18, Black Lives Matter (BLM) Sacramento has held nearly daily protests against yet another police shooting of an unarmed Black man. The Sacramento Kings announced a partnership with Build. Black. Coalition and BLM Sacramento to “fundamentally transform Black communities through deep investment in Black youth.”
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
On March 5 in Washington, D.C. and throughout the U.S., immigrants and immigrant advocates gathered to urge legislators to pass permanent measures to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Dozens were arrested for their actions.
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
West Virginia teachers, among the lowest paid educators in the country, went on strike for nine days in late February and early March until the governor signed a bill to raise their pay. During the strike, some teachers, even as they fought for their own rights, continued to support their students by sending food home with some students prior to the strike or giving students assignments while schools were closed. Other supportive citizens took care of children whose parents didn’t have alternative child care, donated food, and stood with striking teachers. Some students even picketed with their teachers. Senior in high school, Maxwell Stewart, said, “I want to go back to school, but not until my teachers get what I think they deserve.”
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
The USCCB statement concludes with these words: “We can best honor Dr. Martin Luther King and preserve his legacy by boldly asking God—today and always—to deepen our own commitment to follow [God’s] will wherever it leads in the cause of promoting justice.”
The above actions are only a few of the ways people around the U.S. are promoting justice, whether intentionally aiming to preserve Dr. King’s legacy or falling into it by circumstance.
The above actions don’t include the ongoing nonviolent actions and movements from around the world- in Palestine, in Iraqi Kurdistan, in Honduras, in the Philippines, in many other places on small and grand scales, though we rarely hear about them.
May we take note. May we “deepen our own commitment to follow [God’s] will wherever it leads in the cause of promoting justice.”
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?Read the rest of the blog post here.
“Ponder where your courage and compassion reside.” (Joyce Rupp, Prayer Seeds.)
Re-energize courage and compassion in your life and community! In 2018-2019, the JustFaith program offers new readings, new prayers, and new formats to small groups in your Christian church or community. Groups may now register either for the full 24-week program or for one of three 8-week phases. Phases can be taken individually or in order. When taken in order, phases are designed to provide the entire JustFaith experience in smaller installments, over a longer period of time.
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Your financial gift affirms your belief in the life-changing work of JustFaith Ministries. YOUR SUPPORT give us courage in these difficult times to stay the course, to continue the good work! We are able to offer JustFaith Programs because of YOU.
Your prayers, your leadership, your support, and your commitment are great signs of life and possibility for this ministry. Your support makes it possible for others to have their lives altered in deep and lasting ways, benefiting our world. As we like to say, JustFaith changes people, and these people change the world!
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shared by our partners at Bread for the World
Congressional Action on the Budget! Ready to Take Action? Congress recently passed a fiscal year 2018 budget that largely maintains funding levels for both domestic and international anti-hunger programs. In fact, the budget included increases for some key programs, such as summer EBT, and international food aid! Your advocacy is critical to ensure that spending bills provide the strongest support possible for anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts in the United States and around the world.
Sponsor an Offering of Letters/Ofrenda de Cartas
Individuals and congregations are raising their collective voices to ask Congress to invest in and protect key programs that help improve the lives of men, women, and children facing hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. Resources available at 2018 Offering of Letters: For Such a Time As This.
“We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.”shared by our partners at Maryknoll
Maryknollers in several cities and states joined the “March for Our Lives” assisting with voter registration and supporting our young organizers and activists. These Maryknoll Sisters were part of the march in Ossining.
In the words from the “Romero Prayer” -
“This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.”
www.MaryknollAffiliates.org
Upcoming JFM Graduate Immersions with Maryknoll
For more JustFaith Ministries stories, visit our blogs:
JustFaith Ministries is a nonprofit organization that forms, informs, and transforms people of faith by offering programs and resources that sustain them in their compassionate commitment to build a more just and peaceful world.
Congressional Action on the Budget! Ready to Take Action? Congress recently passed a fiscal year 2018 budget that largely maintains funding levels for both domestic and international anti-hunger programs. In fact, the budget included increases for some key programs, such as summer EBT, and international food aid! Your advocacy is critical to ensure that spending bills provide the strongest support possible for anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts in the United States and around the world.
Sponsor an Offering of Letters/Ofrenda de Cartas
Individuals and congregations are raising their collective voices to ask Congress to invest in and protect key programs that help improve the lives of men, women, and children facing hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. Resources available at 2018 Offering of Letters: For Such a Time As This.
“We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.”shared by our partners at Maryknoll
Maryknollers in several cities and states joined the “March for Our Lives” assisting with voter registration and supporting our young organizers and activists. These Maryknoll Sisters were part of the march in Ossining.
“This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.”
www.MaryknollAffiliates.org
- BOLIVIA, August 9 – 19, 2018
- Deadline for signups: April 9, 2018
- EL SALVADOR, November 30 – December 9, 2018
- Deadline for signups: July 30, 2018
For more JustFaith Ministries stories, visit our blogs:
- Catching Light: a blog by Muriel Schmid, Director of Programs
- Mosaic: a blog by Cory Lockhart
- Still in the Storm: a blog by Joe Grant
- In the Storm Still: a companion blog by Joe Grant
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