Category Archives: Black Lives Matter

More Gun Sense Requests

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I dream of a world where gun violence is not a constant presence.

  1. There are mentally ill people in every country but there are not mass shootings on a comparable scale in most other countries.
  2. There are mentally ill women in our country and yet most of the mass shootings are committed by male shooters.
  3. I agree that these murderers are sick but please let’s not conflate these two issues.
  4. Calling murderers “crazy” or “nuts” isn’t helping anyone. All it really does is: a. pretend that shootings are unusual and b. stigmatize mental illness more.
  5. Every time we add to the stigma of mental illness, we are contributing to the obstacles that prevent people from admitting they need help and actually seek help
  6. NATIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS NATIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS NATIONAL UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.
  7. We need to spend some money on scientific studies. We need to apply this groundswell of concern to actually FUND some studies on guns, gun violence, and gun laws. PLEASE.
  8. Mental Illness is a real human problem that cannot be “solved” with laws.
  9. Gun violence is a real human problem that cannot be “solved” by blaming it on the mentally ill.
  10. The money the NRA uses to buy politicians and to lobby against legislation is a huge problem that we, the voters, can address directly. Let’s do that now.

 

UPDATES: (A) I posted this on Facebook a while back. Since it’s still getting “likes,” I thought I should post it here. Thanks for reading. (B) If you want to support mental health awareness, go to: www.nami.org

 

 

A Litany for Black Lives Matter – written by the Church of God in Christ – adapted for the American synagogue.

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Leader: Today, we stand together in solidarity with our African American brothers and sisters. We unite with all of those who have lost their lives to the unjust forces of police brutality, racial profiling, and systematic oppression.

Congregation: Together, we will stand. As co-created ones, we affirm that all Black bodies mirror the image of God. (Gen 1:27)

Leader: Together, we will march. In efforts to embody the prophetic command, “Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream.” (Amos 5:24) We will dismantle racial and social barriers in order to stand as one and march to the beat of peaceful protests, until God’s work is done.

Congregation: Together, we will march. Adonai, you have taught us to march for freedom and justice. We will march together like the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. We will learn from the marches of generations past, and we will prepare the next generations to march with us.

Leader: Together, we will remember Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Rumain Brisbon, Cameron Tillman, Reneshia McBride, Trayvon Martin, and so many others who have lost their lives at the hands of police brutality. We hear the ringing of the twelve shots that were fired at Michael Brown’s body. We see the horror in Eric Garner’s face as he uttered his last words – “I can’t breathe.” We grieve the unfulfilled dreams of Aiyana Jones, who was only seven years old.

Congregation: We know that we should not stand idly by the blood of our neighbors, (Lev 19:16) and yet we have ignored the graphic images of tragic deaths. We have ignored the cries of victims, their children, their spouses, their parents. With new awareness and humility, our souls lament.

Leader: Together we will boldly name the unjust acts throughout our nation, the unwarranted deaths and shamelessly prejudiced acts. Yet, we are honest enough to also name the reality that resides within these four walls. We too have been unjust. In our ignorance, we too have persecuted. In our privilege, we too have closed doors and silenced voices.

Congregation: Together, Adonai, we seek your forgiveness and the forgiveness of our neighbors.  We have ignored the cries of those whose stories did not beckon the media’s response, whose graves went unmarked, whose bodies remain missing, whose memorials are forgotten.

Leader: Together, Adonai, we refresh our commitment to justice. The Prophet Micah taught us to walk humbly with God and to love mercy. We are also called to act justly. (Micah 6:8)

Congregation: We will walk with humility, and we will love mercy. Our humility and love would be empty without our just action. Together, Adonai, we strengthen our commitment to act justly.

Leader: Together, we proclaim the value of Black bodies. We will deconstruct discriminating stereotypes that have legitimized the death of African Americans, criminalized Black boys and girls, and dehumanized Black women and men.

Congregation: Together, we will proclaim: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the parent who grieves a child she will never hold again, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the child who lives in fear because his neighborhood is barricaded by police, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the father who feels compelled to teach his son how to keep his head down rather than hold his head up, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: For the sister who is doubly-subjugated because her skin is labeled ugly and her gender is less-valued, we will proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter.

Leader: Throughout our congregations, our cities, our classrooms, our work-places, and our homes, we will continue to declare: All of us are created in the Divine Image. This is a truth older than the United States, a truth that America cannot erase. Therefore, we proclaim –

Congregation: Black Lives Matter. African American Justice Matters. Black Freedom Matters. African American Dignity Matters. Black Lives Matter.

 

Thank you to the Church of God in Christ for the Black Lives Matter Litany and other powerful, meaningful prayers which respond to current events.