Family Devotional 6.15.20 Erynne DeVore

I heard from many of you that last week's family resources list on racism was helpful. I have received and researched some more resources, and that will be this week's family devotional message as well. While I have used some, I have not personally read or engaged in every resource, but they all come from trusted sources and are resources I'd use for my own family. 

More resources on raising anti-racist children:

Click here to follow The Mom Psychologist on Instagram. She is a black parent and psychologist who posts helpful parenting content regularly, but is focusing on anti-racism resources for parents now. 

Click here for a template to write Anchorage School District about how they are addressing anti-racism in the school system, should you feel so inclined. It is courtesy of black activist and lecturer Rachel Cargle.

Click here to purchase the parenting book Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey.

Click here for suggested anti-racism children's books from Anchorage Library. Submitted by Anchorage youth librarian and St. John parent, Elizabeth Nicolai.

Click here to email me if you are interested in being part of leadership for a parents discussion group on raising anti-racist children.

Click here for a short family guide to supporting racial justice now written by Wendy Claire Barre.

Click here for more info on and/or to download a free file from Cokesbury (publisher of our PreK/K and 1st-3rd grade Sunday School) titled: Deep Blue Life: Faith and Culture—Anti-Racism

A family prayer:

Dear God,

Learning about how your people are hurting makes us feel sad. Please help us feel that sadness, and then take that sadness and turn it into change. We want to change ourselves and our families so that we are better able to love EVERYONE. We know small changes can make a big difference with your help! Thank you for our brains that let us learn and grow and change so the entire world is changed, and black and brown people are safe and loved everywhere. Thank you for loving me SO MUCH so I can love everyone. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

~ Erynne DeVore, director of Children's Ministry

Musings on the Jesus Food Garden

Allison McLain is founder and coordinator of St. John’s Jesus Garden, now in its seventh summer. She wrote this reflection in January 2015, after the garden’s first season.

Excerpt from “Musings on the Jesus Food Garden 2015”

Last spring, when we were planning a garden to grow vegetables for the Downtown Soup Kitchen, quite a few people asked me “why.”

The answer is “because it makes a difference to this one.”

I have this answer thanks to the Rev. Carlo Rapanut, our conference superintendent. Way back in September he preached a sermon called Sent Out.  It really spoke to me because I have often felt that God has sent me out to do stuff – not miraculous stuff, mind you - but stuff like teaching, buying cases of SPAM for F.I.S.H., being a Girl Scout leader, and growing vegetables for Downtown Soup Kitchen.  During that sermon the Rev. Rapanut was talking about God sending out people to be his disciples and to do his will in this world. Once when someone asked him once why it was important that he was doing the kind of ministry he was doing, the Rev. Rapanut responded “because it makes a difference to this one.”

“That is why we have a Jesus Garden,” I thought.  Because it might make a difference in one person’s life to have a cup of soup that is made with our fresh vegetables. Because it is served with love and caring at the Downtown Soup Kitchen, and that love and caring does make a difference in people’s lives. The 6 pounds of cauliflower, 28 pounds of cabbage, the 8 pounds each of kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, and collards made a difference somehow – some way in the lives of the people who ate the soup made with our vegetables. The 80 pounds of apples picked off our family tree by Girl Scouts from the troop our church sponsors became the centerpiece of at least two 500-person meals of mulligatawny soup – the Wednesday soup at DSK.  

What we did last summer with our little garden made a difference in people’s lives. I am getting really excited about working on the garden again this summer. It brought me great joy to watch our garden grow. I must confess to talking to the veggies, encouraging them to grow big and strong so they would nourish others. I prayed for our little garden to be fruitful. Our Pastor John said last Sunday, “God is multiplying our gifts” and our Jesus Garden is a perfect example of God’s work through us in this world. I look forward to another year of gardening with friends at St. John and I hope to welcome many more volunteers to our garden.

~ Allison McLain

Daily Devotional 6.10.20 Rick Meidel

“…..The second is this: ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:31

I received a number of kind comments after my last devotional and I’m appreciative of those who took a minute to write me. Thank you! I want to take you back to when I wrote that devotional. In the days following the taking of George Floyd’s life, the term “White Privilege” was being thrown around a lot, without a lot of context and without a lot of definition. I have struggled with the term. I’ve been working since I was in the 5th grade, received a worker’s permit at age 14 and have been working full-time since I was a freshman in high school with two full-time jobs during each summer. It was necessary. I have kept my head down and my tail up, wheelbarrowing my way through life’s difficulties. That doesn’t sound like white privilege to me! Sound familiar anyone? Within the protests of that first week, I saw signs and slogans that said “Racism - Silence Is Violence”. Whoa. Hold on there. That’s a bit extreme! I’m not perfect and I will readily admit it. But my style of keeping to myself, and not needing to verbalize my every feeling across multiple social media channels, does not, in any way, equate to violence! Who agrees with me?

It was in those moments that I reflected on Paul’s message to the Romans: “God does not show favoritism.” Favoritism. I thought, 'now that’s a word I will accept. I’m not a bad person, and favoritism is a word that helps me better focus on areas where I can improve. Perhaps it is a word others can relate to as well'. And I began writing. Given the many comments I received, I felt I had struck a chord. I was a few days behind in my reading when I caught up on the church announcement about the upcoming Tuesday book study. I was so confident that I had found a single word that could motivate us to action, I immediately began writing Pastor Emily to suggest that she might tone down hard-hitting words like “Racism” and “White Privilege” and replace them with a word like “Favoritism.” I never finished that email.

As the two weeks since the killing of George Floyd have passed, the whirlwind of reports and stories in the news continues. How do we right the wrong against George Floyd by vandalism and having people carry off a brand-new TV or jewelry that they didn’t pay for? Did anyone else say that to your spouse, a friend, or the TV itself? President Trump is in a siege of ongoing criticism. Should we really condemn a sitting president in such a way? That’s not very patriotic! Sports stars have had to walk back their words after communicating respect for the flag. We love our flag! Law enforcement has been lumped together and labeled evil. Blue lives matter! All lives matter! People have lost their jobs based on what they’ve said on social media or even based on what a spouse has said on social media. What is the world coming to? Every word, action or inaction is being scrutinized and judged. If you’re not for us, you’re against us! It’s a mob mentality with everyone piling on. It’s like …. wait for it … .a lynching.

Perhaps the obstacle we need to overcome in getting traction to right the historic and present-day wrongs is that we try to bucket our behaviors or tendencies. I’m not as bad as others. Favoritism is not as bad as blatant racism. I don’t belong to a white supremacy organization! And what about all this destruction and looting? My silence and inaction are not a cause for that! As soon as someone gets all of this serious stuff fixed, I’ll begin working on my minimally diverse Christmas card list. You go ahead and get started. I’ll get started in just a bit. Is it resonating yet?

I’m going to bet that more than one of us has said, “It’s horrible that an innocent black man was killed, but destroying property has to stop.” I read somewhere that we need to flip that around. Try saying, “It’s horrible that property is being destroyed, but the killing of innocent black men has to stop.” Say it out loud. Say it with conviction. Say it like you mean it. It’s not as easy as it sounds. We want to prioritize the wrong part. And that, folks, is the real context behind White Privilege.

I have a suggestion. Let’s remove the segregation of our various behaviors. Let’s stop comparing whether one action is worse than another. Let’s accept that it’s all bad. It all has to stop. Purifying our own hearts first can be the kindling that leads to a firestorm of broad, sweeping change from which we will never revert. Let this begin with me and let this begin with each and every one of you. Now, who’s with me? 

“The Lord said to Samuel, look not on his appearance or the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. The Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance. But the Lord looks on the heart.”  - 1 Samuel 16:7

Heavenly Father, our silence speaks loudly to you. You know what lies in our heart though we may not utter a word. Send us into battle. Arm us with knowledge that our silence and inaction helps fuel a fire that must be stopped. Don’t let us wait to act until others act. Open our hearts. Open them wide. In His name, Amen.

Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.

Family Devotional 6.8.20 Erynne DeVore

On Talking to Children about Race

Like many of you, I am discerning how to equip and teach my children to be anti-racist, specifically as people of faith. I have compiled a list of resources that I have found helpful, but first I would like to make a few things clear:

1. I am not an expert on talking about race. I am educating myself right now. 
2. I am so sorry that I have failed to educate or say enough before now. I apologize for the role my silence has played in the systemic oppression of black people and people of color, and for failing to understand that "not being racist" and telling my children "God loves everybody" is not enough. I recognize that being warm and welcoming to every child of God is far too low a bar to have for myself, and our black brothers and sisters need and deserve more than that. They need our advocacy, change, action, and true empathy. 
3. As a white woman, I recognize my privilege. I understand that it is my job to use my privilege to elevate those voices that aren't heard, and that we desperately need.
4. That does not mean asking people of color (POC) for resources, their opinions, or to educate us more than they already have. If you have ever had to explain your own trauma/pain to someone who will never be able to firsthand understand it, I think you will appreciate why it is unfair to and exhausting for POC to have to continually educate white people. There are a lot of good resources out there for white people to start.
5. As a spiritual leader, I understand it is my job to equip parents to be the spiritual leaders of their own homes. I am passionate about this and take this responsibility seriously. 
6. It is never too early to talk to your children about race. You do not have to be an expert on race, or any other tough topic, to have these conversations with your children. Some of this looks like what a lot of us have already been doing - acknowledging our differences with other people, pointing out our similarities, buying toys with different skin colors. Some of this looks like having tougher conversations with slightly older children about racism and racial violence, that I personally have not done as good a job of doing. The conversation about race and inclusivity starts as young as babies, but some of us have children a little older and that conversation needs to turn into anti-racism. 
7. It is OK to admit to your children that you are still learning, and you might make mistakes. They will feel safe to make their own, when you do. It will give you an opportunity to model what to do when you make mistakes, especially if those mistakes hurt people.
8. You know your children best. I have one child I can have very frank, candid, and open conversations with about anything. I have one child who is deeply empathetic and very sensitive. While race and inclusivity have been ongoing conversations in our home, racial violence has not, and I will have to be careful not to overwhelm her all at once with tough conversations. This list is not intended to be a week, or two week, intensive course on racism. This is a starting point for a lifetime of conversations and hopefully, activism.
9. I know sometimes children's frankness and unfiltered honesty can be surprising and uncomfortable. Try not to shush your children when they have uncomfortable questions or speak about race. You want this to be a conversation that you can sustain over their childhood. 
10. As people of faith, we are called to stand up for the oppressed. We need to do this now, we should have done this yesterday. That said, you cannot heal the world if you yourself, are not healed. Please take care of yourself. Healing of the world starts in the home, which starts with safe, healed, healthy parents. Take a walk, take a bath, make yourself your favorite breakfast, schedule a therapy appointment, call me if you would like to chat, text a friend - do (or don't do, maybe nap instead) what you need to do to feel loved - because you are. You are a beloved child of God.

Remember if you are on a desktop and/or do not have an instagram account, some of these links will not be direct or work exactly right. You can still look at someone's instagram account on a desktop but you need an account to follow and engage, and instagram is designed to be looked at on an app on your phone.

Click here for a list of resources from Pretty Good Designs. Podcasts, books, toys, etc. for children and their parents.
Click here to email me for a "Black Lives Matter" printable coloring page from Global Kids Ministries.
Click here to be taken to the "Social Issues" section of A Mighty Girl website. You can sort through books on topic, by age, etc. It is one of my favorite websites as a parent.
Click here for the Amazon link to the children's book God's Big Plan, a lovely book on God's plan for diversity.
Click here for the Amazon link to the children's book Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness.
Click here for a list of 31 Children's Books on Race. My children and I will be listening to Something Happened in our Town on the Audible App, this week. 
Click here to follow Black Christian, anti-racist, author and leader Osheta Moore on Instagram. Her work is geared towards adults, but I have found it very enlightening as I've lead conversations with my children. Her recent post on June 1 "Breath Prayers: Jesus...Help me be brave" I found deeply meaningful.  
Click here for a list of anti-racism resources for white parents compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein. Sent in by St. John parent and local nurse, Sarah Llewellyn.
Click here for Black Lives Matter K-8 distance learning resources, including coloring pages. Sent in by St. John parent and local nurse, Sarah Llewellyn.

Many of the resources I list below came from the Instagram Page sexpositive_families. I am passionate about having conversations around healthy sexuality and body positivity with my children. I am now recognizing that there is a huge intersection with racial equality and these topics that I have been missing.

Click here to be taken to the website Raising Race Conscious Children. From their intro: "Welcome to Raising Race Conscious Children, a resource to support adults who are trying to talk about race with young children. The goals of these conversations are to dismantle the color-blind framework and prepare young people to work toward racial justice..."
Click here to be taken to the website Teaching for Change. It is geared towards educators, but there are lots of resources for us parents who are our own educators as well. 
Click here to follow the instagram page The Conscious Kid: Parenting and Education through a Critical Race Lens.

As we look forward into the future of this being an ongoing conversation and working point of our discipleship, I will be discerning what a parents group might look like for parents to discuss with each other how they are teaching their children about racism. If you are interested in being a part of the leadership for this potential group, please let me know. You do not have to be an expert on racism. A passion for God, equality, dismantling white supremacy, and parenting are all you need! 

If you would like a starting point for a simple prayer for your family, feel free to use (as much or as little) of this one I wrote for you:

Dear God,
We thank you for all of Your children. That is ALL of us! We feel sad when we hear about black or brown people not being treated with love and kindness. We feel nervous when we don't know what to do to help. Please guide us, God. Help us know how to help. We are thankful for how you remind us to be a good friend to everyone. We want people of color to be safe. We know you are the safest Love there is in our world, and we want everyone to feel Your Love. Help ALL of us to feel Your Love. Help us show Your Love to everyone, no matter what they look like, sound like, or live! In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

~ Erynne DeVore, director of Children’s Ministry

Daily Devotional 6.3.20 Rick Meidel

Rick Meidel

“For God does not show favoritism.” - Romans 2:11

I grew up in the country outside Auburn, Illinois, a small town, population 3,000. It was a close-knit community, as most small towns are I suppose. I didn’t recognize it as clearly then as I do now, but everyone looked exactly like me. Sometime in my youth, I recall that an African-American family moved to our little town. I don’t remember any physical violence, but I can guess that there was an emotional toll. I recall the family didn’t stay around very long. As I’ve aged, I find myself stumbling with names I should remember or forgetting what I had for breakfast; and yet I can recall this memory of one particular family that I don’t think I ever met.

Before being recruited by Crowley, I spent 32 years with ExxonMobil. As I retired there, to begin a different path, I was reflective about my long career. I don’t think anyone could have predicted - certainly not me - that a small-town kid would join the ranks of one of the largest, most successful, companies in the world. I mean, come on, my very first trip on an airplane was when I interviewed for the job! I reflected on what I valued the most from that experience. It wasn’t recognition. It wasn’t prestige. It wasn’t money. What I continue to value most was the opportunity to travel the world, not just learning about other cultures but immersing myself in those cultures. I spent considerable time in places like Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, Eastern Europe, Turkmenistan, and many more. I like to joke that I can order a cold beer and get to a toilet in a multitude of languages! My travel experiences were eye-opening. They were enjoyable. And those experiences changed my life.

My travel experiences impacted my views about diversity and inclusion; they shaped the way I build organizations and teams within my work. Sometimes I want to pat myself on the back. And as my Facebook page blows up with everyone’s posts of solidarity about the recent, horrific events in our country, I wonder if others are wanting to pat themselves on the back too. The problem can’t be me!  I belong to an inclusive church! No, it must be someone else. I’ll just sit and watch the news. But the problem is me. And the problem may be you, too. As I tell people when we get into such a discussion, think about the last number of times you’ve had people over for a visit to your home. Was there diversity in the guest list? Not so much at my house. I look down my rather lengthy Christmas card list, and I can’t find much diversity there either. I can come up with some reasons perhaps; but they aren’t very good reasons. If I can develop, and value, a diverse team at work, and if I can share in words the value of diversity as I raised my children, why doesn’t that show up as much, with action, in my personal life? I’m not racist, but perhaps I show favoritism. It’s embarrassing and I’m ashamed.

In the Romans scripture above, Paul places God’s absolute lack of favoritism against the motives or tendencies of our human heart. As humans, we do in fact show favoritism. We may not embarrass ourselves with this favoritism. Our favoritism may not ever put us in a compromising situation or land us on the wrong side of the law. Nonetheless, that favoritism leads to bias, as unconscious as that bias may be. I know God can't be pleased when we have regard for one group of people over another, and especially if we have that regard based on language, skin color, cultural origin or any other filter, without any regard for the person inside.

I’m getting older. My parents, obviously, even older. I’m losing friends with whom I grew up. Other friends are battling life-threatening illnesses. I guess now, I think more about life eternal. As I think about what it might be like, one day, to greet the Father, I know I’ll be surrounded by others; a very diverse group of others. No group will be above another. I don’t want to be embarrassed or ashamed in that setting. No, not in front of the Father. Before that day comes, I can  and will do better. We can do better, together.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” - Revelation 7:9-10

Father, help us reflect on your absolute lack of favoritism while recognizing our own shortcomings. Don’t let us be satisfied with good words and good thoughts. Guide our actions toward your higher purpose. We pray for all those who are suffering from recent, diversity related events. We want to do better. We know we can be better. Show us the way. In His name, Amen.

Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.