Hi Neighbor!
I’m at a loss for words and have written many different stories for this but each didn’t feel quite right. So I’ve taken this excerpt from Main Line Unitarian Church’s Sunday sermon by Rev. Dr. Neal Jones tilted Cultivating Empathy.
“I’m getting older, and life is short. I don’t want to waste one minute of my life hating. I would rather channel the energy required to hate into positive action for change. Every single progressive movement in history has been built on a foundation of patient, persistent love.
Gandhi was right: Love always wins in the end and hate always loses.
The Baptist preachers of my youth were right: Hate the sin but love the sinner.
The Catholic monk, Thomas Merton, was right: If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed – but hate these things in yourself, not in another.
And Dr. King was right: Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Listen to the sermon here.
We need to do more. We need to listen. We need to learn. We need empathy. This edition is dedicated to that.
Always learning,
Regina
Read More Here
I and my oldest son (early 30s), attended this wonderful, impressive, powerful and successful Peaceful Protest that marched from the Wayne Train Station to the Paoli Train Station on June 4th. A little more information about the sponsor, Main Line for Black Lives, is in the email below.
By participating physically, and virtually by others, everyone there publicly showed our support for Mr. George
View moreI and my oldest son (early 30s), attended this wonderful, impressive, powerful and successful Peaceful Protest that marched from the Wayne Train Station to the Paoli Train Station on June 4th. A little more information about the sponsor, Main Line for Black Lives, is in the email below.
By participating physically, and virtually by others, everyone there publicly showed our support for Mr. George Floyd, other victims and their families, and against the institutions of police brutality and systemic racism and their history in this country.
Question is, what do we do now? We all have to begin somewhere:
– Research on the history of these systemic inter-twined institutions, including policing.
– Self-education.
– Dialogue, hard and long on-going conversations.
– Practicing the willingness to even try to learn to bend just a little, or more, at a time in our thinking, behavior and actions.
– Expanding and encouraging opportunities for empathy and exposure to how someone else lives, exists.
– Reading about, learning from, and incorporating the good list of books about racism to start with, as listed in the Main Line Neighbors blog below (a go-to online community hub for civic-minded locals looking for events and information for the Philadelphia suburbs.)
Thank you.
Bertha Jackmon, Co-Chairperson
View lessWest Paoli Neighborhood Reunion Committee