So, the final travels of my sabbatical were to go to Montgomery to do the historical thing, visit the museums, listen to the story, follow the civil rights trail that occurs on the same historic spaces of the civil war,, and also visit the living museums recently added. It seemed a good bookend to a sabbatical that began with a visit to the Loraine Hotel in Memphis and the Civil Rights Museum in Atlanta. I also just recently finished reading the book “The Pride and the Promise” tracing Tallahassee’s own history of civil rights and struggles with integration.
The daily prayer i have incorporated into my prayers that comes from Coventry goes as follows: “Today I commit to learning from history, from those who are different from me and from those whom i find it difficult to love”...... Rob and I set off to Montgomery to listen and follow.
The weekend we went included the Pride Parade in Montgomery, a Juneteenth celebration, and scorching heat (probably not surprising about the weather). We visited the Dexter Ave Baptist Church (where MLK Jr was pastor, you can stand at his pulpit, sit in his office chair), the Freedom Riders museum (did you know the freedom riders came through Tallahassee too?), The Civil Rights Museum by SPLC, the Rosa Parks Museum, The Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Justice and Peace. Lots of reading, walking, and learning. We then hopped in the car and drove to Selma, and heard the story of Bloody Sunday, Turnback Tuesday and the 54 mile march from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights for all.
The day was full, hot, and gave us lots of to absorb. The piece that was most moving to me were the people who told their stories, invited us in to hear their accounts. Wanda, who led our tour at Dexter Ave. Church, shared the history and story of MLK Jr. And, while we were late to the gathering in Selma, there were heard the first hand account of a woman who marched in Selma on all three days when she was 11 years old. Both women told their stories with their passion and hope, engaging the listener, informing the listener and inviting us to walk alongside of them.
As the end of my sabbatical approaches, I have been reading A LOT. In the most recent books, the themes seem to come back to this, we need to deeply listen to each other. DEEPLY listen. Even in sabbatical i am realizing this is so difficult in a world where we are Called to go, go, go, and do, do, do. The second theme is that we need to deeply listen and also tell our own story. We are story tellers, we need to risk and tell our story, being vulnerable to others and share our story.
At camp, many summers ago, the theme of the week was God’s Story, Our Story, My Story- we are a part of all three. How well do we know God’s Story, our own story as a community, and our own personal story. How do we share this story? How do we invite others to walk alongside of our story.
Each of us is a valuable child of God, created uniquely and loved deeply. We don’t always believe it or know it. We don’t always show that to our neighbors, and yet God always shows that love to us.
As my sabbatical comes to a close soon, i am thankful for this time to listen more deeply, to learn more of my story and be reminded of God’s story for each of us and all of us as a community.
