Many thanks to all those who planned and participated in Mormon May Day events around the world! Let’s keep brainstorming for next year & get the word out about Mormon May Day!
Washington, DC area picnic and discussion for Mormon May Day. It was wonderful to share our sincere testimonies and meet together to break the fast.
by Kate Kelly
I was delirious, irritable and felt, for perhaps the first time in my life, true hunger.
On Jan 11-22, 2010 I joined Witness Against Torture
for a 12-day fast and vigil to demand that Obama close Guantánamo, as he had promised in his first days of office. As a young Mormon girl I began fasting at age 8. Somehow, growing up, Fast Sundays always seemed the longest and I always felt famished even with the thought of having to fast. I envied the young primary children and their little plastic baggies of Cheerios on those days. Somehow it just makes you hungrier knowing you won’t be able to eat.With the Witness Against Torture group I made it through day five of the liquid-only fast, a great accomplishment for me since my maximum fast before that had been 24 hours, but I continued to participate in the actions planned by the group. I was very privileged to associate with the other fasters who are incredibly inspiring folks. One woman, who is nearly 80 years old
assured me that fasting for an extended period “gets easier each time.” It turns out that she has fasted dozens of times, and has been arrested 20 times since 2005 fighting for social justice. As she prepared for arrest on the Capitol steps the final day of the fast, everyone was preoccupied that she might not receive sufficient liquids in jail, but she did not seem to worry. She slowly marched up the steps singing the names of the Guantánamo detainees still incarcerated with the soft refrain, “we remember you.” When she goes to court after her arrests she wears a t-shirt that says, “”I’m not disturbing the peace, I’m disturbing the war.”
Many of the other fasters are very religious people, and as 78 year old Eve says, “In everything I do, I want to be a reflection of my faith.”
In the context of the current global power structure I often feel helpless. I feel that my contributions and actions are useless drops of water fighting the proverbial raging inferno. Fasting to me is about control. It is a way to control appetite and to control my mind. It is about taking back control and harnessing a feeling of power and influence many of us have lost. When men and children in Guantánamo fast they are subject to further torture of force-feeding but, they face this sadistic punishment with dignity, struggling to control their bodily intake, the one thing they have control over.
There is power in exercising control. There is power in hard work. Through the act of fasting you are accepting consequences, you are an active participant in your prayer. One of my favorite quotes from my historical hero, Susan B. Anthony, is:
“I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees but with my work…Work and worship are one with me. I know there is no God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees and calling him ‘great.’” -Susan B. Anthony
I see fasting one small way in which I can bring my actions up to the level of my ideals. Another hero of mine, and nearly the whole world, Mohandas K. Gandhi used fasting as a powerful tool to topple the British colonization of India. He demonstrated steeled principles and inspiring command over human appetite while demonstrating to all that his hunger for justice was stronger than his bodily hunger.
My mission president, now a general authority, really focused on fasting in our mission
and recently wrote an article in the Ensign entitled: Fasting with Power. Elder Bowen says, “Fasting allows us to avail ourselves of this cleansing and purifying power.” He describes a few things we can do to make our fasting a meaningful experience:
As an advocate of social justice I particularly love his last piece of advice. In a world where I often feel overwhelmed, and helpless to help, I think one thing we can do when we encounter injustice or disaster is make a personal commitment to God to change our habits, actions and life to further his work on earth.
May we all harness the power of the fast on May 1, 2010 to end poverty, injustice and economic sin on earth.
Amen (& hallelujah)
“That is our doctrine—a doctrine of inclusion. That is what we believe. That is what we have been taught. Of all people on this earth, we should be the most loving, the kindest, and the most tolerant because of that doctrine.” – Russell Ballard, General Conference Oct. 2001
by Kate Kelly
Today I read a book by Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, who was a Roman Catholic Archbishop in Brazil. He is famous for the above line, and for trying to fight the root causes of poverty.
The entire book, The Spiral of Violence, (more like a long pamphlet) is available in pdf form here.
Read it today.
He addresses the three types of violence that contribute to this spiral of violence:
He says: “the only true answer to violence is to have the courage to face the injustices which constitute violence No. 1 [poverty].”
“It is only through justice that a true and lasting peace will be achieved… Within his own religion, each person will discover the necessary impulse to give himself entirely to justice as a condition of peace.”
“Whatever your religion, try to demand that, instead of separating men, it helps to unite them…In the teachings of your faith, what are the principles, the directives which call for justice and peace?…Beyond the barriers let us unite! If existing minorities – and there are minorities within all…religions- can come together in Action for Justice and Peace, we shall have the right to hope.”
“Do you think you are alone? Look around you. Talk to your friends. Talk to people in your house, in your neighborhood, at your school, at your work, with your leisure companions…Leave no one indifferent around you. Provoke discussion. Your youth must force people to think and take up a position: let it be uncomfortable, like truth, demanding, like justice.”
“The time has come when each religion must rediscover, in its sacred texts, the truths capable of encouraging the human development of the outcasts of the modern world and of arousing the consciences of the rich…each religion must leave its own mark on the movement”
“We are hundreds of years behind, and all of us bear direct responsibility for the sin of omission.”
This was a talk given in the Washington, DC 2nd Ward Sacrament Meeting on May 18th, 2008 by Gregory A. Prince who was speaking as a stake highcouncilman. This talk is so wonderful, I had to share it, but I wanted to make sure that we let everyone know that brother Prince does not endorse, support, or (in reality) probably even know about Mormon May Day.
He is just an awesome man with a welcome message:
“We recently finished construction on our new home, a process that took three-and-a-half years. (For those of you who are contemplating, or who will contemplate building your own homes, I strongly urge you to lie down until the urge passes.) Although the process was long, tedious, exhausting and expensive, I learned a few lessons along the way—aside from the obvious one of not taking on such a task again.
Because of the nature of our home, which is supposed to look several hundred years old, it was necessary that I do some of the cabinetwork myself, drawing on skills I learned in an apprenticeship over three decades earlier. Some of that work involved turning rough-sawn black walnut lumber into finished cabinetry, and that process provided me with the kernel of my sermon today.
I am going to show you two pieces of black walnut. The first is from what is called a “forest tree,” which is a tree that has grown in the midst of many other trees. In order to compete for sunlight, it must grow up rather than out, resulting in a long, straight trunk with no branches. Because there are no branches, the wood has a regular, even grain that is apparent even on the rough-sawn side. When it is planed and finished, the straightness of the grain is even more apparent. A cabinetmaker making a chair loves this kind of wood, because the straight, predictable grain will provide strength to the arms or legs of the chair.
The second piece of black walnut comes from what is called a “yard tree,” which is a tree that grows alone in a yard. Because there are no other trees surrounding it and competing for sunlight, it can send branches out in every direction. If you are a child and this kind of tree is in your yard, you will love to climb it, because its branches are low enough to reach; and to swing on it, because the lower branches are strong and parallel to the ground, ideal for attaching a swing.
Because a yard tree has many branches at random heights, the lumber from it has an unpredictable grain. If you look at the rough-sawn side of a piece of wood from a yard tree, it does not appear to be anywhere near as desirable as the piece from a forest tree. In fact, it looks downright ugly. However, an expert craftsman can see through the rough exterior, and recognizes in this piece of wood the makings of a masterpiece. When it is properly planed and finished, its beauty jumps out.
OK, so where is the sermon? It is this: both pieces of wood are from the same species of tree. Their DNA is identical. Where the trees were planted, and not their DNA, determined the characteristics that their wood would eventually have. Either tree, planted in the opposite conditions, would have taken on a completely different character.
So it is with us. We are all of the same species of DNA. We are children of the same God. Nonetheless, the circumstances under which we are planted and nurtured, none of which are under our own control, largely determine the appearance of our wood.
Most of our church consists of forest trees: uniform and predictable. There is nothing wrong with this kind of tree. In fact, a certain amount of its kind of wood is necessary to build a church. But if the entire church is built of it, it becomes bland, uninteresting, even boring. Yard trees give beauty, character, even spice to the building, even though they are less suitable for some other functions.
I speak from first-hand experience, for I am a yard tree. Read the rest of this entry »
by Georgiana Deming
This political/religious tension is no small struggle for me in maintaining activity in the church. Not only that but I feel the mentality of conservatism = truth in the church has also cost me a more intimate relationship with my brother. He is an amazing man who is always trying to do right, but in doing right I feel he often believes he needs to condemn my actions since he does not believe I am being faithful to the gospel “truths”. I try and bear my testimony to him when I can (as shaky as it is), but I do have one.
I wish I could share a humble and sincere testimony to all those out there who doubt the intentions of struggling liberals. Even if I am wrong, and somehow my liberal interpretation of the gospel is totally blasphemous, I would at least like my brothers and sisters of the church to understand my sincere intentions. My struggle in this world day and night, this political struggle, is because of my love for my fellow human and my utter love for God.
I would like to bear testimony that I do believe in a God and that I believe he loves us.
I wish I could share that testimony to more than those in my congregation. Sometimes I feel some members forget that key of solidarity in the church–our related testimony of our savior. How can we exclude our brothers and sisters in an awareness of that? I don’t know if a section of posts dedicated to the written testimonies of those supporting Mormon May Day would be appropriate or not, but…I definitely would find such a comfort and believe it would be a catalyst for understanding, especially for those who will inevitably learn of Mormon May Day and denounce it. If those prone to exclusion could only hear that our voice is not so dissimilar to theirs (even though I suppose we should all probably still have charity for every voice, even if it isn’t similar).
Really this is not an us and/or them issue…the church is an us. God’s children who decided to come to earth and struggle through this eternal test is an us. If only we could remember this: to become one of mind and heart…well… at least one of heart for starters.
I don’t see how you can watch this beautiful film and not see the need for social justice. Impossible.
What an not-of-this-world example of charity this amazing couple is who take care of these children.
We are all blessed to know of them.
We are all bound to follow their example.
by Kate Kelly
“Today you are you!
That is truer than true!
There is no one alive
who is you-er than you!
Shout loud, “I am lucky
to be what I am!
Thank goodness I’m not
just a clam or a ham
Or a dusty old jar of
sour gooseberry jam!
I am what I am! That’s a
great thing to be!
If I say so myself,
HAPPY EVERY-DAY TO ME!” — Dr. Seuss
Today in church one particular testimony stood out to me. It wasn’t what the speaker said, it was the way she presented herself. She was so confident. She was un-apologetically happy, and so clearly felt that she had a safe space and place in the church at that podium this morning. She beamed as she shared her thoughts with us.
I think what struck me about her were the obvious assumptions she had made while taking her place in front of us.
As a radical Mormon, a lot of the assumptions I make about church are the opposite. I think a great deal (certainly not all) of the discomfort I feel in church settings is due to the assumptions I am making about other congregants. Their reactions, their biases, their feelings. When I have spoken up, I have often been reinforced by others who have felt the same way & who feel lonely, afraid or weary.
I hope I can begin to make different assumptions, and be glad to be who I am (not a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!). I hope I can be filled with more joy about what I have to offer. I hope my renewed faith in others will be well placed and I will be well received for who I am and what I have to contribute.
Amen.
(& hallelujah)
Hello Team Mormon May Day!
I’d like this blog to be a place for everyone to be able to post thoughts, testimonies, articles, photos etc.
Let me know if you’d like to submit anything here.
Onward and upward,
Kate
© 2010 Mormon May Day