Where Have All the Prophets Gone?

Healing JusticeFrom the Executive DirectorGlobal SolidarityAnti-racism

Oct 24

Community Renewal Society (CRS) is steadfast in its commitment to honoring the sanctity of life. We grieve the loss of all lives impacted by the culture of violence across the global diaspora, perpetuated through war, racism, poverty, disinheritance, xenophobia and all crimes against humanity, including white supremacist patriarchal systems of oppression. We lament and denounce such acts that threaten peace, justice, equity, inclusion and freedom. CRS welcomes a future where “love is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos,” as articulated by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We welcome courageous truth-telling that will speak prophetically and boldly to the historical narratives of injustice, dispossession and the bemoaning loss of innocent lives.

Truth-telling is the required path to reconciliation, which can lead to healing, restoration and ultimately, reparations. This is a lesson taught by our siblings from South Africa as they continue to dismantle the ugly residue of a state-sanctioned and government-funded system of apartheid. While we now hail the late President Nelson Mandela as a hero, he once was scorned as a terrorist and disrupter. In fact, his beloved nickname Madiba loosely means “troublemaker.” Yet still, President Mandela and other courageous freedom fighters remained steadfast in their resolve to bear witness to their narratives of suffering and disinheritance. On the southside of Chicago, one courageous congregation took prayerful steps to denounce apartheid with a simple act of protest. The congregation boldly placed a sign on its grounds that read “Free South Africa” and “BDS,” which means boycott, divestment and sanctions. Trinity United Church of Christ took this stance when many feared speaking out before BDS became a familiar call to action, with the church and its senior pastor receiving backlash from the community. Undeterred, that faith community felt called to use its platform at the intersections of faith, justice and love.

We have been chosen in this sacred and somber hour to be vessels of love and ambassadors for Beloved Community. Our work must be intersectional, too. Friends, we must find the courage to be voices in the wilderness so freedom rings loudly and profusely. This is our duty as people of faith and goodwill – to reflect and pray, yes! And to act by engaging in solidarity work that builds bridges to unite us. There is an urgency to act right now, where we are and with what we have – even if it is a simple sign in our church parking lot.

War does not evade us on our domestic soil, as evidenced by the murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea Al-Fayoume of Plainfield, IL. Wadea, who was Muslim, was only in the first grade and still learning how to read and write, when he and his mother were attacked mercilessly by their landlord. While Wadea’s mother was seriously injured by stab wounds, her innocent child was stabbed 26 times, succumbing to those injuries. Police have indicated the family was targeted because of their race and religion. Synagogues, mosques and schools have rapidly increased armed security because of threats to fatally harm faith communities due to hate and discrimination. We have seen the blood-stained agony of such hatred in our faith communities before – Christian congregations in Birmingham, AL and Charleston, SC; an Islamic mosque in Minneapolis, MN; a Jewish temple in Pittsburgh, PA and a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, WI. Friends, we are not too far from the culture of violence to have a meaningful role in cultivating peace.

We must learn from the past and share transparent historical narratives of all communities impacted. We can begin by calling on our world leaders to intervene by demanding a ceasefire versus further subsidizing weapons, walls, invasions and occupations. We can call on our legislators to increase urgent humanitarian aid and admonish those who seek to prevent its distribution. We can call upon President Biden to reverse past presidents’ decisions to relocate the US Embassy for Israel to Jerusalem, where sacred sites reside for all Abrahamic faiths. Further, we can call upon Congress and President Biden to denounce and impose sanctions for all violations of the Geneva Convention’s protocol for the protection of civilians and beyond. We can identify our platforms, privileges and power and exercise moral courage to break the silence so that another generation is not subject to such horrors and trauma.

Peter Seeger poetically asked the question “Where have all the flowers gone?” in his song of the same name.

Where have all the flowers gone?

…Young girls—they’ve taken husbands every one.

…Young men—they’re all in uniform.

…Soldiers—They’ve gone to graveyards every one.

…Graveyards—They’re covered with flowers every one.

…Flowers—Young girls have picked them every one.

Inspired by this song’s profound query and the moral courage of Jesus Christ’s inconvenient truth-telling ministry, Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle posed his own prophetic question that intersects with witnessing through our faith: “Where have all the prophets gone?”