Blessings ~

Practice gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Week of Gratitude (days 6&7)


Week of Gratitude Continues (Day 6) ~ today we celebrate with gratitude one of the most precious gifts.  Ourselves.  Resist the urge to consider this a practice of naval gazing and instead be thankful for your hands, head and heart.  It is with these gifts you are able to alter our world for the good.  Reflect on what it is you bring to each important table.  What gifts to you offer your family?  Your vocation? Your friends? Your community?  Your not-so-friends?  Strangers?  Name each and express gratitude for what you are able to offer.  You need not share them but in this week of gratitude it’s important to name them to ourselves and be grateful.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~  

Week of Gratitude Completes (Day 7) ~ We culminate this week of Gratitude with an intentional practice of using the words ‘Thank you’ aloud, six times an hour, each waking hour of our day.  Every 10 minutes this single act of gratitude.  It may be ‘thank you, creation’ upon waking.  Thank you to a family member for passing you something at the table, ‘thank you’ while brushing your teeth that you live in a country with such fine dental care, ‘thank you’ to the person handing you coffee at a drive thru, ‘thank you’ to a person offering you some feedback in your workplace (positive or negative), thank you to creation that it rained (or didn’t).  Let this simple but intentional practice offers the possibility that for this day, we will be transformed for the better and through our actions and our interactions with others, the world will be better.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude
Look forward to a Week of Service, Dec 25-Dec 31.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Gratitude week continues (Day 5)~

Today the focus is on love. Look around with appreciation at the ever presence of love. Even when and where it is not apparent, love resides. It needs our breath to make it real. Grateful for its presence and the possibilities it offers, on this day let us reflect on how we expressed love in our day and how we received love in our day. Where was it present in our homes, in our communities, in our communications, in every practice. Where was it present when we encountered strangers? Friends? Family? Partners? Where was it present when we were alone? Finally, how might we commit differently to love tomorrow? Surely increasing the amount of love in our day will alter the world. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Week of Gratitude Continues ~

Day 4 ~ Family. Family. Family.  Whether it is the family of origin, family of choice or a special blend of both, today is a wonderful day to:    Breathe in gratitude, speak out love ~

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Week of Gratitude Continues ~

Week of Gratitude (Day3)  On this day, we celebrate the gifts birthed from the imaginative and artistic spirits of our human family.  Take time to be awash in the creations that have touched your soul.  From the timeless creations of great artists of old, to the drawing on your refrigerator from a child, bathe in the arts.  For me, the sculpture of Michelangelo, the nature art of Andy Goldsworthy, the poetry of Emily Dickinson, the prose of Edwidge Dandicat, the glass work of Chihuly, every child’s drawing, the music of Peter, Paul & Mary, Aaron Neville and Emma’s Revolution, the friendship bracelets bought in Mexico and the pattern on a favorite sweater ~ to name but a few.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Week of Gratitude Continues ~

Week of Gratitude (Day2) On this day, we celebrate teachers.  Take time to think of those who have shaped you in positive ways. Name their gifts and find a way to acknowledge them with gratitude. (family day is Thursday so gratitude today is focused beyond the family).  Extra credit = and on the other side of the equation, we have willing students.  Name and express gratitude for the opportunity to pass along some passions and/or hard won lessons ~  And so I thank, a treasured elder of many years past, Eleanor Claflin ('Ma Winchester') who taught the gift of presence, taking the time to listen and talk to children and youth on Winchester Common in the 60s and 70s, my high school art teacher, Tom Tracy who taught me to trust the artist within, friend and business colleague Dona Omanoff who taught outrageous authenticity always has a place even if it's best partially muted from time to time, Hope Johnson who teaches grace and presence in all word and deed, Pat Marston & Jory Agate who taught/teach radical hospitality, Gert McNally & Gini Wight who taught friendship at its finest, Liz Weber who teaches me about living, Helen Bishop who taught generosity of head and heart even when its about sharing one's own pain, Janice Marie Johnson who teaches words really do make a difference, Jack Mendelsohn and Vic Carpenter who teach commitment to linked generations and that one is never 'done,' Sean Fletcher who taught 'showing up' fully in body and spirit, Diane Fasulo who teaches acceptance and advocacy for all of our children and adults, especially when they have differing needs and abilities, Dean Fasulo who taught me to embrace people who are different because of the different way they moved through the world rather than despite it, Naomi King who teaches alignment with the spirit, the youth of my congregation who teach me about our world and their generation and how to be in authentic relationship across the generations over and over and over again, the entire UUCM congregation who teaches and learns ministry with me each day, each student I've ever had in the pool.  You taught/teach me trust, achievement comes in all sorts of measures and glee.
There are so many, many more who have had the fortitude to teach me on the journey on days when I arrived eager to learn and days when I was, well ................. less than eager!
Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Monday, November 21, 2011

Week of Gratitude ~

Week of Gratitude (Day1) Dear creation, thank you for this day. This gray, moist, delicious day of possibilities. Waking up once more in this world is a gift for which I am grateful.  A gift that each of us will choose to put to some use.  In receiving the gift, I am aware of the many for whom the gift arrives with pain and oppression.  My own arrives mostly unburdened and certainly wrapped in the privilege of place, heritage and access.  My faith calls me to use it well and in service to the belief that one day, the rise of the sun is a blessing to all creation's children.

Friday, November 18, 2011

A Prayer/Mantra


Help me see who I am
Love who I find
Use all I am
And work with all others
Building a better tomorrow

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

No to Secure Communities, Yes to Human Rights ~

The following is a statement offered in opposition to the so-called Secure Communities program.  It was delivered at a press conference at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street in Boston as part of a panel speaking in support of immigrant rights and in also addressing recent acts of discrimination in Milford, Massachusetts. Links to resulting coverage appear at the bottom.

     I’m Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo, minister at the UU Church of Marblehead and engaged with the Standing on the Side of Love Campaign and UU Mass Action. The Standing on the Side of Love campaign is our Unitarian Universalist activism and outreach program that addresses issues of oppression all over the country and world. UUMass Action mobilizes Unitarian Universalists in justice making activities.
     I also lost niece to a drunk driver in the year 2000, on the day she was engaged. She was 24. My heart is still broken from the violence of that incident. To the family of Matthew Denice my heart travels with you. I know that your pain will not end. But I also know the violence we condone and create through Secure Communities is not the answer. This is not simply about Milford or even Massachusetts. There is a storm brewing in our country, fueled by fear and delivering hate. The storm takes incidents such as these, entwines them with the collective challenges of our economy and seeks to separate us. It scapegoats and criminalizes entire communities and identity groups. It calls it patriotism and promises safety. It is a lie.
     The truth about Secure Communities and hate-based legislation in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and other places is that they create violence. Violence against entire families who are ripped apart, at times one parent delivered across the border in one town, another miles away and a child dropped in yet another town. A child. The violence we create on both sides of the border is seen in horrific abuses of men, women and children, in our name and with our dollars. I’ve been to Arizona, met the people, heard the stories. But the violence does not stop there, it begins here with the profiling.
     Just two months ago, Mario, his wife and child in a stroller, were walking on Water Street. They was verbally assaulted by youth in a passing vehicle. A few blocks later, on School Street, another vehicle drove by and a water bottle was hurled at the family. Hurled at a child in a stroller.
     Miguel was stopped in Milford by police, who took his out of state driver’s license. When he went back to the station to get his license they said it was lost. Late, police admitted this was not legal and encouraged others to report such incidents, to them.
     In another incident, a Guatemalan man was working on a roofing site with Americans and other Hispanics, when a police officer stopped his cruiser, and started to insult them, saying “Go home to your countries!” The Americans went down to talk to the police officer and asked why he was doing that. He left. The Latinos were surprised and confused to be to be insulted by a policeman while working at a job that improves the community.
     Another latino shared “My neighbors were never very nice with us, But ever since the accident, they have been throwing garbage and boxes onto our patio, on top of our cars, and inside our deck. They encouraged their dogs to bark at us when we were passing by, and for a few days they left their angry dog with our first floor neighbor tied to our deck, intimidating us every time we had to go in or out of our house. Even their children yelled at my wife and friends to ‘Get out of here!’ ’Go inside!’
     These are the more polite stories. There are so many more. We are called to see this storm of hate-based legislation and programming for what it is. The so-called Secure Communities program is anything but secure. It harkens back to a time when Sundown Communities practiced racism openly and proudly. That isn’t who we claim to be. Even in the presence of sadness and grief, we are so much better. So much smarter. With courage and compassion, everyone, please say ‘no’ to Secure Communities.

1. Coverage in The Worcester Telegram: http://www.telegram.com/article/20111108/NEWS/111109485/1116

2. Coverage from the UUA Standing on the Side of Love Campaign: http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/blog/uu-ministers-participate-in-boston-press-conference-to-support-immigrants-in-massachusetts/

3. UU Mass Action site: http://uumassaction.org/node/322

4. State House News Service Article

From: State House News Service [mailto:news@statehousenews.com]
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 5:33 PM
To: NEWS@STATEHOUSENEWS.COM
Subject: ACTIVISTS URGE OFFICIALS TO DENOUNCE BACKLASH AGAINST IMMIGRANTS
 
http://www.statehousenews.com/public/logo.gif

ACTIVISTS URGE OFFICIALS TO DENOUNCE BACKLASH AGAINST IMMIGRANTS

By Kyle Cheney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, NOV. 7, 2011…..Foreign-born residents of Milford have seen car windows smashed, been accosted while walking down the street and been the subject of xenophobic hostility that erupted following the death of a local man, allegedly at the hands of a drunk-driving illegal immigrant, Boston-area religious leaders said Monday.

“It’s un-American, it’s unpatriotic, it’s undemocratic and it needs to stop now,” said Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, president of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, at a press conference alongside other local pastors and advocates for immigrants at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street. “Brutalizing the defenseless, scandalizing the vulnerable and terrorizing the innocent simply because of the color of their skin or where you think that they have come from will not produce a national immigrant policy.”

At the press conference advocates for immigrants – from Amnesty International, the Massachusetts Immigrants and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and various religious congregations – argued that a frenzy sparked by press coverage and the tone struck by some public officials has created an atmosphere of terror in immigrant communities that worsens public safety. Battered women who are undocumented are afraid to seek help, and those in need of medical attention refuse to go to hospitals for fear of deportation.

“Our press is at fault and our public officials are at fault here for not speaking up and speaking up in defense of simple fairness,” said Joshua Rubenstein, northeast regional director of Amnesty International.

One pastor, Rev. Terry Burke of the Unitarian Universalist First Church in Jamaica Plain, said that the fear had grown pitched in some communities that religious groups have sought to organize group trips for immigrants to the grocery store to ensure protection.

The press conference came just minutes after the state Senate referred a bill to crack down on illegal immigration to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, was inspired in part by the death of 23-year-old Matthew Denice, who was struck and killed in Milford by a vehicle allegedly driven by an intoxicated illegal immigrant. Backers suggested Denice’s death could prompt action on the proposal in the Legislature.

The bill would require individuals appearing in court for various civil and criminal violations to have their immigration status verified. Companies found to employ illegal immigrants would be debarred from bidding on state contracts and could face sanctions, attendees of public colleges and universities would be required to verify their immigration status before obtaining in-state tuition rates, and applicants for public housing, family assistance or college grants would also be checked for legal residency.

The bill also tightens motor vehicle registration requirements by requiring a Social Security card or tax ID number, and stiffens penalties for driving without a license. Under the new penalties, driving without a license would carry a $500 penalty on a first offense - increased from $100 - and carry the potential for jail time on any subsequent offense. Drivers repeatedly caught without a license could face forfeiture of their vehicle after the third offense. Penalties for creating, disseminating or using false identification would also be increased, and the Patrick administration would also be required to submit a report describing hurdles to expanding license-plate reading technology currently in place in 16 communities.

Tarr and Moore did not respond to requests for comment. Both have previously described the bill as a bid to enhance safety for Massachusetts residents.

“This has got to end,” Sen. Richard Moore said at a State House event in September, flanked by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. “We need to look both at making our streets safer, and we need to make sure those things like illegal jobs, benefits perhaps that draw people to this state are reserved for those who truly need them who are residents of the Commonwealth.”

"Enough is enough,” Tarr said at the time. “We continue to see those who will abuse the laws of the Commonwealth threaten public safety, abuse public resources and divert government from its principal purpose, which is to protect public safety and to ensure that precious taxpayer dollars, particularly in one of the most difficult recessions in recent memory, are spent appropriately on citizens that deserve them."

At Monday’s press conference, Shannon Erwin, state policy director for the MIRA Coalition, said that despite public sentiment that favors a crackdown on illegal immigration, communities that have seen immigration increase in recent years have seen corresponding decreases in crime, which she said is largely a result of community policing and the willingness of immigrants to report crime. Erwin added that although the driver in the Milford incident was drunk, Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a proposal that could reintroduce free or discounted drinks at bars and restaurants across the state.

“[The immigration bill] was filed and explicitly tied to the recent drunk driving incident in Milford. However, it has 24 broad-ranging provisions, most of which have nothing to do with crimes but would instead make immigrants’ lives more difficult,” she said, adding, “It’s time that politicians in this state stop trying to score political points by scapegoating immigrants … It’s time that they state publicly that the cruel behavior you heard about today has no place in the commonwealth.”

Advocates appealed to religious sentiments – and historical ones – to encourage acceptance of undocumented immigrants.

“We should remember that Christopher Columbus was an undocumented immigrant. We should remember that William Bradford, the one who came on the Mayflower and the founder of the Plymouth colony, was an undocumented immigrant. We should remember that the millions of African American slaves who were brought here on ships were not only undocumented immigrants, but they were treated much like those who are now here in Boston and across the country,” Hamilton said.

Special ire was reserved by advocates for Secure Communities, a program operated by the Obama administration aimed at checking the immigration status of arrestees’ using a federal database. Backers say the program is a critical tool for law enforcement to root out illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes, but critics argue that it encourages profiling and breaks up communities.

Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Marblehead, called Secure Communities a “hate-based” program that she said encourages “violence against entire families.”

The program is slated to be activated nationally by 2013 and is already online in about half of the law enforcement jurisdictions in the country, but Gov. Deval Patrick has faced sharp criticism, mainly from Republicans, for his hesitance to embrace the program.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Occupy! Occupy?


Occupy!  Occupy?
Sermon by Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo
Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead, MA

Every time I go through a security line at the airport, I think of my friend, Suzi.  As I take off belt and shoes and place them in a grey bins, I think of her.  As I remember, invariably at the last minute,  my barrette sets off the scanner, I think of her.  And from time to time when I find myself standing just so while a stranger’s hands pat me down, I think of her so I don’t think of how invasive it feels to be touched so intimately by that stranger.
The reason I think of Suzi is she has found a way to avoid that moment!  Completely avoid it!  She simply strips down to a bikini!  She told me that she wears a bikini “because I don't believe in giving up my right to privacy by going through the scanner and do not want people touching/groping my body without my permission which I wouldn’t give unless we had an intimate relationship. So, I did a little research and a bathing suit is considered "outerwear" so I go through the line in a bikini so they can clearly see there is nothing concealed and therefore no reason to grope me.”
The Oakland airport security folks know her pretty well.  They call her ………. Bikini girl! The Phoenix security folks know her well too.  She was our videographer during the 2010 protests about human rights violations.  When she stripped to her bikini leaving Phoenix, they held her for 18 hours.  Probably less to do with the bikini than being on a special list created by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
When I say that ‘I think of Suzi’ when I’m at the airport, I’m not picturing myself in a bikini!  Even with a tan and a drop of thirty pounds!  But not because of the weight or the lack of tan.  Because I have conflicted feelings about the issue and her message.  On one hand I know I feel more secure getting on that plane knowing screening for weapons and things that can turn planes into weapons and make them go poof in the air.  AND I’m also aware that those processes are not failsafe AND I know the processes that make me feel secure are used to profile and harass people of color and particularly Mid-Eastern descent AND I know how miserable the processes can be for people with disabilities AND I was bothered by clear abuses of the processes AND I know in my heart I want some system in place before I get on that plane AND I know that Suzi’s choice will never by mine AND I know she has my respect and admiration for being so thoroughly authentic and so darn edgy in her message. She puts it right out …. There!  Truly out there!!!
The power of her message is that everytime I’m in an airport, I think of her, of the issues and about my own place in our flawed, oppressive system.  That’s the power of an act so counter cultural.  It’s a power that has been harnessed time after time throughout history.  It’s a power of the people.  It’s a power that alters our world.  
When we think of countercultural, those of us of a certain age may think we owned that power.  Images of people putting flowers in the ends of guns, free love at Woodstock, flower power as ‘the people’ came out in increasingly huge numbers to say no to war, yes to personal freedom and no to ‘the establishment.  Images of burning bras, the creation of Women-only spaces, communal living, sexuality education, messaging through music, exploration of the body, mind and spirit, at times through hallucinogenic drugs.  The phrase counter cultural seems synonymous with ‘the 60s’ doesn’t it?  And it had that same power.  It was so counter cultural it had people thinking even if they weren’t wearing beads in their hair, pasting flower power decals on their Volkswagon vans and bugs or actively protesting anything.  Those who led that cultural clash had an entire country reacting, thinking about the issues and about their own place in our flawed, oppressive system.  In my lifetime counter culturalism was at it’s peak.
But we really weren’t the first.  We have limited time so I won’t go decade by decade.  Instead let me offer up just one.  A hippie-ish sort of guy, but well before the 60s and 70s.  Sandals, robe sort of clothing, long hair, anti-establishment, all about community, cares for the poor, values the marginalized, trusts the authority within, a lightening rod of sorts for the local authorities, some of them may have even called him a rabble rouser.  Any guesses?
That’s right – Jesus.  One of our finest counter cultural activists.  A man who believed he had a voice, we all have a voice, that we are all called to follow a doctrine of love for one another and that we can change the world!  Just like when I think of Suzi, when I think of Jesus, I think of the issues and about my own place in our flawed, oppressive system.  The power of counter cultural activism. 
And now, zip ahead to right now – and there’s another voice looking to be heard.   Who here has been down to Occupy Wall Street or Boston?  Who here has heard about it?  This recent and growing counter cultural movement.
I’ve been ‘Occupying’ and I’ll ‘Occupy’ some more.  It took me spending some time down there to better understand ‘what’ Occupy was and then to see ‘who’ I was in relationship to Occupy and ‘whether’ I belonged.  I left after the first day a believer.  Three things claimed me
1.      the understanding that the gathering of people itself is a powerful message
2.      the institutional response
3.      the linkage between Occupy and the attacks on human rights we’re seeing all over this country under the guise of immigration issues
The Occupy movement, which began on Wall Street inspired by the Arab Spring, has now spread across the country and world.  While some see chaos, a lack of messaging and a lack of appreciation for how the real world works, I see beauty in community seeking to use shared leadership, addressing communal concerns around internal oppression and exploring how to be heard.  Too often our mainstream culture requires we receive information and change in an orderly top down fashion.  This is anything but and it’s frightening and messy mostly because it doesn’t look like anything we’ve seen.  I see beauty in people from all over Massachusetts bringing blankets and food to people who are willing to say ‘Hello – we too are the people and we’ve got some concerns!’  I see beauty in clergy offering chaplain services in a little tent that invites spiritual reflection and meditation.  I see beauty in chefs stepping forward to coordinate meals and I see beauty in an organic human microphone system which ensures that each voice is heard.  Although as I write that I think of the non-hearing but see beauty in knowing the Occupy movement is such that accessibility concerns are being addressed as well.  The gathering itself has a beauty that is so powerful it in itself says loudly and clearly ‘We the people.’  What frustrates our mainstream culture is we aren’t comfortable with incomplete sentences.  And we are not long on patience.  The gathering is the message.
Then there’s the response.  The movement has been ignored, trivialized, demonized, admired, found it’s way into presidential campaign speeches and hailed as a new tomorrow. Law enforcement and governmental reactions has ranged from support and engagement to instant, forceful suppression.  Some have garnered both.  A recent check-in from mostly UUs report the following:
·        Occupy Tuscon has arrests, every night. But it’s casual.  Protestors in the park after 10:30 form a line, receive their citation from the officers and then head back to their tents.  They’ve had somewhere around 400 arrests.
·       Occupy LA includes a children's village and a buddhist meditation tent.
·       Occupy Wall Street is bringing in hardy weather tents. The police presence is getting larger and is well armed.
·        Occupy Boston has calmed some but the earlier arrests were harsh. Pat Scanlon from Veterans from Peace reported an abusive arrest.
·        In West Virginia three locations are working on better communication between one another regarding events and are committed to non-violence.  In Charleston they report a good relationship with the mayor.
·        In Hendersonville, NC, they’re working on a mission statement and doing outreach to include greater diversity in age, economic status and race and ethinicity
·        In Portland, OR, interfaith prayer vigils
·        Midland,  Michigan, peaceful protest outside of Bank of America.  In Saginaw, they occupy on Fridays.
·        In Indiana, multiple small local towns are seeing Occupy gatherings
·       In Pasadena there is movement out to the smaller communities,
·        In Augusta, ME, a positive relationship with the Governor, visits from State Senators and a good relationship with local law enforcement.
·       In Philly, peaceful arrests ,no violence. Interfaith spirituality tent has been erected by the Quakers
·       In Minneapolis, MN concerns about the cold weather.
·       In Rochester, NY some arrests, some Catholic nuns bringing food. And this comment
“We are in an area/county of high unemployment and this is giving many people a means by which to address that and express frustration, collectively.”

There is so much in that one line ?  A way to be heard.  This movement, like other counter cultural efforts – seeking a way to be heard. 

Get us out of Vietnam!
End Jim Crow Laws!
Give Women Equal Rights! 
Stop Nuclear Power!
Save Our Planet!
And remember Julia Butterfly Hill?  The woman who lived in a 1500 year old Redwood Tree for 738 days to stop it from being cut down?

Hear us now!
See us!
Make decision that represent all of us. 

I often say what a sermon is NOT about and I do so again now.  This is not about the outcome.  This is not about the outcome in the sense that a list of demands will not likely be presented and shuffled here or there and maybe some bank or corporate regulation will change or suddenly the top tier will be taxed differently.  This is about the process.  Just as with every other counter cultural engagement we’ve seen the ask may look messy but at it’s core it’s quite simple, not about us, without us.  A phrase long used by the disabilities community.  Not about us, without us.  Here are some of the voices that want to be heard.  They were shared in an add for OWS:

·        I want to see more serious political conversation starting to happen
·        I want corporations out of the government and I want people back in
·        I want peace rather than militarization
·        I want the top  wealthiest Americans to be taxed higher and I want that money to go to education
·        I want economic justice
·        I want to be able to speak my voice without jeopardizing my job
·        I want a greater regulation of the banks and the markets
·        I want my kids to have jobs and health care
·        I want true democracy for the 99% of us who don’t have it anymore
Some will say, everyone here has a voice. This is a democracy after all.  Having spent time down in Dewey Square, I am sympathetic to those who say it’s not true.  Remembering back to the 60s and early 70s I am sympathetic to those who say it’s not true.  And I believe the Occupy Movement has found a way back into the conversation. And it matters.  The voice of this movement is being heard. 
I said, three things that grabbed me – the beauty of the movement, the institutional response and this third thing.  This thing I know for certain here in my gut and heart but am struggling to to put words up here in my mind.  But I’ll try.
There is a storm brewing in our country that has been quietly building steam for some time.  The storm is about ‘othering’ people who threaten that mainstream cultural majority.  The demographics of this country are changing rapidly. A report this year from Congressional Research Service named Hispanics the largest minority and rapidly growing.  They projected a change from one in seven persons in 2002 to nearly one in three by 2050.  Add to this, projections from the pew forum that see the number of Muslims more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030, making Muslims roughly as numerous as Jews or Episcopalians are in the United States today.
I don’t doubt for a moment that the change in demographics is linked the increase in hate crimes and legislation targeting all other.  Not just immigrants and Muslims but people who are transgender, people living with disabilities, people who are living at poverty level or below poverty level.  And this is where the intersection of the storm and Occupy Movement intersect.
Throughout history, peoples have been manipulated through fear.  While distracted, horrid, hideous things have taken place.  Genocide, financial rape, corruption, the destruction of environment.  We are living in a system rooted in corporate profits but currently at the expense of our working class and potentially at the expense of our future.  There is everything in it for the system to have the focus of the multitude on ‘those immigrants,’ ‘those terrorists,’ ‘those people.’  There is everything in it for us to remember that we are the system and we have the power to insist on being heard, to take back the decisions by electing representation accountable to our voices and to pay attention.  Always and in all ways.
Just like when I think about Suzi, and just like when I think about Jesus, when I think of this new counter cultural movement, I think of the issues and about my own place in our flawed, oppressive system.  The power of counter cultural activism is alive and well and currently Occupying Dewey Square in Boston.  ~
I began with a story about ‘Bikini Girl’ and I will close with one too.  On Wednesday night Suzi went to Occupy Oakland.  She didn’t strip down but did wear her faith and her beliefs,  There, wearing her bright yellow Standing on the Side of Love T-shirt, she told them she was a seminarian.  And she told them she loved them. They didn’t pat her down or arrest her.  They   tossed two flash grenades between her legs and a teargas canister just past my head.  I note that she was nowhere near the violent protesters and it would be ten minutes before the order to disperse would be given. Her ears are still ringing.
And so she is with me today as she is in the airport.  Just as she and I differ on airport security, and here we may have each differed on every situation that has received strong counter cultural responses -  feminist movement, war, free love, race relations, and the respective roles of individuals, institutions and government, accessibilities,  each of us may differ on how we understand the issues the Occupy movement is calling out.  But I hope we will each open ourselves to think of the Occupiers, think of the issues and about our own place in a flawed, oppressive system.
I thank you for listening ~