Organizing and Liturgy

At the end of the Durham CAN Delegates' Assembly last night, I gave closing remarks about how we move forward.  The overarching theme was linking liturgy, as the work of the people, to the continuing organizing to be done on policing, jobs, and housing.  Here are those remarks.

Hello.  I am Mike Broadway, Associate Minister at Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church and part of the Clergy and Strategy teams of Durham CAN.

It has been some time since we have gathered in this kind of assembly to testify, to plan, and to make promises to one another about making our city and county more of what it ought to be, more filled with opportunity and a good life for all of its residents.  It has been 231 days, to be exact.  For me, it has been even longer.  After four and a half years sojourning in Central Texas, through many changes for me and for Durham, I’m blessed to be among you again as part of this great work of building power together. 

Many preachers have stood before you today, and maybe it seemed like a liturgical assembly at times.  While we preachers are only a small part of the leadership of Durham CAN, it is fitting that we think of this gathering as a liturgy.  The word liturgy means “the work of the people.”  It comes from an ancient Greek term that describes the duties that people in a city have toward one another.  Those with talent, with property, with power, with resources have responsibility to contribute toward making life in the community better for everyone.  Liturgy, not merely the words and actions we do in our houses of worship, is the work we are called to do for the good of one another, for the common good.  It is learning to use the power that God gives us.  It is not confined to a worship service; it expands into public service.  We are all liturgists—we are public servants.

This duty of public service also has deep roots in the story of God’s calling out a people.  Abraham and Sarah of old were told that God would bless them and their descendents.  Those blessings, however, would not be for clutching tightly and hoarding.  They would be blessed so that they could be a blessing to others.  Have you been blessed with a position of influence?  With ability to negotiate?  With connections and power?  With a job?  With a home?  With friendships?  Do you have energy to work?  Do you have a deep resistance to injustice?  In all these cases, you are blessed.  And remember, like Sarah and Abraham, you have those blessings so that you can become a blessing to others.

Today we have testified and poured out our hopes for our neighborhoods, for jobs, for housing, for living wages, for young people’s opportunities to learn and work—these are the liturgical prayers of the people.  In our conversations, we have made progress and promises with one another today.  That’s how we build our power.  We have agreed that the time when we could ignore unjust practices of profiling in policing will come to an end in our city, and we will work together to see that day.  We have taken a first step toward concrete progress, should I say frame, brick and mortar progress, on abundant affordable housing.  We have made plans to strengthen relationships across the community to make sure that our out-of-work neighbors have opportunities both now and in the future to train for, apply for, and to work in good, living-wage jobs.  These promises are just the beginning.  They are the confessions and creeds of the liturgy.  Having recited them, another powerful work of the people begins now.

Take the hand of the people on each side of you.  We made promises and agreements.  We are in this work together.  Turn to your neighbor and say, “I’ve been blessed.”  That’s right.  We’ve all been blessed, and we all have blessings to share.  Now turn to your neighbor again and say, “We have the power.  It’s time to do the work.” 

With thankful hearts for the seeds of justice planted in us, for the blessings we have received, for the Spirit’s powerful work among us, for the visions and opportunities ahead of us, let’s all go forth from this place and do the work of the people.  Thank you all, and good night.

Thanking God for Aunt Dot

Everly​'s dear Aunt Dorothy Parrish, "Aunt Dot," died yesterday after a steady decline in health over the past year.  She was preceded in death by the love of her life and husband, Henry Parrish.  I want to give a brief story of some events in her life, and I will probably get some details out of order.

Henry grew up in Taft, TX, a small piece up the road from Portland, where I lived through my preteen and teen years.  He became a professional tennis player and continued in teaching and coaching until his retirement.

Dorothy, the older sister of Marie Weaver Estes, grew up in Conehatta, MS, with a large family.  She left for Texas after reaching adulthood and became a successful office manager for a church in Port Arthur.  When Marie graduated from high school, she got on a bus to go to Texas and seek her fortune with the help of Dot.  Marie met Herbie there in Port Arthur, and when he finished his engineering degree they married and started a family, with Everly as their firstborn, followed soon by Eric and Ruth​.

Dorothy's skill as a manager caught the attention of the preacher/entrepreneur Howard Butt, who offered her the job of being his assistant.  This work took her first to Corpus Christi, where she met Henry.  They eventually married and settled in Portland.

One of the strange parallels of Everly's and my life was that Everly would come in the summer to spend a few weeks with Aunt Dot in Portland.  They lived on the far side of town, but their yard adjoined the yards of some of my friends.  They did not attend the church where my dad was pastor, so Everly did not come as a guest to my Sunday School class.  Sometimes Everly would visit another relative on the very block where I lived, and she probably played tennis on the public court by our church, where I also tried my hand with a racket every now and then.  If we saw each other, I never knew it.

Dorothy and Henry followed Dorothy's work to Kerrville, TX, near the Laity Lodge that was part of the HEB Foundation's work.  Everly, Ruth, and Emily​ all had some good summers at the youth camps sponsored by Laity Lodge.  Dorothy was always a great support to Marie, to her nieces and nephews, and to all the family spread from Mississippi to Texas.

Everly often talked with me about conversations she had with Aunt Dot and Uncle Henry.  We all have important adults in our lives which help us to mature and grow along with our parents.  Sometimes young people especially need that family member who is an aunt or uncle to help think about matters that become too overheated or painful when talking with our parents.  Dot and Henry did that for Everly, and it was always obvious to me how she appreciated the blessing that they had been for her.

Spending holidays with Dot and Henry was always a treat.  In more recent years, our Broadways had the opportunity to join in Weaver Family Reunions.  Upon retirement, Dot and Henry decided to move to the Weaver's old home place.  They got a house next to baby sister Geraldine and Ben Haralson.  Our family began making the stop in Conehatta a standard resting spot for our overnight break on the trips between NC and TX.  Getting to see the aunts and uncles, and sometimes some cousins, too, made our long travel more pleasant.

Soon it became clear that Henry's declining health was accelerating.  Dorothy cared for him with devotion and love as he slipped into dementia.  After he died, we realized that we must not have noticed that Dorothy was also struggling.  Soon she was unable to care for herself any longer.  In her last years, it was a struggle to find a way to keep her both happy and safely cared for.  Last week she fell asleep and did not wake up the next day.  Caregivers could not arouse her for several days.  Finally, yesterday, she drifted from sleep into death, into eternal rest.

Dorothy, and her beloved Henry, lived admirable lives.  They met in later years, found reason to care for one another, shared a deep devotion to God, and built a beautiful loving home.  From that relationship and home the love only multiplied, flooding out into the lives of family and friends that touched many parts of the world.  One reason Everly was the strong woman we knew is that she saw that possibility in Dot, a woman of confidence, leadership, principle, and compassion.  David, Naomi, Lydia, and I could not help but love Dot because of the great love Everly had for her, a love that embraced us all.