Category: Social Justice

Blog posts from the Social Justice group at Nativity

Categories
Outreach Social Justice

How Do We Make a Difference?

When does Christianity make the news?  Is it sadly too often in ways that do not feel Christlike?  In ways that feel small and judgmental and unkind?  Do you ever wish that the way you have experienced Christ and his church could make more of an impact on what decisions our leaders and our communities make, that those could be a bigger part of the discussion?

One Wake hopes to fill that space.  One Wake is an organization that Nativity is considering joining as a parish initiative.  They are an organization of 40+ faith communities in Wake County that believe making systemic change to care for our neighbors is worth banding together for.  Not only that, they are part of national network of similar organizations working for similar changes – the North Carolina IAF network includes One Wake, Durham CAN, the Orange County Justice United, the Forsyth Multiracial project, and the NC Congress of Latino Organizations.  In each region, they are assessing what our faiths are calling us to do so that every community is set up to thrive!

The focus of One Wake right now is on Affordable Housing and Educational Opportunities –  a push-pull effort to help low income people have a place in our county.  While there have been real wins in areas like Cary, One Wake is now embarking on their Homeowners Assistance Campaign hoping to convince the Raleigh City Council to develop a subsidy program for low income residents that are being priced out of their own neighborhoods due to property taxes, especially in Southeast Raleigh that has historically been underfunded by the city and county.  Last week, at their quarterly meeting, a resident of Southeast Raleigh described losing her house and losing her community . . . a community that had supported the African American residents for decades when the city did not.  That they are losing that community now is heartbreaking. 

One Wake has organized a meeting with Raleigh City Council members and candidates at St. Ambrose Episcopal Church on October 6th at 7:30pm to discuss One Wake’s affordable housing proposal and gain commitments from the council members.  It is expected that five hundred One Wake members will attend . . . including several of us from Nativity.  We’d love for others to join us!  We are excited to be part of faith communities speaking up for initiatives that care for our neighbors . . . as well as just seeing how One Wake works!

Register here, if you’re interested.

There is a financial component of becoming a member of One Wake, and you will hear more about that as part of this fall’s Stewardship campaign.  For now, please consider the work that these folks are doing, and pray for wisdom and the open hearts of the city’s leadership.  And if you want to join us on October 6 at the Raleigh City Council Assembly, let Becky Showalter know!

Nativity’s One Wake Initiative Steering Committee (Tentative)

Becky Showalter, Roy Immelman, Emily Jividien, Pete Crow, Anne Stokes

Categories
Peace Library Reviews Social Justice

Freedom School, Yes! (Peace Library Review)

by Amy Littlesugar and Floyd Cooper
review by Stephanie Sumner

History comes alive in Freedom School, Yes! By Amy Littlesugar and Floyd Cooper in this story about a volunteer teacher who risked her life to bring education to a group of people who had been denied their civil rights.

As part of the 1964 Summer Project, nineteen-year-old Annie is taken in by the only family in Chicken Creek willing to house the white teacher. Young Jolie, is scared to have this stranger in her house and rightly so, as threats and vandalism ensure shortly after the teacher arrives. She watches Annie and her community overcome large obstacles to open Freedom School. She learns stories of people like her who changed the world and the injustices that befall those without fair skin. It lights a fire inside of her and she’s transformed from a frightened victim to a brave fighter.

Discussion Questions

  • Ask your child(ren) if he or she has had children with different color skin in their classes. Ask he or her is they are treated differently because of the color of their skin.

Deeper Drive

  • Why do you think some people in Mississippi didn’t want Freedom School in their
    community?
  • What would you say to the people who threw the brick or burned the church if you’d had the chance?
  • Describe a time you went from scared to brave? Which feeling did you like better? What sparked that change?

Spiritual Reflections

  • Discuss with your child(ren) how important music was during the Civil Rights Movement and that children learned many of these songs and were encouraged to help lead groups during large gatherings. One song often sung was,.” This Little Light of Mine.”
  • Play this version of “This Little Light of Mine ,” by Freedom Signers and encourage your child to sing along with the music (Click here for the lyrics.
  • Discuss what might be the meaning behind these words.
  • Read Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” 

Activities

  • Read more about the song’s meaning
  • Retell the story from Annie’s point of view. What would you have done?
  • Draw a picture of Jolie in ten years.
  • Make a courage jar. On strips of paper, write things you would tell a friend who was feeling afraid of something. When you need a dose of bravery, pull one out and read it to yourself.
  • Learn more about the Mississippi Summer Project by watching the PBS film Freedom Summer. (Excellent documentary for background information about Freedom Summer. Go to 50:53-55:30 on the video to watch section on the Freedom Schools.)
Categories
Peace Library Reviews Social Justice

Chrysanthemum (Peace Library Review)

by Kevin Henkes
review by Carol Smith

As children get ready for school, some for the very first time, this book, Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes, is a great discussion starter for families, K-3 children and teachers.

Chrysanthemum is the name given to a little girl mouse at her birth. Her parents thought it was the perfect name for their new baby. As Chrysanthemum grew, she too, loved her name. She loved the way it sounded and looked written out on paper.

She was looking forward to the day she would start kindergarten. That feeling soon changed when she was confronted with teasing and unkind remarks about her name were made by her classmates. From the length of the name, and the fact that it was a flower, to other unkind words, it made Chrysanthemum feel horrible. She wanted a shorter name and a different name. She no longer loved her name …. until the class met the new music teacher. The students loved this teacher and were surprised to learn that she also had a flower name. This discovery made things change for Chrysanthemum, and school life became much more enjoyable.

Discussion Possibilities
Talk about respect for others and how unkind teasing can hurt other people’s feelings. Discuss that when we appreciate others, everyone feels accepted and happier.
Point out that we are all different, but we all bring special ideas and uniqueness to a classroom. There is no need to tease or hurt others because of how they may look, sound, or act differently.
Help your child think of ways they could respond if a classmate is being teased. What can they do or say, and then what would they do next to help that friend.?

Scriptural Reflection
Read the following scripture with your child, with emphasis on the bold section. Discuss how God loves all people and asks that we do the same.

Romans 12:10-16
New International Version
10  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  11  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  12  Be joyful in
hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  13  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  15  Rejoice with those who
rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  16  Live in harmony with one another. Do not beproud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. [a]  Do not be conceited.

Activities
Cut a large paper heart for your child from thinner paper. Reread the book again having your child crumple part of the heart each time Chrysanthemum’s feelings are hurt by something mean the students say or do. At the end of the story, when the heart is completely crumpled, have your child try to smooth out the wrinkles. Note how the heart looks now. Suggest it is like when someone says something mean or hurts another’s feeling and it hurts his or her heart, meaning it makes that person
feel sad.
Make paper tube binoculars. Decorate them and label them “respect seekers.” Have your child use them to watch for acts or words that show respect for others. Use them around home, while watching TV, reading another book, or in the neighborhood.

Categories
Peace Library Reviews Social Justice

Blue Sky White Stars (Peace Library Review)

by Sarvinder Naberhaus
review by Beth Crow

The month of July reminds us of our country’s birthday, marked with family picnics, fireworks, trips to some of our national landmarks and of course beautiful displays of our nation’s flag, Old Glory or as some may refer to it, the Star-Spangled Banner.

Through the full-page, magnificent illustrations and the rhythmic patterns of words, Blue Sky White Stars is the excellent picture book to engage young readers and their families as they travel across our country from East to West, from bright blue massive oceans to the breath-taking views of the grand canyon. As the threads of the flag have been woven together, imagines of the multitudes of diverse individuals as well as symbolic moments in our history flow between the colorful portrayals of our nations’ treasures.

Suggested Topic Questions

Take your child(ren) on a deeper journey exploring the richness and beauty of our nation. Ask your child(ren) to describe the environment of your community, of our state, with beach front and mountains on either side. Perhaps they may want to draw a picture.

Then discuss the different kinds of people who live in North Carolina, in the United States.

Go Deeper

Talk with you child(ren) about the history of our country and how so many different types of people came to the United States. This will require honest discussions about Native Americans, African Americans, Chinese, Japanese and Hispanics.

Faith Reflection.

Read the following scripture with your child(ren) 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Ask them what they believe God is telling us in this scripture.

Additional notes about author

As Naberhaus has said, “I hope this work will always remind us that our ever-evolving country was forged by — and for — people from all walks of life and every background, and that our future as a nation hinges on Abraham Lincoln’s enduring admonition that ‘a house divided against itself cannot stand.’” [https://www.hbook.com/story/blue-sky-white-stars]

Click here to read more About this Book.

Categories
Outreach Social Justice

A Letter to Parents

Dear Nativity Parents,
As the coordinator of Nativity’s Peace Library, I want to personally reach out to you about this new ministry we have begun at Nativity, especially for your children. These books have been selected to focus on Nativity’s core values of welcome and inclusion and to celebrate diversity among God’s people. Many of these are award-winning books that have been highly recommended by Quail Ridge Books. It is our hope to provide our young people and their families with tools to help them better understand
our history and our diversity as we seek to continue God’s call for us to love one another.
If you have not seen our website with a listing of all our current books, please click here. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
As we prepare future programming and usage of this library, we would greatly appreciate your input.
• Would you be interested in writing some of the monthly book reviews? (This involves a brief review of the book with three-five questions; a format for writing these would be sent to you.)
• The Peace Library Team has been asked to lead a book reading and possible activity once a month during Sunday School time. Would you be interested in helping with this?

Would your child or youth be interested in providing their own review of any of these books? It can be typed, handwritten, a drawing or even a video. We have a few questions we can provide as prompts.
• We are looking at possible parish outings relating to some of the books, such as a trip to the Greensboro International Civil Rights Museum. Do you have other ideas for activities around the sharing of these books? These could include backyard reading gatherings, art projects, etc.

Please email Beth Crow at nativitypeacelibrary@gmail.com to respond to any or all the questions above. If you have any other comments or questions about the Peace Library, please feel free to share these as well.

Sincerely,

Beth Crow, Peace Library Coordinator
Peace Library Team: Anne Krouse, Pat McQueen, Carol Smith, Stephanie Sumner, and Lillis Ward

Categories
Peace Library Reviews Social Justice

Opal Lee and What It Means To Be Free (Peace Library Review)

by Alice Faye Duncan, author; and Keturah A. Bobo, illustrator
review by Lillis Ward

This true story of the history of the national holiday, Juneteenth, will entertain and capture the attention of young children with its beautiful illustrations and colorful language.   Through the eyes of Opal Lee, a grandchild of a slave,  readers will learn about life of an enslaved person before the Emancipation Proclamation, life for black Americans during the 1900’s, and finally Opal Lee’s quest to make “Juneteenth” a national holiday.   Her efforts were rewarded in 2021 when President Biden signed into law “Juneteenth”, June 19th, a day to commemorate freedom for all.   This is certainly a book for all ages as we strive to learn more about our American past.    

Possible Book Related Activities:

  1. At the end of the book is a timeline of the history of the Black Americans and the creation of Juneteenth.   Help your child create a timeline of his or her life and include in it memorable events in their lifetime.  
  2. Also at the end of the book is a recipe for “Red Punch”, a popular strawberry lemonade drink served at Juneteenth celebrations.  Help your child make a recipe of Red Punch and serve it to your family and friends.
  3. Ask your child what part of Opal Lee’s story was most important to him or her?   Invite him or her to draw a picture illustrating what you enjoyed most about her life story. OR invite them to draw a picture of what freedom means to him or her.  

Deeper Conversation:

  1. Discuss with your child our country’s independence day and its history.  Read the first section of this document and discuss what this means with your child and how this relates to Juneteenth. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Categories
Peace Library Reviews Social Justice

Chicken Sunday (Peace Library Review)

by Patricia Polacco
review by Abby Dykes, youth from Nativity.

Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco is a heartwarming family tale emphasizing diversity, multicultural relationships and the strength of family bonds. 

A young Russian-American girl and her two African-American brothers are determined to buy a beautiful hat for their grandmother, no matter what it takes. They realize the strength of kindness and common traits throughout their journey, establishing a connection with the misunderstood hat shop owner. 

This is a tender and inspiring story for children of all ages, communicating the importance of acceptance and unity in a family.

Review by Beth Crow and Carol Smith

For the last thirty some years, elementary school teachers have rated Patricia Polacco is a favorite author and illustrator of children’s books. Her vibrant, free flowing watercolor illustrations, which often include family photographs, were the first to draw my attention, images that reflect her own childhood and or imagined children from another time-period.

In the story Chicken Sunday, Patricia Polacco, serving the role of a young, Russian American narrator, takes us to her childhood neighborhood of Oakland, CA, where she has formed a close friendship with brothers Stewart and Winston. In spite of their cultural differences, young Patricia is welcomed into their family, including their “Gramma” Eula Mae. Through their love and admiration for Eula May, they plot to surprise her with the beautiful Easter bonnet she has been admiring in Mr. Kodinsky’s hat shop. Through her own Ukrainian ancestry, Polacco introduces readers to the tradition of writing Pysanky, Ukrainian Eggs. The three children create these beautiful eggs to be sold at Mr. Kodinsky’s hat shop so they could purchase Miss Eula her dream hat for Easter.

One of the aspects I love about Polacco’s books is that within the wonderful storytelling and art gently flowing from page to page, she incorporates glimpses of deeper subject matter through which teachers, parents and young people can discuss and reflect.  In Chicken Sunday, Polacco conveys the rich cultural African American family experience while also subtly sharing aspects of a darker history through Mr. Kodinsky’s concentration camp tattoo. 

In a 2008 interview with Polacco, she says, “The essence of Chicken Sunday is, ‘Don’t judge people by the way they look. Judge them by what you know of them that you have experienced.’” 

Suggested Discussion Topics and Activities  

Discuss what “family” means. Can family include ones we hold dear who might not even be related to us and might be quite different from our immediate family?

Eula Mae had always taught the children to do what is right and tell the truth. How do the children regained the trust of Eula Mae and Mr. Kodinsky?

Mr. Kodinsky is a Holocaust survivor who resettled from Russia to the United States. You might discuss with your child(ren) why people might leave the country where they were born.

Activities

Pysanky, Ukrainian Easter Eggs:

Talk with your child(ren) about family traditions you may have.  Explain how the writing of Pysanky is a very old Ukrainian tradition, dating back to the early Slavic cultures. They are usually created during Lent and are believed to bring protection.  The various symbols written (with bee’s wax using a device called a kiska) represent different signs of prosperity, such as the wheat mean “Wishes for Good Health and a Bountiful Harvest.” 

Learn more at https://ukrainianpeople.us/pysanka-ukrainian-easter-truditions/.  If you would like to create your own pysanky with your family, contact Beth Crow and she can lend you the supplies you need.

Free Pysanky Coloring Sheets

Categories
Social Justice

Social Justice Update

Nativity’s Social Justice Committee shares the following announcements, events and recommended resources to the Nativity community as we continue our pursuit of racial justice and reconciliation.

Announcements & Events for March 2022

COTN Social Justice:  Are you interested in hearing more about Nativity’s social justice initiatives? If you’d like to learn more or wish to attend one of our monthly Social Justice Committee meetings, please email Beth Crow. We would love to have you join us!

Higher Ground Journeys: Virtual conversation with Millicent E. Brown, Ph.D., on March 17 from 7-8:30 pm via Zoom. Register for free here. Dr. Brown is a lifelong community advocate and spokesperson for economic, social and educational improvements in exploited neighborhoods and communities of color throughout the South, the nation and the world. She specializes in ongoing analysis of the modern civil rights movement, and explores social justice dynamics and intersections of race, gender, caste, and class in contemporary society. Dr. Brown is co-founder and Project Director of an oral history initiative to identify the “first children”, like herself, to desegregate previously all-white schools (Somebody Had to Do It Project). She has held a variety of history and museum related faculty positions and serves as consultant for numerous museums, historic sites and social justice programs in North and South Carolina. 

Front Porch Society: A play presented by the Agape Theatre Project, March 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 and 27 (3 pm and 8 pm performances). Burning Coal Theatre Company, 224 Polk St, Raleigh, NC 27604.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here. Set in Marks, Mississippi, America is on the eve of electing its first black president, Barack Obama, on November 4, 2008. Amidst the town’s excitement over Obama, Carrie Honey grieves her son’s tragic death. After years of failed attempts to seek justice, Carrie has grown bitter and is no longer interested in life’s celebrations, but when a scandal in town rocks this historic day, a past secret is revealed that restores her faded faith.

Moral Monday March on Raleigh:  Monday, March 28 at 5 pm. Bicentennial Plaza, 16 W. Jones St, Raleigh, NC. Register for free and find more information here. The Moral Monday March on Raleigh will lift up the voices of impacted people from across NC as well as Virginia and South Carolina, joined by faith leaders, moral allies, and artists to demand that NC and this whole nation do MORE to live up to its possibilities.

The Black Farmers’ Market

Durham, 2nd Sundays, 1-4 pm, Golden Belt Campus, 930 Franklin Street, Durham, NC 

Raleigh, 4th Sundays, 1-4 pm, Southeast Raleigh YMCA, 1436 Rock Quarry Rd, Raleigh, NC 

The Black Farmers’ Market happens rain or shine bi-monthly rotating between Durham and Raleigh to provide access to fresh foods from farms directly to customers. Join us on our journey to create a strong Black led food system right in the heart of North Carolina. 

Becoming Beloved Community Book Club – April Discussion

Please join us via Zoom (connect here) on Tuesday, April 5 from 7:30-8:30 pm for our discussion of The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller – an acclaimed, timely narrative of how people of faith have worked against racial justice. A call for urgent action by all Christians today in response.

Recommended Resources

Racial Justice and Reconciliation (Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina) – Website 

This website (click here) is updated regularly with social justice programs recommended by the diocese’s Racial Justice and Reconciliation Committee.

Categories
Glad Tidings Social Justice

Nativity Peace Library

The Social Justice Committee is building a library, Nativity’s Peace Library, containing books that share Nativity’s core values of welcome and inclusion and to celebrate diversity among God’s people. We invite you to help lay the foundation of this ever-so-needed library through contributions of these books. Please review this wish list, pick a book(s) and follow the directions listed.

As this library grows, monthly reviews of the books with suggested activities for families will be shared in Glad Tidings.

Special story times outside under the large oak tree will be provided. Families can check our books for at home reading.

More details on these efforts to come! If you have any questions, please reach out to Beth Crow.

Below is the list of the 120 books currently selected for our Peace Library. Once you have selected the book(s) you wish to purchase for the library, you can go to the two merchants listed below and purchase directly through these sites.

Between these two sites all the books listed below can be found.

Don’t forget to login to SmileAmazon when ordering from Amazon to help raise additional funds for the church. Quail Ridge will offer a 15% discount when you use the code NATIVITY22.

Link: Nativity’s Peace Library

This will take you to the top of the Social Justice page. Click on Church of the Nativity’s Peace Library, which will take you down the page to the list of books available.

Categories
Outreach Social Justice

Nativity Members Exceed Goal for the First Nativity/Raleigh-Apex NAACP Scholarship Fund

Members of the Nativity Social Justice Advocacy Team and the Outreach Team are proud to announce that the new scholarship fund introduced in February has completed its 2021 campaign (as of April 30.) Our goal for this first year was to provide the Raleigh-Apex NAACP with at least $1,000 to provide one scholarship for college to a young adult of color. The final results are in and, thanks to the generous support of many, Nativity will be providing $8,026 to support the scholarship fund for 2021. That translates into eight scholarships for deserving college applicants!

The scholarship was announced in February as part of Nativity’s long-term commitment to becoming a beloved community, striving for justice and peace for all people and respecting the dignity of every human being.

NAACP Chapter President Gerald Givens refers to our effort as the “Episcopal Church of the Nativity/Raleigh-Apex Scholarship Fund.” He is hoping that our cooperation with this effort will encourage other Episcopal churches in Wake County to help grow this scholarship fund in the next few years. The program just began within the past four years and Givens was delighted that we wanted to be on the ground floor and help make a difference.

Education is a key element of success for most people and it is our hope that helping motivated and talented students of color to continue their education after high school will help move our nation closer to economic and social equity.

Any donations received after April 30 will be applied to our scholarship fund for 2022.  Many thanks to all who have helped this year!

-George Douglas