Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow
by Henry Louis Gates Jr. with Tonya Bolden
 
“The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.” W.E.B. Du Bois

This Scholastic book needs to be read in all families with older children. We cannot use the labels black families and white families anymore. That is too simplistic and doesn’t respect all the beautiful shades of skin and experiences of people.

That being said:
·       Families who have a “white” experience and history need to read this together. Parents, I guarantee you that you will learn new history along with your children. We were not taught many details of the history of black people beyond slaves picked cotton, the presence of Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and saw photos of separate water fountains. I venture to guess that anything else learned was done by one’s own initiative.
·       To every other family: this book is so well-written that I know it will encourage new and important conversations.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. shares stories of both former slaves and their descendants. The sheer will and determination to not only survive after the Civil War and Emancipation but to thrive for the benefit of their own communities and the whole country is truly remarkable. Some of this history is difficult to take in, which is why it is important to read this with your children. That is exactly why we need to read it. The oppressive laws, the beatings, and the lynching are our history – all Americans.

Stories of racism by white people are also included. They are told in an age appropriate way but will still trouble the reader; as they should. If we are to learn from our history and move forward as a nation, everyone’s stories need to be told and heard.

A review from School Library Journal says: “The complexity of the subject and sophisticated language will be readable for high school students but is on the more challenging end of the spectrum.”
​
Finally, I want to include the first verse of Lift Every Voice and Sing, many times called the national black anthem. Read the words through the lens of both oppression and hope. They are words and dreams for all of us.
~ Pam

Lift every voice and sing
            Till earth and Heaven ring,
            Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
            Let our rejoicing rise
            High as the listening skies,
            Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
            Sing a song of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
             Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
             Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
             Let us march on till victory is won.

James Weldon Johnson

I have never been good at multitasking. Just ask anyone when it is my turn to divide up the table’s combined bill at a restaurant. The first thing I say, “Don’t talk to me while I do math.” I want to do it right and can only concentrate on one thing at a time.

There is a lot of brain science surrounding the idea that people cannot actually multitask. We cannot be fully present in two or more intellectual or emotional spaces. Not everything will get the same amount of attention and focus. Something always comes out lacking.

No surprise this idea of multitasking vs. another way of thinking how we work, came to me today when I was out in my yard. I have a large yard and many gardens. They vary in size, types of plants, and amounts of sun and shade. I do not think I have ever had all of them at the same time “garden walk worthy”. When I think that is the goal, I begin to feel the job is too daunting.

I have learned over time that I just need to keep at the work: weed this one today, plant that one tomorrow. Stay the moment of that day’s work and tend to the needs of that area. (And don’t think I need to get it all done in one day!) Tending a garden is focused and quiet work.

I have recently learned to do this in the gardens of my inner life. In February, my position was eliminated and I found myself out of work. I have always identified myself with my work because it is an extension of how I live in the world. It was good work. All of a sudden, I was faced with the scary question “Who am I?” as I reimagined how I would live and serve in the world.

I got overwhelmed very quickly!
There were so many things that needed to happen:
·       Move past the pain, hurt and anger
·       Pack and move the 20 years of personal items to my home
·       Say good-bye to friends and church members
·       Network and find another job
·       Find a new church community
·       Move past the pain, hurt and anger (Did I say that already?!)
 
What I did have was time. I figured it would be easy to just tick things off the list and move forward. It wasn’t.

I realized I had areas of my inner life that needed care and tending; focused, quiet work. Just as in northern climates when gardens lay dormant, I first needed a time of gentle dormancy. My first weeks were filled with quiet reflection, journaling, and watching Call the Midwife on Netflix. Then as my inner gardens warmed, I began reading and seeing friends. Each of these activities were done with the intention of staying in the moment and being mindful of what I could do that day. Only a few times I slipped into the “multitasking zone”. Each of these areas is their own garden and each need focused time and attention.

A few months later, I still have not checked everything on my list. I have become ok with that. I will take time because I want to do this well. I am not done tending my gardens. I don’t think we ever are. As in physical gardening…some days I am very sore!
I am grateful that I have rediscovered parts of myself, found a new faith community, and have the support of friends.

One of my favorite quotes that hung in my office for years is by writer Anais Nin. It speaks to me again now. I will keep tending my gardens until the time is right to bloom.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin

~ Pam

As Holy Week nears; I think about hearing again the profound story of Jesus leading up to the Easter celebration. It is easy to go through the motions of a story I have heard so many times. It becomes more routine than ritual. Over millennia the church has developed meaningful rituals. Through rituals, we enter the mystery of our faith. Mysteries cannot be explained. Theologian James Cone says, “Theology is symbolic language, language about the imagination, which seeks to comprehend what is beyond comprehension.”
Because we cannot adequately use words to understand the mysteries of our faith, we seek to experience it through ritual and imagination.

What does it mean to personally experience mystery?
I think of the core questions of Godly Play, the process of deep theological play developed by Jerome W. Berryman.
After children hear a story of the faith, they are asked to ponder these questions:
“I wonder what part of this story you liked the best?”
“I wonder what part is the most important part?”
“I wonder where you are in the story?”
“I wonder if there is any part of the story that we can leave out and still have all the story we need?”

I know! Profound questions!
Remember, the story is profound: 
     Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem
     Jesus’ Last Supper
     The disciples’ feet are washed by their savior
     The sky goes dark and you hear Jesus’ last words: “It is finished.”
We need questions that are up to the task!

I encourage you, if you know these Holy Week stories well or if they are still new to you, have these questions rumbling around your brain as you hear them again.

•   I wonder what part of the story I like best?
•   I wonder what part of the story is the most important part?
•   I wonder where I am in the story?
•   I wonder if there are any parts of this story that can be left out and I still have all the story I need?

These are difficult questions. They demand time to ponder, wonder. They need time and space not to find the right answer but listen to how the story is speaking to you – today. Don’t try to be deep. Let the story take you deep.
I am going to write these questions on a slip of paper and bring them into church with me. I want them to be right in front of me when I am confronted with the love I will never comprehend but deeply desire to know.

Blessings to you this Holy Week,
Pam