At church Sunday we chatted before service on starting a
weekly discussion group to cover people’s concerns over current issues. Two
people spoke up to say they thought things were perfect, why would we have to
discuss them? I spoke up and said that a lot of us were very upset and
perplexed at current domestic concerns America faces. The other two folks
jumped on that and said it was politics and had no place in church.
I countered with the church’s teaching of loving one another
as ourselves, reaching out to others and serving them. The act of doing these
things bring us together on the matters upon which we agree.
They said not!
Such is the condition of our social order these days. We
have people who feel Trump is perfect for our times. The opposite is true to
more than half of the population. Thus the divide. It is real. It is huge
before us and keeps us divided.
Blamers cite liberals, conservatives, and everyone in
between. But these are emotions speaking and not logic. That is the purpose of
the discussion group. A freewheeling, moderated discussion weekly on Friday
evenings. At a safe place – the church. All are welcome. A leadership group
will arrange an orderly succession of topics to discuss and invite informed speakers
and presenters on those same topics. A brief presentation of 15 or 20 minutes,
and then discussion in group. Feelings and emotions will be kept in check by
way of a facilitator and sensitivity training. The aim is to get diverse
opinions aired and heard. Of course there will be reactions to such, but the
goal is to reduce those enough so people listen and hear, and know they too are
being heard.
This type of program is called a coffeehouse ministry. We
tried it 52 years ago when civil rights and Viet Nam war protests were in the
news 24/7. Those were the years in which Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King,
Jr. were both assassinated. Violence was an everyday thing on the news. Social
order was in doubt. Flower Power and the sexual revolution was another item of
the day. And American culture was never the same again!
We have come a long way since the 1960’s. Social conscience
and discourse, however, has not traveled far at all. We are still a nation
divided. And it affects our ability to get along with one another and trust
each other, too. This is not a good thing. We need to heal our differences so
we can move on with strength for whatever comes in the future.
My hunch is that we agree on most things. We have common
threads of belief and values. We are not so far apart as it may seem. But if we
focus on what divides us, we may never find out what unites us.
That is where serious discussion and listening enters the
picture. The coming together to accomplish this is a serious journey of faith
and hard work. I call it NEXUS, a coming together, a hub.
For those of you in the vicinity of Warrenville , Illinois
If you are not in the vicinity but you think this sort of
discussion group would help in your area, start your own group. I think it
works best in a public place of safety. A church is a good setting, in their
parish hall, not the sanctuary! God forbid!
But call upon the teachings of every religion – Jewish, Muslim,
Christian, and Eastern orthodoxies. We are all peoples called upon to love one
another as ourselves. It is the most difficult task we will ever encounter in
life. But it is a calling we must respond to.
Each of us will be changed as a result. On both sides of any
argument that may take place. The trick is to focus on what unites, not what
divides. The latter is easily excited and manipulated. Just ask politicians how
they do it!
For the rest of us we have a good answer and response.
Listen and learn. Live and love. Try it. You’ll like it!
February 22, 2017
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