[Oe List ...] Being Black in the Order Ecumenical

Sun Jun 3 13:13:09 PDT 2012

This reminded me of a story.  I was teaching RS1, in  Wisconsin, I think, 
at a mostly all-white church.  Our team included  Sheila? Smith?, a 5th City 
preschool teacher, a black community woman.   Sheila led the Guernica.  She 
asked the art form question, "What colors do  you see?"  Someone said, 
"Flesh color."  Sheila, very coolly,  responded, "What color is that?"

Karen Bueno

In a message dated 6/3/2012 2:09:05 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,  
icabombay at igc.org writes:

Herman,  

A couple of personal stories.  In 1968 (I believe) the Cleveland  Metro 
organized a Black Heritage course and Harrison Sims arrived as one of  the 
pedagogues.  I forgot who the second one was, but he was white.  A group of 
black power people came to the course, determined to disrupt  it and get it 
canceled.  We had close to 100 participants.  I  believe it was in the opening 
conversation when one of the men stood up and  walked out, very slowly and 
deliberately.  A few seconds later, another.  Then over the next 2-3 minutes 
about another half dozen or so did  likewise.  It was their assumption that 
others would follow, leaving us  with just a few participants and an obvious 
failure.  But no one else  left and so after a while the group came back in. 
 They demanded all  white people get out (there were just a few metro 
colleagues there) so we did.  Harrison was cool and collected and continued on 
with the course.  I had to leave, but I remember how scared I was and how 
proud I was of  Harrison.  The course got great reviews from almost all who  
attended.

A second story.

My greatest learning and teaching experience happened when I taught with  
Carlos Ollison.  I was part of the national LENS faculty in the mid-70's  and 
was working at BF Goodrich.  On Wednesday, when the assignments post  
worked out the faculties for each weekend event I got a call (I think from  
Robert Porter) assigning me to a LENS to be taught at the maximum security  
prison near Richmond Virginia.  Seems the chaplain was an RS I grad and a  
colleague and had set it up.  When I heard what I was to teach and where,  I just 
died inside and said "I'm not sure I can get Friday off" (a lie).  A 
Thursday call came and they said I could arrive on Saturday, no  problem.  Now I 
was faced with a moral dilemma, follow my fears and not  accept it, or say yes 
and die!  Along with Carlos and Georgeanna McBurney  was a woman from the 
Indianapolis House (forgot her name) who was a  professional corrections 
officer.  Carlos started the sessions with a  conversation; "Name, Where from, 
and why are you here"?  Around the table  we went, "Murder", "Bank Robbery", 
"Forgery", "Manslaughter, etc. were the  answers.  Now I was really dying 
inside.  Since LENS is about  a group creating a vision for the future and 
this group had no future, I  wanted to just get the hell out of there before 
something happened!

Carlos was just fantastic!  He received every answer and then set a  
context for the 44 hour session.  Armed guards were descreetly placed  around the 
edges of the room.  We sang, created a vision (this was before  the revised 
LENS), Team 14 Points, and several other documents.  We did  the Social 
Process lectures as well as all the conversations.  And we  sang!  At first they 
were terrible at it, off key and reluctant.  But Carlos just boomed it out 
and soon they did too.  By the time  we ended I swear I would have put my 
life in the hands of some of them!  What a transformation.  Nobody was talking 
about why they were  there, no judgements, just a future to be called 
forth, which they indeed  cared about, even though they were in prison for years 
to come.  At the  end Carlos asked them to pick the song they would like to 
sing to close with.  They picked "The Impossible Dream".  It was as if grace 
had filled  the room.  The voices were firm, on tune and soaring.  

Afterwards the assistant warden came up shaking his head.  All he  could 
say was "I don't believe it, I don't believe it, if I hadn't seen it  with my 
own eyes"!  "These men could never say what they did!"  He  was profoundly 
moved.  

Afterward:

A week later I got a letter in the mail from one of the  participants.  I 
still have it.  In part he wrote:  "I got back  to the cell and I was so sad 
to see all of you (the four of us) leave.  I  was sitting there, listening 
to the radio, when they played The Impossible  Dream.   I kept asking myself; 
"Who are these people, and why did they  come?"  The only answer I could 
come up with was; "They came because they  care".  

And to think I almost refused the invitation that would change my life  
forever.  Wow!  Thank you Carlos, and all the others who opened my  eyes (and 
heart).

Grace & Peace,

Jack

On Jun 3, 2012, at 2:00 PM, Herman Greene wrote:

It just struck me  that no one has mentioned Harrison Sims (or did I miss  
him?). 
Herman 

____________________________________

From: _oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net_ 
(mailto:oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net)   [mailto:oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of 
_LAURELCG at aol.com_ (mailto:LAURELCG at aol.com) 
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2012 2:55  PM
To:  oe at lists.wedgeblade.net
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Being Black  in the Order Ecumenical

Your mention of  the Atlanta House reminded me of Ruth Gilbert, who was 
there with her  grandson Dante during the summer '86 Imaginal Education course 
at Spelman College and Order youth program. I  think of her often. Hope I 
have the name right, a second Ruth  Gilbert.

Jann  McGuire

In a message dated  6/3/2012 11:10:01 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, 
_dm14 at txstate.edu_ (mailto:dm14 at txstate.edu)   writes:

Realize I left  Marcella off the list I sent earlier—She was a force of 
beauty, strength,  and humor in the Atlanta House in 74 or so. Went to Nairobi 
after that  and returned to live in D.C. Is married and has beautiful  
daughters.--Diann McCabe

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