It Was a Beautiful Sight

My contribution to today's Episcopal Peace Fellowship's "Peace on the Go"

"It was a beautiful sight!"

  

 by NEC treasurer,  Rob Burgess

If you are like me, you some- times get frustrated with church.

In my home state, Michigan, in the first decade of this century, we lost 800,000 manufacturing jobs. That's 800,000 people and their families who lost their means of support. With all due respect, I don't recall the church expressing concerns about 800,000 mostly blue collar workers (of all races and creeds) losing jobs.

As a volunteer income tax assistance tax preparer for more than a decade, I help low income citizens and some undocumented residents complete their annual tax filing requirements. I have come to believe that poor people are often more generous than many of us middle class or wealthier individuals. I am concerned that 11 million people in our country live in the shadows. And frankly, I wonder where is the voice in the church that says over and over again "Welcome the stranger" and "Blessed are the poor."

Recently, my wife and I took our 5-year-old grandson to see the Disney movie, Moana. I wanted him to see a positive movie about a lead character of color. Returning home driving through downtown South Bend, we witnessed a large crowd of people, hundreds if not a thousand or more. It was one of the sister marches to the Women's March in D.C. The crowd was made up of young and old, women, men, and children, and folks of many races. Peaceful but vocal. To me, it was a beautiful sight.

That reminded me why I am involved with Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) because when it comes down to it:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

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