Rev. Emily C. Heath Become a fan Clergy, United Church of Christ

To the Guy Flying a Confederate Flag in New England

I saw your truck parked in front of the Rite-Aid, right by the Dunkin Donuts. Two large Confederate flags were attached to the back of it, waving in the wind. The American flag was, incongruously, in the center. And, I have to confess, I don't get it.
Part of me wanted to ask obvious questions: You know you are in New Hampshire, right? And, you know New Hampshire was not a part of the Confederacy?
I ask this because I'm not so sure you do. Here we are in a northern town, a place that gave her sons up to the Union Army and lost them on the battlefields of the Civil War. A place where locals organized early against slavery and led the charge against it across the country. A place where 150 years ago that flag would have been seen as a symbol of treason.
I grew up in the South where I saw plenty of Confederate flags. My college campus had a small Confederate cemetery on it and every Confederate Memorial Day (do you know when that is, by the way?) they'd be decorated with those flags. And I lived in a state where that Confederate emblem was on the flag for far too long.
Some people say it's heritage. I don't buy it. I have Confederate soldiers for ancestors, and I've never felt the need to honor them by flying that flag.
I also know it wasn't even the Confederate flag. It was the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. (My ancestors' unit, by the way.) And I know that even the Daughters of the Confederacy advocated not using that flag anymore back in the 1920s. And I also know that it didn't really make a comeback until the 1950s when a Supreme Court decision let African-American children go to school with white children.
Do you think that flag has been flying in front of the South Carolina capitol since 1865? It hasn't. It was put there for one reason only: racist defiance in the face of integration.
I think you believe that the flag brands you as a "rebel" or somehow honors your outlook on life. It doesn't. It brands you as a racist. You may not think you are one, but flying that flag is a racist act.
I know that right now you are saying, "But I'm not a racist!" "Heritage, not hate!" But this isn't your heritage. It's mine. And it is hate. And it is racism. And every time you put that flag on the back of your car, we all go back in time a little. And the past wasn't so great for many of our neighbors.
The present isn't so great either, by the way. Because in a time when nine African-American churchgoers were massacred at their church by a man wearing that flag, and in a week when seven black churches have been burned with little media attention, those flags tell everyone that you could care less about what is happening. Others can suffer, so long as you get to wear your flag. It's like showing up at a funeral and dancing on the grave.
Is that the kind of man you are? One who doesn't care who is being hurt, so long as you get to show off your flags on your truck?
You aren't being a rebel. And you aren't being courageous. And you won't be on the right side of history.
But here's the good news: it doesn't have to end like that. You can stop flying the Confederate flag. You can honor your ancestors here in the North by learning why they were willing to give their lives to fight against that flag. And you can honor my ancestors down in the South by saying you are willing to learn from their mistakes.
Please. Our town doesn't need those flags. And, if you look inside and find your better self, you'll find that neither do you

An Open Letter to American Muslims on Same-Sex Marriage

Posted: 07/08/2015 1:16 pm EDT Updated: 3 hours ago

The following is reprinted with permission from Religion Dispatches. Follow RD on Facebook or Twitter for daily updates.

To Our Fellow American Muslims,

Hey there. It's two of your brothers. We're writing to you about the Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage in all fifty states. The good news is that a whopping 42 percent of you support marriage equality, as do both of our Muslim elected officials in the United States Congress. One even serves as vice chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus! There are many faithful gay and lesbian Muslims in the U.S. and we love and support all of them.

At the same time, many of you are scandalized by the ruling (we know because you keep tweeting about it), and many more of you are equally perturbed but have chosen to keep it to yourself. With all the rainbow-flag waving and self-congratulatory pats on the back this country is giving itself right now, you don't need another reason for Americans to dislike you.

Sure Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee can call the Supreme Court decision the precursor to the End of Days and the final battle of Armageddon. But if you try saying something like that on TV you may end up in Guantanamo. So you're staying quiet. You may not like the Supreme Court's decision but you're willing to tolerate it.

We understand where you're coming from. Being Muslim in America is not easy. On the one hand you're a part of mainstream culture. You're a Warriors fan. You listen to Kanye. You watch Game of Thrones. You even went to the office Christmas party and sang Silent Night!

On the other hand, you want to stay true to your faith and traditions: You go to the mosque and send your kids to Islamic school, fast during Ramadan, and swap Turkey bacon on your BLT, all in an attempt to establish a firm Muslim identity in a non-Muslim country.

But now that same-sex marriage is legal in America, it's shaking up your faith. You're afraid of the future and what this could mean for your kids. You recognize the growing acceptance of gay rights, but personally you just can't bring yourself to embrace the shift. You may feel okay with having gay acquaintances or coworkers. You may even agree that being gay doesn't disqualify you from also being a Muslim. But privately, you still feel like the LGBT community is a living contradiction to what you were brought up to believe.

But here's the thing. When you are an underrepresented minority--whether Muslim, African American, female, etc.--democracy is an all or nothing business. You fight for everyone's rights (and the operative word here is "fight"), or you get none for yourself. Democracy isn't a buffet. You can't pick and choose which civil liberties apply to which people. Either we are all equal, or the whole thing is just a sham.

We Muslims are already a deeply marginalized people in mainstream American culture. More than half of Americans have a negative view of us. One-third of Americans--that's more than one hundred million people--want us to carry special IDs so that they can easily identify us as Muslim. We shouldn't be perpetuating our marginalization by marginalizing others. Rejecting the right to same-sex marriage, but then expecting empathy for our community's struggle, is hypocritical.

Think about the way people look at your hijabi sister or your bearded brother when they walk through the mall. Think about the grumbles and stares you get at airports. Think about the vitriol that's spewed on you by your own elected political leaders. That's how your LGBT brothers and sisters feel every day of their lives. Are you okay with that?

We don't know about you, but our faith teaches us to care for the weak and the marginalized, the poor and dispossessed, those who are trampled underfoot, those who are persecuted--no matter who they are, no matter what they believe, no matter who they choose to love.

"Believers, stand firm for God, be witnesses for justice. Never allow the hatred of people to prevent you from being just. Be just, for this is closest to righteousness" (Quran 5:8).

It doesn't get any clearer than that.

You may think LGBT rights is a new conversation, something that's only recently come into contact with modern Islamic thought, but trust us, it's not. Challenging the status quo for the betterment of society is one of the very foundations on which Islam was built.

No one is asking you to change your beliefs. If you feel your faith tells you that homosexuality isharam, fine. We disagree with your interpretation, but you're entitled to it.

Ain't America grand?

But if you can't find it in your heart to accept gays on principle, think about the country you want to live in. After all, the constitution that just ensured the rights of LGBT communities is the same constitution that protects our mosques and community centers, that keeps our Islamic schools open, that allows us equal rights and privileges in the face overwhelming hatred and bigotry from our fellow Americans. You can't celebrate one without the other.

That's why it's not enough to simply "tolerate" the Supreme Court decision. Tolerating another community only stirs up concealed fear toward the marginalized and apathy toward the political process. As minorities we don't have the luxury to have either of those emotions. We have to do more than tolerate. We have to embrace. We have to fight for the right of others to live their lives as freely as we want to live ours.

Bottom line is this: standing up for marginalized communities, even when you disagree with them, is not just the right thing to do, it's the Muslim thing to do. Remember that whole God is merciful and compassionate thing? That extends to all people, not just those who are straight.

Celebrate. Don't tolerate. Love really does win.

Yours Truly,

Reza Aslan and Hasan Minhaj

Why The Greek Orthodox Church Is Weighing In On The Referendum

Posted: 07/03/2015 9:49 am EDT Updated: 07/03/2015 11:59 am EDT

The sermon at the Church St. Paul Thessaloniki ended abruptly one day recently when one of Greece’s most important religious leaders informed the congregation that he was going to vote "yes" on an economic bailout referendum taking place on Sunday.
The Metropolitan Anthimos told the congregation they had the right to vote however they wished, but that he would "vote for Europe" -- at which point the assembly erupted with a mix of responses, some applauding while others shouted objections.
On Sunday, the Greek people will be voting on whether to accept the terms of a bailout offered by Greece's European Union creditors that includes the continuation of the severe austerity measures that have resulted in resentment and economic hardship in the country. It is expected to be a close vote, with the current polling numbers showing an almost even split between the "yes" and "no" votes. The closeness of the numbers and the sense of what is at stake have led to intensifying political activity. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is urging a "no" vote, and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has pledged to step down if the Greek people do not reject the bailout terms.
On the other side, the head of the Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos II, has thrown the weight of his office behind the "yes" vote. In a statement released Wednesday, the archbishop wrote: "We have to promise our children a Greece of growth and progress. A Greece that will move on with self confidence and safety, flesh of the flesh of the hard core of the common European family."
The vast majority of Greeks identify as Orthodox, and the church is in the constitution as the prevailing religion of the country. "The Church in Greece is omnipresent," explained Father Dan Skvir, the Orthodox Christian Chaplain at Princeton University. "There are one or two churches on every block. It is obviously a critical player, and its voice is listened to."
Not all Orthodox priests are lining up behind the archbishop. At a recent pro-government rally in Syntagma Square in Athens, priests protested the austerity measures outside the Greek Parliament.

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However, it appears that within the Greek Orthodox Church, the upper levels of the hierarchy are publicly supporting the European bailout and warning against the exit of Greece from the European Union or the eurozone.
But why?
Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, who teaches at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, points to two important factors. The first is the religious ties the Orthodox Church has with Europe: "The Church of Greece sees Orthodoxy as part of the European fabric and history and understands Greece to be an important part of the European project."
The Orthodox Church fears that a "no" vote could lead to the exit of Greece from Europe, where it historically belongs.
Prodromou suggests the second reason church leaders are supporting the "yes" vote is that they feel the humanitarian crisis would grow much worse if Greece were to exit the eurozone. While not all Greeks are enthusiastic about the Orthodox Church, there has been general consensus that the church has played an important role in recent years as Greek society has suffered under the austerity measures. The church maintained massive food distribution operations around the country and provided job training and shelter for Greek citizens, as well as for the growing immigrant population.
This humanitarian concern led Greek Orthodox Church officials to write a letter in 2011 to the president of the European Commission, José Barroso, in which they protested the hardships the Greek people were being made to suffer. "It would be a scandal if European leaders did not take the cries of simple citizens into account and if these very citizens of Europe were threatened like expendable products," they wrote.
Perhaps most of all, the church fears the splintering of Greek society amid increasingly harsh rhetoric. Given Greece's history of civil war and factionalism, the potential for national schism in Greece is real, reminds Prodromou. More than anything, the Archbishop Ieronymos II's statement encouraged citizens to remain committed to the nation and to one another:

The times we are living in are maybe the most crucial ones for our Nation since after World War Two. It's a time of responsibility for everyone. For every institution in the country, for the political parties, the church, for each and every Greek. We are all united by the love for our country. The anxiety for its present and its future. Nothing separates us. That is why we must not allow the poison of division contaminate our souls. It will be a crime burdening the next generations.

Protect Christians from further Genocide in Iraq and the KRG

Protect Christians from further Genocide in Iraq and the KRG

We call upon the United Nations and the international community to:

1. Take immediate action to prevent the torture and slaughter of Assyrian and Yezidi IDPs in Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) who are being terrorized by anonymous calls on their cell phones saying, “We know who you are! We know where you are! We’re going to finish Ramadan and celebrate Eid al Fitr in Dohuk and then we’re coming to get you!”

2. Institute a zone of protection policed by an international protection force to prevent further genocide of Yezidis and Assyrian Christians in Northern Iraq and the KRG.

3. Undertake the providing of consistent humanitarian aid to the over 375,000 Yezidis in refugee camps in Iraq and the KRG.

4. Undertake the providing of humanitarian aid to the over 190,000 Assyrian Christians from Iraq and the KRG who were forced to flee their homes in July and August 2014 and are living as IDPs in Iraq and refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

During Ramadan in 2014, similar anonymous calls terrorized Assyrians and Yezidis. Following the calls, over 600,000 Assyrian Christians and Yezidis were forced from their homes; over 10,000 were slaughtered; over 7,000 women and girls were brutally enslaved as sex slaves; 2,000 boys were forced to convert and become child soldiers; tens of thousands were stranded, facing starvation and dehydration while under siege; and thousands were taken hostage, many of whom remain in detention 11 months later,

PLEASE ACT NOW TO SAVE ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS AND YEZIDIS FROM FURTHER GENOCIDE.

Activist Bree Newsome Reveals Staggering Faith During Confederate Flag Action

The Huffington Post  |  By Antonia Blumberg

Debate surrounding the Confederate flag has raged throughout the South since June 17, when nine African American churchgoers were killed by a white shooter in Charleston, South Carolina. In the wake of the racist massacre, many, including the governor of South Carolina, have called for the flag's removal from public places.

But activist Bree Newsome was not willing to wait for the state's legislature to weigh the issue, and took matters into her own hands. In a now widely viewed video, Newsome is seen scaling a pole on the state's capitol grounds Saturday morning and removing the flag in a powerful act of resistance.

"You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence," she called from the top of the flagpole. "I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today!"

Newsome, whose father formerly served as the dean of the School of Divinity at Howard University, went on to recite a passage from the Bible.

"'The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?'" she quoted from Psalm 27.

In quoting the Bible during her act of defiance, Newsome "follows in the footsteps" of powerful women in the black community who forever altered history, said Rev. Jennifer Bailey, a minister in the AME Church.

"Women like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, and the unsung saints whose names history will never know. For centuries, black women have called upon the divine to 'make a way out of no way' and we have always known that faith without embodied action is dead and results in dead black bodies lying the streets," Bailey told The Huffington Post.

Karen Attiah of the Washington Post wrote:

Importantly, she stands for us all as an example of the Bible as blueprint for nonviolent resistance in the face of blatant social injustice around the world.

As the darkness of racism and fear hangs heavily in our national atmosphere right now, Newsome calls upon the Lord as divine light as she boldly takes down the Confederate battle flag that was raised in South Carolina as resistance against civil rights progress. Bree Newsome should inspire us all. She is a modern figure of quiet dignity, courageous resistance and true grace under pressure of biblical proportions.

In an exclusive essay sent to Blue Nation Review, Newsome discussed the reasoning behind her act of civil disobedience and the religious values underpinning it.

"I see no greater moral cause than liberation, equality and justice f­­or all God’s people," she wrote. "What better reason to risk your own freedom than to fight for the freedom of others?"

Newsome and fellow activist James Tyson were arrested on misdemeanor charges and were released on $3,000 bond each. The flag was placed back on the pole 45 minutes after the action.

Zea, The Ohio Girl Who Stood Up To A Homophobic Preacher, Is Everyone's New Hero

The Huffington Post  |  By Ed Mazza

Sometimes, the loudest voice is the one that doesn't say a word -- just ask this little girl.

Zea, a 7-year-old first grader, stood firm in the face of hate over the weekend at a celebration of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. When a preacher began ranting at her through a microphone, little Zea quietly waved her rainbow flag and never backed down.

Once again, #LoveWins.

Her father, Ryan Bowling, posted video of the remarkable confrontation on YouTube. He wrote that it took place over the weekend at ComFest, an annual music and arts festival in Columbus, Ohio that turned into an impromptu celebration of Friday's decision.

"Zea didn't just flash the flag at that hatemonger, and bail. They went toe to toe, for several minutes, while he bellowed all of his fire and brimstone right in her face," Bowling wrote on Facebook. "Grown man vs first grader. She told me afterward that she did feel scared. The one thing the people of comfest, 2015 never let her feel though? Alone."

The encounter was also caught on camera by Zea's father:

The photo has been turned into a t-shirt, with proceeds going to Zea as well as an LGBT nonprofit to be chosen by her family.

“Black” Churches Destroyed By Fire In The Past Week

The Huffington Post  |  By Nick Visser

Posted: 06/28/2015 2:07 pm EDT Updated: 06/29/2015 1:59 pm EDT

At least five predominantly black churches have caught fire in the last week, including at least three that have been the subject of arson, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports.

The string of blazes, which have occurred in four Southern states and Ohio, comes a week after nine people were gunned down at a Charleston, South Carolina, church. Dylann Roof, 21, has been charged with nine counts of homicide and possession of a firearm during commission of a violent crime.

An arsonist set fire to the College Hills Seventh Day Adventist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Monday. The following day, God’s Power Church of Christ in Macon, Georgia, was gutted by flames. And on Wednesday, Briar Creek Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, was deliberately set ablaze, causing more than $250,000 in damage.

Briar Creek Pastor Mannix Kinsey told a local news station he hopes the event turns out not to be a hate crime, and the culprit is "already forgiven," but he's worried about "the climate."

“We are still talking about this same issue and this is 2015,” he said. “We all have to consider what else do we need to do to actually be able to work together.”