“For with you, O God, is the fountain of life; and in your light we see light.”
- Psalm 36:9
“Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
- Psalm 119: 105
“The soul of the universe is divinity present everywhere and in everything, in you and me, in friend and foe, and in all who share our sacred space on our hallowed planet.”
- Medical Mission Sister Miriam Therese Winter
“Joy Is Like the Rain”
“I saw rain drops on my window, joy is like the rain
Laughter runs across my pane, slips away and comes again
Joy is like the rain
“I saw clouds upon a mountain, joy is like a cloud
Sometimes silver, sometimes gray, always sun not far away
Joy is like a cloud
“I saw Christ in wind and thunder, joy is tried by storm
Christ asleep within my boat, whipped by wind, yet still afloat
Joy is tried by storm
“I saw rain drops on a river, Joy is like the rain
Bit by bit the river grows, till all at once it overflows
Joy is like the rain”
- Medical Mission Sister Miriam Therese Winter
“Have A Talk With God”
“There are people who have let the problems of today
Lead them to conclude that for them life is not the way
But every problem has an answer and if yours you cannot find
You should talk it over to Him
He’ll give you peace of mind
When you feel your life’s too hard
Just go have a talk with God
“Many of us feel we walk alone without a friend
Never communicating with the One who lives within
Forgetting all about the One who never ever lets you down
And you can talk to God (Him) anytime God’s (he’s) always around
When you feel your life’s too hard
Just go have a talk with God
“Well He’s the only free psychiatrist that’s known throughout the world
For solving the problems of all men, women, little boys and girls
When you feel your life’s too hard
Just go have a talk with God
When you feel your life’s too hard
Just go have a talk with God
When your load’s too much to bear
Just go talk to God, God cares
I know God (he) does
“When you feel your life’s too hard
Just go have a talk with God.”
- Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album “Songs in the Key of Life”
Check out the song here.
“This is my song”
“This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.
“But other hearts in other lands are beating,
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
“But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.”
- Lloyd Stone for verses 1 and 2, and Georgia Harkness for verse 3. VOCES8 performs this poem to the tune of “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius
Maya Angelou - American author, poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She is widely published, and has received dozens of awards, and more than 50 honorary degrees.
“What you're supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.”
- from her "Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now"
“When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
“A Trick of a Treat” by Nancy Hughes
“Dressed up little creatures
on a dark October night
run from door to door
giving everyone a fright.
“They come and ring your doorbell
and before they will retreat,
they beg you for some candy
by yelling ‘trick or treat.’
“When their bags are full,
they run home to eat their fill.
They taste a bit of everything
and by morning they are ill!
“So to keep the youngsters healthy,
I’ve figured out a deal.
This year instead of candy,
I’ll give them all oatmeal!”
Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (1862-1931). American investigative journalist, educator, early civil rights movement leader. A founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
- Ida B. Wells
“There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice if we only know how to find it.”
- Ida B. Wells
“Brave men do not gather by thousands to torture and murder a single individual, so gagged and bound he cannot make even feeble resistance or defense.”
- Ida B. Wells. Quote from “On Lynchings.”
“Those who commit the murders write the reports.”
- Ida B. Wells
“Virtue knows no color line.”
- Ida B. Wells
“Hope is a thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings a tune without words
And never stops at all.
“And sweetest, in the gale, is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That keeps so many warm.
“I’ve heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea
Yet, never, in extremity
It ask a crumb of me.”
- Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830-1886), American poet.
Little known during her life, is now considered one of
the most important writers of American poetry.
“Take my life, God, let it be
consecrated, faithfully.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
“Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be;
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
“Take my voice and let me sing,
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be;
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
“Take my love and help it grow,
let my loving overflow.
Take my now, and help me be
part of Christ’s community.”
- Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879), from her hymn
“Take My Life, God, Let It Be” (1874), based on Romans 12:1
Tune based on music by Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756–1791):
Audio - Mozart’s melody:
With the United Farm Workers, American Cesar Chavez redefined farm labor activism, and contributed to a new era of social justice movements in the United States.
“Show me the suffering of the most miserable, so I will know my people’s plight.”
“Free me to pray for others for you are present in every person.”
“Help me to take responsibility for my own life, so that I can be free at last.”
“Grant me courage to serve others for in service there is true life.”
“Give me honesty and patience, so that I can work with other workers.”
“Bring forth song and celebration, so that the spirit will be alive among us.”
“Let the spirit flourish and grow, so that we will never tire of the struggle.”
“Let us remember those who have died for justice for they have given us life.”
“Help us love even those who hate us, so that we can change the world.”
“When the sins of our fathers visit us
We do not have to play host.
We can banish them with forgiveness
As God in God’s Largeness and Laws.”
- August Wilson
“She is free to do what she wants, and free not to do.”
- Nawal El Saadawi in “Women at Point Zero”
“They said, ‘You are a savage and a dangerous woman.’ I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous.”
- Nawal El Saadawi in “Women at Point Zero”
“The battles over women’s bodies can be won only by a revolution of the mind.”
- Mona Eltahawy in “Headscarves and Hymens” and author of “Why Do They Hate Us”)
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu OMSG CH is a South African Anglican cleric and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid, and human rights activist. He was the Bishop of Johannesburg (1985-1986), and the Archbishop of Cape Town (1986-1996), the first black African to hold both positions.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
“Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering - remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what happened.”
“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. God’s standards are quite low.”
Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta
American labor leader and civil rights activist. She co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, with Cesar Chavez. It merged with Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, becoming the United Farm Workers.
“We just have to convince other people that they have power. This is what they can do by participating to make change, not only in their community, but many times changing in their own lives. Once they participate, they get their sense of power.”
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
“Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk.”
“I am because we are.”
- Ubuntu or “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects
all humanity” with the idea that humans cannot live in isolation.
“Be still and know that I am God”
- Psalm 46:10
“I thank God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.”
- Philippians 1:3-4
Mary Stevenson’s “Footprints in the Sand” (1936)
“One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
“This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life, ”
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I would see only one set of footprints.
“So I said to the Lord,
‘You promised me Lord,
That if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?’
“The Lord replied.
‘The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.’ ”
- Mary Stevenson (November 8, 1922-January of 1999)
See “Mary’s Story” for more information about Mary.
Samuel Longfellow, brother to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. As a Unitarian pastor, he adapted transcendental philosophy to his hymns and sermons:
“Into all our lives, in many simple, familiar, homely ways, God infuses this element of joy from the surprises of life, which unexpectedly brighten our days and fill our eyes with light.”
- Samuel Longfellow (1819–1892), American clergyman and hymn writer.
“Discouraged in the work of life, disheartened by its load, shamed by its failures or its fears, I sink beside the road; But let me only think of you and all my strength returns anew.”
- Samuel Longfellow (1819–1892), American clergyman and hymn writer.
From his 1864 hymn “I Look to You in Every Need.”
“Now, on sea and land descending,
Brings the night its peace profound:
Let our vesper hymn be blending
With the holy calm around.
Soon as dies the sunset glory,
Stars of heaven shine out above,
Telling still the ancient story -
Their Creator’s changeless love.
Now, our wants and burdens leaving
To God’s care who cares for all,
Cease we fearing, cease we grieving;
At God's touch our burdens fall.
As the darkness deepens o’er us,
Lo! eternal stars arise;
Hope and Faith and Love rise glorious,
Shining in the Spirit’s skies.”
- Samuel Longfellow (1819–1892), American clergyman and hymn writer.
From his Vesper hymn.
Frederick Douglass:
“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
- Frederick Douglass (February 1817-February 20, 1895),
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator,
writer, statesman, escaped slave.
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
- Frederick Douglass (February 1817-February 20, 1895),
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator,
writer, statesman, escaped slave.
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”
- Frederick Douglass (February 1817-February 20, 1895),
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator,
writer, statesman, escaped slave.
“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”
- Frederick Douglass (February 1817-February 20, 1895),
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator,
writer, statesman, escaped slave.
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken ones.”
- Frederick Douglass (February 1817-February 20, 1895),
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator,
writer, statesman, escaped slave.
“"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous."”
- Frederick Douglass (February 1817-February 20, 1895),
American social reformer, abolitionist, orator,
writer, statesman, escaped slave.
In celebration of Gay Pride Month, the words of Audre Lorde from “Eye to Eye” and “Sister Outsider”:
“I am not free while any woman is not free, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
- Audre Lorde (Feb 18, 1934-Nov 17, 1992), American writer, feminist,
womanist, librarian, civil rights activist. She called herself a “Black,
lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and confronted injustices of racism,
sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, homophobia.
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
- Audre Lorde (Feb 18, 1934-Nov 17, 1992), American writer, feminist,
womanist, librarian, civil rights activist. She called herself a “Black,
lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and confronted injustices of racism,
sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, homophobia.
“I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t.”
- Audre Lorde (Feb 18, 1934-Nov 17, 1992), American writer, feminist,
womanist, librarian, civil rights activist. She called herself a “Black,
lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and confronted injustices of racism,
sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, homophobia.
“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
- Audre Lorde (Feb 18, 1934-Nov 17, 1992), American writer, feminist,
womanist, librarian, civil rights activist. She called herself a “Black,
lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and confronted injustices of racism,
sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, homophobia.
“Pain is important: how we evade it, how we succumb to it, how we deal with it, how we transcend it.”
- Audre Lorde (Feb 18, 1934-Nov 17, 1992), American writer, feminist,
womanist, librarian, civil rights activist. She called herself a “Black,
lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and confronted injustices of racism,
sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, homophobia.
“Without community, there is no liberation…but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.”
- Audre Lorde (Feb 18, 1934-Nov 17, 1992), American writer, feminist,
womanist, librarian, civil rights activist. She called herself a “Black,
lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and confronted injustices of racism,
sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, homophobia.
“I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
‘Eat in the kitchen,’
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.”
- James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901-May 22, 1967),
from “The Collected Works of Langston Hughes.” American poet,
social activist, novelist, playwright, columnist. Early innovator
of jazz poetry, a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.
“If can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.”
- Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830-May 15, 1886)
American poet.
From Pulitzer Prize winning author (The Color Purple, 1983), amazing mother, and activist, Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker:
“Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming”
- Alice Walker, American novelist, short
story writer, poet, social activist.
“The nature of this flower is to bloom!”
- Alice Walker, American novelist, short
story writer, poet, social activist.
“Surely the earth can be saved by all the people who insist on love.”
- Alice Walker, American novelist, short
story writer, poet, social activist.
“When life descends into the pit
I must become my own candle
Willingly burning my self
To light up the darkness around me.”
- Alice Walker, American novelist, short
story writer, poet, social activist.
“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
- Alice Walker, American novelist, short
story writer, poet, social activist.
“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience (in God) achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. Christ has no body on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yous are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which God is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which God is to bless the people”
- St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
“You (The Spirit) call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes, from the bondage of sorrow the captives dream dreams; Our women see visions, our men clear their eyes. With bold new decisions your people arise!”
- from the hymn “Spirit”
“Every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I will pray. Yes, every time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart, I will pray”
- from the African American spiritual “Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
“Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.”
- from the hymn “Spirit of the Living God”
“Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, with all your quickening powers; Kindle a flame of sacred love. In these cold hearts of ours. Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, with all your quickening powers; Come, shed on us God’s love, that it may kindle ours.”
- from “Hymns and Spiritual Songs” by Isaac Watts
“Don’t do anything that you think is wrong. Just do what you think is right, and then be ready to back it up even with your life.”
- Maya Angelou, American poet,
memoirist, civil rights activist.
“She liberated me from a society that would have had me think of myself as the lower of the low. She liberated me to life. And from that time to this time, I have taken life by the lapels and I have said, ‘I’m with you, kid.’ ”
- Maya Angelou, American poet,
memoirist, civil rights activist.
“We are born of love; love is our mother.”
- Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi), 13th-century
Persian poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar,
Maturidi theologian, Sufi mystic.
“I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars.”
- E.M. Forster, English fiction
writer, essayist, librettist.
“How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mother’s names.”
- Alice (Malsenior Tallulah-Kate) Walker, American
novelist, short story writer, poet, social activist.
Author of “The Color Purple,” (National
Book Award, and a Pulitzer Prize.
“With each passing day, I didn’t lose hope. I fought to have more.”
- Amy Tan, American author,
wrote “The Joy Luck Club.”
“Refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us … except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale”
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.”
- Shirley Anita Chisholm (November 30, 1924-January 1, 2005),
American politician, educator, author. In 1968, she became
the first black woman elected to the U. S. Congress
“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”
- Desmond Mpilo Tutu OMSG CH GCStJ, South African Anglican
cleric and theologian, known for his work as
an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.
“My folks came to the U.S. as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in the U.S., a citizen, went to Hollywood, and became an alien.”
- Leonard Nimoy (Mar 26, 1931-Feb 27, 2015), American actor, filmmaker,
photographer, author, singer, songwriter. Aka “Mr. Spock,” Star
Fleet commander, United Federation of Planets ambassador.
From Jackie Robinson, No. 42, in The L.A. Dodgers:
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on others lives.”
- Jackie Robinson. American professional baseball player.
First African American to play in Major League Baseball.
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me … All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”
- Jackie Robinson. American professional baseball player.
First African American to play in Major League Baseball.
“It kills me to lose. If I’m a troublemaker, and I don’t think that my temper makes me one, then it’s because I can’t stand losing. That’s the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first.”
- Jackie Robinson. American professional baseball player.
First African American to play in Major League Baseball.
“The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time.”
- Jackie Robinson. American professional baseball player.
First African American to play in Major League Baseball.
“There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.”
- Jackie Robinson. American professional baseball player.
First African American to play in Major League Baseball.
“Don’t break a bird’s wings and then tell it to fly. Don’t break a heart and then tell it to love. Don’t break a soul and then tell it to be happy. Don’t see the worst in a person and expect them to see the best in you. Don’t judge people and expect them to stand by your side. Don’t play with fire and expect to stay perfectly safe. Life is about giving and taking. You cannot expect to give bad and receive good. You cannot expect to give good and receive bad.”
- Najwa Zebian, from his book, “Broken Wings.”
“I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.”
- Thomas Paine
Prayer from the African Prayer Book by Desmond Tutu:
“The right hand of God is writing in our land,
Writing with power and with love.
Our conflicts and our fears, our triumphs and our tears
Are recorded by the right hand of God.
“The right hand of God is pointing in our land,
Pointing the way we must go.
So clouded is the way, so easily we stray,
But we’re guided by the right hand of God.
“The right hand of God is striking in our land,
Striking out at envy, hate and greed.
Our selfishness and lust, our pride and unjust
Are destroyed by the right hand of God.
“The right hand of God is lifting in our land,
Lifting the fallen one by one.
Each one is known by name, and rescued now from shame,
By the lifting of the right hand of God.
“The right hand of God is healing in our land,
Healing broken bodies, minds and souls,
So wondrous is its touch, with love that means so much,
When we’re healed by the right hand of God.
“The right hand of God is planting in our land,
Planting seeds of freedom, hope and love,
In these amazing lands, let God’s people all join hands,
And be one with the right hand of God.”
- Desmond Mpilo Tutu OMSG CH GCStJ, South African Anglican
cleric and theologian, known for his work as
an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
- Serenity Prayer, attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr
“Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.”
- Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
“Lord, make me a channel of your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.”
“O Divine, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
And it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it’s in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.”
- Apostle Paul, Letter to the Romans 8:38-39
“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of God’s hand.”
- Irish blessing
“Be Thou my vision O God of my heart;
Nothing surpasses the love you impart.
You my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, your presence my light.”
- Irish melody
“May the friendships you make,
Be those which endure,
And all of your grey clouds
Be small ones for sure.
And trusting in God
To Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart,
Every step of the way.”
- Irish blessing
“If God sends you down a stony path,
May God give you strong shoes.”
- Irish saying
“May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness.
From this day forward.”
- Irish blessing
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? … You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to God.”
- The Gospel According to Matthew, 5:13-16
“Which commandment is the first of all? … You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with our your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- The Gospel According to Mark, 12:28-31
“The Spirit of God is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of God’s favor”
- The Gospel According to Luke, 4:18-19
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
- The Gospel According to John, 13:34-35
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
- Maya Angelou “Letter to My Daughter”
“Which causes me to wonder, my own purpose on so many days as humble as the spider’s, what is beautiful that I make? What is elegant? What feeds the world?”
- Louise Erdrich, “The Painted Drum”
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
- Audre Lorde, “A Burst of Light”
“No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.”
- Lupita Nyong’o, Oscar-winning actress
“This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine.”
- Line from a spiritual. Unclear authorship. Considered to
be an African-American spiritual. Often attributed to
Harry Dixon Loes (sometimes with Avis B.
Christiansen); written ~1920. Loes was white.
“God does dwell in us. This is the essential truth of who we are. We are creatures made in the image of God. At the core of our being is goodness.”
- Desmond Tutu, from his book “Made for Goodness:
And Why This Makes All the Difference”
“One of the things I lifted up, and I still do in teachings and trainings ... is that religion at its best tries to get human beings ... to accept their fundamental humanity and take responsibility for the management and control of their anger, for their fear, for their animosities. To not pretend it comes from somebody else. To develop a spiritual life, whereby you can be in a very hostile situation, but you can still try to shape your own life because it is a gift, and there is no gift exactly like that. And you can mold it.”
- Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. from his book
“Nonviolence and Social Movements: The
Teachings of Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.”
“We are a mirror of the gift of life in that we can make the choice to give ourselves to a cause and to a way of life that is much larger than we are. We can give ourselves to a work that we will never succeed in fulfilling.”
- Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. from his book
“Nonviolence and Social Movements: The
Teachings of Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.”
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
- Proverbs 29:18
“Be Thou my vision, O God of my heart, nothing surpasses the love you impart. You my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, your presence my light.”
- Hymn by Mary Byrne
“Then afterward, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”
- Joel 2:28
On January 17, 2021, the Bethany worship congregation shared these quotes:
“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther. King Jr.
“We can do this together, because while individually you have purpose, together we have power.”
- Stacey Abrams, lawyer, voting rights activist,
and author who served in the Georgia
House of Representatives
“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
- Gwendolyn Brooks, author, activist,
the first Black woman to
win the Pulitzer Prize
“No matter how big a nation is, it is no stronger than its weakest people, and as long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise.”
- Marian Anderson, contralto, first African American singer
to perform at the White House, first African American
to sing with New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
“One day, I know the struggle will change. There’s got to be a change - not only for Mississippi, not only for the people in the United States, but people all over the world.”
- Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights Activist
“We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.”
- Congressman John R. Lewis on movement-building
in his book “Across That Bridge: A Vision for
Change and the Future of America”
“Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part.”
- Congressman John R. Lewis on movement-building
in his book “Across That Bridge: A Vision for
Change and the Future of America”
“If one man can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it?”
- Malala Yousafzai, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood
Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban”
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; for whom shall I be afraid?”
- Psalm 27:1
“Be still and know that I am God.”
- Psalm 46:10
“You who live in the shelter of God, who abide in the shadow of God, will say to God, ‘my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’ ”
- Psalm 91:1-2
“O sing to God a new song; sing to God, all the earth.”
- Psalm 96:1
“I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from God who made heaven and earth.”
- Psalm 121:1
“O give thanks to God for God is good. God’s steadfast love endures forever.”
- Psalm 136
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his/her skin, or his/her background, or his/her religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love come more naturally to the human heart.”
- Nelson Mandela, from his book “Long Road to Freedom”
