“I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.”

“In our secret yearnings
we wait for your coming,
and in our grinding despair
we doubt that you will.
And in this privileged place
we are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than do we
and by those who despair more deeply than do we.
Look upon your church and its pastors
in this season of hope
which runs so quickly to fatigue
and in this season of yearning
which becomes so easily quarrelsome.
Give us the grace and the impatience
to wait for your coming to the bottom of our toes,
to the edges of our fingertips.
We do not want our several worlds to end.
Come in your power
and come in your weakness
in any case
and make all things new.
Amen.”

“For peace in your country
For the victims of violence everywhere
For those struggling for peace and justice
For churches in conflict situations
For a world without war and violence

“Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace,
Let peace fill our beings, our world and our universe.”

Amen.

“Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord
And where there's doubt, true faith in you

“Make me a channel of your peace
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there’s sadness ever joy

“Oh, master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul

“Make me a channel of your peace
It isn’t pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men let we receive
And in dying that we’re born to turn around

“Oh, master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul

“Make me a channel of your peace
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there’s sadness ever joy”

[Verse 1] “Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some loving here today, yeah

[Verse 2]
“Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some loving here today, oh (Oh)

[Chorus]
“Picket lines (Sister) and picket signs (Sister)
Don’t punish me (Sister) with brutality (Sister)
Talk to me (Sister), so you can see (Sister)
Oh, what's going on (What's going on)
What's going on (What's going on)
Yeah, what's going on (What's going on)
Oh, what’s going on”

“To be a Christian - a follower of Jesus Christ - is to love wisdom, love justice, and love freedom.”

“And every historic effort to forge a democratic project has been undermined by two fundamental realities: poverty and paranoia. The persistence of poverty generates levels of despair that deepen social conflict. The escalation of paranoia produces levels of distrust that reinforce cultural division. Race is the most explosive issue in American life precisely because it forces us to confront the tragic facts of poverty and paranoia, despair and distrust. In short, a candid examination of race matters takes us to the core of the crisis of American democracy.”

“My philosophy of democracy is deeply shaped by that particular Jew named Jesus who put the love of God and neighbor at the core of his vision of justice and his deeds of compassion. His (Jesus’) vision of a just future consoles those who cry and his deeds of compassion comfort those who shed tears. His loving gift of ministry, grace, and death under the rule of nihilistic imperial elites enacts divine compassion and justice in human flesh. The ultimate Christian paradox of God crucified in history under the Roman empire is that the love and justice that appear weak may be strong, that seem so foolish may be wise, and that strike imperial elites as easily disposable may be inescapably indispensable. The prophetic tradition is fueled by a righteous indignation at injustice - a moral urgency to address the cries and tears of oppressed peoples.”

“Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let me love be shown, will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

“Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

“Will you love the ‘you’ you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found, to reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

“God, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go, where your love and footsteps show.
Thus, I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.”

“Pay attention to the people God puts in your path if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.”

“Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique places in God’s heart.”

“A life of compassion is the expansion of our hearts into a world-embracing space of healing from which no one is excluded.”

“Who are we? Are we what we do? Are we what others say about us? It often seems that way in our society. But the Spirit of God given to us reveals our true spiritual identities. The Spirit reveals that we belong to God. The Spirit frees us from fear … Who are we? We are God’s beloved sons and daughters!”

“From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint (and overwhelmed).
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I;
For you are my refuge.”

“People keep on learnin’,
Soldiers keep on warrin’.
World keep on turnin’,
Cause it won’t be too long.

“Powers keep on lyin’,
While your people keep on dyin’.
World keep on turnin’,
Cause it won’t be too long.

“I’m so darn glad he let me try it again,
Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin.
I’m so glad that I know more than I knew then,
Gonna keep on tryin’,
’Till I reach my highest ground.

“Teachers keep on teachin’,
Preachers keep on preachin.
World keep on turnin’,
Cause it won’t be too long,
Oh no.

“Lovers keep on lovin’,
Believers keep on believin’,
Sleepers just stop sleepin’,
Cause it won’t be too long,
Oh no.

“I’m so glad that he let me try it again, Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin.
I’m so glad that I know more than I knew then,
Gonna keep on tryin’,
’Till I reach my highest ground - Whew!

“ ’Till I reach my highest ground,
No one's gonna bring me down,
Oh no.

“ ’Till I reach my highest ground,
Don’t let nobody bring you down (they’ll sho ’nuff try),
God is gonna show you higher ground.”

“Come away from rush and hurry
to the stillness of God’s peace;
From our vain ambition’s worry,
come to God to find release.
Come away from noise and clamor,
life’s demands and frenzied pace;
Come to join the people gathered
here to seek and find God’s face.

“In the pastures of God’s goodness
we lie down to rest our soul.
From the waters of God’s mercy
we drink deeply, and are made whole.
At the table of God’s presence
all God’s saints are richly fed.
With the oil of God's anointing
into service we are led.”

“How do you weather such a storm
Battered by wind and rain
And still stand tall day after day
Beaten, but still the same?

We sway, we sway, our roots run deep
We draw our strength from underneath
We bend, we don’t break, we sway

There once was a storm when I was young
A storm that woke me from a dream
A roar of thunder shook my bed

Lightning jolted through me
My innocence lost in the rain
But still I grow, still I remain
Day after day, changed, but still the same

I sway, I sway, my roots run deep
I draw my strength from underneath
I bend, I don’t break, I sway

We sway, we sway, our roots run deep
We draw our strength from underneath
We bend, we don’t break, we sway”

“Love has its speed. It is a spiritual speed.
It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed.
It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, at three miles an hour.
It is the speed we walk and therefore the speed the love of God walks.”

“Look at me, look at my arms, I have plowed, and planted, and gathered in the barns, and no man can head me. And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much, and eat as much as a man when I could get it, and bear the lash as well. And ain’t I a woman? I have borne 13 children and seen most all sold off to slavery. And when I cried out with my mother’s grief none but Jesus heard me. And ain’t I a woman?

“Then they talk about this thing in the head … What’s this they call it? What’s this they call it?

“Intellect, that’s it honey. Intellect. What’s that got to do with Women’s rights and Blacks rights? If my cup will hold but a pint, and yours will hold a quart, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my little half measure fool?

“And then that man back there in the black … That man back in the black says that women can’t have as much rights as men because Christ wasn’t a woman. Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him. Now if the first woman that God ever made was strong enough to turn this world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again. And now they is asking to do it and you men better let them.”

“Dear Child of God, you are loved with a love that nothing can shake, a love that loved you long before you were created, a love that will be there long after everything has disappeared. You are precious, with a preciousness that is totally quite immeasurable. And God wants you to be like God. Filled with life and goodness and laughter—and joy. God, who is forever pouring out God’s whole being from all eternity, wants you to flourish.

“God wants you to be filled with joy and excitement and ever longing to be able to find what is so beautiful in God’s creation: the compassion of so many, the caring, the sharing. And God says, Please, my child, help me. Help me to spread love and laughter and joy and compassion. And you know what, my child? As you do this — hey, presto — you discover joy. Joy, which you had not sought, comes as the gift, as almost the reward for this non-self-regarding caring for others.”

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the
New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest,
to the Gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And saw above me that endless skyway,
And saw below me the golden valley, I said:
This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and rambled,
and followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of
her diamond deserts,
And all around me, a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

Was a big high wall there
that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property,
But on the back side it didn't say nothing —
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun come shining,
then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving
and dust clouds rolling;
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting:
This land was made for you and me.

One bright sunny morning
in the shadow of the steeple
By the Relief Office I saw my people —
As they stood hungry,
I stood there wondering if —
this land was made for you and me.

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 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.

Ensename el sufrimiento de los mas desafortunados;
Asi conocere el dolor de mi pueblo.

Librame a orar por los demas;
Porque estas presente en cada persona.

Ayudame a tomar responsabilidad de mi propia vida;
Solo asi sere libre al fin.

Concedeme valentia para servir al projimo;
Porque en la entrega hay vida verdadera.

Concedeme honoradez y paciencia;
Para que yo pueda trabajar junto con otros trabajadores.

Alumbranos con el canto y la celebracion;
Para que levanten el Espiritu entre nosotros.

Que el Espiritu florezca y crezca;
Para que no nos cansemos entre la lucha.

Nos acordamos de los que han caido por la justicia;
Porque a nosotros han entregado la vida.

Ayudanos a amar aun a los que nos odian;
Asi podremos cambiar el mundo.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O God of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of God;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young …

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.

“If you try to make your children (and children’s children) good, you will make them, and yourself, miserable. Instead, show them you believe in their natural goodness and all will be blessed. If you try to make them honor you, you will create instead resentment and dishonesty. Instead, honor yourself and them and all will be happy. If you try to make them successful, you will perpetuate their misery of endless desires. Instead, enjoy the simple life and all will find contentment.”

“You can speak to your children of life, but your words are not life itself. You can show them what you see, but your showing and their seeing are forever different things ... Don’t mistake your desire to talk for their readiness to listen. Far more important are the wordless truths they learn from you. If you take delight in the ordinary wonders of life, they will feel the depth of your pleasure and learn to experience joy. If you walk with them in the darkness of life’s mysteries, you will open the gate to understanding. They will learn to see in the darkness and not be afraid.”

There are so many roots to the tree of anger
that sometimes the branches shatter
before they bear.

Sitting in Nedicks
the women rally before they march
discussing the problematic girls
they hire to make them free.
An almost white counterman passes
a waiting brother to serve them first
and the ladies neither notice nor reject
the slighter pleasures of their slavery.
But I who am bound by my mirror
as well as my bed
see causes in colour
as well as sex

and sit here wondering
which me will survive
all these liberations.

“I fully realize that a person who stands for what I stand for, an activist, a gay activist, becomes the target or the potential target for a person who is insecure, terrified, afraid, or very disturbed with themselves.”

“God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion. In God’s family, there are no outsiders, no enemies. Black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, Jew and Arab, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Buddhist–all belong. When we start to live as brothers and sisters and to recognize our interdependence, we become fully human.”

“God cares about justice and injustice. God is in charge. That is what had upheld the morale of our people, to know that in the end good will prevail. It was these higher laws that convinced me that our peaceful struggle would topple the immoral laws of apartheid. Of course, there were times when you had to whistle in the dark to keep your morale up, and you wanted to whisper in God’s ear: ’God, we know you are in charge, but can’t You make it a little more obvious?” … God did make it more obvious to me once during what we call the Feast of Transfiguration. Apartheid was in full swing as I and other church leaders were preparing for a meeting with the prime minister to discuss one of the many controversies that erupted in those days. We met at a theological college that had closed because of government’s racist policies. During our discussions I went to the priory garden for some quiet. There was a huge Calvary – a large wooden cross without corpus, but with protruding nails and a crown of thorns. it was a stark symbol of the Christian faith. It was winter: the grass was pale and dry, and nobody would have believed that in a few weeks it would be lush and green and beautiful again. It would be transfigured. As I sat quietly in the garden I realized the power of transfiguration – of God’s transformation – in our world…. I have witnessed time and time again that improbable redemptions are possible in our world.”

Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I’m in

I am everyday people, yeah, yeah

There is a blue one who can’t accept
The green one for living with
A fat one tryin’ to be a skinny one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby-dooby-dooby

We got to live together

I am no better and neither are you
We're all the same, whatever we do
You love me, you hate me
You know me and then
You can’t figure out the bag I’m in

I am everyday people

There is a long hair
That doesn’t like the short hair
For being such a rich one
That will not help the poor one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on, scooby-dooby-dooby

We got to live together

There is a yellow one that won’t
Accept the black one
That won’t accept the red one
That won’t accept the white one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and
Scooby-dooby-dooby

I am everyday people

“War… Huh… Yeah! What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing!
War … Huh … Yeah! What it is good for?
Absolutely nothing! Say it again y’all.
War … Huh … Look out! What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing! Listen to me now.

“War is something that I despise,
‘Cause it means the destruction of innocent lives.
War means tears in thousands of mothers’ eyes,
When their sons go out to fight and lose their lives.

“I said War … Huh … Good God y’all! What it is good for?
Absolutely nothing! Say it again.
War … Huh! Lord, Lord, Lord.
What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Listen to me.

“War! It ain’t nothing but a heart breaker.
War! Friend only to the undertaker.
War is the enemy of all mankind.br> The thought of war blows my mind.
War has caused unrest within the younger generations,
Induction then destruction … who wants to die?

“AAH! War … Huh … Good God y’all!
What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”

“I got a million miles on me
They want to see how far I’ll go
The path was never paved with gold (gold)
We worked and built this on our own (own)
And, and can’t nobody knock it if they tried (no)
This is hustle personified
Look how we’ve been fighting to stay alive
So when we win we will have pride
Do you know how much we have cried?
How hard we had to fight?

“It feels so, so, so, so good
I got all my sisters by my side …”

“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped, the conviction of things not seen … by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”

“Whether you are Black or white, you are not free until I am free either.”

“The cry of hunger is a cry of hunger whether it comes from Black, White, Brown, Red.”

“Black power means we want something to say about our destiny.”

“We have been down so long, we have nowhere to go but up!”

“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

“This country is sick and the only way this country will survive is people working like you and like I am working just really concerned about human beings of this country because other than that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and the same thing goes with a nation. A nation divided against itself cannot stand.”

“I was 11 years old in 1968. And to my young eyes, we had been on a path toward racial justice that was amazing. There was the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. We were winning on buses and at lunch counters. We were seemingly, to me, at a tipping point, where we were either going to roll forward with this incredible momentum on racial justice, or we could roll back. And then April 4th happened, and King got shot in the neck. And it felt like the whole thing just rolled back, because then came Richard Nixon and the war on drugs.

“We’re 50 years later now. And once again, young activists in America are making Americans take a look in the mirror in terms of our true history of race and racial prejudice. Once again, the young activists are calling us to account. Once again, America is having to look at issues of race dead in the eye. And once again, we are at a tipping point. And the question for all of us in this room is: What are we going to do about it?”

“I tell my students, "When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not a grab-bag candy game.”

“There is no such thing as race. None. There is just a human race - scientifically, anthropologically. Racism is a construct, a social construct … it has a social function, racism.”

“There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak. We write. We do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

“You are your best thing”

“We long to have companions who travel by our side,
strong friends to call and answer with whom we are allied;
As we lift up each other when struggles lay us low,
community develops; our faith and caring grow.”

“All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.”

“We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders. All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow, rich, poor, educated, not educated, male, female, gay, straight, all, all, all. We all belong to this family, this human family, God’s family.”

“Go out there, speak up, speak out. Get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America."

“A new world order is in the making, and it is up to us to prepare ourselves that we may take our rightful place in it.”

“It is a time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood. That’s the only thing that can save this country.”

“O for a world where everyone respects each other’s way,
Where love is lived and all is done with justice and with praise.
O for a world where goods are shared and misery relieved,
Where truth is spoken, children spared, equality achieved.
We welcome one world family and struggle with each choice
That opens us to unity and gives our vision voice.”

“Sing, we sing of a blessing.
Sing, we sing of blessing.
A blessing of love. A blessing of mercy.
Love will increase a blessing of peace.

“Pray now, pray for a blessing.
Pray now, pray for a blessing.
A blessing of joy. A blessing of justice.
Love will increase a blessing of peace.

“Share now, share in a blessing.
Share now, share in a blessing.
A blessing of hope. A blessing of courage.
Love will increase a blessing of peace.

“Live, live, live as a blessing,
Live, live, live as a blessing.
A blessing within. A blessing among us.
Love will increase a blessing of peace.”

“Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

“We are weaned from our timidity
in the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.”

“Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine,
Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine,
Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

“In my brother’s heart, I’m gonna let it shine,
In my brother’s heart, I’m gonna let it shine,
In my brother’s heart, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

“In my sister’s soul, I’m gonna let it shine,
In my sister’s soul, I’m gonna let it shine,
In my sister’s soul, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

“All around the world, I’m gonna let it shine,
All around the world, I’m gonna let it shine,
All around the world, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

Alternate verse:

“All through the night, I’m gonna let it shine,
All through the night, I’m gonna let it shine,
All through the night, I’m gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let is shine, let it shine!”

“Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.
Neighbors are rich and poor, varied in color and race, neighbors are near and far away.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.
These are the ones we should serve, these are the ones we should love; all these are neighbors to us and you.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.
Loving puts us on our knees, showing our faith by our deeds, serving the neighbors we have from you.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.”

“May this be the day
We come together.
Mourning, we come to mend,
Withered, we come to weather,
Torn, we come to tend,
Battered, we come to better.
Tethered by this year of yearning,
We are learning
That though we weren’t ready for this,
We have been readied by it.
We steadily vow that no matter
How we are weighed down,
We must always pave a way forward.

“This hope is our door, our portal.
Even if we never get back to normal,
Someday we can venture beyond it,
To leave the known and take the first steps.
So let us not return to what was normal,
But reach toward what is next.

“What was cursed, we will cure.
What was plagued, we will prove pure.
Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,
Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,
Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once all together beaten,
Now all together beat.

“Come, look up with kindness yet,
For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.
We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,
But to take on tomorrow.

“We heed this old spirit,
In a new day’s lyric,
In our hearts, we hear it:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
Be bold, sang Time this year,
Be bold, sang Time,
For when you honor yesterday,
Tomorrow ye will find.
Know what we’ve fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.”