[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”on” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” custom_width_px=”750px” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_button url_new_window=”off” button_alignment=”right” background_layout=”dark” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#e09900″ button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ button_url=”http:\/\/sangabpres.org\/?page_id=3027″ button_text=”Return to Reflections” button_text_size=”14″ button_border_color=”#e09900″ \/][et_pb_post_title title=”on” meta=”on” author=”on” date=”on” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”on” featured_placement=”below” parallax_effect=”off” parallax_method=”on” text_orientation=”left” text_color=”dark” text_background=”off” text_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” parallax=”off” \/][et_pb_divider color=”#ffffff” show_divider=”off” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”on” height=”4″ disabled_on=”on|on|off” \/][et_pb_text text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” max_width=”750px” header_font=”|on|||” header_font_size=”66px” header_line_height=”1.7em” _builder_version=”3.7″]<\/p>\n
Today I intended to write about the Presbyterian Church\u2019s tradition and perspective on civic engagement.\u00a0 While some live by a popular rule to never discuss religion and politics, those of us from the Reformed tradition have believed otherwise, which may be why we\u2019re known for our vigorous and persistent debates.\u00a0 We cannot forget that our theological forebear, John Calvin, was trained in the law and held great political and religious influence in Geneva, Switzerland.\u00a0 As Reformed Christians, we believe not only in praying for a blessed afterlife, but also engaging in the world to carry out Christ\u2019s mission of justice and compassion.<\/p>\n
I wanted to point to some helpful resources from the PC(USA) in case you and your church are interested in promoting open and fair elections<\/strong> this November.\u00a0 There is a list of resources to consult on issues related to voter education, voter registration, and guidelines for churches to act as 501(c)(3) non-profits; you can find it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For a summary of what is and is not permissible, you can consult the Election Checklist<\/a> from bolderadvocacy.org.<\/p>\n I know many of our churches open their doors as polling places, which is great.\u00a0 If you are interested in partnering with another church in providing nonpartisan workshops or other election support activities, please let me or Wendy Gist know.<\/p>\n I also wanted to remind folks that we have the great opportunity to hear first-hand from a leader in Haiti who coordinates local work in promoting agriculture, environmental improvements, clean water, and education.\u00a0 What a great benefit it is to have Fabienne Jean, coordinator of Hands Together Foundation<\/strong>, come to our Presbytery this September.\u00a0 Please contact Liz Daley of Calvary Presbyterian in South Pasadena if you want to invite Ms. Jean and World Mission Co-Worker Cindy Correll to your church September 22-26.\u00a0 Scroll down for more information, and contact Liz at Liz@Daley.name<\/a> to schedule a visit.<\/p>\n Another timely opportunity is coming up August 23, 9 am\u2014noon.\u00a0 The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is holding a light networking breakfast for local faith leaders\u2014pastors, staff, and volunteers.\u00a0 The presentation is on \u201cSpirituality and Mental Health:\u00a0 What can we learn from each other?\u201d<\/strong> and will be presented by John M. Warrington, PhD.\u00a0 The County has some good resources on working with those struggling with mental illness, especially among our homeless population, and they have occasionally reached out to provide resources to our churches.\u00a0 I recommend you attend this, as these workshops don\u2019t happen often.\u00a0 The meeting is at Covina Community Church, 1551 E. Old Badillo Street, Covina 91724.\u00a0 RSVP by August 20 to Evelyn Lemus at ELemus@dmh.lacounty.gov<\/a> or (626) 430-2937 or Vicki Xu at yxu@dmh.lacounty.gov<\/a> or (626) 430-2938.<\/p>\n But today, I want to honor Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon<\/strong>, who passed away of leukemia last Wednesday.\u00a0 Most recently, Katie was the Annie Scales Rogers Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Virginia, and a foremost scholar of womanist theology and ethics.\u00a0 By raising the voices of African-American women, she enriched the Christian church in ways only God can quantify.\u00a0 Katie was ordained in 1974, the first African-American woman ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).<\/p>\n Several people, especially women of color, have shared memories of Katie and her impact on their lives and ministry, among them Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, president of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and Rev. Dr. Rhashell Hunter, director of Racial Equity & Women\u2019s Intercultural Ministries.\u00a0 Rev. T. Denise Anderson, recent co-moderator of the General Assembly, wrote a beautiful remembrance<\/a> of Dr. Cannon, remembering the liberating moment when she heard her say \u201cEven when they call your truth a lie, tell it anyway! Tell it anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n Denise writes:<\/p>\n The moment I heard her say that, that was the moment my truth-telling ministry began. That was the day I stopped trying to shrink myself to fit a mold that was too small for me. That was the day I lost my appetite for the crumbs that fall from the table. That was the day I grabbed my chair, pulled it to the table and took my seat. . . .<\/p>\n If you have ever benefited from the ministerial leadership of black women in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), you have Katie Geneva Cannon to thank for that. She opened the door for us. She gave this church pastors, chaplains, theologians, professors, ethicists, executives \u2014 and moderators. She was the midwife to our ministries. In telling her story, she gave us permission and courage to tell our own.<\/p>\n I had my own brief and empowering encounter with Dr. Cannon, who was tireless and generous in her work to support not only her students at seminary, but so many people around our church, especially those who were not sure this church was open to us.\u00a0 I was helping to host a meeting of Presbyterian women college students, and Katie was there to share her wisdom and encouragement.\u00a0 Katie had a way of being real in all that God made her\u2014an academic, a pastor, a theologian, yes, but she never forgot that her roots, her identity, came from her Black Presbyterian family in rural North Carolina.\u00a0 She shared her sharp wit as she navigated the sometimes hostile waters of academia, uncharted by Black women until she came along.\u00a0 She shared how, as among the first African-American women to earn a PhD from Union Theological Seminary in New York, professors would question her intelligence, writing on her papers, \u201cGood work.\u00a0 Who helped you with this paper?\u201d\u00a0 She also critiqued the narrowness of the Western academic tradition, including the common expectation that theologians study German, saying \u201cI wondered why I needed to learn German in order to write about poor Black women in the South.\u201d\u00a0 Finally, I always smile at her family\u2019s adventures attending the wedding of her nephew, Nick Cannon, to singer Mariah Carey!<\/p>\n As I reflect on her life, I marvel at the ways that God can work through all of us in amazing ways, and how that work can be magnified through the lives we touch.\u00a0 God delights especially in working through those of us who are young and small like the shepherd-king David, or unimportant places like Bethlehem, the little country of Israel, or even young Black girls from Kannapolis, North Carolina, like Katie Cannon.<\/p>\n