One of the people who spoke at the Glenn Beck rally, “Restoring Honor,” was Alveda King, the niece of the famed Pastor Martin Luther King of civil rights fame. She is an evangelical minister, was a Democrat representative in the Georgia legislature, and leads an outreach program for the Roman Catholic group, “Priests for Life.” During the rally she spoke of her “Uncle Martin’s” dream and she asked when his dream would be fulfilled:
We will know when prayer is once again welcome in the public squares of America and in our schools. We will know when our children are no longer in mortal peril on our streets and in our classrooms, and in the wombs of our mothers.
We will know when righteousness rolls down like waters, and justice like a mighty stream. Yes, I too have a dream … that America will repent of the sin of racism and return to honor. I have a dream that white privilege will become human privilege and that people of every ethnic blend will receive everyone as brothers and sisters in the love of God. I have a dream that America will pray, and God will forgive us our sins and revive our land.
I found myself wondering how many people had really heard (or read) those two paragraphs. She had barely any write-up in the newspapers, and tended to only be used as a punching bag by both sides. In fact, the way Pastor Alveda preaches is often in a way that infuriates both sides. You see, though she was at the Beck rally and though she is with Priests for Life, she also supports ideas and themes that are propounded by the “other side.” In fact, to my ears she sounds like that rare creature, a true independent, and also a good Christian.
Look at the two paragraphs above. The first one could be said by anyone at any “Tea Party” rally and get cheers. The second one would likely draw boos at the same rally. The reverse would be true in many gatherings of “progressives.” The second paragraph would be cheered and the first paragraph might get boos. But, here is the interesting part. I have before quoted the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to point out that the Catholic bishops, in their formal statements, are not either conservative or liberal per se (and neither is the Pope). Rather, they support a culture of life that goes way beyond the limited culture of life propounded by all too many in the “pro-life” movement.
Pastor Alveda King, like the Catholic organization for which she leads an outreach program, proposes a full culture of life, not the limited product presented by all too many “pro-life” groups. Her two paragraphs above mesh quite well with the statements of the Catholic bishops previously published on this post. And, I will argue that they mesh quite well with the stance of our Orthodox hierarchs. My regret is that all too many Roman Catholics (and Orthodox) are not listening to their own bishops and are deciding that their opinions are better than the considered thought of Patriarchs, Pope, and bishops. And so, they proclaim that they are upholding Orthodox or Roman Catholic pro-life stances when they are really only presenting a watered-down version of an insufficiently pro-life stance.
For the enjoyment of it, let me quote Pastor Alveda one more time.
We are still suffering from the great evil divide of racism. Our children are suffering in failing school systems. Our sons and daughters are being incarcerated at astronomical rates. Sickness, disease and poverty of the spirit, soul and body are plaguing our communities. The procreative foundation of marriage is being threatened, and the wombs of our mothers have become places where the blood of our children is shed in a ‘womb war’ that threatens the fabric of our society. …
Yet, we are not without hope. Faith, hope and love are not dead in America. Hallelujah.
“The second paragraph would be cheered and the first paragraph might get boos.”
Why do you think they would boo?
Progressives who are pro-abortion would see the phrases about prayer in the public square and about children in danger in the womb of their mothers as being about restoring prayer in public schools and about banning abortion, thus they would boo the first paragraph, but would be very happy with the second.
Ok. You also say:
“The first one could be said by anyone at any “Tea Party” rally and get cheers. The second one would likely draw boos at the same rally.”
I understand why the Tea Party would cheer the 1st paragraph, but why would the Tea Party boo the second one?
Remember all the arguments about affirmative action, and the various editorial cartoons that I have seen that claim that “liberals” see racism everywhere, or the perception by many who are “non-white” that the cry of taking our country back means taking it back from “them.”
The perception is that if the word “racism” comes up that the right sees that immediately as code words for mandatory programs to reduce it. Thus no one would officially back racism, but the words are seen as code words, every bit as much as progressives see the other paragraph as code words.
It does actually say “and in our schools,” so that would not be interpretation, and it IS welcome in schools (despite beliefs to the contrary) so long as it is not intrusive and not faculty-led.
Which seems the ideal situation to me, as it provides for private prayer, prayer at lunch amongst students if they so choose and so on.
(Also, hello, I just stumbled onto your blog today, and was enjoying the read, but had to comment on an issue that frustrates me to no end as it is so constantly misrepresented)
I know the legalities of it. However, when people speak about restoring prayer to school, they mean led prayer not private prayer. On the other hand, there have certainly been several court cases in which schools have tried to prohibit private non-faculty-led prayer. While those case were won, it is still difficult, in more school districts than there should be, to have a voluntary student-led prayer group that is allotted some space or allowed to organize.
So, the Congress and the Court have one legal stance, but the practice and the wishes are another.
What need is there for *led* prayer in school, though?
one can most certainly thank God for any blessings or ask God for help at any time as it is (and not a soul could really stop anyone from doing it privately anyway, nor, I hope, would anyone–though I would not be surprised to find some want to…)
Still, the frustration to me is the idea that what is present is not enough. The space or allotment where it is not given certainly should be, but there is no particular *need* to do it on school grounds (well, Muslims, I suppose, as they have a schedule for their salah)…