George of Sylvania

Tag: justice

  • March on Washington 2026

    March on Washington 2026

    Last Thursday, myself and five other friends of mine from the church I work at drove into Washington DC for the March on Washington: Defending the Vote, the fifth type of march centered on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Co-lead by the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute headed by Rev. Al Sharpton and Dr. Martin Luther King III respectively. It was a rather leisurely trip in taking our time, and I don’t think we could have picked a more interesting group of people to come if we had tried. 

    A game of “what’s your story” led us to find out one of our members had traced his lineage to when his family was brought to the US via slave ships (and found out during our drive that his X2 great-grandmother had bought her freedom sooner than he originally had thought; another met his husband on his first day of college in the 1970’s; another had joined a previous march on Washington as a factory worker when she was younger; one is the youngest of 11; and the last one likes to get to know others hence starting the game. With an incredible dinner waiting for us provided by the family member of one of our travelers at their house, we called it a night as we had an early morning.

    Hitting the metro and hoping off at Arlington National Cemetery we were greeted with the sight of national traitor Robert Lee’s house and then saw the incredibly tacky and generally repulsive “refurbished” gold plated Arts of Peace statutes. As we walked toward the Lincoln Memorial, we took in a moment to remember the Kennedy Center before Trump yet again has his way with it, and being episcopal nerds we may have (totally did) taken a selfie with the far away National Cathedral. Once we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial two things were very clear; one, we had more time than originally thought to get there; and two, Trump really fucked up the reflecting pool. I have been to DC maybe five or six times, and this was the most I have ever seen the city closed off. You could generously, not get within 20 feet of the pool, which made the crowd size look smaller than the amounts that were there. It also did not help that busses were cancelled last minute, and people weren’t notified until after the cancelation. 

    Sun-screened and ready to go, we waited until the first few speakers started after 9:30, and there was a round robin of them until the end. Some key ones for me were Rev. Sharpton, Dr. King III, Sen Bernie Sanders, Rep Ocasio-Cortez, Gov. Spanberger, Derrick Johnson, Janai Nelson, Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley, Marc Morial, Melanie Cample, many more, and the lackluster and spineless House Minority Leader (who needs to resign) also spoke. While it was a long day, even during the lulls, there was an electricity in the air I have only experienced a few times in my life. When it came time to line up and march, somehow one of my companions and I ended up at the front near Rev. Sharpton and Dr. King, but we were quick to move ourselves further back into the crowd.

    Once we started marching, eventually we made our way to the MLK Jr. national monument where some more words were to be spoken and the day’s events ended. As we were marching into the monument, there is a split wall that almost looks like Moses having parted the Red Sea which was incredibly emotional. But when the Freedom Riders who had bused in from Houston Texas that day started singing, We Shall Overcome, I was a teary mess. Eventually we were all surrounding the monument, and before I knew it, it was over. In another surreal moment, Spike Lee, Rev. Sharpton, Dr. King, and the remaining speakers walked by, some took photos, and that was that. 63 years since the original March on Washington, and people are marching for the same damn things.

    As Christians, we are called to bear witness and participate in acts of justice, social and other. These acts can be as small as sharing a meal with a person and getting to know them, bursting your church’s doors open for a Pride parade, showing up like this, praying for a change of heart, writing letters to your representatives, or as Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock says a vote is a kind of prayer. No politician is perfect, or even the best of what they can be, but we can be the people calling to account and pushing for our fellow image bearers to have the same access to rights as the most privileged amongst us. 

    Grace and peace my friends.

  • Everytown, OH

    Everytown, OH

    By now I am sure you have heard about the mass shooting event that occured on Saturday during the Old West End Festival here in Toledo Ohio. This festival holds a special place in my heart, as my wife and I lived in the OWE when we were first married. The very first place we called “our” home together was an apartment on the corner of Parkwood and Acklin from 2011 to 2013. There are few places in the world where you get the understanding of what a neighborhood and neighbors are, and the first real time I experienced it was here.

    While I was not present for this uncalled for violence, like most people in this wonderful city, I have friends who were. The church we belong to participated in the parade for the first time in years, and my son and I left hours before this occurred. For months members spent planning what was our Pride celebration kick off, and the two mile march was a great time. But the next day, Sunday, our annual Wear Orange/Gun Violence Awareness service which happens the first Sunday in June, was more somber than usual.

    I pray and give thanks that no one was killed, the community and fest goers responded in the way we hope people will, I mourn the fact that it happened. At a vigil I went to with some friends on Sunday, I overheard someone say that they were surprised this hadn’t happen here yet. And I am disgusted that I too found it surprising.

    Ohio ranks 30 of 50 in gun laws, which is down from last year when we were ranked 29th, per Everytown’s website. It was also no surprised that when I too posted about this on social media asking people to call their reps and demand gun legislation that there were people parroting the “it won’t work” talking points. I’m tired of listening to them, or giving that point oxygen.

    Gun legislation now,

    gun legislation tomorrow,

    and gun legislation forever.

    I’m sure there will be more to come on this, but today my heart is weary. While as of writing, there is one suspect in police custody, an 18 year old kid that doesn’t have a fully developed frontal cortex. My friend Alyx I think summed up my thoughts best in their post when they wrote, “You can’t expect kids [or anybody] to care about a future we’ve robbed them of.“

    Flood your reps with calls, letters, emails, etc. demanding gun reform. If you happen to find yourself in Toledo this weekend, I highly encourage you to attend Unwanted Firearms Disposal event sponsored by the Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio. If you’d like a sample letter to send to Governor DeWine to enact common sense gun safety executive orders, I’m happy to provide one.

    We don’t have to live this way.

    Grace and peace.

  • Bitter is the Mouth

    Bitter is the Mouth

    About six months ago, I purchased a bottle of Absinthe because, for some unknown reason, I thought it was a good idea. It had been at least a decade since I had tried it, and it did not go down very well. The wormwood in the drink, if you have never had it, leaves an incredibly bitter taste in your mouth if you don’t mix the properly. The other day, as I sat drinking my morning coffee, I was wondering what mixture of mouthwash/seltzer water/whatever I had that is now leaving this similar taste in my mouth.

    That’ll flavor combination will wake you up.

    As I am sipping this, I have been working my way through the prophet Amos in my morning quiet time. This reading of the prophet has been compounding some outlying frustration. A genocide has been broadcasting in real time, in spite of murdering journalists, in Palestine for those of us paying attention. Children, and people of all ages have been intentionally starved, and the footage of it will leave a mark. Kids, and others, have been murdered while waiting in line for water, food, etc. The intentional cruelty, and war crimes committed is an abomination.

    So reading through Amos, seeing this massacre play out in real time over the past 18 months and all of it taking place in the region the prophet is talking about has brought a new flavor to the text. For about a week, Amos 5:7 (NIV) has had its claws in me, “There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.” I have been meditating on this, and it has like a stick in my craw, but I couldn’t figure out why.

    There is the obvious tug at what Amos is saying on face value, but I decided to check out the Apostolic Polyglot, an interlinear literal Greek-English of the Christian Bible. When I read it, and it made no sense, I looked to the New Oxford Annotated Bible. It is just a fancier version of the New Revised Standard Version, which reads:

    “Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground!”

    There it is, the stick in my craw.

    The verse in the New International Version was too nice for me. Bitterness can be a variety of things. I love lemons, and they can be bitter as hell. But you know what, wormwood will make almost anyone gag!

    Every time we read or see what has been happening in Palestine, Sudan, and to the Uyghurs, we should taste wormwood in our mouths.

    Every time we read about those fighting against releasing the Epstein client list, we should taste wormwood in our mouths.

    Every time we see another mass shooting in the news, we should taste wormwood in our mouths.

    Every time we see or hear reports of ICE agents snatching people off of the streets, we should taste wormwood in our mouths.

    Every time we see military personnel being mobilized against citizens, we should taste wormwood in our mouths.

    In fascism, there is no peace. There is no peace without reconciliation. There is no reconciliation without justice. There is no justice in attempting to control others. Control is void of love, and without love, God can be incredibly difficult to find.

    It may seem like nothing, but speaking about what is going on may help wake people up. Going on the record and contacting your representatives is called slow activism for a reason, but it is worth doing. If you have not tried 5 Calls yet, follow the link, and use it for good.

    Everyone has to start somewhere, and I hope the bitter taste in your mouth that the Trump administration has helped bring about in the past eight months spurs you into action.

    Grace and peace.