My letter to the editor in today's Berkshire Eagle:
Letter:
In a world of division, I am struck by what brings us together
To the
editor: As I write on this day of sacred endings and beginnings — the start of
Passover at sunset, Good Friday and the halfway mark of the Ramadan fast — I am
struck by the things that unite us rather than myriad divisions that tear us
apart. The Eagle's headlines are filled with good news for those who have eyes
to see: baby animals at Shaker Village,
community renewal with American Rescue Plan resources,
the end of student borrowing at Williams
College and the start of grants, the continued blessings of
the Daniel Pearl scholarship and
much more.
This is not
to say we don’t face monumental problems. Our nation’s 450-year legacy of
racism continues to wound too many of our citizens. Poverty increases while
multibillionaires take joyrides into outer space. Mother Earth grieves in agony
while we stumble toward making necessary sustainability changes. And forgotten
women, men and children of all races are routinely ignored and marginalized so
that America’s elite might continue to thrive.
But every day
in Pittsfield and all over creation, compassionate people reach out to their
neighbors and bring healing one heart at a time. I am grateful to you for
documenting their all too often-neglected efforts. For 10 years, I had the
privilege of shepherding First Church, Congregational on Park Square — our
town’s historical first Anglo faith community. Remember: First Nations people
worshiped here long before colonizers arrived.
With some of
the most onerous consequences of the pandemic slowly ending, I was invited by
my former parish to help organize a musical fundraiser to support the vital
work Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts is doing on behalf of
recently resettled Afghan allies. This, too, is another sign of how we strive
to work together beyond our differences. My hope is that people of good will
throughout the Berkshires will join us at First Church on Friday, April 29, at
7 p.m. for a “rockin’ evening of music and poetry.” All proceeds will go to JFS
in solidarity with our new neighbors. The Jewish Talmud cuts to the chase:
"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now,
love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work,
but neither are you free to abandon it.” May it be so among us, too.
The Rev. Dr.
James Lumsden, Pittsfield
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