Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou

1928 - 2014

In January of 2013 two friends and I drove to Boone to hear Maya Angelou speak. It was such a typical winter night in the mountains: bitterly cold winds and remnants of snow and ice everywhere. But inside the Holmes Center no one was thinking about their cold journey to get there. Even the hard seats, made for sports events, seemed comfortable. We were all "at home" with Maya that evening listening to her unmistakable voice and taking courage from her presence and words. The crowd was mostly young and from the moment she came on stage there seemed to be one purpose in her heart: encourage this "future generation" to let nothing stop them from living their dreams. 

I wish I had written down some of her words that night, but as I look back I realize that the most important thing for me was to see this woman, hear her voice, and receive her strong spirit. When she recited Phenomenal Woman, it was for every woman in the auditorium:

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed. 

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud. 

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels, 

The bend of my hair, 

the palm of my hand, 

The need for my care. 

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me. 

(last stanza: Phenomenal Woman)

When I think of Maya it is to remember her strength as a woman; her ability to survive her childhood, and racial prejudice. She has taught us much about how to survive when life is hard and the world is unfair. And her strength lives on. 

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise.

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise.

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear the tide.

(Still I rise: fourth stanza)

Diane Rehm interviewed Maya later in 2013 and it was wonderful to hear these two great women interacting with each other. Toward the end of the interview, Maya said, " I like you so much, Diane Rehm, and so does your audience. And I have a feeling all the time that you and I are best friends. And I know that if we lived near each other, at least, we'd see each other once a month, have a cup of coffee, a glass of wine or something..." At the end of the show Diane told Maya thank you and then added, "I love you Maya." and Maya said, "I love you Diane Rehm." 

Seems a good way to say good-bye to Maya: Thank you and we love you...

"Our Mandela"

 Jimmy Carter 

When I went to hear Jimmy Carter teach Sunday School in Plains, Georgia I was not prepared to be the one who led the opening prayer for his teaching. Because of the large number of visitors they have on the Sundays when Mr. Carter teaches, the leaders at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains have a kind of "liturgy" that they go through before Mr. Carter enters the sanctuary. The woman who runs the show is Jan Williams, a former school teacher...with perhaps a bit of drill sergeant mixed in! She is tough and of course it doesn't hurt to be backed up by the Secret Service. There were 5 of us who traveled from Sparta, NC to hear Mr. Carter. One of our group somehow managed to meet Jan on Saturday while we were visiting Plains and touring the Carter homestead. She told Jan about our little group of 5 who had traveled for a day to be in Plains. On Sunday morning after being cleared by the Secret Service we entered the sanctuary. Miss Jan who was already into her crowd "warm up" saw us and motioned us down front where she had seats on the second pew saved for us. As part of her instructions to the over 200 people who came to hear Mr. Carter she told us that he would ask any who were ministers (active or retired) to stand and introduce ourselves. "BUT", she said, "if you do that be prepared to pray, because Mr. Carter will ask one of you to pray." 

After all the ministers had introduced themselves, given their church affiliation and where they lived and worked; Mr. Carter turned and faced me and asked me to pray. It was quite an honor to pray for this wonderful man who then led us in a grace filled study of the Prodigal Son. I have since learned that Mr. Carter almost always asks a woman pastor to pray. 

A good place to begin understanding why Carter does this is in his new book pictured above. Jimmy Carter was raised in the Southern Baptist Church - a Church which has consistently voted "no" to the ordination of women. In 2000 the Southern Baptist Convention took official action which made it clear that women would no longer be able to serve as deacons, pastors, or chaplains. Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter decided to end their relationship with the denomination. They chose to remain part of their local church where a substantial number of members supported the ministry of women. Mr. Carter spends the first several chapters of this book helping us understand his own view of the equality of women.  In these chapters Mr. Carter offers his own reflections and study of scripture regarding gender equality. It is an engaging and entertaining account. For me, however, the heart of this book is found in the other 15 chapters of the book. In those chapters Carter shows how women have been, and still are victims of abusive power, war and violence. His writing is a place to begin as we talk about the effects of gender inequality. 

We are making progress in how women are treated but  a recent news story shows us how much more progress we need to make.  A month ago 230 Nigerian school girls were abducted by the ultra radical Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. Reports say that the terrorists are sharing the girls, conducting mass marriages and selling these young girls. The misinterpretation of the Koran by these fundamentalists is tragic beyond words. Pointing fingers at "those terrorists over there" does little to help these girls. The misinterpretation of all of our sacred writings (Koran, Bible, Torah) have always led to oppression, slavery and degradation of humanity. Raising our awareness to see how easily this happens in every culture gives a chance for human dignity to happen. Until we can honor the image of God in every human we will have no peace. 

A friend recently called Jimmy Carter, "our Mandela". After reading this book I realize why she said this. In his own quiet and humble way Jimmy Carter has offered "freedom" to so many through his teaching and the work of the Carter Foundation in Atlanta. You will be amazed, as I was, at how much this lovely man of God has done with the gifts God has given him. 

Death as a Penalty

After three days of intense fog and rain the sun came out yesterday and I saw my first red bud tree blooming. Bella and I were on our usual morning walk through our little part of this mountain paradise when the vibrant purple color of the blooming red bud caught my eye.

I was in Wilmington, NC last weekend for a party honoring my dear sister/friend, Blair. Blair and her partner Inza, have just had their backyard garden redone and have planted three red bud trees across the width of the garden. They had already bloomed and the leaves were out. A friend had framed a beautiful gate with a wooden arch made from an African wood called "jarrah". It all blends together for a picture perfect view from their deck where 40 or so friends gathered for great food and conversation. For me this event was a slice of the richness of relationships that Blair has shared with me over 30 years of friendship. It was an evening to be remembered for a long time.

I have been reading a little booklet by Ghandi called, "The Message of Jesus Christ". Ghandi admired Jesus very much and believed that his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount was the essence of Jesus' teaching. Ghandi was influenced by the message of non retaliation and non resistance to evil found in Jesus' teaching. That the message of this "Prince of Peace" was so distorted by Christianity in the west was painful to Ghandi.

I was reminded of Ghandi's words this week as I read about another botched "death penalty execution" in Oklahoma this week. I first heard it reported on the BBC news and could hear the incredulity of the British reporters as they reported the torturous process of the killing of Clayton Lockett. Tortured to death would be an accurate description. Some are saying that he got what he deserved...he tortured a young woman to her death and therefore..."an eye for an eye"(Leviticus). But Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount reversed that part of the Levitical law: "You have heard it said, 'eye for eye and tooth for tooth', but I tell you do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other also..." I will be honest with you that the depth of this one statement of Jesus is hard to understand and more importantly hard to live, but the kind of retaliation that the death penalty shows is hard to fit into Jesus' teaching here.  The death penalty is not working as a deterrent to crime in our Western civilization and the fact that we are one of only a few nations that still has the death penalty certainly gives me pause. I wonder what the world sees of our "Christian nation" in this latest story of death as a penalty.

In one of his writings Ghandi said that "if Christians wanted people to feel the 'aroma of Christianity' they must copy the rose which irresistibly drew people to itself. A rose does not need to preach. It simply spreads its fragrance. The fragrance is its own sermon." This is a reminder for me of the teaching of St. Francis who said, "Preach the gospel and if you must, use words."