Holy Trinity’s next opportunity to prepare and serve breakfast for our friends at First English Lutheran Church is Sunday, April 25. We are continuing to take a breakfast casserole break. We are so grateful to all those who have supported this ministry over the last year. We couldn’t have done it without everyone pitching in to feed the neighborhood. We look forward to the day we can all gather in the kitchen and cook together again. For this month, fruit and muffins, doughnuts or pastries are all we are looking for. Here is the link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080948AAAD28A57-first10

We feed about 65-75 people each Sunday. All items should ready to eat. They can be delivered Sunday, April 25 to Holy Trinity by 8am or brought directly to First English, 1015 E Main St, 43205, by 8:15. We serve at 8:30am. Volunteers need to arrive between 8-8:15am.  If you have questions, please call/text Becky 614-638-8170 or Jeff Warnement 614-578-6179. Thank you!

Camp Luther and Lutheran Memorial Camp need your help to open the camps this spring.  Service projects could include raking trails, landscaping, painting, cleaning, and special building projects.  Servant days are a wonderful chance to work alongside friends and neighbors while enjoying being together at camp.  After you’re done working, take some time to relax by a campfire or enjoy a sunset over the lake.  All ages are invited to serve.  There is no fee but online registration is required.  Servant weekends at Camp Luther are May 7-9, May 14-16, and May 21-23 and Servant Day at LMC is Saturday, May 15.  For more information, visit https://www.lomocamps.org/servantopportunities or call 614-890-2267.

Perhaps you’ve seen the Equal UA signs around town.  But do you know who they are or what they do?  Equal Upper Arlington believes that the diversity of the community is a source of strength that benefits everyone.  Their mission is to help build a more inclusive and equitable culture where all people feel welcome and can fully participate in all aspects of life in Upper Arlington. This includes people of every race, color, age, culture, nationality, ability, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and class.

Their central tenets are to:

• Help create a welcoming community to nurture a sense of belonging by celebrating shared experiences and embracing the differences that make us unique.
• Ascribe to open communication that is kind, thoughtful, and encourages respectful dialogue.
• Act as a bridge builder within the community by supporting collaboration between neighbors, schools, local groups, and organizations.
• Foster learning and growing together by raising awareness and by providing strategies and resources to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

They have a monthly community conversation (in conjunction with the UA Public Library) currently meeting on Zoom.  If you’d like to find out more or to get involved, please contact Benson Ross.

The building continues at the Northwest Partnership Habitat home located at 1517 Republic Avenue in Linden but under COVID-19 restrictions.  The crew works on Tuesday and Thursday mornings as well as Saturdays.  They would love volunteers, but everyone must first pre-register with Benson Ross at detailsdetails96@gmail.com or John Fisher at Fisher1809@hotmail.com before coming to the site.  Please contact Benson Ross with questions or for more information.

Many thanks to all who donated blood on Thursday, April 1.  In conjunction with the Parish Health ministry team, the next American Red Cross blood drive at Holy Trinity will be Thursday, June 10.  Please mark your calendars.

This month Habitat for Humanity International celebrates International Women Build Week, marking the 30^th anniversary of the first Habitat house built by women.  In 1992, Habitat MidOhio hosted their first Women Build in central Ohio earning the title of the third women-built Habitat home in the country!  The dedicated Women Build team of Habitat MidOhio is in the process of constructing their 14^th house for a deserving partner family.  To learn more about the Women Build home, community information, and other news, email Sarah Short at sshort@habitatmidohio.org to be added to the mailing list.

Our neighborhood is safe for all – until it’s not

In an ongoing series that we hope continues throughout the year, members of the Racial Justice Ministry Team are sharing their personal experiences with race. This week we share an article by Sharon Hamersley, a member of the Racial Justice Ministry Team. If you have experiences and thoughts you would like to share, please contact Vicar Sara. We welcome your perspectives on this important issue.

As most of you know, an unarmed Black man, Andre Hill, was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer back in December 2020. This is a tragedy for all of us, but there are very specific, localized consequences for some of us, my family included.

Our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson live in that neighborhood, just over a block from where this happened. They chose to buy a house there because they were looking for a nice, “safe” place where there was at least some diversity, and in the Columbus School District (for similar reasons discussed in my previous article.) All was well until this incident. Now they no longer feel safe. Here’s why:

The little boy on the right is our grandson Evan, with his cousin Quentin. They were born one week apart and are best buddies even though the pandemic has kept them apart. While they share their one grandfather’s Taiwanese heritage, Evan’s dad (my son) is White. Quentin’s dad is Black. Going forward, will it be safe for our son’s family to invite their relatives to visit? When Quentin is older, will it be safe for him to hang out with Evan in that neighborhood?

In a 2014 article published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology titled “The Essence of Innocence: Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children” the authors write: “We find converging evidence that Black boys are seen as older and less innocent and that they prompt a less essential conception of childhood than do their White same-age peers.” So, while our grandson will continue to be viewed as “innocent” as he grows up, his cousin may not be so fortunate. One only needs to remember Trayvon Martin (17, carrying Skittles) and Tamir Rice (12, carrying a toy gun) as real-life examples of this principle.

This leaves my son’s family with a dilemma. How can they ensure their relatives’ safety when they visit? Will it be necessary to put out an all-neighborhood alert that Black folks will be visiting? That may sound over-the-top to you, but given what happened, it might be a necessary precaution. But it shouldn’t be. Beyond giving police officers better diversity and threat assessment training (not easy) what can we do?

For starters, I believe that we need to actively seek out and have conversations with others who don’t look like us. And I don’t mean “how’s the weather” conversations. When there are incidents like this, check in with them, ask them what’s on their mind. Then, listen. Offer your support and empathy for the anger, grief, and pain they feel every time these incidents happen. While you’re not “at fault” for the tragedy, acknowledging it and being present is a way to make clear that you are learning, that you want to be on their side.

In honor of Black History Month, and hopefully long after February, members of the Racial Justice Ministry Team are sharing their personal experiences with race. This week, Vicar Sara Wunsch writes a follow-up to Sharon Hamersley’s article about school experiences with her family, with Vicar Sara’s own school experience.

I grew up in Circleville, Ohio, in a town of about 12,000 and there were only two black students in my grade.  Mary Juanita Tiller was one of them, and as you might guess, since I know her entire name, she became one of my best friends. I met her in fifth grade, we used to go walk around Eastland Mall together in the 80’s, I have more handwritten notes from her than I can count- about as many secret crushes as you can imagine, and she covered an entire page of my yearbook with her messy, cursive scrawl, signing at the end with LYLAS (“Love Ya Like A Sister”) and BFFAA (“Best Friends Forever and Always”).

But it wasn’t always perfect.  As a matter of fact, I made a racist comment in middle school that could have destroyed our friendship completely.  I was referring to someone else who was mixed in race, and called them a “zebra”.  I’d heard other kids use that term before, and I didn’t realize the term was so highly offensive.  Duh!  Obviously it was, obviously it was wrong, and Mary called me on it, as she should have, and I am very thankful she did.  I felt awful, I apologized, and I went and bought a panda bear stuffed animal for her, as a symbolic way to try and unite both black and white in harmony and beauty.  It’s probably still not the best way to apologize, but Mary understood that I was sincerely trying and I was genuinely sorry.  Mary graciously forgave me and I have been graced and honored by her continued friendship ever since.

One of the blessings in my life is that in engaging and interacting with Mary, this created a relationship with Mary which became both deep and beautiful.  Mary became a Gospel singer in her 20’s, so naturally, she sang at my wedding and it was Holy Spirit filled and amazing to hear.  I attended her wedding and was one of the only white people present.  I have noticed that if you scramble the letters in the word “relationship”- you get that word “real”.  I love that.  Because that’s what we’re going for.  Not artificial, nor polite.  Mary could have not raised my racist slur to my awareness.  She could have been more polite than me- in my flagrant rudeness.

But Mary was willing to be authentic with me.  That is risky and vulnerable.  I’m sure that wasn’t easy for Mary to do.  And in my friendship and love for Mary, I was willing to be real with her, and admit it sincerely when I was wrong, even if done inadvertently in my own naïveté, not realizing the deep and damaging impact of my words.

This is race relationships at their finest.  Not done perfectly.  They will never be done perfectly and that’s OK.  Jesus doesn’t call us to be perfect.  But Jesus does call us to live authentically and peacefully.  To live with honesty, humility, love and grace for one another in the process.  Seeing the beloved in each other, and valuing each other wholeheartedly- as human beings, neighbors, and BFFAAs of great value.

Faith Enrichment Series for Black History Month hosted by the Racial Justice Ministry Team

7:30 pm on Thursday evenings, February 18 and 25

Did you ever wonder what Rosa Parks was thinking when she decided not to move to the back of the bus on December 1, 1955? 

Come find out!

Beryl Anderson-West is our speaker for the next two weeks of Faith Enrichment.  She was the Director of International Communications for Rosa Parks, so Beryl traveled with Rosa, knew her well and covered her extensively. Beryl describes Rosa as “like a grandmother to me”.

Beryl knows not only the background and history of Rosa Parks- she also knows some of the intimate details of how Rosa’s Christian faith impacted Rosa’s specific situation and multiple “God coincidences”.  Beryl will cover both the history of Rosa Parks as well as these faith aspects in our next two presentations, this February 18 and 25.

Fortunately, Beryl was part of the U.S. Supreme Court Press Corps, which means she had access to many civil rights leaders, as well as policy makers and leaders at the Supreme Court, in Congress, and at the White House.  So, Beryl is extremely knowledgeable in this area.

Additionally, Beryl is an excellent speaker, and has anchored and produced her own TV shows.

This is a rare and extraordinary opportunity you won’t want to miss!

Our Faith Enrichment format is:

• Presentation for approximately 30 minutes
• Small group breakout rooms for processing further & discussion with one another
• Return to the larger group for any follow-up questions & additional discussion

It’s an opportunity for us all to learn more and then apply our Racial Justice breakout room questions:

 How does this connect with our thinking & experiences? 

Expand them further? 

Or challenge them?

We’ve had a wonderful time with Pastor Dave & Marge over the first two weeks of the month!  Please join us for another round of enjoying community and great discussion with one another!!

In harmony with Christ’s call to love our neighbors as ourselves, our mission is to engage ourselves and the congregation on the journey toward racial justice and equity. 

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5931525374

Meeting ID: 593 152 5374

In honor of Black History Month, and hopefully long after February, members of the Racial Justice Ministry Team are sharing their personal experiences with race. This week, Sharon Hamersley writes a follow-up to Sue Eubanks’ article on the Columbus City Schools and shares her own reflection on “Why we chose to buy a house in the Columbus School District”

Back in 1986 when our son Ben was about 3, we started seriously considering buying a house since he would be starting school in a few years. So – where to buy? There were many nice neighborhoods with good schools in the suburbs around Columbus. And there was Columbus…with many question marks about the recent desegregation order and how that was working, or not.

We wanted something that was a reasonable commute to our work, and convenient to Ben’s daycare until he started school. Beyond that, one of our core family values has always been to respect all people no matter their race, religion, ethnicity, or social status. So, it was important to mirror these values in our choice of schools for Ben. In the school district we chose, would he be exposed to kids who did not look like him, and were not of the same socioeconomic status? At the time, most suburban schools were mostly White, and the students were from middle-class or upper-class families. So, the “obvious” choice for us was to buy a house in the Columbus City School district, where our son would interact with many different students from all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic statuses.

Sounds like we were, as they say now, “woke.” But honestly, as I reflect on this many years later, our White privilege was showing in this decision. Why? Because we truly had a choice. As Sue mentioned, resources were very unevenly allocated among schools, and those in the (mostly) White neighborhoods were much better off in terms of buildings and resources. To this day, there are actually two districts in Columbus City Schools, the “haves” and the “have-nots.” By strategically purchasing a house in the “haves” part of the city, we could ensure our son got a good education, while meeting our goal of teaching him about respect for all. Sadly, for families who live in the “have-nots” neighborhoods, the only way to ensure their children get a good education is to enter the lottery for the limited seats in the “haves” schools that are open to anyone living in the district. White privilege at work? Definitely, in our case.

To be sure, we don’t regret the decision we made. We think it laid a great foundation for Ben to understand the advantages he had that many of his classmates did not. As an adult, he is definitely a champion of diversity and economic justice for all. What is really needed however is a focused effort to make every school in the District a “haves” school.