Table Talk—Continuing the March To The Promise Land

Below is the weekly chaplain's newsletter called 'Table Talk' that I write for the Holy Innocents' Lower School.

(We Shall Overcome -- artwork by a 1st grader). 

Dear Golden Bears, Parents, and Friends,

This month marks the 50^th anniversary of the historic 1965 civil rights march that began in Selma Alabama and ended in the state capital of Montgomery. The freedom march resulted in the passing of the Voting Rights Act, which federally prohibited voter discrimination across the United States.

The anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and the Selma march was the gospel hymn ‘We Shall Overcome.’ The promise of freedom from oppression is as much a spiritual issue as it is a political one. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other religious leaders helped to frame the Civil Rights Movement as fulfilling both the political promise of democracy and the spiritual promise of God’s kingdom. In his final speech, entitled “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop,” MLK referred to his famous dream as a dream of the ‘Promise Land.’

The Promise Land is an idea that dates back to about 600 BCE and is memorialized in the book of Exodus found in the Hebrew Bible. In the story of Exodus—‘exodus’ means ‘mass departure of people’—God chooses Moses to lead the freedom march of the Jewish people. Moses' freedom march overcomes Pharaoh, brings the Hebrews out from the bondage of slavery, and, eventually, leads them into the Promise Land of milk and honey. (Milk is a symbol of life and freedom; honey is symbol of abundance and justice.)

In the quest to overcome segregation, MLK drew on the religious traditions of marching toward the Promise Land. However, rather than referring to a specific location, Martin’s Promise Land pointed to God's intention for the world as a whole— a world of love, freedom, and justice for all.

In the Exodus story, the Hebrews spend 40 years marching through the wilderness until they reach the Promise Land. Echoing this, during Lent we recall the story of how Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before beginning his ministry of overcoming hatred and sin with God’s healing love and grace.

During the 40 days of Lent, the Lower School is taking up the dream of marching towards the Promise Land and asking, “What shall we overcome?” What, in other words, are obstacles preventing us from living in a world of God's love, freedom, and justice for all? How shall we partner with God and help to overcome these problems?

With ‘overcoming’ as our theme for Lent, throughout the month of March the spiritual life of the Lower School is raising awareness about what our students can do to help overcome the problems homelessness, gender inequality, and educational inequality. Our three guest speakers in chapel will be DeCarlos Wardlaw of the Atlanta Children’s Shelter (March 5^th), the Rev. Noelle York-Simmons of All Saints’ Episcopal Church (March 19^th), and, the Site Director of Horizons at HIES, Christine Brodnan (March 26^th).

I hope you can join us and support the Lower School as we continue the spiritual work of overcoming obstacles that stand in the path of the Promise Land.

With Love and Prayers,

Chaplain Timothy J.S. Seamans

(MLK and Rabbi Abraham Heschel March in Alabama -- artwork by a 1st grader).