Introduction

Ellen Weimer is a disciple of Friedens of nearly two decades, and she is a member of the Just Peace Exploratory Team, called JPET for short. Ellen is in strong support of Friedens adopting the UCC designation of Just Peace Church, which is a Covenant of the UCC that commits local churches to peace, justice, and equity through nonviolence. All are welcome to join the next JPET event: a two-part discussion of the book Caste, based on a one-hour interview with Caste’s author. Discussions are moderated by Ellen Tuttle and John Charles, held on Thursday, May 27 and June 3, 7:00pm, via Zoom. More information is available here.

Ellen shared the following words with Friedens during our Sunday morning worship on May 16, 2021. View the service online here (Ellen’s Testimonial begins at the 23 minute mark on the recorded video).

Storytelling People

Over recent months a number of folks at Friedens have been engaged in book studies. The books have been selected to help us grow in knowledge and understanding of the origins and impact of racial and ethnic injustice in our country. Across our UCC denomination, and in other denominations as well, there is a growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and a commitment to advocate for racial equity as well as a just economy for all. Friedens disciple and JPET leader, Adam Hayden, co-chairs the Indiana Kentucky Conference Anti-Racism Task Force.

I was so touched and in agreement when Janet and Mark Raker shared in worship recently (beginning at the 23:45 minute mark in the recorded video) their commitment to working for justice and equity for all shades of people, including their precious new grandbaby. Theirs’ is my family’s commitment as well.

Last June, our Church Council approved the ministry-sponsored proposal to establish JPET. The raging pandemic had just closed our church building doors. This action provided for me the sense that the Spirit was leading us forward and outward as a congregation, just as we had intended to do through our Friedens Moving Outward plan.

We at Friedens are storytelling people, so I will share one of mine.

I loved growing up in my little town in rural South Carolina. My mother had a heart for fun, fairness, and great empathy for others. Beneath my dad’s stern exterior resided his strong, quiet bent toward kindness towards all people.

My parents were people of faith. For their gravestone, my brothers and I chose the inscription from Micah 6:8: “Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with Your God”.

My childhood was filled with a big circle of relatives and friends. Our church was also our community center. White and Black folks lived side by side and there were valued relationships among us.

However, my little town, which began as a cotton plantation, was strangely split in two by the county road that ran through the middle. White and Black lives were intertwined but our houses & churches were separate, and the buildings were not of the same quality. Nor was our education.

I grew to recognize puzzling aspects of our community life, things that were not fair. White people were treating Black people in ways that were not kind. Didn’t Jesus love all the children of the world, as we sang in Sunday School? And did it matter what shade of color we were? There was all this talk about desegregation. What was this agitation and anger? It did not sound or feel peaceful.

Across many years and living in several parts of the country, I have sadly recognized so many elements of the same estrangement among us today.

I want to be a part of a congregation that peacefully and fervently seeks justice and dignity in the lives of all, loving our neighbors as ourselves. Like we learned through the development of our Friedens ONA Covenant, stating only that “all are welcome” isn’t enough, when we seek to repair the damage done to groups of people who have been historically marginalized, and so we welcome, “every race, culture, ethnicity, economic status, marital status, education, background, age, physical and mental ability and attribute, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and political belief, as a safe place to be authentic.

Here, too, in racial justice work, we see that affirming the dignity of all lives, means affirming and naming whose lives we recognize. I believe developing our Just Peace Covenant will further support our beloved congregation of Friedens with renewed focus for that journey.

George and I came to Indianapolis in 1978. For over 3 decades, I was a teacher of music in several Perry Township schools and George was a professor of music and of teacher education at the University of Indianapolis. We occasionally chuckled and said I was in the business of starting students, and he was in the business of finishing them. We both share a deep love and care of young people and are committed to making a positive difference in the world they will inherit.

With the end of the school year approaching, I’ve been thinking about how some children jump into summer break with glee and others with gloomy faces and tears because they will miss the food security and stability schools provide. Food insecurity across all ages has been highlighted this past year by the pandemic.

Friedens is a congregation that actively addresses food insecurity. In doing so, we are advocating for the dignity of all people. We are on a path of justice and peace. Adopting an aspirational Just Peace Covenant to affirm our congregation as peace-seekers and justice-doers extends our tradition for the next generation. May God bless and guide us in this journey.