Sermons

“We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.” ~Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

 

READING ~ The Constitution of the United States of America, Amended

Sixty-sixth Congress of the United States of America; At the First Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the nineteenth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislature of three-fourths of the several States.

"ARTICLE ————.

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

 

READING ~ Stacey Abrams’ Response, State of the Union

Stacey Abrams response to the 2019 SOTU - We must reject the cynicism that says allowing every eligible vote to be cast and counted is a power grab. Americans understand that these are the values that our brave men and women in uniform and our veterans risk their lives to defend.
The foundation of our moral leadership around the globe is free and fair elections, where voters pick their leaders, not where politicians pick their voters.
In this time of division and crisis, we must come together and stand for and with one another. America has stumbled time and again on its quest towards justice and equality. But with each generation, we have revisited our fundamental truths, and where we falter, we make amends.

 

SERMON

Today women hold in their hands influence and opportunity, and with these they have already opened doors which have been closed to others. By opening doors of labor woman has become a rival claimant for at least some of the wealth monopolized by her stronger brother. In the home she is the priestess, in society the queen, in literature she is a power, in legislative halls law-makers have responded to her appeals, and for her sake have humanized and liberalized their laws. The press has felt the impress of her hand. In the pews of the church she constitutes the majority; the pulpit has welcomed her, and in the school, she has the blessed privilege of teaching children and youth. To her is apparently coming the added responsibility of political power; and what she now possesses should only be the means of preparing her to use the coming power for the glory of God and the good of mankind; for power without righteousness is one of the most dangerous forces in the world. …

O women of America! into your hands God has pressed one of the sublimest opportunities that ever came into the hands of the women of any race or people. It is yours to create a healthy public sentiment; to demand justice, simple justice, as the right of every race; to brand with everlasting infamy the lawless and brutal cowardice that lynches, burns, and tortures your own countrymen. ...

Let the hearts of the women of the world respond to the song of the herald angels of peace on earth and good will to men.[1]

The year was 1893. Just 28 years after the end of the American Civil War and 26 years before the 66^th Congress would pass the 19^th Amendment that extended voting rights to women. The day was May 20^th. The speaker was activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. The speech was“Woman’s Political Future” which delivered before the World’s Congress of Representative Women in Chicago, Illinois.

In the words of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper we hear a call for justice. We hear a determination to recognize the gifts of women everywhere and to bring those gifts to bear on every aspect of human life. She was pssionate about the need to extend voting rights to black people and all women. A member of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, her faith persuded her to speak out on the social, moral, political and racial issues of her day.

Frances was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1852 to free black parents. She was able to obtain a good education and made a living through her writing and speaking. Though never enslaved herself, she lived in the presence of slavery as a young person and the reality of cruel racial prejudice her whole life. Frances Harper died in Philadelphia in 1911, less than a decade before women would gain the right to vote in their country.

Fast forward 126 years and here we are - - another black woman is speaking out – loud and clear – in a call to secure fair and accessible voting rights for all eligible citizens. Stacey Abrams was born in Madison, Wisconson in 1973 (the year I graduated from high school!) and was raised in Gulfport, Mississippi. She obtained a good education and graduated from Spelman College and Yale Law School. Abrams ran for Governor of Georgia in 2018 and narrowly lost, in part due to voter suppression and gerrymandering that favors white republican candidates.

Like Frances Harper, Abrams is a writer and a public speaker …. And … a force for justice. She too lives with the daily reality of racial and sexual prejudice and discrimination. Yes, she does. It is 2019 and, yes, she does.

And like Frances Harper before her, I suspect that Stacey Abrams will not rest until justice comes.

In the 66^th Congress, the one that passed the 19^th Amendment, there were no women serving in either the House or the Senate.

In the 67^th Congress, one of the Senators from Georgia was Democrat Barbara Felton and in the House three Republican women were serving. Now, 100 years later, the 116^th Congress has 127 female members – 25 Senators and 102 Representatives. In the 100 years since Congress passed the 19 Amendment, women have continued to press for equality in politics as well as in others areas of life. Now, finally, we can say that women of a variety of races, cultures, religions, physical abilities and sexual identities are making their presence known in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.

Let’s pause, take a breath, and celebrate that achievement.

 

Despite this notable and very real progress, the fight for voting rights continues. Without casting any aspersions on white men, it is, I think, fair to say that people of color and women are carrying the load and doing the heavy lifting of the work to secure voting rights for all citizens. In recent years, several states have either attempted to pass or have passed laws that make voting more difficult.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• 2008 In 2008, we had the most diverse electorate in U.S. history.
• 27 From 2011 to 2012, 27 measures were passed or implemented in 19 states that make it harder to vote.
• 2013 In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down what had been called the “heart” of the Voting Rights Act.

The League of Women Voters was established in 1920 by the women who transitioned from working for suffrage to working for voting rights and freedom and education. They are still hard at it.

Voting is a fundamental right and all eligible voters should have the equal opportunity to exercise that right. We are dedicated to ensuring that our elections remain free, fair and accessible.

Our volunteers spearhead efforts to enact common-sense voting reforms and we are the first to fight back when voters’ rights are threatened. We protect millions of voters every year through aggressive advocacy and education efforts and we have been at the forefront of major voting rights court cases over the last decade.

Our Unitarian Universalist faith is not shy about our advocacay for democracy, the linchpin of which is the right to vote and voting rights. In the fourth of our seven guiding principles, democracy is affirmed and promoted.

As recently as 2016, our delegates to the General Assembly reaffirmed our collective commitment to voting rights in a study/action statement and invitation to UUs to get involved. DEMOCRACY UNCORRUPTED FOR 2016-2020 CONGREGATIONAL STUDY/ACTION ISSUE THE CORRUPTION OF OUR DEMOCRACY

And please do not think that our statement of 2016 is a result of the complications of the 2016 election. The GA met in June and the statement was in preparation for years prior to that assembly. We have witnessed the breakdown of democracy and the growing threat to voting rights for years. Now we are living the result of that demise and it is time to heed the advice of our own best counsel.

Our statement says, in part:

Government of the people that is by and for the people formally entails majority rule, with the majority’s power limited by rights it may not infringe. Democratic government includes:

• universal voting rights with high voter participation rates;
• free, fair, competitive, and frequent elections;
• beyond voting, meaningful channels of political participation open to all citizens and widely used;
• basic individual liberties that include freedom of speech, press, and religion;
• leaders who reflect the racial, ethnic, gender, and class diversity of the population;
• an independent judiciary and adherence to the rule of law;
• policies implemented by those duly authorized; and
• freedom from influence of foreign or external powers.

Democracy is not only rules and systems, it is the culture and commitments of the people and of those of those entrusted with carrying out the will of the people.  A truly democratic culture requires:

• Radical inclusivity (deeply listening, attending to the concerns of the most vulnerable, caring about inclusion and exclusion, and acknowledging that they happen) and transparency;
• Cooperation, bipartisanship, and an orientation of consensus-building for decision-making;
• Accountability and accessibility, being responsive to the public good versus special interests; and
• Respect for the rights and needs of those in the minority on any particular issue.

The words of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper fill me with pride in the hsitory of female activism and move me to action now.

The words of Stacey Abrams move me to tears. If you have not watched her TED talk Three Questions to Ask Yourself, please do.

https://www.ted.com/talks/stacey_abrams_3_questions_to_ask_yourself_about_everything_you_do

And her words fill me with a sense of destiny and timing – our destiny is to preserve and protect our democracy and the time to be doing that work is now.

A few thoughts about what to do from our Unitarian Universalist statement ….

Actions We Could Take

{Achieving the ideals of our faith related to democracy, requires new approaches for mobilizing power and influence. This means engaging in radical truth-telling, intersectional organizing, and naming the forces that resist democratic reforms. A truly inclusive democracy challenges the exploitation of peoples and natural resources by corporate and political power.  Our collective future calls us to live into what Unitarian theologian Rev. James Luther Adams named “the prophet-hood of all believers.”}

[As individuals] we can take actions such as the following.

• Conduct a personal democracy audit.  Review our relationships with systems that perpetuate consolidation of wealth and power.
• Help with voter registration particularly among underrepresented populations.
• Contribute time and money to democracy-building efforts and to non-profit democracy organizations that represent economically oppressed or marginalized people.
• Direct action toward democratic reforms and integrity through rallies, community organized events, and contacts with elected officials. Specific asks include:
  • public financing of campaign reform,
  • expanding ballot access,
  • reforming or eliminating the electoral college,
  • paper ballot backup for voting integrity
  • eliminating gerrymandering,
  • allowing felons and ex-felons to vote, and
  • amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United and end corporate personhood.

Our congregations can take actions such as the following.

• Conduct a congregational democracy audit that includes considerations of practices that continue to sustain white supremacy. Take action to address findings.
• Create study groups based on the needs of democratic reform and investigate how structural racism, patriarchy, environmental degradation, and militarization have driven the accumulation of wealth and political power.
• Partner with other UU congregations, other faith communities, non-profits, and unions to work on democratic reforms.
• Organize advocacy initiatives such as postcards, social media campaigns, rallies, sit-ins, petition drives, or other forms of direct action in support of democratic reforms.
• Sponsor educational forums about factors contributing to the corruption of democracy.
• As part of the offering, ask for funds to support democracy-strengthening efforts.
• Adopt resolutions supporting democratic reforms.

I would also invite any of you who might want to work with other Unitarian Universalists in Maine to work toward a stronger democracy and voting rights to check out what MUUSAN (Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network) is doing right now in our own state of Maine. I will happily put you in touch with our local leaders! www.muusan.org

When I look back at the life and work of the women who dedicated themselves to women’s suffrage, I appreciate their struggle and their determination. I also feel through the years their sense of hope and optimism that they would, eventually, be successful. Some lived to vote in 1920. Many, like Frances Harper, did not.

As I watch Stacey Abrams in her TED talk and her response to this year’s State of the Union speech, I feel that same determination, hope and optimism.

My dear Spiritual Companions, let us not let them down.

100 years of women voting. Impressive. Insufficient. We can do better than what we have today. Let us celebrate these 100 years of voting history by building a future of democratic strength and voting rights that will endure into the next century.

May we not take for granted a right that our foremothers fought and sometimes died to achieve.

Rev. Barbara Pescan expresses both our debt and our ongoing responsibility: “Because of those who came before, we are; in spite of their failings, we believe; because of, and in spite of the horizons of their vision, we, too dream.”

May it be so. I Love You.   Namaste.   Amen.

[1] Frances Ellen Watkins Harper - “Woman’S Political Future” a Speech to World’s Congress of Representative Women, Chicago 1893 in Standing Before Us, Unitarian Universalist Women and Social Reform 1776-1936. Edited by Dorothy May Emerson. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2000. Pp. 100-102.