A Road Trip of Remembrance

We are here today because there are still some people in this country who have not given up on the Dream.
Ruby Sales

Last week we road tripped it to D.C. for an event called A Day of Remembrance, hosted by The SpiritHouse Project. Ruby Sales is the executive director of SHP and a civil rights movement legend. In August 1965, Ruby joined young people from Fort Deposit, Alabama, who organized a demonstration to protest the actions of the local White grocery store owners who had cheated their parents. The group was arrested and held in jail and then suddenly released. Jonathan Daniels, a White seminarian and freedom worker from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts was assassinated as he pulled Sales out of the line of fire, when they attempted to enter Cash Grocery Store to buy sodas for other freedom workers who were released from jail.

A Day of Remembrance was a moving public memorial service for the 1000 black Americans killed by police since 2007. All of these names were read aloud in between sermons and prayers. It was a time of mourning, but also an impetus to build a spiritually-infused Movement to rid the country of racism and violence. We felt it important to stand with them as white allies in this struggle and to commit to moving forward with them (Below: Ruby Sales with Rev. Nick Peterson in background; the crowd was somewhat intimate in Freedom Plaza on a warm November afternoon… look closely & you'll see Lindsay sporting her Nana's red bandana, in solidarity with all those whose blood has been shed.)

Lindsay made a fantastic mix with plenty of Ludovico Eiunadi and Helen Jane Long. The colors were poppin' and we soaked in precious time on the road to reflect & to have our imaginations prodded by all we have seen & experienced these past 12 weeks.

We also got a chance for a brief visit with our dear friends Sheldon Good & Jenn Svetlik, who are experts in the ways of simple living and hospitality. They filled our bellies and warmed our hearts and we addressed topics like "dietary discipleship" and what kind of "activism" our faith might demand of us. The last time we saw these two in person was in May for their wedding. It was pure gift to be with these young lovers - to be prodded & encouraged by the vibrancy & intentionality of their first year as a married couple… as well as to celebrate with them in anticipation of their first child, coming to a D.C. area near you this Spring!