08/29/2023
Why might you try Sacred Ground?
On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people attended the March on Washington. Among many other memorable words spoken or sung, Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech remains iconic.
Two years later, on August 28, 1965, “The Dream” became a nightmare for the Emmett Till family. Emmett was brutally murdered that day. His funeral also became iconic.
In starkly different ways, those two moments each helped birth a movement. To stop and remember these moments in history reminds me of why I now do the work I keep doing.
Nine years ago, having spent nearly 30 years in full-time church work, I retired, wondering what might be next in my life. A week later, Michael Brown was killed. His death deeply moved me.
Suddenly, a new chapter of my life’s work began. I now choose to live in the world of racial healing and justice. One question now begs me to answer it daily: “What is mine to do now?”
After several years working in various racial justice contexts, I was led to a Sacred Ground circle in the fall of 2021. Sacred Ground is briefly described in the flyer below.
Sacred Ground had already become something of a national success story (there have been more than 2,500 circles so far), even in the midst of the pandemic, when I first participated.
Originally created for white Episcopal Church folks to do our personal work of looking at our own racism, Sacred Ground is now available to people of all faiths and none.
As a lifelong learner, I will always have more to learn, more work to do, when it comes to seeing how I have been part of the problem called racism - and how I need to be part of the solution.
The more I’ve learned and experienced in Sacred Ground circles, the more I know I want to keep sharing that powerful experience of learning with others, both as a participant and a facilitator.
I invite you to join me for an information hour on Thursday, September 7th, at 6 pm Central Time, in person or online (you can participate on Zoom, like hundreds of other people have).
If you are interested and would like to know more now, send me a note via Messenger. You can also e-mail Meredith Pace (address in flyer) to ask a question or reserve a place for September 7.
Thanks for the time you’ve taken to read this and consider Sacred Ground. As Dr. King once said, “We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now.”
~ (The Rev.) Thomas A. “Tom” Momberg
