OMM Church in E. Fort Worth selected as church of "special significance" during the Year of Mercy

Local Catholics celebrate opening of Door of Mercy at Our Mother of Mercy Church - December 14, 2015

http://www.northtexascatholic.org/local-news-article?r=W07Q5RDOGX&send_to=%2Flocal-news

Pope Francis proclaimed an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy that began Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she can approach it because the mercy of God never ends,” wrote Pope Francis in Misericordiae Vultus.

The pope opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and announced that each diocese would designate a church of special significance during the Year of Mercy, to be opened Dec. 13.

Bishop Olson selected Our Mother of Mercy, stating “Since its establishment in 1929, the parishioners, religious sisters, and priests of Our Mother of Mercy have faithfully serviced and witnessed to God’s abundant mercy most fully expressed through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. They have done this through service in education and outreach to the Catholic and broader African-American communities with a spirit of inclusion of all people.”
Floyd Ware, a parishioner and musician at Our Mother of Mercy, said, “The announcement that we were chosen as the principal church for the Year of Mercy was unexpected, but we are honored and we welcome visitors with open arms. Opening the Door of Mercy today was a good start, and we look forward to bigger things.”

Our Mother of Mercy parishioner Marie Guidry said, “Bishop Olson opening the Door of Mercy was a blessed experience. It was symbolic, but I hope we internalize it and turn it toward more goodness in the world. We need to understand that our own point of view is not the most important. We need to seek to understand those who are different from us. This can bring hope to the whole world.”

"My America Too" - produced by Baltimore Center Stage

My America Too
"Baltimore Center Stage's CS Digital program commissioned 10 American writers to create plays set around the kitchen table, inspired by recent events in communities like Sanford, FL; Cleveland, OH; Ferguson, MO; Staten Island, NY; Baltimore, MD; and Charleston, SC. Six of the plays were filmed as pieces of street theater, guerrilla-style, at pivotal locations across the country. The videos are now online." ~ These are quite moving theater works, and I hope that you will consider engaging in discussion with others about the ideas and issues broached by them. Highly recommended. ~

http://www.centerstage.org/ShowsandEvents/CSDigital.aspx

Art exhibit--"The Strangest Fruit"

"The Strangest Fruit" by Vincent Valdez of SA, TX



Says Vincent Valdez:

"The Strangest Fruit is a series of large paintings that is inspired by the lost/erased history of lynched Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the United States from the late 1800's well into the 1930's. The title is borrowed from the poem Strange Fruit (Abel Meripool) that was made famous by Billie Holiday’s recording in the 1930's. The poem/song lyrics present haunting visuals of black Americans, using the metaphor of “strange fruit” to describe the victims who were hanged from trees. 

I adapted the lyrics and slightly altered the text to describe a Texas landscape, which sprouts "brown bodies” instead of "black bodies.” The title, The Strangest Fruit, suggests that this sinister portion of American history goes much further than we have been told. The subject of Latino lynchings is almost entirely unknown, unheard of, and unspoken in the United States."

 

and

 

"Presenting this historical subject in a contemporary context enables me to present the noose as metaphor and suggest that the threat of the noose still looms. The noose has been disguised and resold to the American public as mass incarceration and for-profit prison industries, the endless American drug war, the war on terror, the military industrial complex, the criminalization of poverty, broken educational systems and biased justice systems, stop and frisk programs and racial profiling, mass deportation and nationalism, police brutality, all of which lend themselves to a fearful and forgetful America.

Like the erased bodies of the past, these paintings depict present-day individuals who face the threat of a similar fate in America, the more that they struggle to break free, the tighter the noose will choke."

 

 

Towards a logo design (centering image) for RTTG

This was suggested by Brian P. M.

http://mic.com/articles/119970/25-actual-facts-about-police-brutality-in-america#.NrRMUevDphttp://mic.com/articles/119970/25-actual-facts-about-police-brutality-in-america#.NrRMUevDp

25 Shocking Facts About the Epidemic of Police Brutality in America

 By Darnell L. Moore June 03, 2015

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"The Enemy" by filmmaker and photographer Erik Madigan Heck

https://tribecafilm.com/stories/watch-this-artist-created-a-cinematic-dance-piece-protesting-police-brutality-erik-madigan-heck-the-enemy-brooklyn

WATCH: AN ARTIST CREATES A CINEMATIC DANCE PIECE PROTESTING POLICE BRUTALITY

BY MATTHEW ENG

You know all the facts and statistics about police brutality in this country, or at least you should. Heck's film is an enraged outcry in response to these tragically growing numbers, but it also lays out a daringly and atypically hopeful vision, centered around an issue that merits at least three-and-a-half minutes of your undivided time and an inestimable amount of your ongoing consideration.

What is "Soul Force"?

SOUL Force

Soul Force was originally used by M.K. Gandhi, as a part of “Satyagraha” or reliance on Soul Force. This was a philosophy brought about from the teachings of Jesus. Gandhi used Soul Force during the Indian peoples movement to transform their society through a peaceful means.

Next, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., used Soul Force as part of his nonviolent philosophy as he sought to help lead the African American people toward freedom. He even mentioned this term in the “I Have A Dream” speech:

“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968

"Darkness on the Edge of Town" - review of SUNDOWN TOWNS: a hidden dimension of American racism

Much has been written about the history of segregation within American cities, but this is the first full-length study of places that sought to exclude African Americans entirely.

Shout-out to Carefree Black Boys

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bimadewunmi/shoutout-to-carefree-black-boys-too?utm_term=.vpwzYk6bB

"Carefree Black Boys"

Claudia Rankine's Situations #6

Step 1.  Go to  http://www.claudiarankine.com/

Step 2.  Click on "Situations"

Step 3.  Click on "6"


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