Social Justice
Women's March January 2017 - Indianapolis, IN
The work we do to heal the world is one of the most important ways that we as religious people put our values into action. Anti-racism, anti-oppression and multicultural work are central to my understanding of social justice. I continually seek to more deeply understand the implications and ramifications of the immense amount of privilege I carry, just by the fact of being a white, cisgender, heterosexual male. Then, grounded in an awareness of my privilege, and as the son of gay men and as a brother to an African-American sister, I strive to be an ally in the quest for justice.
There is clearly, much, much work to be done to bring healing to our hurting world. I am committed, as a person of faith, as a minister, and as a human being, to do my part to try and bring about healing. One of the most important ways I know to go about doing this is by committing to creating meaningful relationship across difference. This starts with building relationships with those whom I am trying to help, and making sure to learn from them what would be most helpful in the struggles they are facing. It also means staying connected, even with those whom I vehemently disagree, since that is the only way it will be possible for change to occur - we won't get anywhere if we simply stay in our own social-media enforced echo chambers. And of course, building strong relationships and partnerships with those trying to help address injustice and inequality is vitally important. Congregation Based Community Organizing (CBCO) in particular can be a powerful force for change.
There is clearly, much, much work to be done to bring healing to our hurting world. I am committed, as a person of faith, as a minister, and as a human being, to do my part to try and bring about healing. One of the most important ways I know to go about doing this is by committing to creating meaningful relationship across difference. This starts with building relationships with those whom I am trying to help, and making sure to learn from them what would be most helpful in the struggles they are facing. It also means staying connected, even with those whom I vehemently disagree, since that is the only way it will be possible for change to occur - we won't get anywhere if we simply stay in our own social-media enforced echo chambers. And of course, building strong relationships and partnerships with those trying to help address injustice and inequality is vitally important. Congregation Based Community Organizing (CBCO) in particular can be a powerful force for change.
Desert water drop - Youth Immigration Service Journey 2018
Tuscon, AZ
I also understand, especially as a person who carries a great deal of privilege, that part of my work is to educate myself, especially without placing an undue burden on people with marginalized identities of teaching me. Education takes many forms - reading, workshops, conversations with other people with privileged identities who have more experience and insight than I do, conversations with friends who do have one or more marginalized identity who are willing to share with me, and more. I also try to make sure that I and we who are doing the work are taking care ourselves along the way, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, so that we're safe both in the moment and grounded in the long term, avoiding burn out.
Changing the world is possible. We just have to do it one step, and one person, at a time.
Changing the world is possible. We just have to do it one step, and one person, at a time.
“Seth is by nature and choice a reconciler—his inclination is towards overcoming differences and making peace. He is interested in nonviolence and alternatives to violence, interfaith engagement and other areas that require a strong desire to remove obstacles to human connection and create harmony. He is an experienced practitioner of a kind of reconciliation that is based on cherishing, even sharpening, differences, and then generously giving them to one another as irreplaceable gifts. He has a gift for entering into the ‘genius’ of others’ traditions and respectfully appreciating each one as a genuine way for people to find truth and hope.” |
The mission of The Facing Project, founded in Muncie, IN, is "creating a more understanding and empathetic world through stories that inspire action." The organization picks topics that are worthy of having their stories being told, and organizes a formal community story-telling. Storytellers and writers are paired, stories are shared and written, and then a book is published and a community presentation is organized. Past projects have included "Facing Poverty," "Facing Autism," "Facing Addiction," and many more. Their model has been used across the country to engage communities on topics of urgent importance in our world today. I was fortunate to be able to participate as a writer in our local "Facing Racism" project. WaTasha Barnes Griffin and I were paired, and she shared her with me her experience growing up in a very segregated Muncie:
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It may look like graffiti, but it’s not! Back in 2006, a bunch of members and friends from the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia were painting the whole outside of this school for a service project as part of Philadelphia Cares Day. I decided to do something a little fun before we tackled this particular wall. A couple of our church members, inspired by this photo, made “UUs Rock!” t-shirts for the whole congregation. In case it's not obvious, that's me on the end.