Friday, June 5, 2020
Sooky Lassen
Hope
Where do I find hope?
OverwhelmingIy I find hope in the the truth honesty and resilience of many people that I know and have had the good fortune to walk along side.
I think of Rahson Johnson who was arrested when he was 16 and living in Harlem. He was tried and sentenced to 25 years to life for a murder that he didn’t commit. He was released 4 years ago at the age of 41 and is now leading a prevention training program for justice involved youth in Crown Heights New York. He graduated with a BA and Masters in Theology at Sing Sing Prison and is now married and a father. When Rahson went to prison he could read and was able to offer hope to many of the older people in prison, reading letters, parole board applications and occasional news papers. As we were walking together to the subway after the end of one of our long meetings I asked Rahson how he had kept his hope alive while he was in prison. He replied – “Oh you know Susan psalm 46” and immediately recited the 11 verses.
Beginning:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
I met Father Elias Mbala in very remote Southern Angola outside his fragile corrugated iron church in 2004, with leaking roof in the rainy season and radiating heat in the Summer. We talked and talked into the dark about his dreams for his congregation, and the need for a new Church. I was tired and looking forward to sleep. As I Ieft Father Mbala said ‘You do know Susan that with God, all things are possible’? In 2015 Bishop Andre Soares consecrated the beautiful new church of St Andres, and Father Mbala danced with joy.
And yesterday a friend of mine sent me this prayer by Richard Scott (a friend of her grandson)– aged 15 and about to be a sophomore in high school.
I pray for healing in Ferguson
I pray for healing in Minneapolis
I pray for healing in New York
I pray for healing in Baltimore
I pray that we will continue to run for Ahmaud
I pray that we will blast our music for Jordan
I pray that we will continue to kneel with Kap
I pray that the police stop killing us
I pray that 911 is a beacon of safety, not death
I pray that the next time my hands are raised it’s in a classroom
I pray that the voices of the unheard are amplified
I pray that the color of my skin won’t get me killed
I pray that Martin’s dream doesn’t become a nightmare
I pray that Rosa’s bravery isn’t blinded by cowards
I pray that Maya’s words are never erased
I pray for change
Sooky with Rahson Johnson
Father Elias Mbala