Hazelwood Green (corner of Second and Hazelwood Ave.)

June 19, 2020

1 pm

This UPstander opportunity offers you the possibility of standing as an ally with our partner Rev. Tim Smith of the Center of Life in Hazelwood as he makes the statement:

BLACK LIVES MATTER IN THE FAITH COMMUNITY

Religious leaders of Pittsburgh will come together Friday, June 19, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. at Hazelwood Green (corner of Second and Hazelwood Ave.), to stand together as a community of faith to say unequivocally that Black Lives Matter.
June 19, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

(It is a very big open space.  Physical distancing will be observed.  Please wear your mask.)

The leaders will address the history of systemic racism in Pittsburgh, invite people of faith to join in identifying, abolishing, and reforming the systems that sustain racism and discrimination against Black people and encourage people of faith everywhere to step forward, speak out and take action.

Rabbi Ron Symons, Center for Loving Kindness/JCC PGH, will stand as ally with Pastor Smith and make a statement grounded in Jewish values.

June 19 is a significant day for two reasons:

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. (https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm)

On June 19, 2018, Antwon Rose II was killed by a police officer in East Pittsburgh.

We hope that this gathering advances the cause of justice.

Sofa Spirituality

We also wanted to remind you of our ongoing Sofa Spirituality project. This week, we’re featuring interviews with three local leaders whom you might know! Please considering signing up to join a short dialogue inspired by their wisdom.

• Visit sofaspirituality.org
• Watch a 6 minute interview.
• Register for a 45 minute live zoom small group dialogue based on the interview.
• Discover our shared humanity.

At 10 a.m. on Friday, June 19, our dialogue explores how to balance our cherished traditions and our emergent needs, inspired by our interview with Rev. Richard Freeman. If you can’t make it on Friday, sign up for the session on Tuesday, June 23 at 7 p.m.

At 11 a.m. on Friday, we’ll be talking about our interview with Wasi Mohamed, who teaches us about Muslim prayer practices that encourage continuous awareness of God. We’ll repeat this dialogue on June 23 at 8 p.m.

At noon on Friday, our dialogue will be inspired by the conversation with Kohenet Keshira Ha Lev Fife, who encourages us to recover practices in our own traditions that might have been lost or repressed in history. That dialogue will repeat on June 23 at 9 p.m.