Open Poetry #40 |
Invisible To The Eye |
Jaime Fradera Senior Member
since 2000-11-25
Posts 843Where no tyranny is tolerable |
Not technically a "poem," this is a brief reading I did at the March 4th service. The sermon title was "Invisible to the eye," and it's theme was promoting the acceptance and inclusion of people stigmatized as "disabled" into our religious community. It may be heard at: www.fusd.org ... However it will not play on this computer ... Today marks a significant milestone in the life of this congregation. The service we have planned for you Symbolizes and represents the principals we articulate in unison each week. For more than fifteen years I've held a dream of finding, in a Unitarian Universalist congregation, a sacred space and place where I could feel needed, a weekly refuge from a sometimes harsh and unforgiving world revolted by what is missing and a popular culture preoccupied by what is wrong, an opportunity to tell our seeing friends what it is really like to be blind. Today the dream is coming true. On this ordinary and unremarkable occasion I come to tell you that we who are blind are people too. Just like you we do ordinary things and live ordinary lives; we have the same foibles, illnesses and telephone bills. We too have felt the withering stares. We have known the stinging lashes of pity, stigma and rejection. We have shared the same fears, known the same desire for love, the same power to dream, and the need to live in peace. I come to tell you we have shared this life together, you and I, that all of us in this room labor in a single movement, and each of us in this church is committed to a common cause. The vision we share, and the task we face, is to help make this world a brighter and happier place, a place where each person can feel needed, cared about and loved, a place where equal treatment and equal opportunity is available to all, and a place where archaic distinctions between those who are disabled and those who are not are seen as outdated and no longer to be borne. Hey, you and I, we can do it baby! We can get our heads together! We can do it! |
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Margherita Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236Eternity |
Such a beautiful post, dear Jaime. Your words are wise and touching. Surely your friends appreciated your reading. Heads and hearts together can solve many problems. Your dream has manifested and may it continue to bring joy. Love, Margherita |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
"a place where each person can feel needed, cared about and loved, a place where equal treatment and equal opportunity is available to all" In essence, what all of humanity must strive to achieve. BRAVO, amigo Jaime! |
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Startime55 Member Elite
since 2003-04-05
Posts 2148Alberta, Canada |
BRAVO!!!! BRAVO!!! The fulfillment of a wonderful dream....Absolutely Magnificent....I love the way you expressed yourself...*Big Big Hugs* |
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