Fifty years ago today, the Civil Rights Movement gained major momentum as the March on Washington convened at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial and Dr. King exhorted us to let freedom ring and to share his dream of an America united in its conviction that all of us are equal.

Today, I offer this prayer, not as eloquent as Dr. King, but from the depth of my being:

God of us all, You who calls us out of our narrow and self-serving assumptions, You who yearns for us to live in harmony and justice with one another, You who rejoices in our labor for justice and peace, we sing Your praise!

We give You thanks for that great day in 1963 when hundreds of thousands assembled to testify by their presence to Your call for equality. Not knowing whether they would face dogs and firehoses, police batons and angry retribution, yet they came.  Knowing only that our nation could not advance under racial segregation and denial of basic democratic rights, they came.  And, O God, what a powerful day it was!  Etched on our memories with the prophetic power of Dr. King's speech, that day continues to lead us into the future, the future of a dream not yet completely fulfilled.

Holy One, God of all colors, all languages, all people, inspire in us again the craving for justice that we may act boldly for school children denied an equal education, for voters denied the right to vote, foryoung Black men in hoodies who scare us, for immigrants seeking a better and freer life, for elders and those cut off from basic resources, for all those who need our Christian unity with them.  Lead us to walk in the ways of Christ, who teaches us that the work of justice and peace remains, and is ours to do.

All those years ago, O God, You led millions of us to demonstrate by the simple yet powerful act of presence, that none of us is alone in our struggle.  In that March on Washington, we became a yet-greater nation, and for that we give You thanks and praise.  Lead us now,  O God, to make our generation's witness that someday "we shall overcome" may be sung as "we have overcome", and someday we will join hands together living the abundant life You make possible.  May freedom ring from the mountaintops and the valleys, from the corridors of power to the back alleys of hopelessness and stir us to proclaim Your Word!  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Davida Foy Crabtree

Acting Conference Minister 

The Garden of Eden

Throughout my time with you, I have been deeply grateful for the privilege of living on campus at Eden Seminary.  Not only is it beautiful, but the administration, staff and faculty have been wonderfully hospitable.  I've been to Eden before, of course, but living here for three months, even in the summer, gives one a sense of place far more than does the occasional visit.

Not only did Eden make a lovely two bedroom apartment available to me at minimal cost, but they built me a little raised bed garden where I've been able to grow tomatoes, beans, lettuce, basil and mint.  I'm harvesting now and that's a joy!  What a thoughtful thing to do!

And of course, Eden is where your Conference office is located - a perfect setting for constant interaction with faculty and students who shape the future of the Church!  I hope Eden and CUE are part of your church's budget because without our seminaries, our future would be bleak.  The theological  education of authorized ministers and of laity for their leadership is critical in every age, and yet more so now as we pass through the age of the "nones", and the alienated, and the hostile.  We in the United Church of Christ have core values and a way of living them that the world needs to know about.  Those core values, rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, must be proclaimed boldly especially in a time when a great majority of the younger generations have written religion off as irrelevant, hypocritical, and even worse.  Those who write off "organized religion" are often still spiritually hungry - reaching them is urgent for their spirits' sakes.

It is our seminaries, like Eden, that equip pastors, teachers and leaders to proclaim the gospel, to reach those who are as yet unreached, to give bold leadership that can transform our churches to be the places people seek out instead of running away from.  So I give thanks for Eden, for its students, graduates, faculty and staff and pray that our churches will be responsive to their lead - the future depends on it.  And after all, the Church of Jesus Christ has always existed more for Others than for Us, more for the future than for the present, more for hope than for despair.  Your support of Eden and CUE shapes the future of the Christian church, not just the UCC.  Do all that you can do for it!

Davida Foy Crabtree

Acting Conference Minister