Celebrating Diversity--Live God’s Vision of Harmony

Human Family by Maya Angelou
 
I note the obvious differences
In the human family. 
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
 
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
 
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I’ve seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I’ve not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in Chine,
we weep on England’s moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
 
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we’re the same.

I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
 
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

I encountered this poem while attend “Habits of the Heart for Healthy Congregations—Making Our Home with the Other.”  Renowned author, speaker, and activist Parker Palmer, and singer, songwriter, poet, “prairie mystic” Carrie Newcomer where among the presenters inviting us to live in God’s vision of celebrating the diversity of  the human family. While I was in Germany, it became clear to me how important it is to remember what’s humanly possible, both good and bad.  I was so moved by the many ways Germans seek to remember the darkness humans are capable of and how slowly but surely the erosion of human rights and democracy can lead to unthinkable atrocities AND the call to unexpected heroism.  One of the ways the breakdown of society began was to negate the gift of diversity and to build science and thought around how diversity weakens, when reality proves time and again the direct opposite.  There was deliberate effort to instigate fear and vilify ‘the other’ while rewarding the ‘in’ group. This fall, here at Coastside Lutheran Church, we will celebrate diversity in liturgy and conversation that recognizes and honors it.  Due to the books he writes and the talks he gives, Parker Palmer has congregations asking him to help them become ‘more inclusive and diverse.  He tells them flat out that he cannot and will not be able to do that.  But, what he CAN do is help them see that despite how ‘alike’ they may seem within their community, there is far more diversity there than they realize.  In circles of trust, they can learn to ask open-ended questions and develop the ability to listen and honor the stories the people have of  being ‘different.’  The more such stories are shared and lovingly received, the less threatening ‘the other’ becomes and more authentic welcoming of ‘the stranger,’ ‘the other’ is made possible.. Listen to Maya Angelou on YouTube deliver her poem Human Family as only she can.  Let us celebrate the beauty of God’s beloved diverse human family!
 
 

 
 
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