A Contemplation and Discussion Group led by the Revs. Teesha Hadra and Kimberly Deckel
Throughout Black History Month, Teesha and Kimberly will highlight several works of poetry by black poets from various eras. They will also explore the photography of Gordon Parks. Each week, look for a selected poem and photograph on C4SO’s social media, along with prompts for you to use as you contemplate these works. The poems and photos will be compiled below.
Register now for a Zoom discussion on Monday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. CST, where Teesha, Kimberly and participants will discuss each of the poems and photographs they have selected and explore their thoughts and reactions.
We Wear the Mask
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
Contemplation Exercise:
- Read the poem slowly and carefully.
- Think deeply and dwell upon the poem. What does it bring up for you? Is there a spiritual reality that comes up for you? Is God using this poem to communicate something to you?
- Read the poem again.
- Rest in God’s presence. Consider what the Lord has to teach you through this poem. Are there metaphors or images that stick out?
Contemplation Exercise:
- Look at the photos. Take time to soak in all the details. Don’t rush through this part.
- Notice what the photos bring up for you. How do they make you feel? What questions do you have about the photos or the context?
- Rest in God’s presence and consider what the Lord has to teach you through these images. View the photos again to see if there is anything else they are communicating.
- Enter into a time of prayerful reflection on this experience and what the Lord taught you through it. Is there something more you want to learn or research or do? Write it down and keep it to share during our Discussion Group at the end of the month.
Register now for our Zoom Discussion Group on Monday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. CST, where Teesha, Kimberly and participants will discuss each of the poems and photographs they have selected and explore their thoughts and reactions.
Photos courtesy of the Gordon Parks Foundation
Lineage
My grandmothers were strong.
They followed plows and bent to toil.
They moved through fields sowing seed.
They touched earth and grain grew.
They were full of sturdiness and singing.
My grandmothers were strong.
My grandmothers are full of memories
Smelling of soap and onions and wet clay
With veins rolling roughly over quick hands
They have many clean words to say.
My grandmothers were strong.
Why am I not as they?
Contemplation Exercise:
- Read the poem slowly and carefully.
- Think deeply and dwell upon the poem. What does it bring up for you? Is there a spiritual reality that comes up for you? Is God using this poem to communicate something to you?
- Read the poem again.
- Rest in God’s presence. Consider what the Lord has to teach you through this poem. Are there metaphors or images that stick out?
Contemplation Exercise:
- Look at the photos. Take time to soak in all the details. Don’t rush through this part.
- Notice what the photos bring up for you. How do they make you feel? What questions do you have about the photos or the context?
- Rest in God’s presence and consider what the Lord has to teach you through these images. View the photos again to see if there is anything else they are communicating.
- Enter into a time of prayerful reflection on this experience and what the Lord taught you through it. Is there something more you want to learn or research or do? Write it down and keep it to share during our Discussion Group at the end of the month.
Photos courtesy of Library of Congress
I, Too
I, too, am America.
- Read the poem slowly and carefully.
- Think deeply and dwell upon the poem. What does it bring up for you? Is there a spiritual reality that comes up for you? Is God using this poem to communicate something to you?
- Read the poem again.
- Rest in God’s presence. Consider what the Lord has to teach you through this poem. Are there metaphors or images that stick out?
Contemplation Exercise:
- Look at the photos. Take time to soak in all the details. Don’t rush through this part.
- Notice what the photos bring up for you. How do they make you feel? What questions do you have about the photos or the context?
- Rest in God’s presence and consider what the Lord has to teach you through these images. View the photos again to see if there is anything else they are communicating.
- Enter into a time of prayerful reflection on this experience and what the Lord taught you through it. Is there something more you want to learn or research or do? Write it down and keep it to share during our Discussion Group at the end of the month.
Still I Rise
By Maya Angelou
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Pumping in my living room.
Still I’ll rise.
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
At the meeting of my thighs?
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise.
- Read the poem slowly and carefully.
- Think deeply and dwell upon the poem. What does it bring up for you? Is there a spiritual reality that comes up for you? Is God using this poem to communicate something to you?
- Read the poem again.
- Rest in God’s presence. Consider what the Lord has to teach you through this poem. Are there metaphors or images that stick out?
Contemplation Exercise:
- Look at the photos. Take time to soak in all the details. Don’t rush through this part.
- Notice what the photos bring up for you. How do they make you feel? What questions do you have about the photos or the context?
- Rest in God’s presence and consider what the Lord has to teach you through these images. View the photos again to see if there is anything else they are communicating.
- Enter into a time of prayerful reflection on this experience and what the Lord taught you through it. Is there something more you want to learn or research or do? Write it down and keep it to share during our Discussion Group at the end of the month.
Register now for a Zoom discussion on Monday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. CST, where Teesha, Kimberly and participants will discuss each of the poems they have selected and explore their thoughts and reactions.
Photos courtesy of the Gordon Parks Foundation
