I am deeply pleased about the congregation's creation of the lecture series for a personal reason. A proud lifelong UU, my father's mother, Edith Parker of Massachusetts, was a Unitarian and a distant cousin of the Reverend Theodore Parker. She instilled Unitarian values in her children, who passed them along to their children. Our extended family's grace for 75 years is based on the Unitarian covenant verse, "Love is the Spirit..." Parker was a courageous voice during the dark decades of slavery, and I am proud of my religious and family relationship to him.
I am deeply moved about the choice of Rabbi Brian Walt as the inaugural lecturer for philosophical and personal reasons. Rabbi Walt is an ideal choice due to his courage in speaking candidly for Palestinian rights during the dark decades of occupation, paralleling the words and deeds of Parker, whose words about the arc of the universe bending toward justice have inspired people around the world. Both are prophetic witnesses of passionate issues of their day.
Unitarian Universalists have a long and proud tradition of supporting human rights around the world and letting diverse voices be heard. The Israel-Palestine issue is one where we UUs particularly are needed to hold up souls touched by the conflict in light and love. This inaugural lecture choice does exactly that.
Personally, my family touches upon the narratives of both the Holocaust and the Palestinian Nakbeh or Disaster. My mother's family is from Poland, and a cousin was a Polish army officer who was arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp for seven years, and the rest of my mother's relatives suffered in their homes under Nazi occupation, not being collaborators. My husband is Palestinian, born and raised in Jerusalem, and his family were refugees in 1948 at the creation of the State of Israel. They lived in one classroom of a church in Jerusalem's Old City for several years. He spoke out for human rights as a young adult and met regularly with Israeli Jews who were rights activists, before immigrating to the United States. We have three children who identify as Palestinian-Americans of Polish and other European heritage and who grew up in UU circles, Sama'an, Alice, and Salwa. Sama'an has been active in social media and the streets in the recent protests about police brutality, carrying on family traditions of standing on the side of love. Alice has been vocal on social media. All three have been vocal supporters of women, workers, LGBTQ folks, and immigrants. Speaking truths takes courage as well as brave love. The world needs more of this, and I am proud that my children are on the love side of the urgent issues of the day.
And so, I extend deep appreciation to Rabbi Brian Walt for his willingness to speak his truth with his loving heart, and to your congregation, its minister and lay leaders, and the committee that produced the lecture series concept, from the bottom of my and my family's hearts.
In the spirit of love
Dana Fisher Ashrawi
Cypress, Texas
12-06-2014
Attached: photo of Sama'an Ashrawi (right), Anna Chatillon-Reed, and Kenny Wiley (left), Texas YRUU alumni, outside Theodore Parker Congregation, and photo of my family.
