- Autobiography
- A Break in Family
- Childhood Years
- Judging People on My Experience
- At Home
- Parents, Home, Neighbors
- Early Lessons about Race/Ethnicity
- Early “Organizational” Life
- Church and Christian Contradictions
- Silent Prejudices
- Classes and Class
- College & the Beginning of the End of Innocence
- War without War
- A Lesson in Manipulative Power
- Decision for Ministry
- Preparing for Ministry
- Academic Major at Amherst
- Extra-Curricula Learning at Amherst – Enter Bill & Alice Wimer
- Unrecognized Introduction to Feminism
- Sylvia
- Andover Newton Theological School
- Church Pastorates
- Denominational Staff Ministry
- Wakefield
- From “Black Problem” to “White Problem”
- Stealth-Like Learnings: “Sexism”, “Racism” and Institutions
- Shifting Sands of Faith Demand Action
- Advancing “dis-ease”
- Changing View of the World
- The New Beginning
- Genesis of Community Change, Inc.
- The Early Years at CCI
- Boston’s Struggle for Equal Schools
- Attention to National Issues
- People Participating = Hope
- Enter: James Baldwin
- White Identity Challenged
- Urgency Requires Anti-Apartheid Action
- Suburban Operations Simulation
- Police Brutality
- Local Organizing and Seeking Ways to Combat Racism
- The Move to Boston
- “People”, “People”, “People”
- Moral Man and Immoral Society
- The “office” not an “OFFICE”
- Probing History Moves to the Center of Work
- Affirmative Action
- Little GIANTS
- Expanding the Work
- National Day of Mourning
- Chinatown and Beyond
- “People” not “leaders”
- 1492 Becomes 1992
- Harassment of Black Leaders
- Immigrant Action
- The Photography Collective
- Following (not very well!) Freire
- Enter Derrick Bell
- Using “Privilege to Subvert “Privilege”
- Becoming a Historian
- On the Trail Where Yesterday Inspires, Challenges Today
One moment during the planning of the student conference stands for me as a learning experience, although at the time I did not recognize its importance. In a committee meeting, Betty Johns, YWCA staff person for the Student Christian Movement, raised a question about why we named the gathering a ChurchMANship Conference! The question was not received seriously, and was the subject of some private joking after the meeting. I don’t even remember the arguments Betty made, or what suggestions she had for a different name. I do know now that it was the unrecognized dawning of a feminist conscience. Many years later I found my “ease” with life disturbed by an analysis which mirrored me as sexist, and part of a system which fostered sexism. Dear Betty, how I wish I could tell you how important that “moment” was for me.
While at Amherst I spent most of my weekends in the tiny community of Pelham, staying in homes there, working with the Sunday School and youth group of the small congregation. That led me to the summer Boys Camp sponsored by the rural Pelham Federation of Churches, and two summers of directing the week-long camp. Each summer the Boys Camp was followed by a week of Girls Camp. One of those summers, two women who were to co-direct Girls Camp came a week early to cook for our Boys Camp. One of the two was Sylvia Lushbough, a student at Hartford Seminary. Of course it was a changed life for me!