Through interest from many parishioners, St. James’ has formed a Racial Justice & Reconciliation Commission to do our part in the community. This group of active volunteers meets regularly and is committed to sharing important information to St. James’ Family regarding Racial Justice. This Commission will share resource material here and within the weekly newsletter. Be sure to check out the “Did you know?” articles in the weekly helping to share facts and insights. And monthly, there are events and programs sponsored to help educate and open our minds!

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and
if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Peace. Humility. Open Mind. Eyes that See. Ears that Listen. Heart of Love.

Coming Soon!

American Muslims: A History Revealed

Beginning in January 2025, the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission embarked on a new relationship with our Muslim brothers and sisters at Masjid Isa ibn Maryam (the Mosque of Jesus, Son of Mary) in Syracuse. A group of us met with Ellie Abdel and the relatively new imam, Imam Ismaeel Malik, in February to get acquainted and discuss ways our congregations could work together.

Ellie and Imam Ismaeel invited us and anyone from St. James’ to join them for an evening Iftar, the fast-breaking meal at the end of each day of fasting during the month-long Ramadan. The mosque hosted an Iftar every night of this year’s Ramadan, feeding over 100 people! A group of us were able to attend and were greeted with such warmth and hospitality by everyone we met. It was a wonderful time of sharing, laughing, learning, and feasting!

For our next venture, we are presenting a joint study on the PBS documentary series American Muslims: A History Revealed. We will meet on two Saturday afternoons, once at the mosque and once at St. James’, to view episodes, discuss what we’ve learned, and have an opportunity to ask one another questions about our different faith traditions. The series consists of six short films that reveal and explore the early history of Muslims in America, from Thomas Jefferson’s time (he had a Koran in his library) to a mosque built in the early 1900s in North Dakota. The series is hosted by three leading American Muslim journalists.

This event is for everyone and we hope many of you will join us. We are especially looking forward to reciprocating for the wonderful generosity we experienced at the Iftar when we host the session at St. James’. Keep an eye out for details of time and place.

In addition to our group meetings, Mother Pilar and Imam Ismaeel, both young faith leaders, were able to meet one to one. They discussed many other ideas, including joint study sessions on scriptural stories that appear in both the Koran and the Bible and on women in leadership. We have also talked about social events like a BBQ and game nights. This is just the beginning!

Gardens Nourish and Create Community

Each summer, the St. James’ Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission supports community gardens at the Auburn Rescue Mission at Merriman Circle and at the Hillbrook Juvenile Detention Center in Syracuse. Both gardens flourished during the summer season, despite the wet and cold spring, oppressive heat in July, the August dry spell and an invasion of Japanese beetles.

The Three Sisters Garden at Merriman Circle produced more than two dozen yellow squash and several pumpkins. The intrepid green-bean plants made a comeback after being devastated by Japanese beetles and the corn plants also made an appearance despite the wet spring and the need to re-seed three times. The produce was distributed via the food pantry that is located at the Merriman Circle Community Center.

Three Sisters companion gardening is a technique to grow corn, beans and squash that indigenous peoples in the Americas have been using for centuries. Indigenous peoples taught early European settlers how to grow these staple crops, which are sacred to Native Americans.

Children living in Merriman Circle housing learned about Native American culture and the Three Sisters through stories and song. They also made Three Sisters puppets, thanks to the creative talents of Barbara and Chris Baker. The Bakers designed the puppets and prepared simple materials the children used to make their own.

The St. James’ and Merriman Circle communities celebrated the harvest with special guest speaker Perry Ground, a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Ground presented “Stories from the People of the Longhouse” at Merriman Circle on Aug. 21.

Meanwhile, the dry weather was also a challenge for the Hillbrook Detention Center gardens. Four raised-bed gardens were planted at Hillbrook by residents and staff. Each garden had a theme—the greens garden, the salad garden, the salsa garden and the squash garden. Staff and residents worked diligently all summer to create bucket brigades to keep the gardens watered. Their efforts paid off with an abundant harvest of greens, Swiss chard, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and peppers. The residents made cucumber salads and salsa and other fresh vegetables were used by the Center’s kitchen staff to supplement meals for the residents.

Staying Informed

“One thousand cuts won’t stop us:” Turning towards neighbors in need in Syracuse.–Beth Broadway is President and CEO at InterFaith Works of Central New York (IFW)

Building bridges and creating community

Following on the momentum of the successful screening of Undivide Us at the Auburn Public Theater last April, the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission (RJRC) received a $3,000 ministry grant from the Episcopal Diocese of CNY for a new initiative to continue the dialogue.

The new program, “Undivide Us: An Invitation to Dialogue across Difference” aims to facilitate conversations among diverse groups of people about difficult topics facing our communities and our nation. The goal is to cut through inflammatory and toxic rhetoric that stoke division in our local, state and national communities. Led by trained facilitators, dialogue-group participants will learn to approach difficult conversations with an attitude of curiosity, authenticity, and respect for other viewpoints, skills that are fundamental to building bridges and promoting reconciliation. The RJRC will be recruiting people to participate in pilot dialogue groups throughout the fall, primarily from Skaneateles and Auburn.

The film showing in April attracted more than 130 people to the Auburn Public Theater. Facilitated conversations moderated by Sue Dwyer, former Cayuga County Clerk, and Chris Legg, Town of Skaneateles Supervisor, followed the film. Through the intimate lens of six focus groups across three U.S. cities, the film reveals how toxic polarization drives us to fundamentally un-American places. In the process, the film reveals the potential for healing, conversation and rediscovery of the values that unite us.

The model for the Undivide Us dialogue groups was developed by the Pluralist Lab at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Members of the RJRC will receive training from the center to facilitate the focus-group conversations. More information will be forthcoming as the pilot program is developed over the next few months.

Come make 150 PBJ Sandwiches for Local Homeless Neighbors EVERY Friday at 1:15 pm in St. James' Parish Hall.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat . . . “ Matthew 25: 35

More than 242 children in Cayuga County were without permanent shelter during the 2022-23 school year, the most recent statistics available from the New York State Department of Education. The numbers reflect only the children whose families self-reported their living situations to the public schools, allowing their children to receive educational services under the federal McKinney-Vento Act.

During the annual count of unsheltered people in January, the Housing and Homeless Coalition of CNY found a 75 percent jump in people sleeping outside in Cayuga and Onondaga counties and a 400 percent jump in the number of people living on the streets in Oswego County. Moreover, hundreds of families and individuals are living in shelters and/or in motels across Central New York due to an acute shortage of affordable, permanent housing.

The St. James’ Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission (RJRC) has joined the efforts of the United Ministry of Aurora, The Quaker Meeting of Poplar Ridge and the Harriet Tubman AME Zion Church of Auburn to offer respite care to people who are homeless in Cayuga County. It’s called Safe and Warm. The project offers safe space every Friday afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Harriet Tubman Church where people can grab a hot beverage, snacks or simply hang out.

Safe and Warm also includes an outreach component in which some 100 bag lunches are prepared and delivered to families and individuals living in motels in the Auburn area. The lunches are prepared at St. James. Ten people from St. James church underwent training and are volunteering regularly for this program.

“On a personal level, Safe and Warm has touched me to my core,” says Molly Spalding, a member of St. James’ RJRC. “I have a brother who is homeless and with whom I have no contact, so I can’t help him. This program is enabling me to touch others who are in a similar or worse situation.”

Food for the program has been obtained through donations from Wegmans and Apple Acres in Lafayette as well as through monetary donations, including a donation from the St. James Thrift Shop.

“Participating in the Safe and Warm initiative has had a monumental effect on me,” says Kathy Ploufe, a member of St. James’ RJRC. “My Spiritual growth has intensified. It has aided my understanding of the reasons behind homelessness. At first I was afraid to engage in this program because of my incorrect impressions of people in our community who are homeless and poverty-stricken. Helping the homeless is not only a compassionate act but also one that can have a profound impact on society. By providing support to those in need, we foster a sense of community and social responsibility.”

YOU CAN HELP

Donate nonperishable food items (bread, creamy peanut butter, jelly, wrapped snacks)
Help make bag lunches at St. James’
Become trained to staff the Safe and Warm physical site in Auburn
Help deliver lunches to people living in motels in Auburn

Monetary donations can be made to the “Harriet Tubman Liberation Foundation”
with Safe and Warm in the comment section of the check
This is a tax deductible gift as the Foundation is a Section 501(c) 3 charity.

For more information, contact Meg Osborne at mhosborne7@gmail.com
or call the Parish Office at 315-685-7600.