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Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
WHERE IS THE SACRED HONOR? It is time to reflect on the Declaration of
Independence, which was motivated by the despotic government of King George
III of Great Britain. In 1776 John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and 50 other men from the 13 states
signed with the following pledge: “And for the support of this
Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred
Honor.”
Do we have such men in government today? Perhaps, but
partisan politics has extinguished the fervor within them called sacred
honor, and divine providence has little, if any, meaning to many of them.
Bob Ruble Springfield
A RECORD OF BLACK SPRINGFIELD What a pleasure to read about the Oral History
Program at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum [Linda
Hughes, “Voices of the people,” June 19]. That institution is
truly a gift for Springfield and only seems to keep getting better. For the past three years our foundation has recorded
oral histories of Springfield African-Americans, and we are happy to say
that these are deposited in the presidential library. To date we have
recorded 61 interviews, and our volunteer interviewers were trained by Dr.
Cullom Davis, professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois
at Springfield.
These audiotaped interviews cover approximately the
period of 1915 to the present, and we are pleased to be working with Cheryl
Pence, supervisor of Special Collections at the library. Paper
transcriptions of these tapes are being done thanks to a grant from the
Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and
the Illinois General Assembly. For a list of those interviewed thus far,
visit our Web site, www.spiaahf.org.
The project is continuing as more names come to light
of people who shaped the rich history and contributions of
African-Americans in Springfield. To be trained as an interviewer, call
Rudy Davenport at 217-698-6339.
Rudy Davenport, president Barbara Dickerman, secretary African American History Foundation Springfield
WHEN CHURCHES GO TOO FAR
June — the wedding month! When my daughter’s
fiancé proposed to her last winter, visions of the church wedding
she’d always dreamed of swirled around the dollars crunching in my
head. It should have been one of the happiest moments in our lives. Two months later, my daughter decided to take
advantage of spring break by finding a house for her and her fiancé
to move into. They pushed forward into their lives together, but our
preacher decided he could not marry them because living together was a sin.
While I felt his decision was a matter of personal preference due to
his interpretation of the Bible, I drew the line when he gave my daughter
deadlines to rectify her situation and pushed her into church expulsion, on
the grounds of sexual immorality, from our church of 32 years! I saw this
as a stumbling block issue for the churches, similar to what circumcision,
eating certain meats, and divorce once were. There is plenty of evil in the
world, but committed, responsible love is not one of them. Because our preacher went out of town after his
ultimatum, I pooled the resources of three preachers I had studied under.
None wanted to interfere with the relationship between a preacher and his
flock, but they knew I was a sister in deep confusion and pain and
fervently looking for answers. Though none said they would suggest that a
couple live together before marriage, they said they would not expel and
would marry the couple as a means of rectifying the situation. There was no
conformity, even within our own church. I was told, bottom line, if I
did not agree with our preacher’s policies, then we would have to
find a church with a different interpretation and more insight in such
matters of human sexuality. I was not trying to bend God’s word to
suit my desires but wanted to know where the Bible explicitly described
committed love as sexually immoral.
There was much Bible study and discussion with a
preacher less impatient and more willing to flesh out the issue. My
daughter had not broken any of the Ten Commandments, nor had she trampled
on Jesus’ teachings in his Sermon on the Mount where he instructed us
not to judge but to love one another. Her love for her fiancé was
not “morally filthy,” “evil,” “wicked,”
or “filled with lustful desires.” She had an engagement ring
with a wedding date set so that out-of-town relatives and friends could
attend. She simply moved in with her fiancé, while timing allowed,
before a civil ceremony, with a piece of paper from the state, of all
places, proved to the world they were legally bonded. I felt my
preacher’s position was to teach the word; my position was to learn
the word and try my best to apply it in my life; but after that, my sins
are between me and God, as long as I am not hurting others. This was an
issue where the Bible was used more as a book of law to control and coerce
rather than to show when God deems people joined. We are supposed to be
striving to be more Godly than worldly. I was told strong, rigid lines,
based on the surface meaning of some scriptures, are used by churches to
make very exact rules regarding the definition of marriage and the place
and time of sexual intimacy. People are being taught to judge where,
possibly, God does not.
If this is how churches treat young people who are
trying to work their way through complex issues of human sexuality, then
how are congregations supposed to grow? If our young people feel judged,
they will steer clear of the one place that teaches God’s word. It
hurt to leave a church we had become a close part of and people we had
grown to deeply love and respect. I hit an impasse where I felt the Holy
Spirit’s voice was telling me the sermons I listened to each week may
not agree with what God tries to teach us about his love, understanding,
compassion, forgiveness, and saving grace when we humans find it difficult
to grasp what God expects from us. It hurt when no one from our church
called to check on us. I was told our preacher announced to the
congregation that we’d left the church because my daughter refused to
turn away from “her sin.” She decided that church
shouldn’t be her home, if they could turn her away because she
couldn’t be the perfect and pure woman the church expected her to be.
She found comfort in knowing it was not God and Jesus who were turning her
away. We found two churches willing to marry her, so my
daughter is on her way to having her perfect church wedding. The harder
dilemma was finding a church we could again call home, but I am confident
we finally found one.
Rebecca
Marks
Mechanicsburg
BREAK THE SILENCE: REPORT ABUSE In Illinois last year, more than 9,000 older adults
experienced abuse, often at the hands of their loved ones, the people they
trust most. And, it is generally agreed, this is a serious underestimate of
the epidemic. Studies show that there are at least 10 cases of elder abuse
for every one that is reported. One of the reasons that elder abuse is underreported
is because victims are often afraid of retaliation. The typical victim is
dependent upon the abuser, and is afraid to disclose the shame and disgrace
of the abuse and fearful that speaking out will cause the fist to come down
even harder. Another cause of the underreporting lies with us, the
public. We cannot believe it. We cannot accept it. And so too many of us
turn away. We are turning away from the debt we owe our elders. We must
open our eyes and face the facts.
If you suspect elder abuse, please call Senior
Services of Central Illinois, 217-528-4035, or the Elder Abuse Hotline,
866-800-1409, to report this often devastating situation. The laws in our
state and the agencies that serve the elderly will act. Let’s break
the silence. Season Young Senior Services of Central Illinois Springfield
CORRECTION Grafton, which is near St. Louis, is southwest of
Springfield. Last week’s Cap City gave the wrong direction.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2008.
