Memories
President Barack Obama greets Amelia Boynton Robinson, a key figure in the Selma Voting Rights Movement, during the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Selma to Montgomery marches. Official White House photo by Pete Souza. Public domain.
Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil
A short write-up I saw on LinkedIn a few weeks ago has me lingering in the memory vault of my being. The writer was sharing about a mentor she honored and was inviting readers to remember and name their own mentors and perhaps let the person know the impact they had on our lives. A simple call to action during this Lenten season. I heard it and found myself delving into old pictures and sitting with the stories that surfaced to my consciousness. Some brought tears and some brought deep laughter. Many pictures represented moments frozen in time.
I picked up a photo album and lingered with a faded picture of Mrs. Amelia Boynton Robinson. Some might read her name and not know anything about her footprint in our American history. Others might wonder if she is still alive. Mrs. Boynton Robinson died in August of 2015. May her soul rest in peace.
What an honor it was for a group of nine lay leaders and ordained ministers living in New England to have traveled to visit significant landmarks in some southern states and to have met Mrs. Boynton Robinson in Selma in September 2014. Meeting her, hearing part of her life story, and receiving individual blessings in words and songs by such a historical legend had not been planned by the group. It was a “God moment” we lived. We met a great niece of hers near the Brown Chapel A.M.E. church in Selma, after we had walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. She was encouraging residents to register to vote, following in her great aunt’s footsteps. One conversation led to another, and she facilitated the meeting at Mrs. Boynton Robinson’s residence. The site of a fading printed picture resurrected memories, conversations, promises and a myriad of emotions I had not lived in several years. The power memories have!
Who do you long to sit with and receive holy guidance from? How might we collectively, given the various communities we serve and make time for, participate with integrity and authority in Kingdom-building?
As we come to the end of Lent, some of us might be focusing on fasting from a food item, a behavior, or uttering a word while others might be intentionally making a positive impact in their neighborhood, city, county, or country. And others may need to be still and pause in pondering silence, considering the heavy burdens they carry in their hearts. This Lenten season, we are surrounded by many local, national, and international storms. How we decide to navigate them may lead us to pick up Rev. Dr. Kirk Byron Jones’ book titled “Rest in the storm: self-care strategies for clergy and other caregivers,” one more time. Dr. Jones’ book is personal testimony and reflections, ministering to readers. It is a book I frequently recommend to my coaching clients whose tossing and turning can benefit from sitting with Dr. Jones’ wisdom.
Mrs. Boynton Robinson did not have that book to sit with as she recovered from the trauma of Bloody Sunday in March of 1965. She shared about the march when the group of nine of us from New England visited her. She was struck violently in the head and was left for dead near the Pettus Bridge. I am grateful to God that she was not called to her eternal home in 1965. The resurrection she lived from her physical injuries and emotional turmoil lit more determination to persevere and speak many truths against injustices she was witnessing in her local county and state. She expressed her love for her neighbors by speaking up, standing tall, and resuming to march to many city halls. Her physical restoration feeds our souls today.
I am remembering Mrs. Amelia Boynton Robinson’s blessings in my spirit. Meeting her in person in 2014 was no happenstance. It was God’s plan. Who might be your Amelia? Who do you long to sit with and receive holy guidance from? How might we collectively, given the various communities we serve and make time for, participate with integrity and authority in Kingdom-building? I humbly submit that Jesus’ last words to Simon Peter we read in the gospel of John (21:15-17), are our call today. “Feed my lambs…Take care of my sheep…Feed my sheep” (NIV). May we embrace our call to feed and care for the lambs and sheep before us with love, mercy, and peace.
Who are our lambs? Who are our sheep? May the ears of our hearts be attuned to their soft cries, deep laments, and call for help. May we hear.
An ordained minister with ABC-USA, Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil serves as a Ministry Coach and Women’s Group Retreat Facilitator with the Center for Career Development & Ministry. Fluent in English and French, she has had cross-cultural lived experiences in several countries in Africa, Europe and North America. Rev. Sandra is a published author of three devotionals, “Walk with Generosity,” “Beacons of Hope” and “Luces de Esperanza,” as well as co-author of a leader’s guide for leaders of short-term mission teams of volunteers, “Short-Term Mission Team Essentials – Together on The Journey.”
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
Get early access to the newest stories from Christian Citizen writers, receive contextual stories which support Christian Citizen content from the world’s top publications and join a community sharing the latest in justice, mercy and faith.