so this is the griot chant that i wrote for the Gathering Around the Unhewn Stone conference. i wanted to have it fully memorized..but maybe for another day. i found the research of our ancestors really encouraging. i hope you find it encouraging as well.
Creator of heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them.
Our hope is in You
You uphold the cause of the oppressed
Give food to those who hunger
The Lord sets prisoners free
opens sight to the blind
lifts up those who bow down
His love reaches the righteous
Comforts the outcast, the isolated.
Sustains the fatherless, the widow
Frustrates the ways of the wicked.
He does not forget
The Lord God is.
Our Father
O Zion for all generations.
Through our past. Now. Tomorrow. Leading us. His children.
Let us remember our ancestors. The cloud of witnesses.
The faithful. The oppressed. Mirrored in all cultures.
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
We ask the same Spirit to be among us now
Bleeding Gods power through the hands of her followers.
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Adamah --- the earth man
Eve --- mother life
Abel
Enoch --- the one who walked with God
Noah --- alone is his faith, made room for the rain
Abraham
Isaach
Jacob
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
“We are strangers here,” they say, “Longing for another way.”
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Esau
Joseph --- “fruitful tree whose branches climb over the wall”
Moses
Musicians of Jericho --- may their faith through song resonate in our pulse
Rahab
Daniel
Samson --- whose strength was given by God
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
“We are strangers here,” they say, “Longing for another way.”
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Esther --- boldly refused the genocide of her people
Shadrach
Meshach
Obendego
David --- chosen one to speak his name as warrior, poet, musician, & leader
John the Baptist --- calling for renewal and God’s fist
Mary
Joseph
Magdalene
The twelve who left everything and followed
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
“We are strangers here,” they say, “Longing for another way.”
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
St Francis & Saint Claire --- through poverty, the kingdom is among us
Sojourner Truth --- “The Spirit calls me, and I must go.”
Harriet Tubman --- Moses among the slaves searching for freedom
Leo Tolstoy --- anarchist, pacifist declaring the kingdom is within you
Geronimo
Crazy Horse
Black Elk
Resisting oppression, preserving traditions as natives of this land
Moved like hinds feet of a deer.
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
“We are strangers here,” they say, “Longing for another way.”
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Mohatma Ghandi --- resisting tyranny through mass civil disobedience
Miguel Pro --- executed, humiliated, for his constants steps of Faith
Dorothy Day
Dietrich Bonhoeffer --- “we must bandage the victims under the wheel
Mother Theresa
Rosa Parks --- mother of the civil rights movement
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
“We are strangers here,” they say, “Longing for another way.”
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Oscar Romero --- martyr for his voice of the poor in El Salvador
Faney Lou Hamer --- she would not be silent in the presence of injustice
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Leonard Petier --- still calling for peace behind the whip of iron
Steve Biko --- martyr of the South African aparthid… black is beautiful
And the six leaders of faith recently slaughtered in Colombia!
Their voice is that of Abel--- still screaming the truth from the ground.
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
“We are strangers here,” they say, “Longing for another way.”
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
We listen to that of Jesus
The one who walked this land, teaching the ways of peace and justice from the Father.
His Cry broke the walls of separation
Ready to move in use physically and spiritually.
He died that we may live.
Be not of this world
These systems of oppression
These structures we are taught to follow that make hazy or abilities to be open,
Affected, and ready to move with the breeze.
Lord, let us be your tool.
Carving your name in the hearts of those who hear
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Hebrews writes that these followers were that of the righteous
Shut the mouths of lions.
Quenched the violence of fire.
Escaped the threat of the sword.
Out of weakness made strong.
The dead raised to walk.
Though they were chained. Tortured. Persecuted.
Wanderers of deserts, mountains, and caves.
The words of the lord remained on their faithful tongue.
“The world was not worthy of them:
Lord help us not be afraid. Give us strength
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
Here we are.
Use us.
Be with us.
We are strangers here. Longing for another way.
Spirit of our Ancestors come move us again
No comments:
Post a Comment