Reconciling Ministry Personal Story: Being a Reconciling Congregation…why it matters
Loraine Shimada
July 2014
Do you know anyone who has experienced the pain of exclusion and/or discrimination because they didn’t fit the mold of society in general? I come from a family who has experienced such pain. My paternal grandparents and their children, all U.S. born American citizens, were forced to live behind barbed wire in an internment camp during WWII. Their crime? They looked like the enemy.
My 90-year-old aunt was 18 years old in 1942, when her family was forced to leave their home in central California for Arkansas. She was not able to graduate from Tulare Union High School with her friends and classmates, as a result of the forced evacuation. Fifty years later, I asked her about her wartime experience. She wasn’t able to talk about that time of her life, due to the pain the memories evoked.
I have seen the pain in the eyes of my aunt and her siblings, who lived through one of the most grievous episodes in American history. They were unjustly treated, because of physical traits. My family history has made me highly sensitive to the pain inflicted by society on those who are different.
May we never inflict the pain of discrimination on our fellow human beings.
May we always value, love and accept everyone for what they bring to this world. May we always remember and learn from our past.
Being a Reconciling Congregation matters.
Respectfully submitted,
Loraine Shimada