On the Road: Thank You from Detroit, and #RestIsResistance

River fountains splash joy, 

cooling God’s city,

this sacred haunt 
of the Most High.
God lives here, 
the streets are safe,
God at your service 
from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave,
kings and kingdoms threaten,

but Earth does anything he says. -

Psalm 46:5-6 (MSG)

Exactly this time last year, Darcie and I deeply felt the stirring to move to Detroit. We prayed and talked to close friends, asking God for some direction. Did not expect that getting in two minor car accidents would be helpful: but thanks to State Farm sending some pain and suffering checks, we could not only imagine moving, but doing a slow and meaningful road trip. When we calculated the total mileage for the trip, it equaled, almost to the dollar, the amount State Farm had sent, so we've tracked a dollar per mile pretty closely these past 32 days. It truly is a privilege we will not forget and we could not have done it staying in hotels or eating out every day. So first we thank God, and second we thank State Farm as our friends who suffered Katrina and Rita remind me that having a good insurance story is truly a blessing.

And: we are so very grateful for Sarah & Billy Mark, Yvette and Josh Rock, Kristin Tiffany, Marvin Wadlow, Delonte Gholston, Brooke Abbott and Valerie Abron, Arika Navy, Timmi Hicks, Andrew Paiva, Emily & Rich Jacobs, Tish Gonzales and Lenay Dunn, the Navajo woman who made room at the inn (and forgive me because you said your name at 3am and I've forgotten it), Nancy, Aleah, and Kara Degeneres, Chris and Rachel Hecker, Antonio Lucero, Emma Moore, Michael Watkins, Helen Chao, Melissa Rift, Glenn & Rita Balzer, Marie Voth (sorry I left the almond milk! No, really, sorry because I needed it!), Brian & Kara Thevenot, Jeanmarie Theine, Alex and Kathy Lee, Davon Hayes, Danielle Boyd, Dwayne Richards, Glenn Williams, Dan and Susie Selock, Kim Alvarez and Allan Basik, Amee Foss and Zach, Justin and Lizzy Bohorfoush, Emily Klein Morris, Charlotte and Anton Flores and Alterna, Justin Chambers, Chad Pittman, Pete Paulsen, Michelle and Will McCreery, Jeffrey and Janet Max, Heather Glady, Barbara Boxer, Jasmine and Rodney, Lene Tsegaye, Paula Yobp, Daniel and Mari Yobp, Alice Lee, Moses, Olavé Sebastien, Chester Stoney, Chris & Maria Taylor and Tara Webber and John & Mary Schmitt for deep hospitality and brave vulnerability.  I am still processing everything I'm learning from all that you gave, shared, and challenged us with.  But I'm pretty sure we just got a strong glimpse of the Beloved Community.  You can see all the videos of the #DismantlingWhiteousness ON THE ROAD project by CLICKING HERE.  

This truly was unforgettable and we literally could not have done it without you. We got to sit at tables across this amazing and challenging country all month long.  We got to hear your stories of love, balance, joy, and pain in the midst of our own heightened and sometimes explosive emotions within the car; the events of Baton Rouge, Minneapolis, Dallas, Cleveland, Philly, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Baghdad and other cities in Iraq, Bangladesh, Munich and Rio. Not to mention the name that is dominating the 24-hour news cycle, just like the bearer of that name likes....

Be sure to check out the amazing work of the Live Coal Collective.

And we got to arrive in Michigan last night at the Sidewalk Detroit festival, where several old friends, and now some new, were performing.  See below for some awesome videos of the evening's performances which serve as the final interviews in this season of "On the Road with #DismantlingWhiteousness."

Please pray for us now as we rest for a minute or two before building a new life here in Detroit by listening to how God is already working through our local neighbors.

Please also pray for Marvin and I as we launch our non-profit The Table Setters bi-coastally! For such a time as this......

Please pray for Darcie and I. The long road trip was good and hard, brought to the surface some things we need to address and work on if we are to make it in this work and this life together. We have a plan, and we need your prayers to encourage us to follow through.


And finally, inspired by my new friend and mentor, Delonte and his #RestIsResistance month, I will be going into a bit of a rest mode from social media. I will still publish blog posts here and any remaining videos from the #DismantlingWhiteousness On the Road project that trickle in, and I will need to be involved in The Table Setters online presence in our launch mode. But personally, I'm stepping back a bit for the rest of August. Thank you for following and all the prayers, jokes, suggestions, and questions along this way. We felt the love, we really did.

Pray for us as we continue to teach our girls that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  

Peace by peace by peace,
M and D and C and R

The 12 and Under Spoken Word Stage.

CutTime Simfonica brings classical music to the streets, and they even included me in their sidewalk classical performances!

And finally, Mahogany Jones ended her show, and the event, with a cypher including everyone from the audience.  Talk about a Table Setting....

#DismantlingWhiteousness
#theTableSetters
#EndWhiteSilence
#RestIsResistance
#SidewalkDetroit

On the Road: Mari Yobp of Pittsburgh, PA #DismantlingWhiteousness

My sister-in-law reminds me of an important lesson: feelings of superiority are not a uniquely American problem.  Japan struggles with this as well.  We sat down for an extended interview to hear what it's been like adjusting to life in the US, and she ends with this very important message:

"Accepting differences does not mean you lose your personality."

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

On the Road: Olavé Sebastien of Wilkinsburg, PA #DismantlingWhiteousness

After a lively Table Setting on racism, systemic violence and injustice and the lingering effects in North Versailles, PA, last night, Olavé and I continued a discussion one-on-one on hurts and blessings specific to being a man of color.  With puppies Samson and Delilah wanting to join in.  

And, earlier in the night, this happened.  That's my awesome mother-in-law Paula on lead vocals!

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

On the Road: L. Tsegaye of Silver Spring, MD #DismantlingWhiteousness

Lene and I met twice during our stay in the DC area.  All told, we spoke together for about two hours over coffee, and I wish I could have had a professional videographer with us to get a larger cross section of our conversation, as her observations on this country as a person who grew up in Ethiopia were freshly provoking and encouraging to me.  Nonetheless, she has great hope in the potential of the United States to truly set the bar for conversations that transcend race, culture, and religious differences to find our common humanity.  If we have the courage to sit down, face to face, and learn.  

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

On the Road: Heather Glady of Washington DC, #DismantlingWhiteousness

Heather Glady, born and raised near Phoenix, Arizona, has an internship at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.  The story of race in this country is also a story about who controls the historical narrative, and Heather has much to say on what that means.  Hear her focus on the story of Geneva K. Valentine, and why she believes we need to move the narrative of diversity in this country into broader arenas than just oppression and injustice.

Please note that Heather speaks from her personal opinions which do not necessarily reflect those of The George Washington University or the Smithsonian.

Learn more about the important work of the DC Africana Archives Project here.

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

On the Road: Michelle of Holly Springs, NC #DismantlingWhiteousness

Right about the time we most needed it, as my wife and daughters and I were starting to emotionally fray, we made it to North Carolina, where our friends the McCrazies (not their real name, but real to us) are living.  Years ago, Michelle and her husband Will were part of a small-group newlywed accountability fellowship with Darcie and I, and we all have shared many tables together with tough, vulnerable talks.  We pulled into their driveway, they helped us unload, and the next morning said: you two need a little time, we'll take care of the kids.

Which was a huge blessing, as Michelle and Will have four kids of their own, and regularly watch another boy from the neighborhood who's Zimbabwean father is managing multiple business endeavors (and also bringing them eggs and corn regularly).  It was a real piece of the Beloved community to me, and it truly recharged our spirits.

Before we left, Michelle sat down to share her thoughts on neighbors and on remembering that Jesus commands us to love, and to listen to everyone's stories.

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

On the Road: DOOR Atlanta at Holy Taco #DismantlingWhiteousness

Met up with Chad Wright Pittman and Justin Chambers, directors at DOOR Atlanta, as well as one of their board members, Pete Paulsen.  We had lunch at Holy Taco, and a generous and robust discussion on the intersections of Christianity, race, politics, and service came together.  Listen in:

Part 2, Pete Paulsen was sitting in a seat with lighting issues from my perspective, so we swapped chairs.  Hear him weigh in on how, as Jesus-followers, inclusivity should always trump exclusivity.

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

On the Road: the Radical Hospitality of Alterna

Our stop these last few days has been at Alterna, a bilingual community of Christ-followers devoted to faithful acts of hospitality, mercy, and justice, particularly around immigration and economic issues, in both Georgia and Guatemala.  It was co-founded by my mentor and friend, Anton Flores-Maisonet, and it was true delight to share life with his family, and the families of his community.

Today, Anton gave us a tour of the "two LaGranges:" the South has the highest level of poverty as well as being the highest concentration of African-Americans; and the North has the highest concentration of wealth and Anglo-Americans.  In fact, Anton told us, LaGrange has one of the highest levels of income disparity in the country.  Alterna is located in the South.

Anton gave us a tour of the "two LaGranges"

In Northwest LaGrange, one neighborhood has it's very own 
neighborhood retreat chapel, complete with a Steinway.  
Hear the troubled improvisational piece 
that came out of me, called Cross-Over, at the bottom of this blogpost

In lieu of writing my own impressions and thoughts at this moment (all very positive and hopeful), I'll insert our photos alongside this version of the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father, that Anton and the congregation used as part of our worship service this afternoon (he had also added Spanish translations and more Alterna specific language, not reflected here). It is a lengthy breath of fresh, Spirit-filled air, in the midst of the rancor that fills our feeds and airwaves right now.  Let it nurture and challenge you, and I suggest you read it out loud.  It fills me with hope and encouragement for our launch of The Table Setters.

THE LORD'S PRAYER FROM THE BORDER 

 by Kristen Bowdre

Our Father who art in heaven

Norma, Arturo, Charlotte, and Anton discuss the pains of 
our world, of LaGrange, or our personal lives.

Father of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US who currently have no path to legalization.

Father of every guest who comes to our door at Alterna.

Father of the asylum seeking family fleeing the violence in Mexico, the children whose father was killed for refusing to be a drug mule.

Father of the economic migrant from Central America, forced to come to the US to be able to provide for his family due to poverty in his home country.

Father of the small business owner who was being extorted by the drug cartels, who moved his business 5 times and they still found him and physically attacked him.

Father of the 5,100 US citizen children in the foster care system because of our broken immigration system that has detained and deported their parents.

Father of the hundreds of thousands of detained and deported parents of US citizen children, most of whom have committed no criminal offense.

Our father, you sent your son to be born into a refugee family and found no room at the inn. You are being denied welcome over and over again as we are inhospitable to the stranger in our midst.

Father of Jesus, our “buen coyote,” who “crosses us over into the Kingdom against the law, by grace…for if salvation were about obeying the law then all of us are damned."

The potential burial site of Horace King,
a master bridge builder who had purchased his freedom
from slavery, just outside the Confederate cemetery.

Hallowed be your name

Hallowed be your name in the women and men who work for justice, advocating for the immigrant and welcoming the sojourner as your scripture commands.

Hallowed be your name in those who go to visit you in the for-profit detention centers all over the US, as private corporations make a profit off of you, you who are not authorized to work in the US but get paid between one and three dollars per day to work behind bars.

Thy Kingdom Come

Charlotte and Ruby prepping for the pot-luck.

Let your kingdom come, your kingdom that abolishes borders, and freely offers grace to all, for none deserve to enter.

Your kingdom that makes no distinction in nationality; your kingdom is kinship and love.

Your kingdom that values all human life as equally sacred; your kingdom is justice and freedom.

For when your kingdom comes, we will see:

An end to drug addiction that creates the demand for drugs in the US at the cost of the lives of so many in Mexico and Central America.

A path to legalization, so that nobody has to live in fear.

Thriving economies in Mexico and Central America, so that people will not be forced to migrate to find survival.

Reciting the Lord's Prayer before dinner.

Safety and security instead of impunity in Mexico, and justice and truth brought to the thousands of families who wonder what has happened to their disappeared loved ones.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven

May your will be done, and not the will of the oppressor that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. May your will be done that there may be enough for everyone, as you intended.

May your will be done, that none should be afraid because of their race.

Give us this day, our daily bread

The bread of the freedom to migrate.

The bread of family reunification.

The bread of justice.

The bread of economic opportunity for all, so that people are not forced to migrate.

The bread of abundance, as in your Eucharist, where there is enough for everyone.

And forgive us our trespasses

The name of this game might make this blog lose it's PG rating (ha!)

Forgive us for demanding conformity as a condition for offering welcome; for placing unrealistic expectations on the immigrant to abandon their own language and customs in the name of assimilation, because we fear that they will threaten our way of life.

Forgive us for not seeing the innate value in every immigrant, but placing a priority on those who can serve our country more than others, those with higher education and special skills, and forgetting that every human being has value and something to offer because you love them.

Forgive us for scapegoating the immigrant.

But either way, Anton and I won the first match!

Forgive us for not taking responsibility for the ways that our own hands have contributed to the struggles in Mexico and Central America, for not taking responsibility for our part in creating poverty and impunity. Forgive us for our self-righteousness. (and our Self-Whiteousness)

As we forgive those who trespass against us

Lord, we choose to forgive those who have illegally entered our country or who have overstayed their visas, because we know if we were in their shoes, we would do the same thing. We would search for economic opportunity, safety from violence, and a better life for our children in the land where “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

And lead us not into temptation

Let us not be tempted to believe myths about the immigrant, but rather let us build relationships with our immigrant brothers and sisters that lead us to the truth.

But deliver us from evil

Deliver us from the evils of ethnocentrism, racism, and xenophobia.

What happens when we welcome strangers and share life?

Deliver us from the evils of scapegoating and blame.

Deliver us from the evil of oppressing others in the name of our own comfort.

For yours is the kingdom,

Which we long to see already.

And the power,

greater than the power of any government, law, border fence, or drug.

And the glory forever.
Amen.

Driving through Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia, especially in the Causeway across Lake Ponchartrain, there were spaces to "Cross Over", or make a U-Turn, or what some friends call a Rainbow turn. Today, on a tour with Anton Flores-Maisonet of @antonofalterna Alterna we learned of the two tales of LaGrange, GA, a city with some of the greatest discrepancy if wealth in our nation. After driving through the Southwest, we drove to the Northwest and came across the Chapel in the Pines, a beautiful neighborhood chapel with its very own Steinway Piano. Unlocked, available for anyone to use at any time. Anton asks what does this say about our faith? Do we, who have an abundance of wealth, hide it away in a private and beautiful enclave, meant for individual use, or do we open our doors and gates to learn and stretch our understanding of God through one another? Do we learn about faith from another's context? What does this say about the war between #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter? Could we turn around and look at the other? Could we cross over to their side of town? Prayerfull, I entitle this improv: Cross Over. #DismantlingWhiteousness #TheTableSetters #Mathyudjan

A video posted by mathyu djan (@mathyudjan) on Jul 24, 2016 at 10:40am PDT

Lizzy Bohorfoush of Vestavia Hills, AL #DismantlingWhiteousness

Lizzy Bohorfoush sets a different kind of table as a physical therapist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Supportive Care and Survivorship Clinic.  She literally gets to lay hands on people with tenderness, compassion, and love.  She has also decided to use the time to listen to perspectives and life experiences different than her own.

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

Birmingham to Selma to Montgomery

A break from the videos for a moment:

Today was a reverent day about US Civil Rights: from Birmingham to Selma to Montgomery to LaGrange, GA. We teach our girls because it deeply matters; because civil rights activists and prophets were not glorified in their own days, but had insults and stones and ropes thrown at them; because it is good to wonder if the same dynamic is at play towards the majority of the #BlackLivesMatter activists; because 4 little girls not much older than my own were killed at their Sunday School and the responsible terrorists were known and free for most of their lives afterwards; because most of C & R's best friends will have to have talks with their parents that we may never have to have, unless we choose to. We trace these stories and these journeys and commit to doing all we can to turn the arc of history towards justice. It is an act of following Jesus.

This country is great because we can peacefully fight for change. May God guide our next steps, together.

Say their names: Addie Mae, Cynthia, Carole, and Denise

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:I-85 N,Tuskegee,United States

mathyu djän covers 'Tis of Thee by Ani DiFranco

on the road, this song came on our music mix.  It's about 20 years old.  Still painfully and poignantly relevant right now, even more so.  

they caught the last poor man on a poor man's vacation
they cuffed him and they confiscated his stuff
and they dragged his black ass down to the station
and said "ok the streets are safe now.
all your pretty white children can come out to see spot run
and they came out of their houses and they looked around
but they didn't see no one.

and my country tis of thee
to take swings at each other on talk show tv
why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun
'cause we'll never live long enough to
undo everything they've done to you
undo everything they've done to you

and above 96th street,
they're handing out smallpox blankets
so people don't freeze
the old dogs they got a new trick
it's called criminalize the symptoms
while you spread the disease

i hold on hard to something
between my teeth when i'm sleeping
and i wake up and my jaw aches
and the earth is full of earthquakes

and my country tis of thee
to take shots at each other on prime time tv
why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun
'cause we'll never live long enough to
undo everything they've done to you
undo everything they've done to you

they caught the last poor man
flying away in a shiny red cape
and they brought him down to the station
and they said "boy you should know better
than to try and escape"
and i ran away with the circus
'cause there's still some honest work left for bearded ladies
but it's not the same goin' town to town
since they put everyone in jail 'cept
the cleavers and the bradys

and my country tis of thee
to take swings at each other on talk show tv
why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun
'cause we'll never live long enough to
undo everything they've done to you
undo everything they've done to you

special thanks to Bohorfoush tribe...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Davon Hayes: Terrytown, LA #DismantlingWhiteousness

Davon Hayes, self-declared as my mother south of the Mason-Dixon, spoke to me from her Principal's office at Livaudais Middle School in Terrytown, LA, (aka New Orleans' West Bank.)  17 years ago, Davon saw me, a scared little white boy from the North who thought he was gonna come down south and change the world.  I wanted to quit every day.  Davon waited until I was ready, and then said, "now you got that quittin' itch outta ya, let's get down to work."

She is still setting tables across division and fear, and is one of my heroes in this work.  I look to her for guidance to this day.

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt

Emily Klein Morris of New Orleans, LA #DismantlingWhiteousness

I sat down with Emily Klein Morris, Director of District and School Partnership at Teach For America of Greater New Orleans, for an extended interview.  She opens up about her process from color-blindness to color-bravery, and how it's taken her 25 years.  It is deeply personal for her.

This is not fast work, this is a commitment to building relationships for the long haul, for our lifetimes.  It's what truly makes our country great, what truly gives me hope, that we even can...

Click here to learn more about this video project and find out how you can get involved.

If you'd like Marvin Wadlow Jr and I, co-founders of the Table Setters, to facilitate robust discussions on love and respect amidst diversity in a town near you, click here.

peace by peace by peace,

+Matthew John Schmitt @matthewjschmitt