St. Mark's mission is to be a beacon of racial justice and compassion. We celebrate each of the heritage month and provide educational opportunities and activities to further our mission.
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Monthly Devotional
Luke 18: 1-5
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
As we celebrate Native American Heritage month, we look at examples of justice and restoration for Indigenous peoples and creation. Their lengthy court battles remind us of the persistent widow.
The Tohono O’odham people have lived in the Tucson area for centuries. By the 1800s, settlers began to destroy their livelihoods, by the proliferation of non-native agriculture, cattle ranching, and mining, completely changing the O’odham way of life due to loss of water resources. Seeing the need for legal intervention, in 1975, the Tohono O’odham sued to protect its water rights. It took a total of 43 years for the Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act to complete infrastructure to import Colorado River water and see meaningful aquifer recharge.
For eons, the Yurok, Karuk, Hupa, and Klamath tribes have lived along the Klamath River in California/Oregon, primarily relying on fish for food. Starting in 1903, Klamath River Hydroelectric Project built a series of 4 hydroelectric dams on the river causing severe environmental & economic devastation for the local tribes by blocking salmon migrations and degrading water quality. Salmon runs dropped by 90%. Instead of accepting this loss, the tribes shifted from a localized legal struggle to a high-profile public movement. Final approval in late 2022, legally transferred the dams to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation to oversee their deconstruction. By October 2024, the final dam fell, and the Klamath River began flowing completely free for the first time in over a century, allowing the fish to utilize the newly opened corridors.
Like the persistent widow in Luke, their prayers and persistence over decades has finally paid off. Water has been awarded and agriculture resumed for the Tohono O’odham at the San Xavier Co-Op Farm and for the Yurok, Karuk, Hupa, and Klamath tribes the fish returned immediately when the last dam was removed in October 2024.
Let us pray
Lord, we give thanks for the justice awarded to Native Americans. We pray that by restoring their way of life, we can begin healing our relationship. We pray that by restoring your creation, we can all thrive. Many times, “the arc of the moral universe is long’. Help us to have the patience and persistence to bend it towards justice. You call us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. And we earnestly strive to do so.
Amen
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Statement on Racial Justice from the United Methodist Church Constitution (Article V):
The United Methodist Church proclaims the value of each person as a unique child of God and commits itself to the healing and wholeness of all persons. The United Methodist Church recognizes that the sin of racism has been destructive to its unity throughout its history. Racism continues to cause painful division and marginalization. The United Methodist Church shall confront and seek to eliminate racism, whether in organizations or in individuals, in every facet of its life and in society at large. The United Methodist Church shall work collaboratively with others to address concerns that threaten the cause of racial justice at all times and in all places.