THURMAN’S CORNER
Howard Washington Thurman (1899-1981) was a towering spiritual giant on the social and religious scene of the twentieth century. Theologian, Mystic, Philosopher and Spiritual Director, he led the movement for engendering social change from a deeply spiritual and affirming place. He was nurtured in an empowering, protective, inspiring social and family milieu. Through his inherited parental values and Christian faith, he received a sense of personal somebodiness that prepared him for the work of social transformation. This solid foundation empowered him to rise above the limiting racial divide to speak truth to a generation and to work for community formation across the decades of extraordinary social upheavals in America. Many of the Civil Rights movement’s leaders were advised, encouraged and inspired by this generous human spirit. His voice speaks loudly to issues of the twenty first century and the challenges of our day.
THURMAN’S CORNER – 2/28/21
A Sense of Self
There is a fallow time for the spirit … Whatever may be the reasons, one has to deal with the fact. Face it! Then resolutely dig out dead roots, clear the ground, but don’t forget to make a human pit against the time when some young or feeble plants will need stimulation from past flowerings in your garden. Work out new designs by dreaming daring dreams and great and creative planning. The time is not wasted. The time of fallowness is a time of rest and restoration, of filling up and replenishing. It is the moment when the meaning of all things can be searched out, tracked down and made to yield the secret of living. Thank God for the fallow time!
From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”
Archived Quotes
THURMAN’S CORNER – 2/22/21
“We are all artists in the sense that we are all engaged in some kind of activity by which we are realizing our ideals. What kind of ideals are you realizing? There is no neutrality here. Everybody is engaged in this activity. Is what you are realizing worthy of you, or are you engaged in the realization of ideals of which you are ashamed, and before which you stand condemned in your own sight? Long, long ago, it was said by a very wise and understanding friend, “By their fruits ye shall know them”, not by their roots.”
From his book “Deep Is The Hunger”
THURMAN’S CORNER – 2/14/2021
A Sense of Self
An idea held steadily on point of focus in the mind tends to express itself in action … Wise words – Where your treasure is, there is your heart also. Obviously, if we are to escape becoming evil in our behavior, we must bring our minds to bear upon the good and hold them there on dead center until our lives are organized on that basis.
Deep Is The Hunger
THURMAN’S CORNER – 2/08/2021
A Sense of Self
You are faced with the opportunity to do a really significant job involving heavy responsibility. You cower in the presence of it. “I can’t do that. I am not equal to it.” Or, “I really am not interested in it to that extent.” But there it is, and you have no available alternative but to tackle it. “God make me big,” you cry out with all the power of your spirit. And then a strange thing happens. Strength come from somewhere. The job does not seem as hard as it did before you tackled it. Deep within the task, something is released that eases the load; and the quality of your performance pervades your spirit with the assurance that God has answered, SO!
Deep Is The Hunger
THURMAN’S CORNER – 1/31/2021
A Sense of Self
There is much that has been written and even more that has been said about “the will to live,” in life in general, in human life in particular. It is described as a quality inherent in life, an instinct with uncanny power to seek that which feeds and sustains it, however precariously … The will to live says life is, and it is not predicated upon any other factors. While life cannot be thought of as pure existence, yet it seems always to be more than that through which it expresses itself. Thank God for the will to live; it is His signature in the midst of the changing scene of experience and fact.
Deep Is The Hunger
THURMAN’S CORNER – 1/24/2021
A Sense of Self
When our minds are sick with frustration and division;
When fear eats away the foundation of our peace –
Be present, O, Our Father, to heal, to bless
And make whole.
When our hearts are heavy with sorrow and misery;
When only heaviness is our daily portion –
Be present, O, Our Father, to heal, to bless
and relieve.
When our friends are difficult because of misunderstanding
And loss;
When the beauty of comradeship has wasted like the noon
day –
Be present, O, Our Father, to restore, to
bless and renew.
When the thread of our years unwinds near the end of the
spool;
When the failing powers of mind and body accent the passing
days –
Be Present, O, Our Father, to reassure, to make
steady and confirm.
When our well ordered plans fall apart in our hands;
When hopes give up, having run their course –
Be present, O, Our Father, to replenish, to
create and redeem.
When faith in our fellows wallows in the mud;
When through disappointment, through failure, through
flattery, all seems lost –
Be present, O, Our Father, to revise, to renew and
reassure.
Deep Is The Hunger
THURMAN’S CORNER – 1/17/2021
A Sense of Self
Most often, however, worry is a lack of confidence in life, its purpose, in God. Faith in life, in God, is native to the human spirit. It cannot die as long as a man lives. It turns into pessimism, into depression, into anxiety, into worry, into drawn-out fear, but it will not perish. Worry is faith in reverse. Not only because most of the things we are anxious over never come to pass, but also because, when we worry, the most obvious things to do in our situation are overlooked, we should relax our tension by trusting God and putting at the disposal of that trust a clear head.
Deep Is The Hunger
THURMAN’S CORNER – 101/03/2021
This Is a New Year
This is a New Year. The calendar says so. I note the fact by marking it so when I wish to designate the day and the year as distinguished from some other day and year. It may be that my contract says so. It is indicated clearly in the lease I signed or the agreement I attested. It is curious how much difference can
be marked between two dates – December 31 and January 1.
It may mean an encounter with God on the lonely road or the hearing of one’s name called by Him, high above the noise and din of the surrounding traffic. And when the call is answered, the life becomes invaded by smiling energies never before released, felt, or experienced. In whatever sense this year in a New Year for you, may the moment find you eager and unafraid, ready to take it by the hand with joy and with gratitude.
The Mood of Christmas
THURMAN’S CORNER – 12/27/20
The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
The Mood of Christmas
THURMAN’S CORNER – 12/20/20
I Will Light Candles This Christmas
Candles of joy, despite all sadness,
Candles of hope, where despair keeps watch.
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire, all my living,
Candles that will burn all the year long.
The Mood of Christmas
THURMAN’S CORNER – 12/13/20
The Christmas Greeting
The true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy to become callous, insensitive, and hard. Once this spirit becomes part of a man’s life, everyday is Christmas, and every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning of fresh, and perhaps holy, adventure.
The Mood of Christmas