Two years ago, Ordain Women Executive Board Chair Bryndis Roberts invited us to “spend some time listening to Stand By Me,” a song “born out of the Black gospel music tradition” and, like We Shall Overcome, “a civil rights anthem.”
“Its lyrics,” wrote Bryndis, “contain so many lessons about love, sisterhood, unity, and allyship—lessons about how we each draw strength from our Creator and from one another. These lessons will stand us in good stead as we work together in the area of social justice. We just have to be willing to listen and to learn.”
Given the widespread and desperate cry for social justice in the wake of yet another senseless killing, it seemed crucial, not only to repeat Bryndis’s invitation to listen and to learn, but also her call to act: “We each have to answer the call when our loved one, our friend, our colleague, or our fellow warrior says to us, ‘Stand by me.’” #BlackLivesMatter