We’re gonna sit at the welcome table.

Auckland Unitarians

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh.

Recorded 6th August 2023 at Auckland Unitarian Church.

I met Clay 10 years ago at a residential training for community organising. The basis of the training was storytelling.

At the opening of the training, all participants were asked to tell stories about a time we had spoken truth to power. Clay’s story was about taking the Anglican Bishop of Auckland to the Human Rights Commission for violation of the Human Rights Act because he refused to ordain a gay priest.

My story was about standing up to a union leader who, to a largely but not totally white male audience, had used the phrase “dirty girls of the Philippines” to refer to migrant sex workers. I confronted him privately and told him I had been offended at his use of language that was imperialist, misogynist and anti-worker. He went back to that audience and apologised, even though many of them had found his language perfectly acceptable.

As all the people in the room told their stories, we began to see that all of us had not only identified injustices but had also had moments of courage where we had spoken up. Some of our stories had had successful outcomes, but many had not. Many of us had acted alone. All of our stories had promise. When one person shows courage in the face of injustice, that act holds the kernel of transformational change.

For more information see:-

https://aucklandunitarian.org.nz/were-gonna-sit-at-the-welcome-table/