Sankofa

Sankofa is a mythic bird of West Africa that flies forward with an egg in its mouth while looking backward. The egg symbolizes the future. The unusual flying posture of the Sankofa represents the belief that one must know where one has come from in order to move forward. Sankofa is transliterated in the Akan language as "se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki." Literally translated it means "it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot".

Why then was Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back? Could it have been in her looking back she desire not to learn from where she had been in order to go forward, but instead she desired to go back, to stay, to stagnate?

Another Old Testament woman looked back at where she had come from and lived to tell about it. Read the first chapter of the book of Ruth. Standing at the border of Moab and Judah, Ruth faced a serious decision - go back to her people and her gods or go forward into the uncertain future. Ruth looked backward seeing where she had come from and, uttering her most famous words, she flew forward. "Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried." (Ruth 1.16-17)

Ruth embraced the essence of the Sankofa. It's not easy to do. As I leave the church I have been serving I look back with joy to where I have been - where WE have been - and I can pick up the promising future that is still unknown and go forward. And you will go with me because you all have become a part of me - making me who I am today. Thank you.


Point to Ponder:
What do you need to go back and fetch in order to go forward into the future? What can you learn from where you have been?

Presidential Forum on LGBT Issues

On Aug. 9, presidential candidates will gather in Los Angeles for a forum on issues affecting the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the United States. Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, Melissa Etheridge and esteemed journalist Jonathan Capehart will appear as panelists at the event.

Confirmed:
Hillary Clinton
Christopher Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kucinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson

The historic two-hour forum, moderated by Margaret Carlson, will be televised live on the Logo network and the Logo website on Thursday, Aug. 9, starting at 6 p.m. Pacific time and 9 p.m. Eastern.

How to watch: Some Human Rights Campaign steering committees have organized watch parties in select communities around the country. Visit www.hrc.org/yourcommunity to find out if there is an event in your area. Find out how to get Logo, or watch the forum live on Logo's website.

To learn more about the candidates' positions on GLBT issues, check out HRC's candidate questionnaire.