A June picnic was the first face-to-face interaction the Daughters of Abraham have had since February 2020. Author: Teresa Woodard Updated: 11:21 PM CDT June 30, 2021
ARLINGTON, Texas Janice Harris Lord has always believed the more time you spend with someone, the more you find in common.
And the more you find in common, the easier it is to build a friendship.
Time spent together over food is even better.
Lord teared up as she watched friends of almost 20 years arriving for a long-awaited picnic at Lake Arlington.
Everyone brought food, wore a smile, and opened their hearts and arms to hugs.
“I thought we might have some today who wanted to mask and distance, but everybody is just so ready,” Lord said. “Ready for real relationships again.”
Janice Lord’s quest for spiritual discernment started on a Greyhound bus in the summer of 1961. Just 16, she had left her small-town farming community in Wellington, Kan., for missionary work in Haiti and Jamaica. On the way to the Miami airport to meet the others in a youth delegation, she stopped in Dallas.
It was here that she first encountered segregated restrooms, drinking fountains and seating on public transportation.
“We were just floored,” says the 76-year-old Arlington resident. She and her new friends “decided right then and there we were going to break the bus rules” and sat among the Black passengers who made their way to the back of the bus.
A powerhouse for peace: Janice Lord s interfaith women s group looks for common ground msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.