This is the most beautifully written and moving lead I've ever seen in news reporting:
GAZA — From far away, this is how it looks: There is a country out there where tens of millions of white Christians, voting freely, select as their leader a black man of modest origin, the son of a Muslim. There is a place on Earth — call it America — where such a thing happens.
The entire article by Ethan Bronner in the New York Times is at this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/us/politics/05global.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Video: Blessing of Animals
We celebrated the commemoration of St. Francis with the blessing of animals at Messiah Lutheran Church (Weatherford, Texas) last week, but I don't have any video.
My pal Pastor Eric Shafer sent a link to video shot at Trinity in Lansdale, Pa., so we can all enjoy the occasion.
VIDEO: Blessing of the Animals service at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansdale. Dogs, cats, and even horses attended an outdoor service in honor of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals: http://www.thereporteronline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20152337&BRD=2275&PAG=461&dept_id=466404&rfi=6
Ann Hafften
My pal Pastor Eric Shafer sent a link to video shot at Trinity in Lansdale, Pa., so we can all enjoy the occasion.
VIDEO: Blessing of the Animals service at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansdale. Dogs, cats, and even horses attended an outdoor service in honor of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals: http://www.thereporteronline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20152337&BRD=2275&PAG=461&dept_id=466404&rfi=6
Ann Hafften
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Rev. Michael Kinnamon on the need for sacred conversation
Kinnamon: NY Times, CBS poll on racestresses need for "sacred conversations."
New York, July 16, 2008
A recent New York Times/CBS News poll revealing deep nationaldivisions along racial lines is an urgent reminder of the need for "sacred conversations on race," the head of the National Council of Churches said today.
The poll indicated that a large majority of African Americans - nearly 60 percent - believe race relations in the United States are "generally bad," the Times reported today. Forty percent of blacks said racial discrimination is as bad as ever, while one out of four whites said there is too much emphasis on discrimination. Seventy percent of blacks and half of Latinos said they have been targets of racial discrimination.
"These figures are discouraging but not surprising," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the NCC. "Last April our churches called for a `sacred conversationon race' in American pulpits, and this poll shows how badly those conversations are needed."
The call for sermons on race was issued April 3 by the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, and promptly endorsed by Kinnamon and other church leaders. Thomas made the call as church leaders gathered on the steps of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ and defended the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, then the target of a storm of criticism for remarks deemed unpatrioticand radical by critics.
Wright attracted attention because Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was a member of Trinity, and media reports fanned the flames of wild rumors about what Wright and church members believe.
At the time, Kinnamon dismissed notions that Trinity's congregation is a "radical sect" as "nonsense," and pointed out that many of Wright's criticisms of American racism were accurate. "This country has made important strides in confronting its racist past – but, surely, no one thinks that racism has been eradicated," Kinnamon said in April.
Speaking today from his New York office, Kinnamon noted that the Rev. W. Sterling Cary, a UCC clergyman who was NCC president 1972-75, has warned that Obama's successful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination obscures the fact that there are still huge problems” among races in the U.S.
In an interview last month with NCC News, Cary said the racism Wright preaches about "is still with us. My greatest concern about the current presidential campaign is that the rhetoric gives people the impression that they can ignore the past and celebrate the future, but there are a lot of serious problems that cannot be glossed over – and this is especially pronounced in terms of race."
The Times/CBS poll showed marked divisions in voter preference for president. Nearly 90 percent of black voters favored Obama while 2 percent favored Republican Senator John McCain. White voters chose McCain over Obama by 46 percent to 23 percent. Latino voters chose Obama by 62 to 23 percent.
"Many white Americans tend not to recognize the racism that persists in our society while persons of color say they feel it acutely and persistently," Kinnamon said.“It's very painful to realize how divisive race continues to be, but it's a reality the churches cannot ignore. We have to confront racism honestly, directly, and in Christ's spirit of love and reconciliation."
Originally the Sunday designated for sacred conversations on race was May 18, Trinity Sunday. "But the pain of racism continues and the sacred conversations must continue," Kinnamon said.
The NCC is the ecumenical voice of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican,historic African American and traditional peace churches. These 35 communions have45 million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states.
NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228, NCCnews@ncccusa.org
For up-to-date information on the National Council of Churches, see http://www.ncccusa.org/.
New York, July 16, 2008
A recent New York Times/CBS News poll revealing deep nationaldivisions along racial lines is an urgent reminder of the need for "sacred conversations on race," the head of the National Council of Churches said today.
The poll indicated that a large majority of African Americans - nearly 60 percent - believe race relations in the United States are "generally bad," the Times reported today. Forty percent of blacks said racial discrimination is as bad as ever, while one out of four whites said there is too much emphasis on discrimination. Seventy percent of blacks and half of Latinos said they have been targets of racial discrimination.
"These figures are discouraging but not surprising," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the NCC. "Last April our churches called for a `sacred conversationon race' in American pulpits, and this poll shows how badly those conversations are needed."
The call for sermons on race was issued April 3 by the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, and promptly endorsed by Kinnamon and other church leaders. Thomas made the call as church leaders gathered on the steps of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ and defended the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, then the target of a storm of criticism for remarks deemed unpatrioticand radical by critics.
Wright attracted attention because Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama was a member of Trinity, and media reports fanned the flames of wild rumors about what Wright and church members believe.
At the time, Kinnamon dismissed notions that Trinity's congregation is a "radical sect" as "nonsense," and pointed out that many of Wright's criticisms of American racism were accurate. "This country has made important strides in confronting its racist past – but, surely, no one thinks that racism has been eradicated," Kinnamon said in April.
Speaking today from his New York office, Kinnamon noted that the Rev. W. Sterling Cary, a UCC clergyman who was NCC president 1972-75, has warned that Obama's successful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination obscures the fact that there are still huge problems” among races in the U.S.
In an interview last month with NCC News, Cary said the racism Wright preaches about "is still with us. My greatest concern about the current presidential campaign is that the rhetoric gives people the impression that they can ignore the past and celebrate the future, but there are a lot of serious problems that cannot be glossed over – and this is especially pronounced in terms of race."
The Times/CBS poll showed marked divisions in voter preference for president. Nearly 90 percent of black voters favored Obama while 2 percent favored Republican Senator John McCain. White voters chose McCain over Obama by 46 percent to 23 percent. Latino voters chose Obama by 62 to 23 percent.
"Many white Americans tend not to recognize the racism that persists in our society while persons of color say they feel it acutely and persistently," Kinnamon said.“It's very painful to realize how divisive race continues to be, but it's a reality the churches cannot ignore. We have to confront racism honestly, directly, and in Christ's spirit of love and reconciliation."
Originally the Sunday designated for sacred conversations on race was May 18, Trinity Sunday. "But the pain of racism continues and the sacred conversations must continue," Kinnamon said.
The NCC is the ecumenical voice of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican,historic African American and traditional peace churches. These 35 communions have45 million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states.
NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228, NCCnews@ncccusa.org
For up-to-date information on the National Council of Churches, see http://www.ncccusa.org/.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Azur Riki endured immigration process to speak to Lutherans in the USA
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
July 15, 2008
Women of ELCA, GME Guest Endures Immigration Process, Arrives in U.S.
08-121-JB
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- Azur Riki was one of several
international guests invited to the Women of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Seventh Triennial Gathering
here July 10-13, to share stories about her life and church. But
getting here was an endurance test for Riki, who worked through
the complexities of the U.S. immigration system, made even more
complex because she is living with HIV.
Riki, a member of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria,
lives in Jos, Nigeria. She arrived here July 12 after she was
granted a visa by the U.S. embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. Riki had
traveled to the U.S. embassy three times to get a visa beginning
with her first visit June 18, and was denied each time, she said
in an interview with the ELCA News Service. She was notified on
July 10 that her visa was granted, after she and others thought
her visa request would not be approved. ELCA staff helped
arrange her trip to the United States.
Riki will also be a guest and speaker at the ELCA Global
Mission Event, July 17-20, at the University of Wisconsin,
La Crosse.
Riki is a widow with two children, ages 5 and 11. Her
husband was HIV positive and died in 2002. She is supporting
herself and her family today, thanks to the programs of the
Mashiah Foundation, Jos. The foundation operates a holistic
HIV/AIDS education, prevention, testing, counseling and health
program ministry, including the Women of Hope Program, which
serves 140 women who are HIV-positive. The foundation is
supported by gifts from ELCA congregations and through ELCA
Global Mission.
The Mashiah Foundation receives funds from the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program initiated
under U.S. President George W. Bush. The ELCA supports PEPFAR,
which must be reauthorized this year, and has advocated for
increased funding and policies in a new bill.
This week the U.S. Congress is expected to take up global
AIDS reauthorization, said Kim Stietz, director for international
policy, ELCA Washington Office. One of the improved policies in
the proposed PEPFAR reauthorization is repeal of the permanent
travel ban against people living with HIV, she said. The ELCA,
through its Washington Office, and 16 other churches and church
organizations signed a letter last week urging U.S. Senators to
repeal the travel ban.
People living with HIV, such as Riki, can be considered for
certain types of visas to enter the United States, but the
process is laborious and complicated, Stietz said. In Riki's
case, she traveled to Lagos, a 12-hour journey, and to Abuja, a
three-hour journey, multiple times to secure the proper documents
but was denied an entry visa, she said. That is until staff of
the U.S. State Department apparently intervened, following
efforts by ELCA staff and others working on Riki's behalf. Riki
is not the only Nigerian who has faced this difficulty with
visas, said Bayo Oyebade, director, Mashiah Foundation.
"The irony is that individuals like Riki are literally alive
because of the AIDS treatment they received through PEPFAR, yet
they're being denied the opportunity to tell Americans how good
the program is because they're HIV positive," Stietz said.
"There's no public health justification for placing travel
restrictions on HIV positive people."
"It (the law) only increases stigma and discrimination
against people who are HIV positive. We know how to prevent the
spread of the disease -- it's through education and prevention
not border control," Stietz said.
After many unsuccessful efforts to get Riki to this summer's
ELCA events, no one is entirely sure why Riki was suddenly
granted a visa to enter the United States, Stietz said. But she
is grateful.
"I'm really happy to get myself here," Riki said. "I never
dreamed I would be in this country. It's not easy for a woman
living with HIV. But I thank God because of the Mashiah
Foundation. That is how I got to America today. I thank God for
PEPFAR. They have provided the drugs for us to take, and to take
care of our health."
---
Information about the Global AIDS bill reauthorization is at
http://tinyurl.com/6oybtb on the ELCA Web site.
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
July 15, 2008
Women of ELCA, GME Guest Endures Immigration Process, Arrives in U.S.
08-121-JB
SALT LAKE CITY (ELCA) -- Azur Riki was one of several
international guests invited to the Women of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Seventh Triennial Gathering
here July 10-13, to share stories about her life and church. But
getting here was an endurance test for Riki, who worked through
the complexities of the U.S. immigration system, made even more
complex because she is living with HIV.
Riki, a member of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria,
lives in Jos, Nigeria. She arrived here July 12 after she was
granted a visa by the U.S. embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. Riki had
traveled to the U.S. embassy three times to get a visa beginning
with her first visit June 18, and was denied each time, she said
in an interview with the ELCA News Service. She was notified on
July 10 that her visa was granted, after she and others thought
her visa request would not be approved. ELCA staff helped
arrange her trip to the United States.
Riki will also be a guest and speaker at the ELCA Global
Mission Event, July 17-20, at the University of Wisconsin,
La Crosse.
Riki is a widow with two children, ages 5 and 11. Her
husband was HIV positive and died in 2002. She is supporting
herself and her family today, thanks to the programs of the
Mashiah Foundation, Jos. The foundation operates a holistic
HIV/AIDS education, prevention, testing, counseling and health
program ministry, including the Women of Hope Program, which
serves 140 women who are HIV-positive. The foundation is
supported by gifts from ELCA congregations and through ELCA
Global Mission.
The Mashiah Foundation receives funds from the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program initiated
under U.S. President George W. Bush. The ELCA supports PEPFAR,
which must be reauthorized this year, and has advocated for
increased funding and policies in a new bill.
This week the U.S. Congress is expected to take up global
AIDS reauthorization, said Kim Stietz, director for international
policy, ELCA Washington Office. One of the improved policies in
the proposed PEPFAR reauthorization is repeal of the permanent
travel ban against people living with HIV, she said. The ELCA,
through its Washington Office, and 16 other churches and church
organizations signed a letter last week urging U.S. Senators to
repeal the travel ban.
People living with HIV, such as Riki, can be considered for
certain types of visas to enter the United States, but the
process is laborious and complicated, Stietz said. In Riki's
case, she traveled to Lagos, a 12-hour journey, and to Abuja, a
three-hour journey, multiple times to secure the proper documents
but was denied an entry visa, she said. That is until staff of
the U.S. State Department apparently intervened, following
efforts by ELCA staff and others working on Riki's behalf. Riki
is not the only Nigerian who has faced this difficulty with
visas, said Bayo Oyebade, director, Mashiah Foundation.
"The irony is that individuals like Riki are literally alive
because of the AIDS treatment they received through PEPFAR, yet
they're being denied the opportunity to tell Americans how good
the program is because they're HIV positive," Stietz said.
"There's no public health justification for placing travel
restrictions on HIV positive people."
"It (the law) only increases stigma and discrimination
against people who are HIV positive. We know how to prevent the
spread of the disease -- it's through education and prevention
not border control," Stietz said.
After many unsuccessful efforts to get Riki to this summer's
ELCA events, no one is entirely sure why Riki was suddenly
granted a visa to enter the United States, Stietz said. But she
is grateful.
"I'm really happy to get myself here," Riki said. "I never
dreamed I would be in this country. It's not easy for a woman
living with HIV. But I thank God because of the Mashiah
Foundation. That is how I got to America today. I thank God for
PEPFAR. They have provided the drugs for us to take, and to take
care of our health."
---
Information about the Global AIDS bill reauthorization is at
http://tinyurl.com/6oybtb on the ELCA Web site.
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
Monday, July 7, 2008
Namibian Bishop speaks against arms’ shipment to Zimbabwe
I wish this news had been more widely shared. I am pleased to see Bishop Kameeta's consistent stand for peace. I wish I'd seen this earlier.
LWF Africa Vice-President Leads Namibians in Protest Against Arms’ Shipment to Zimbabwe. “We Cannot Be Silent and Watch,” Bishop Kameeta Cautions Churches
WINDHOEK, Namibia/GENEVA, 25 April 2008 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Vice-President for Africa Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta has called upon churches and people in the region “to do everything in our power” to stop a Chinese arms’ shipment from reaching the Government of Zimbabwe.
“Allowing weapons to reach Zimbabwe in this highly volatile and tense situation amounts to becoming accomplices in the injustice and violence committed,” said the Namibian Lutheran bishop in a 23 April statement supporting legal action to stop a Chinese ship from entering Namibian waters with weapons destined for land-locked Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis has increased following the delay in announcing the official results of the 29 March presidential, parliamentary and civic elections. The Chinese shipment arrived in Durban, South Africa on 10 April, but legal action by unions and other activists thwarted efforts to deliver its cargo. Also, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, chairperson of the sub-regional Southern African Development Community urged member states not to provide the ship with docking facilities.
In his statement, Kameeta, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) reminded churches they could not be silent and watch the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe including loss of lives. “As Christians we cannot simply walk past the injured and tortured and go about business as usual, while preaching the story of the Good Samaritan,” he said, stressing it was an “extraordinary situation” that “needs prayers and concrete action.”
Kameeta’s statement was endorsed by LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, who called for the solidarity of the region’s churches in defending the people of Zimbabwe. Referring to his earlier call to Zimbabwean authorities to release the election results (www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2201.EN.html), Noko said concern was not only about the government’s accountability and transparency of democratic processes. “We are concerned about an imminent threat to the lives of Zimbabwean citizens at the hands of their own government,” he stated.
Namibian Lutheran Bishops Dr Thomas Shivute (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia – ELCIN) and Erich Hertel (German speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia –ELCIN-GELC) supported the statement by the LWF Vice-President. The three Lutheran churches – all belonging to the LWF – coordinate their joint work through the United Church Council.
The ELCRN bishop also delivered a keynote address during a 24 April demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. Bishop Hertel was among the representatives of churches and the broader civil society who participated in the rally to support plans by the Legal Assistance Center to institute legal action against the ship’s landing at a Namibian port.
LWF Africa Vice-President Leads Namibians in Protest Against Arms’ Shipment to Zimbabwe. “We Cannot Be Silent and Watch,” Bishop Kameeta Cautions Churches
WINDHOEK, Namibia/GENEVA, 25 April 2008 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Vice-President for Africa Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta has called upon churches and people in the region “to do everything in our power” to stop a Chinese arms’ shipment from reaching the Government of Zimbabwe.
“Allowing weapons to reach Zimbabwe in this highly volatile and tense situation amounts to becoming accomplices in the injustice and violence committed,” said the Namibian Lutheran bishop in a 23 April statement supporting legal action to stop a Chinese ship from entering Namibian waters with weapons destined for land-locked Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis has increased following the delay in announcing the official results of the 29 March presidential, parliamentary and civic elections. The Chinese shipment arrived in Durban, South Africa on 10 April, but legal action by unions and other activists thwarted efforts to deliver its cargo. Also, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, chairperson of the sub-regional Southern African Development Community urged member states not to provide the ship with docking facilities.
In his statement, Kameeta, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) reminded churches they could not be silent and watch the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe including loss of lives. “As Christians we cannot simply walk past the injured and tortured and go about business as usual, while preaching the story of the Good Samaritan,” he said, stressing it was an “extraordinary situation” that “needs prayers and concrete action.”
Kameeta’s statement was endorsed by LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, who called for the solidarity of the region’s churches in defending the people of Zimbabwe. Referring to his earlier call to Zimbabwean authorities to release the election results (www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2201.EN.html), Noko said concern was not only about the government’s accountability and transparency of democratic processes. “We are concerned about an imminent threat to the lives of Zimbabwean citizens at the hands of their own government,” he stated.
Namibian Lutheran Bishops Dr Thomas Shivute (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia – ELCIN) and Erich Hertel (German speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia –ELCIN-GELC) supported the statement by the LWF Vice-President. The three Lutheran churches – all belonging to the LWF – coordinate their joint work through the United Church Council.
The ELCRN bishop also delivered a keynote address during a 24 April demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. Bishop Hertel was among the representatives of churches and the broader civil society who participated in the rally to support plans by the Legal Assistance Center to institute legal action against the ship’s landing at a Namibian port.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
How Palestinian children really learn
How Palestinian Children Really Learn
by Carol Scheller via Electronic Intifada
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9459.shtml
On 22 March, The Miami Herald published an article entitled "Dreaming of a peaceful Mideast." The initial reaction to such a headline is naturally one of pleased interest. Reporter Frida Ghitis praises the Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information for "working to create" a "culture of peace" in order to "put a stop to incitement and hatred." However, Ghitis goes on to state: "It is absolutely imperative to recast the poisonous message drilled into Palestinian children. In Gaza, in particular, even the youngest children are taught that killing Jews is a duty of Muslims ...
"This is the stuff of much sensationalist, biased journalism which does its best to neutralize all genuine attempts to foster trust and cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis. Having visited and lived in Gaza four times since a month before the beginning of the second intifada and known many families and children there, I was deeply dismayed.
It is a common mistake to hold religion as the core issue in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. This is incorrect and harmful. The issue is territorial: two peoples lay claim to the same land, land which they are going to have to somehow share, someday, no matter what form of religion they happen to profess, if they indeed practice a religion. Ghitis's statement is empty of everything except the very things she criticizes: "incitement and hatred."
The main influence on children in Gaza is the fear of arbitrary injury or death from the air and the surrounding land inflicted by all the different arms available to the Israeli army. Gaza children can identify all sorts of munitions they scavenge after attacks. They know the names of all the different kinds of Israeli aircraft and can identify them by their sound. Thousands of children have lost their homes to demolition by the Israeli army. Some children have had the terrifying experience of seeing their homes occupied and used by Israeli soldiers who crowd the family into one room preventing them even from using the bathroom.
Some children can tell you about the sonic booms caused by Israeli warplanes for the sole cruel purpose of frightening and disorienting civilians: their force has even knocked children out of their beds and broken their bones. The children can tell you about the massacre of an entire family in Beit Hanoun in November 2006 and of course about the recent horrific events all over Gaza last month.
Just going to school is a major act of courage and in school, children lack the basic necessities: books and paper, to start with, because (and this the children can tell you), the Israeli authorities will not permit their importation. Worse, many children can no longer go to school at all, as their families cannot afford to pay for their transport, uniforms or even pencils. Despite this, the main message in school in Gaza, as in many schools the world over, is that if you want to succeed, you need to get good grades. The children know that their big brothers and sisters can no longer hope to travel abroad to complete their education because Israel will not permit them to leave. A young man I know who graduated brilliantly from secondary school in June has shelved his dreams of studying medicine abroad, like some of his aunts and uncles. He is now studying to be a pharmacist, well aware that at the moment, thanks to the Israeli blockade, most of the products he might someday want to offer to clients are unavailable.
Ever so many children in Gaza know that their fathers no longer have jobs because the border is closed, and they cannot go to Israel to earn a living. A lot of joy has gone out of family life. Children know that there is no gas for cars or trucks or ambulances and that they must often go without electricity (no television, no clean clothes) because Israel has decided this. Many of the things children like to eat have also disappeared.
All the children in Gaza can tell you how their elders are worried, terribly worried, especially about them and their future. The children hate this situation. They do not understand it. They think it is unfair. They ask why. Children in Gaza indeed dream of "a peaceful Mideast." It is their deepest wish, as it is the deepest desire of Israeli children and their parents, especially those now suffering from Qassam rockets.
The Muslim and Christian families and the families who go to neither mosque nor church who I know in Gaza teach their children to live correctly, respecting themselves and others. They do not need to say anything about Israel: the actions of its army and authorities dominate every single aspect of life in Gaza.
Parents in Gaza tell their children that they hope things will get better. They tell them to work hard in school and to be patient.
But what does the Israeli army teach the children?
Children listen to adults, then they observe and form their own opinions on the world.
Ghitis's article is a prime example of intentionally slanted reporting which needs to be criticized and corrected. Her references to "peace" cannot mask the fact that she is appealing to basic fears and prejudices that only reinforce negative, false stereotypes guaranteed to stalemate any progress in dialogue between Israelis (many of whom, we should remind Ghitis, are not Jewish) and Palestinians.
[Carol Scheller, a retired public school teacher, lives in Geneva, Switzerland. She and Walid Shomali translated the guidebook Palestine and the Palestinians from French to English in 2004, when Scheller worked briefly for its publisher, the Alternative Tourism Group, in Beit Sahour. Scheller has been writing a blog for the Tribune de Geneve called "Au jour le jour, Gaza" during and since a stay in Gaza from April to June 2007 (http://carol.blog.tdg.ch).]
by Carol Scheller via Electronic Intifada
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9459.shtml
On 22 March, The Miami Herald published an article entitled "Dreaming of a peaceful Mideast." The initial reaction to such a headline is naturally one of pleased interest. Reporter Frida Ghitis praises the Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information for "working to create" a "culture of peace" in order to "put a stop to incitement and hatred." However, Ghitis goes on to state: "It is absolutely imperative to recast the poisonous message drilled into Palestinian children. In Gaza, in particular, even the youngest children are taught that killing Jews is a duty of Muslims ...
"This is the stuff of much sensationalist, biased journalism which does its best to neutralize all genuine attempts to foster trust and cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis. Having visited and lived in Gaza four times since a month before the beginning of the second intifada and known many families and children there, I was deeply dismayed.
It is a common mistake to hold religion as the core issue in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. This is incorrect and harmful. The issue is territorial: two peoples lay claim to the same land, land which they are going to have to somehow share, someday, no matter what form of religion they happen to profess, if they indeed practice a religion. Ghitis's statement is empty of everything except the very things she criticizes: "incitement and hatred."
The main influence on children in Gaza is the fear of arbitrary injury or death from the air and the surrounding land inflicted by all the different arms available to the Israeli army. Gaza children can identify all sorts of munitions they scavenge after attacks. They know the names of all the different kinds of Israeli aircraft and can identify them by their sound. Thousands of children have lost their homes to demolition by the Israeli army. Some children have had the terrifying experience of seeing their homes occupied and used by Israeli soldiers who crowd the family into one room preventing them even from using the bathroom.
Some children can tell you about the sonic booms caused by Israeli warplanes for the sole cruel purpose of frightening and disorienting civilians: their force has even knocked children out of their beds and broken their bones. The children can tell you about the massacre of an entire family in Beit Hanoun in November 2006 and of course about the recent horrific events all over Gaza last month.
Just going to school is a major act of courage and in school, children lack the basic necessities: books and paper, to start with, because (and this the children can tell you), the Israeli authorities will not permit their importation. Worse, many children can no longer go to school at all, as their families cannot afford to pay for their transport, uniforms or even pencils. Despite this, the main message in school in Gaza, as in many schools the world over, is that if you want to succeed, you need to get good grades. The children know that their big brothers and sisters can no longer hope to travel abroad to complete their education because Israel will not permit them to leave. A young man I know who graduated brilliantly from secondary school in June has shelved his dreams of studying medicine abroad, like some of his aunts and uncles. He is now studying to be a pharmacist, well aware that at the moment, thanks to the Israeli blockade, most of the products he might someday want to offer to clients are unavailable.
Ever so many children in Gaza know that their fathers no longer have jobs because the border is closed, and they cannot go to Israel to earn a living. A lot of joy has gone out of family life. Children know that there is no gas for cars or trucks or ambulances and that they must often go without electricity (no television, no clean clothes) because Israel has decided this. Many of the things children like to eat have also disappeared.
All the children in Gaza can tell you how their elders are worried, terribly worried, especially about them and their future. The children hate this situation. They do not understand it. They think it is unfair. They ask why. Children in Gaza indeed dream of "a peaceful Mideast." It is their deepest wish, as it is the deepest desire of Israeli children and their parents, especially those now suffering from Qassam rockets.
The Muslim and Christian families and the families who go to neither mosque nor church who I know in Gaza teach their children to live correctly, respecting themselves and others. They do not need to say anything about Israel: the actions of its army and authorities dominate every single aspect of life in Gaza.
Parents in Gaza tell their children that they hope things will get better. They tell them to work hard in school and to be patient.
But what does the Israeli army teach the children?
Children listen to adults, then they observe and form their own opinions on the world.
Ghitis's article is a prime example of intentionally slanted reporting which needs to be criticized and corrected. Her references to "peace" cannot mask the fact that she is appealing to basic fears and prejudices that only reinforce negative, false stereotypes guaranteed to stalemate any progress in dialogue between Israelis (many of whom, we should remind Ghitis, are not Jewish) and Palestinians.
[Carol Scheller, a retired public school teacher, lives in Geneva, Switzerland. She and Walid Shomali translated the guidebook Palestine and the Palestinians from French to English in 2004, when Scheller worked briefly for its publisher, the Alternative Tourism Group, in Beit Sahour. Scheller has been writing a blog for the Tribune de Geneve called "Au jour le jour, Gaza" during and since a stay in Gaza from April to June 2007 (http://carol.blog.tdg.ch).]
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Barbara Rossing's reflection: 'A man ran up to Jesus ...'
`A man ran up to Jesus..."
Was he the first to suffer from affluenza — the sickness that puts us and our planet in peril?
Read this web exclusive by Barbara Rossing at The Lutheran magazine's May 2008 edition:
http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article.cfm?article_id=7126
Here's the text:
"A man ran up to Jesus and knelt before him ..." in an encounter we know from Mark 10:17-22. He was rich, but he was not whole. Perhaps he was much like American Christians today who are stricken with the disease that filmmaker John de Graaf calls "affluenza" (visit the PBS Affluenza Web site). A combination of the words "affluence" and "influenza," affluenza can be defined as:
• An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American dream.
• An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.
Perhaps the rich man's sickness is linked to our planet's sickness. Our Earth is ill with the fever of global warming and it is crying out to us.
What are our ills, our wounds, today? Do you live with a chronic disease, like Paul's "thorn in the flesh" — diabetes, asthma, HIV or addiction?
The Gospels depict a veritable procession of woundedness meeting Jesus' power to heal. The pattern is familiar: Jesus is passing through a village when someone runs up and falls down before him with a specific request.
"Make me well," begs the man with leprosy as he falls to his knees before Jesus.
"Heal my daughter," is the appeal of Jairus as he falls at Jesus' feet. Each comes with a specific request for healing.
Then there is the rich man. He seems to be able-bodied, often depicted in art as young, handsome and well-dressed. Yet this rich man, too, is wounded. He is sick, and Jesus' prescription for his healing speaks to us and to the ecological crisis facing our world today.
Like the others who sought healing, the rich man runs up to Jesus on the road and falls on his knees. Like the others, he has a request: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17). His question sets this story apart from the other healing stories. This man asks about eternal life, not healing. He doesn't appear to be sick. Might he be sick without knowing it?
You can still see Affluenza, de Graaf's 1997 film, on the Documentary Channel or find it in synod resource centers. This humorous yet hard-hitting show opens in a doctor's examining room. A woman dressed in a skimpy hospital gown nervously clutches her purse on her lap as she waits for the doctor. The woman is actress Jackie O'Ryan from the well-known soap opera All My Children.
In the film's spoof soap opera, O'Ryan sits on the table fiddling with her gold jewelry until the doctor walks in. He has grave news: "I'm afraid there is nothing physically wrong with you."
"Then why do I feel so awful, so bloated and sluggish?" she cries. "Nothing gives me joy anymore. Not the clothes, the house, the raise. Doctor, I'm frightened. Can you give me a prescription?"
"There is no pill for what you have. I'm afraid you're suffering from affluenza," he replies.
"Oh my God," she reacts. "Why me? Is it fatal?
"It's catastrophic. It's the new epidemic.
"Is there a cure?"
"Possibly ...."
Affluenza is an exposé of our culture, of our insatiable appetite for more. The diagnosis, affluenza, is an epidemic that is making us and our world literally ill.
Jesus invites the rich man with affluenza into community, into a new way of life. Tragically, the man can't swallow that pill. He can't take the cure, the prescription for healing, that Dr. Jesus has given him: "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor ... then come, follow me" (Mark 10: 21).
Even though Jesus has looked at him and loved him, this man leaves grief-stricken, weeping and alone, apparently to resume his way of life, steeped in sickness. He is so addicted to his possessions, to his great wealth and comfort-so sick with affluenza-that he walks away from Jesus' offer of eternal life. He misses out on the joyful community of the gospel.
But Jesus has looked at this man-gazed "into him," according to the Greek-and Jesus loves him. What a gift! This is the gospel moment of healing. Jesus can see the sickness in this self-righteous man, how much he is lacking, and Jesus still loves him. In the same way Jesus loves each of us with a wonderful, unexpected love that gazes deep into our souls, that knows us and loves us and our world unconditionally. It is this gaze of love that heals the rich man and heals each of us.
Are we sick in the same way? Have we been stricken by the epidemic? Christian environmental writer Bill McKibben thinks so. He defines our culture's insatiable hunger for "more" as a sickness of our times. The sickness metaphor helps us see the health threat that an unsustainable way of life poses to our world.
Lay aside your possessions, Jesus says. Give them away, divest yourself! These possessions are killing you. They are making you bloated and sluggish.
Our ever-bigger houses, our oil-based economy, our addictive accumulation of possessions: these are making our planet ill.
Our mounting levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide-380 parts per million and increasing at an ever-faster rate-are as dangerous to our planet's health as a diabetic's out-of-control blood sugar or a heart patient's high cholesterol. With our lifestyle of affluenza we are eating up the planetary capital that God has created over millions of years.
Jesus invites us to downsize our lifestyle, to adopt the way of life required for a post-carbon world. Give back to the poor and to the Earth what we have taken by fraud-before it is too late. Inherit, instead, the promise of eternal life.
The rich man's story can underscore both the urgency of our unsustainable way of life and the depth of Jesus' love for us. The rich man fundamentally misunderstands eternal life as something individualistic that he can obtain while still clinging to his lavish lifestyle. He failed to see that eternal life is life in communion with God and with one another.
Today our best scientists warn that we have may have less than 10 years to make the lifestyle and policy changes necessary to avert dangerous climate change. The message of hope is that there is still time to act. Will we move to embrace our healing? Or will we turn away, as the rich man did?
With God all things are possible, Jesus says. That is the promise of healing for us. Our planet suffers with the fever of global warming. We are ill with affluenza. But these don't have to be a sickness unto death. Even in the face of such sobering ecological projections as the doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by mid-century, rising sea levels and the shrinking polar ice cap, and accelerating extinctions, the amazing restorative power of God's healing love for the world-the proclamation that "with God all things are possible"-gives hope for our planet and for each one of us.
[Rossing is professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where her research focuses on the book of Revelation, ecology and liberation. She regularly teaches a course on “Nature in the Bible.” She is the author of The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation (Westview Press, 2004). She is an avid hiker and wilderness enthusiast and has served as pastor and teacher at Holden Village retreat center in Washington’s Cascade Mountains.]
Was he the first to suffer from affluenza — the sickness that puts us and our planet in peril?
Read this web exclusive by Barbara Rossing at The Lutheran magazine's May 2008 edition:
http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article.cfm?article_id=7126
Here's the text:
"A man ran up to Jesus and knelt before him ..." in an encounter we know from Mark 10:17-22. He was rich, but he was not whole. Perhaps he was much like American Christians today who are stricken with the disease that filmmaker John de Graaf calls "affluenza" (visit the PBS Affluenza Web site). A combination of the words "affluence" and "influenza," affluenza can be defined as:
• An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American dream.
• An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.
Perhaps the rich man's sickness is linked to our planet's sickness. Our Earth is ill with the fever of global warming and it is crying out to us.
What are our ills, our wounds, today? Do you live with a chronic disease, like Paul's "thorn in the flesh" — diabetes, asthma, HIV or addiction?
The Gospels depict a veritable procession of woundedness meeting Jesus' power to heal. The pattern is familiar: Jesus is passing through a village when someone runs up and falls down before him with a specific request.
"Make me well," begs the man with leprosy as he falls to his knees before Jesus.
"Heal my daughter," is the appeal of Jairus as he falls at Jesus' feet. Each comes with a specific request for healing.
Then there is the rich man. He seems to be able-bodied, often depicted in art as young, handsome and well-dressed. Yet this rich man, too, is wounded. He is sick, and Jesus' prescription for his healing speaks to us and to the ecological crisis facing our world today.
Like the others who sought healing, the rich man runs up to Jesus on the road and falls on his knees. Like the others, he has a request: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17). His question sets this story apart from the other healing stories. This man asks about eternal life, not healing. He doesn't appear to be sick. Might he be sick without knowing it?
You can still see Affluenza, de Graaf's 1997 film, on the Documentary Channel or find it in synod resource centers. This humorous yet hard-hitting show opens in a doctor's examining room. A woman dressed in a skimpy hospital gown nervously clutches her purse on her lap as she waits for the doctor. The woman is actress Jackie O'Ryan from the well-known soap opera All My Children.
In the film's spoof soap opera, O'Ryan sits on the table fiddling with her gold jewelry until the doctor walks in. He has grave news: "I'm afraid there is nothing physically wrong with you."
"Then why do I feel so awful, so bloated and sluggish?" she cries. "Nothing gives me joy anymore. Not the clothes, the house, the raise. Doctor, I'm frightened. Can you give me a prescription?"
"There is no pill for what you have. I'm afraid you're suffering from affluenza," he replies.
"Oh my God," she reacts. "Why me? Is it fatal?
"It's catastrophic. It's the new epidemic.
"Is there a cure?"
"Possibly ...."
Affluenza is an exposé of our culture, of our insatiable appetite for more. The diagnosis, affluenza, is an epidemic that is making us and our world literally ill.
Jesus invites the rich man with affluenza into community, into a new way of life. Tragically, the man can't swallow that pill. He can't take the cure, the prescription for healing, that Dr. Jesus has given him: "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor ... then come, follow me" (Mark 10: 21).
Even though Jesus has looked at him and loved him, this man leaves grief-stricken, weeping and alone, apparently to resume his way of life, steeped in sickness. He is so addicted to his possessions, to his great wealth and comfort-so sick with affluenza-that he walks away from Jesus' offer of eternal life. He misses out on the joyful community of the gospel.
But Jesus has looked at this man-gazed "into him," according to the Greek-and Jesus loves him. What a gift! This is the gospel moment of healing. Jesus can see the sickness in this self-righteous man, how much he is lacking, and Jesus still loves him. In the same way Jesus loves each of us with a wonderful, unexpected love that gazes deep into our souls, that knows us and loves us and our world unconditionally. It is this gaze of love that heals the rich man and heals each of us.
Are we sick in the same way? Have we been stricken by the epidemic? Christian environmental writer Bill McKibben thinks so. He defines our culture's insatiable hunger for "more" as a sickness of our times. The sickness metaphor helps us see the health threat that an unsustainable way of life poses to our world.
Lay aside your possessions, Jesus says. Give them away, divest yourself! These possessions are killing you. They are making you bloated and sluggish.
Our ever-bigger houses, our oil-based economy, our addictive accumulation of possessions: these are making our planet ill.
Our mounting levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide-380 parts per million and increasing at an ever-faster rate-are as dangerous to our planet's health as a diabetic's out-of-control blood sugar or a heart patient's high cholesterol. With our lifestyle of affluenza we are eating up the planetary capital that God has created over millions of years.
Jesus invites us to downsize our lifestyle, to adopt the way of life required for a post-carbon world. Give back to the poor and to the Earth what we have taken by fraud-before it is too late. Inherit, instead, the promise of eternal life.
The rich man's story can underscore both the urgency of our unsustainable way of life and the depth of Jesus' love for us. The rich man fundamentally misunderstands eternal life as something individualistic that he can obtain while still clinging to his lavish lifestyle. He failed to see that eternal life is life in communion with God and with one another.
Today our best scientists warn that we have may have less than 10 years to make the lifestyle and policy changes necessary to avert dangerous climate change. The message of hope is that there is still time to act. Will we move to embrace our healing? Or will we turn away, as the rich man did?
With God all things are possible, Jesus says. That is the promise of healing for us. Our planet suffers with the fever of global warming. We are ill with affluenza. But these don't have to be a sickness unto death. Even in the face of such sobering ecological projections as the doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by mid-century, rising sea levels and the shrinking polar ice cap, and accelerating extinctions, the amazing restorative power of God's healing love for the world-the proclamation that "with God all things are possible"-gives hope for our planet and for each one of us.
[Rossing is professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where her research focuses on the book of Revelation, ecology and liberation. She regularly teaches a course on “Nature in the Bible.” She is the author of The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation (Westview Press, 2004). She is an avid hiker and wilderness enthusiast and has served as pastor and teacher at Holden Village retreat center in Washington’s Cascade Mountains.]
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