sojourn stories...

Angelina Jolie writes about Darfur

Did you read this?

Darfur

This week there was a full page advertisment in front page section of The Washington Post that was one of the boldest moves I have seen to date.  The picture was of the President of General Omar al-Bashir, who took power in a military coup in 1989, with a larger caption that stated, the Genocide will not stop until the world leaders deal with the leader of Sudan.  (this is not a direct quote, as i no longer have the paper--feel free to send me the direct quote via email or comments!- the paper got recycled before i could snag it!)

The bold comment demonstrates how far the grass roots movement has come from when I first was introduced to it just 2 short years ago...when Save Darfur was promoting holding a Darfur Vigil and I first met the Lost boys of Sudan, who have profoundly impacted my life. 

The next day, the Post ran an article about Sudan and China with this opening paragraph:

THE DARFUR crisis has demonstrated the limits of U.S. influence. President Bush and administration officials have described it as genocide and pushed intermittently for sanctions, peacekeeping deployments, and a deal between Sudan's government and its rebel opponents, but their efforts have been hampered by the hesitancy of other players. Sanctions resolutions in the U.N. Security Council have been delayed and diluted because Russia sells weapons to Sudan's government and because China has a large stake in Sudan's oil. Efforts to deploy a serious peacekeeping force have been undermined partly by foot-dragging within the Security Council, partly by the indifference of Sudan's Arab neighbors to the suffering of Darfur's Muslim victims and partly by the ambivalence of the African Union, which has veered between brave efforts to supply soldiers and a misplaced deference to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. (read more)

When will we stop mixing human life, our most precious resource with political and ecomonic gain. 

That was the problem with Jesus.  He refused to do so...  and so should we.

Making a Difference: Sudan: Lost Boys Gathering

I have been privileged to build a friendship with 5 remarkable young men, who are a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit, the reality of faith that moves mountains, and living proof of miracles.  Angelo, James, Mac, Samuel and William have changed my life.  They are each one of the Lost Boys of Sudan.  This weekend, July 6-8, 2006 they will re-gather with many of their brothers to remember and to reconnect, and most importantly to forge ahead to rebuild their country... A country that rejected them, that slaughtered their parents, raped and killed their sisters, and sought to kill them as well... but these lost boys are linked to this land... their home of Southern Sudan, where they long to return and be part of the peace process and rebuilding, thereby shaping the possibilities of the future. 

and i am privileged to sit among them...to listen and to learn, to be humbled and inspired... and then to do a little something to perchance make a difference!!

Overwhelmed with the horrors of genocide in Darfur, Sudan, my small efforts seem almost impossible, even inconsequential to make any difference... and i have heard this angst and lament from others, but i am convinced that if everyone did something, however small, the world would change. 

someone hid Anne Frank, and her story has changed the world

someone was Schindler's first refugee, and many heard of his kindness and followed the path to freedom...

someone began the underground railroad that saved the first slave...

someone harbored the fugitive family from Bethlehem as they fled to Egypt ...

i may not be able to do much... i cannot save the world... honestly, i cannot "save" anyone... but i CAN do SOMETHING!

that is a relief.. that i am only called to "my something"  and to do that work, follow that tug on my heart is my responsibility... nothing more, and certainly nothing less...

so... this weekend, my something has taken shape with the help of many other people following the tug of their "somethings" !!!

JOIN US THIS WEEKEND FOR:

All the information that you will need is available on our website: lostboysgathering.org

and we were recently featured on NBC4!

Lost Boys: Found! A Time of Reunion, Vision, Advocacy & Hope with the Lost Boys of Sudan  July 6-8th @ George Mason University, Fairfax VA will feature Manute Bol, from the Dinka Tribe, of Southern Sudan, as well as the stories of numerous Lost Boys & Girls of Sudan.  We will hear from Congressman Frank Wolf, and representatives from Save Darfur, Africa Action, USAID, and many others. 

Looking forward to seeing you there!!! It will be a rich and meaningful time that you will not want to miss!

If you decide to attend, please email me, so that i can keep an eye out for you and introduce you to my Lost Boy friends!!

A Million Voices !!

Join the rally in Washington, DC on April 30th, 2006, 2:00 - 4:30 PM.

The Rally to Stop Genocide will feature leading voices in the effort to stop the genocide in Darfur, including a broad spectrum of prominent faith leaders, political figures, human rights activists, celebrities, and survivors of genocide.

Read the Fact Sheet for further information!

This is an important event, I am looking forward to attending with a group from my church and with two remarkable men, Angelo and Samuel, refugees, survivors... 2 of the lost boys of Sudan.

This rally is closely linked to the cause and plight of the Lost Boys of Sudan.  For the past year, i have had the privilege of getting to know a few of these men personally and of working with them to aid in forming a National Organization for the Lost Boys of Sudan.   We are currently planning a gathering in July 2006, for the purpose of reuniting many who have been resettled in the US and who long to return to their homeland to be part of the peace process and the rebuilding of Sudan. To learn more see:  Lost Boys: Found  A time of Reunion, visosn, Advocay & Hope for the Lost Boys of Sudan.

These "boys" are now grown men and they are victims of the lengthy Civil War in Southern Sudan, which contributed to the current crisis in Darfur, Sudan.  There are numerous links and interweavings between the current genocide and the slaughter of the families of the lost boys many years ago.  The complexities of the situation and how they relate to one another slowly unfolds as the lost boy share their stories... the images of their loved ones murdered before their eyes...memories of the 1000 mile, three month walk to safety, continual running and hiding from those who sought to kill them, some of the same people responsible for the current genocide in Darfur.  And their deep grief over the death of their leader John Garang.  Yet, in spite of the stark reality of their history, these men want to return to their country and be part of the process of ending the genocide,  of assuring that the peace is upheld and of restoring and rebuilding their homeland.   

There is much to be done!  And no one person can do it all, but we can each do SOMETHING!  We live in a time when Genocide is occuring...On Our Watch and with our knowledge... and we are responsible to do something... to raise our voices in opposition to the ongoing crisis, that continues on a daily basis even with the full knowlegde of the UN, the United States government, and more importantly, the people of the world.  We cannot turn our backs, we must do something... 

bono's best sermon yet!

Bono's best sermon yet: Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast

If you're wondering what I'm doing here, at a prayer breakfast, well, so am I. I'm certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather. It's certainly not because I'm a rock star. Which leaves one possible explanation: I'm here because I've got a messianic complex.

Yes, it's true. And for anyone who knows me, it's hardly a revelation.

Well, I'm the first to admit that there's something unnatural...something unseemly...about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the south of France. Talk about a fish out of water. It was weird enough when Jesse Helms showed up at a U2 concert...but this is really weird, isn't it?

You know, one of the things I love about this country is its separation of church and state. Although I have to say: in inviting me here, both church and state have been separated from something else completely: their mind.

Mr. President, are you sure about this?

It's very humbling and I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned - I'm Irish.

I'd like to talk about the laws of man, here in this city where those laws are written. And I'd like to talk about higher laws. It would be great to assume that the one serves the other; that the laws of man serve these higher laws...but of course, they don't always. And I presume that, in a sense, is why you're here.

I presume the reason for this gathering is that all of us here - Muslims, Jews, Christians - all are searching our souls for how to better serve our family, our community, our nation, our God.

I know I am. Searching, I mean. And that, I suppose, is what led me here, too.

Yes, it's odd, having a rock star here - but maybe it's odder for me than for you. You see, I avoided religious people most of my life. Maybe it had something to do with having a father who was Protestant and a mother who was Catholic in a country where the line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line. Where the line between church and state was...well, a little blurry, and hard to see.

I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays... and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God.

For me, at least, it got in the way. Seeing what religious people, in the name of God, did to my native land...and in this country, seeing God's second-hand car salesmen on the cable TV channels, offering indulgences for cash...in fact, all over the world, seeing the self-righteousness roll down like a mighty stream from certain corners of the religious establishment...

I must confess, I changed the channel. I wanted my MTV.

Even though I was a believer.

Perhaps because I was a believer.

I was cynical...not about God, but about God's politics. (There you are, Jim.)

Then, in 1997, a couple of eccentric, septuagenarian British Christians went and ruined my shtick - my reproachfulness. They did it by describing the millennium, the year 2000, as a Jubilee year, as an opportunity to cancel the chronic debts of the world's poorest people. They had the audacity to renew the Lord's call - and were joined by Pope John Paul II, who, from an Irish half-Catholic's point of view, may have had a more direct line to the Almighty.

'Jubilee' - why 'Jubilee'?

What was this year of Jubilee, this year of our Lord's favor?

I'd always read the scriptures, even the obscure stuff. There it was in Leviticus (25:35)...

'If your brother becomes poor,' the scriptures say, 'and cannot maintain himself...you shall maintain him.... You shall not lend him your money at interest, not give him your food for profit.'

It is such an important idea, Jubilee, that Jesus begins his ministry with this. Jesus is a young man, he's met with the rabbis, impressed everyone, people are talking. The elders say, he's a clever guy, this Jesus, but he hasn't done much...yet. He hasn't spoken in public before...

When he does, is first words are from Isaiah: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' he says, 'because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.' And Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord's favour, the year of Jubilee (Luke 4:18).

What he was really talking about was an era of grace - and we're still in it.

So fast-forward 2,000 years. That same thought, grace, was made incarnate - in a movement of all kinds of people. It wasn't a bless-me club... it wasn't a holy huddle. These religious guys were willing to get out in the streets, get their boots dirty, wave the placards, follow their convictions with actions...making it really hard for people like me to keep their distance. It was amazing. I almost started to like these church people.

But then my cynicism got another helping hand.

It was what Colin Powell, a five-star general, called the greatest W.M.D. of them all: a tiny little virus called AIDS. And the religious community, in large part, missed it. The ones that didn't miss it could only see it as divine retribution for bad behaviour. Even on children...even [though the] fastest growing group of HIV infections were married, faithful women.

Aha, there they go again! I thought to myself judgmentalism is back!

But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy of our age.

Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move.

Moving people of all kinds to work with others they had never met, never would have cared to meet...conservative church groups hanging out with spokesmen for the gay community, all singing off the same hymn sheet on AIDS...soccer moms and quarterbacks...hip-hop stars and country stars. This is what happens when God gets on the move: crazy stuff happens!

Popes were seen wearing sunglasses!

Jesse Helms was seen with a ghetto blaster!

Crazy stuff. Evidence of the spirit.

It was breathtaking. Literally. It stopped the world in its tracks.

When churches started demonstrating on debt, governments listened - and acted. When churches starting organising, petitioning, and even - that most unholy of acts today, God forbid, lobbying...on AIDS and global health, governments listened - and acted.

I'm here today in all humility to say: you changed minds; you changed policy; you changed the world.

Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives.

Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.

I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill. I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff. Maybe, maybe not. But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. "If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places."

It's not a coincidence that in the scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It's not an accident. That's a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. (You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.) 'As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me' (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.

Here's some good news for the president. After 9/11 we were told America would have no time for the world's poor. America would be taken up with its own problems of safety. And it's true these are dangerous times, but America has not drawn the blinds and double-locked the doors.

In fact, you have doubled aid to Africa. You have tripled funding for global health. Mr. President, your emergency plan for AIDS relief and support for the Global Fund - you and Congress - have put 700,000 people onto life-saving anti-retroviral drugs and provided 8 million bed nets to protect children from malaria.

Outstanding human achievements. Counterintuitive. Historic. Be very, very proud.

But here's the bad news. From charity to justice, the good news is yet to come. There is much more to do. There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response.

And finally, it's not about charity after all, is it? It's about justice.

Let me repeat that: It's not about charity, it's about justice.

And that's too bad.

Because you're good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can't afford it.

But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment.

Sixty-five hundred Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about justice and equality.

Because there's no way we can look at what's happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we really accept that Africans are equal to us. Anywhere else in the world, we wouldn't accept it. Look at what happened in South East Asia with the tsunami. 150,000 lives lost to that misnomer of all misnomers, "mother nature." In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it's a completely avoidable catastrophe.

It's annoying but justice and equality are mates. Aren't they? Justice always wants to hang out with equality. And equality is a real pain.

You know, think of those Jewish sheep-herders going to meet the Pharaoh, mud on their shoes, and the Pharaoh says, "Equal?" A preposterous idea: rich and poor are equal? And they say, "Yeah, 'equal,' that's what it says here in this book. We're all made in the image of God."

And eventually the Pharaoh says, "OK, I can accept that. I can accept the Jews - but not the blacks."

"Not the women. Not the gays. Not the Irish. No way, man."

So on we go with our journey of equality.

On we go in the pursuit of justice.

We hear that call in the ONE Campaign, a growing movement of more than 2 million Americans...Left and Right together... united in the belief that where you live should no longer determine whether you live.

We hear that call even more powerfully today, as we mourn the loss of Coretta Scott King - mother of a movement for equality, one that changed the world but is only just getting started. These issues are as alive as they ever were; they just change shape and cross the seas.

Preventing the poorest of the poor from selling their products while we sing the virtues of the free market...that's a justice issue. Holding children to ransom for the debts of their grandparents...that's a justice issue. Withholding life-saving medicines out of deference to the Office of Patents...that's a justice issue.

And while the law is what we say it is, God is not silent on the subject.

That's why I say there's the law of the land¿. And then there is a higher standard. There's the law of the land, and we can hire experts to write them so they benefit us, so the laws say it's OK to protect our agriculture but it's not OK for African farmers to do the same, to earn a living?

As the laws of man are written, that's what they say.

God will not accept that.

Mine won't, at least. Will yours?

[pause]

I close this morning on...very...thin...ice.

This is a dangerous idea I've put on the table: my God vs. your God, their God vs. our God...vs. no God. It is very easy, in these times, to see religion as a force for division rather than unity.

And this is a town - Washington - that knows something of division.

But the reason I am here, and the reason I keep coming back to Washington, is because this is a town that is proving it can come together on behalf of what the scriptures call the least of these.

This is not a Republican idea. It is not a Democratic idea. It is not even, with all due respect, an American idea. Nor it is unique to any one faith.

'Do to others as you would have them do to you' (Luke 6:30). Jesus says that.

'Righteousness is this: that one should...give away wealth out of love for him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.' The Koran says that ( 2.177).

Thus sayeth the Lord: 'Bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, cover him, then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring fourth, then your Lord will be your rear guard.' The Jewish scripture says that. Isaiah 58 again.

That is a powerful incentive: 'The Lord will watch your back.' Sounds like a good deal to me, right now.

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord's blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it. I have a family, please look after them. I have this crazy idea...

And this wise man said: stop.

He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing.

Get involved in what God is doing - because it's already blessed.

Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.

And that is what he's calling us to do.

I was amazed when I first got to this country and I learned how much some churchgoers tithe. Up to 10% of the family budget. Well, how does that compare with the federal budget, the budget for the entire American family? How much of that goes to the poorest people in the world? Less than 1%.

Mr. President, Congress, people of faith, people of America:

I want to suggest to you today that you see the flow of effective foreign assistance as tithing.... Which, to be truly meaningful, will mean an additional 1% of the federal budget tithed to the poor.

What is 1%?

1% is not merely a number on a balance sheet.

1% is the girl in Africa who gets to go to school, thanks to you. 1% is the AIDS patient who gets her medicine, thanks to you. 1% is the African entrepreneur who can start a small family business thanks to you. 1% is not redecorating presidential palaces or money flowing down a rat hole. This 1% is digging waterholes to provide clean water.

1% is a new partnership with Africa, not paternalism toward Africa, where increased assistance flows toward improved governance and initiatives with proven track records and away from boondoggles and white elephants of every description.

America gives less than 1% now. We're asking for an extra 1% to change the world. to transform millions of lives - but not just that and I say this to the military men now - to transform the way that they see us.

1% is national security, enlightened economic self-interest, and a better, safer world rolled into one. Sounds to me that in this town of deals and compromises, 1% is the best bargain around.

These goals - clean water for all; school for every child; medicine for the afflicted, an end to extreme and senseless poverty - these are not just any goals; they are the Millennium Development goals, which this country supports. And they are more than that. They are the Beatitudes for a globalised world.

Now, I'm very lucky. I don't have to sit on any budget committees. And I certainly don't have to sit where you do, Mr. President. I don't have to make the tough choices.

But I can tell you this:

To give 1% more is right. It's smart. And it's blessed.

There is a continent - Africa - being consumed by flames.

I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did - or did not to - to put the fire out in Africa.

History, like God, is watching what we do.

Thank you. Thank you, America, and God bless you all.

petition for Darfur

Coalition for Darfur has requested help on the following petition:

We, the undersigned, beseech the international community, and particularly, the United Nations, to organize and implement a strong, well-manned, and well-resourced intervention in Darfur, Sudan, in order to stop the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by Government of Sudan (GOS) troops and the Janjaweed (Arab militia) against the Black Africans of Darfur. In order for the intervention to be effective -- and not another fiasco as the international community witnessed in Rwanda in 1994 and then again in Srebrenica in 1995 -- the mandate must come under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows for peace enforcement, not simply peacekeeping. We urge that a minimum number of 12,000 troops be allocated for this mission, and that the mission be supplied with all the necessary equipment -- in good working order and adequate supplies to operate, and repair such when needed, to carry out the mandate/mission.

We also strongly urge that the mission be undertaken as soon as possible for each day that goes by an estimated 500 innocent people are losing their lives.

Proof of the effectiveness of such a mission should be based upon the following criteria: (go to coaliton site to read the rest!)

Sojourner's 30,000 campaign during upcoming World Summit!

Reminder:  World Summit, September 14-16

 

A Call to Fast &Pray on Behalf of those in Extreme Poverty!

Read Sojourner's call and plans for the 14-16th, read my original post, read about various ways of fasting...

If you are going to fast, please email me at susiealbertmiller@gmail.com and we can help encourage each other, share the ways we will fast and remember those who live in extreme poverty...

fasting and praying on behalf of those in extreme poverty

Tell President Bush you will pray and fast to fight global poverty

Every day 30,000 children die a preventable death due to extreme poverty. Yet we have the power to prevent this silent tsunami. What is missing is the moral and political will to do so.

We are calling on more than 30,000 people to declare to President Bush their intention to fast and pray during the World Summit at the United Nations, September 14-16. A fast can be as simple as sacrificing one meal during the course of the Summit, which can serve as a spiritual and personal act of solidarity with the billions of people across the world who go without food and basic necessities every day. Even this relatively small sacrifice will strengthen our call for real and specific policies to fight global poverty.

Sojourners is calling for 30,000 people to fast and pray during the World Summit at the United Nations, September 14-16, 2005.  visit the site and read about their 30,000 campaign and sign up to participate! 

I don't know if you have ever fasted...but i have found that it is an important part of spiritual formation.  Fasting offers a chance to be truly present to a deeper hunger, the hunger of the soul for the goodness of G-d  to be seen in the land of the living.  Fasting offers us a chance to experience for a brief time the hunger that many people, that millions of children live with day in and day out until they slowly starve to death. 

When i was young, we would fast the first Sunday of every month, from after Saturday dinner around 6pm until after church on Sunday's around 1pm.  This seemed like an eternity to me as an 8-12 year old... my stomach would rumble as the church service seemed interminably long... and then there was the wonderful smell of the roast (that had been coking while we were at church), wafting through the air, assaulting my senses, as soon as i walked in the front door! 

thin places: preaching sermons, serving sodas, juggling way too many commitments...and learning alot along the way

I have not written much recently… It has been a very long two weeks… on top of our swinging summer door (which I love, because it means alot of kids at our house), and the general frenzy in getting ready for Kate to go back to college (she is renting her first apartment), juggling clients due to various vacation schedules, and writing, I also preached for the first two Sundays in August.  Quite honestly, it was a blast to preach… we have an amazing worship director, whose creativity and excellence made the whole process a learning experience for me.  I am astounded at all the details that she handles in order to orchestrate the morning services every Sunday… the graphics, the music, the timing, the volunteers who make the whole worship experience rich and meaningful…she has a huge job and she does it so well.

The first Sunday, I preached a sermon entitled: Thin Places, based on John 5:4-42, the story of the Samaritan woman and Jesus at Jacob’s well.  Thin Places is a Celtic term for the places that the veil between heaven and eath is lifted and we have encounters with the Divine.  Jacob's well was such a place.

I approached the text focusing on all of the things that Jesus does in relationship with her, and thus exemplifying God's desire for relationship with us.

He pursues, initiates, engages and more! One of the fun parts of preparing was searching the web and various art archives for portrayals of Jesus and the woman at the well in different ethnicities.

I found some beautiful artwork of Jesus and the woman at the well from Africa, China, Japan, Malaysia and India.  Hopefully, this variety of cultural and ethic art visually communicated that Jesus is not white man’s god, made in our image… Additionally, I got to write the daily devotional that our church puts out each week, which corresponds to the sermon.  It has been a while since I have spent time writing simple commentary and questions to ponder, so that we might go deeper into the passage, the message and their application to our lives.  (listen to the sermon).

This week was a totally different type of service.  It was a far more difficult service to prepare for and it deserves a post of its own.  We did an awareness service on the situation in Sudan, southern Sudan and Darfur, Sudan.  After the peace vigil that planned in mid July, our pastor asked if I would re-work it for a Sunday service.  I agreed with a bit of trepidation, wondering how people would receive such a difficult message at the Sunday morning service. (Most people come to Sunday worship with the hope of being encouraged and uplifted, assuming that they will leave “feeling better,”  and this service was going to challenge, confront, convict in its inspiration and encouragement).

We shared about the genocide in Darfur, and the history and fallout of the 21 year civil war in Southern Sudan.  We had a variety of visual portrayals of the reality of the horrors and atrocities experienced by the Sudanese people.  We set up prayer stations around the room that offered propel a place to respond to the message of the morning the highlight of the service as the participation of Angelo Mangar Maker, one of the lost boys of Sudan, who shared his story of tragedy and triumph, putting face on the horrors of Sudan, and the miracle of faith. 

This week, I have been spent with the emotion of planning and carrying out this service… my heart has been so burdened, for the people of Sudan, and for the hearts and minds of those who would hear these stories for the first time.  I am thrilled to be part of a body of Christ that believes in being not only aware, but active in the world and is committed to the call to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.

I will post more in the days to come… I need a really long nap and a bit of silence to gain the space to write about this powerful experience and the privilege it was to participate in bringing the story of Sudanese to the people of the our church community.

The Invisible Women of Darfur-- take 2

After removing the images of Beverly Collins  artwork "The Invisible Women of Darfur," from my blog, I received a follow-up phone call from her stating that she was unaware of the way that a blog worked and now that she understood the differences between a blog and a website, she was granting permission for me to use her images on my blog, because of her desire that this story be told and her knowledge that posting the images would help this happen... (how cool is that!  a follow-up call and an apology for making a mistake to begin with, i was thrilled to get her message... thanks beverly ;)

...and i cannot think of a more eloquent and haunting way to tell the story, than through her paintings of the women who have become invisible and forgotten in the wake of the war Sudan.  Sexual violence and systematic rape are used as weapons of terror against the women and girls, they are part of the strategy of war.

All the paintings are hauntingly beautiful, but these few specifically speak to me, capture me, haunt me, and require some response from me...for they tell a tragic truth of our sisters in Darfur, Sudan, and they resonate with the universal story of pain and loss in the human experience...

Oppression ~ "As you have raped me, please don't leave me alive...the shame I will suffer upon my return will be too great."

Invisible ~ "Invisible though I am...I am and I will prevail."

Together ~ "Together with out collective strength we will endure the loneliness and that shame that has been cast upon us through no fault of our own."

Those of you who linked to her website, this post and/or posted images on your own blog...please do so, as the more people who see these images the better, and the more awareness we will build...

(if you post on these paintings, the images are be limited to three and the size must be no larger than 150 pixels as per the artists permission for blog posting)

Following after the way of Jesus..."Dear Sudan, Love..." a grassroots effort to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan

I know that i have posted a number of times on the crisis in Darfur, Sudan and it is not because i have nothing else to post about... it is because the Genocide and other atroicities are real and tragic... and i cannot believe that it is happening in our lifetime, in our world! GENOCIDE...systematic, ethnic cleansing, rape used as a form of terror and warfare, government sponsored militias attacking villages and refugee camps, killing an entire generation of children, raping women and young girls, murdering the men and boys.  This artwork is done by children of Darfur.

After the Holocaust, the world said, "Never Again!"  And then after Cambodia, it said "Never Again"  and after Bosnia & Rwanda the world paused briefly and said "Never Again!"  Now Genocide is occuring AGAIN and will the world say, "Never Again, Again!?" 

Growing up, i wondered "How America could remain silent during the Holocaust?" "How could we stand by and do nothing?!" "How could we not know?"  i wondered aloud in history class... and yet, here i am, in America, and the same thing is happening again, and we are remaining silent, doing nothing, and we remain in the dark, again.  How much media time was spent covering Michael Jackson's trial?  Or Tom Cruise's new romance?  verses the killing that has been taking place in Southern Sudan over the past two years, and even more recently, the Genocide of 400,000 lives in Darfur, Sudan?  As I have looked around the news, i have found coverage only on the BBC, as the American News Media is consumed with other "more important" things.   

I have only just recently woken up to the realities of the world and begun to look far beyond my own life, my own concerns and gain a bit of understanding of the call for Christians to be concerned and involved in issues of justice.  I am learning in deeper ways how Jesus was always concerned with the marginalized, the excluded, the forgotten, the untouchables... the poor and needy and in these moments He spoke of the Kingdom of God being at Hand.  This has new meaning for me as i am trying to understand more of what i am called to do and be as i seek to follow after the way of Jesus. 

in that vein...

"Dear Sudan", is an interfaith campaign to support  humanitarian relief in Sudan.  Originating in Petaluma, CA the program, "Dear Sudan, Love Petaluma" purposed to raise enough money to feed 55,000 refuges in Sudan for one day- the population of Petaluma- Each Sudanese refugee requires only 16 cents per day for food provided through a program run by Church World Service. Their goal was $8,800 and they raised over $10,000.

Now the campaign has expanded to "Dear Sudan, Love..." and a new blog was launched today!  They are hoping that many cities and towns will participate in this same type of effort...Imagine, only 16 cents per day for food!  I am interested in this project, but need to put together a committee of folks who would be willing to spearhead this effort with me.  If you are so inclined, please email me @ susie@sojournstories.org and we will see if an interfaith-multi-church team can be put together in order to undertake such an endeavor.  Read the story.

The Dear Sudan blog launch features the above painting, entitled "My Duty," by Beverly Collins, from her "The Invisible Women of Darfur" collection.  Her text for this painting reads as follows:  "My duty to God and my children is to bring forth the will to continue in the face of my oppression."

"The Invisible Women of Darfur"

Profound, utterly moving... haunting...

The artist has asked me to remove the paintings or pay a licensing fee, which I unfortunately cannot afford at this time.  To view the paintings: Please visit "The Invisible Women of Darfur" collection, by Beverly Collins.

All the paintings are hauntingly beautiful, but i had previous posted the paintings entitled:  Oppression, Invisible and Together,  because they totally captured me.  Along with the painting Duty, which is on the Dear Sudan, website, these few specifically speak to me, haunt me, and require some response from me...for they tell a tragic truth of our sisters in Darfur, Sudan, and they resonate with the universal story of pain and loss in the human experience... a visit to the site is priceless.

(be sure to read the text page, it names the horrific crime of rape as a weapon of terror and war, as well as offers the artist insights into her artwork).

Peace Vigil for Darfur, @ Crossroads UMC, Ashburn, VA

sunday's worship in the spirit of justice...a call to your conscience...praying in front of the White House

Sunday was the final Worship in the Spirit of Justice, at LaFayette Park, just in front of the White House.  It was a profound service as people of many different faiths joined together to raise their voices and call our leaders to action to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.  It was extremely hot, sweat poured down most of our faces.  I thought of the women driven into the Sahara as I sat for two hours in the sweltering sun before returning to my air conditioned life.  I was humbled by my privilege and the luxuries i take for granted. 

A  Muslim man spoke  with eloquence about the brotherhood & sisterhood of all people, having been created by the One God, and proclaimed us all responsible to address and answer for the suffering of one another.  As spontaneous applause broke out, tears came to my eyes, for standing on or by the podium, participating in the service were Christians, Jews & Muslims, setting aside all differences, and joining together for the greater purpose of caring for the "least of these," as they challenged all of us to look at who our neighbor truly is and to love our neighbor.

Sitting in grass, we prayer for our neighbors in Darfur...for the genocide to stop, for the media to take notice, we wrote letters to the President, calling him to act, we sang and affirmed our collective unity in being human and our desire to be come more humane... to do what little we could to make a difference in the lives of the people of Darfur, and not to be silent. 

It is hearbreaking and sobering that after the Holocaust, the world cried "never again"  when the slaughter of the Jews was revealed.  And yet, it happened again, the genocide and ethnic cleansing, the methodical and violent killing of women and children...it happened in Bosnia, in Croatia, in Rwanda...and now in Darfur!  and we have an opportunity to say, No!  this must end, for this is my brother,my sister, my child who is being killed ...and the genocide must end.  This was the cry for Justice from those who gathered, as we humbly acknowledged our shortcomings and complicity through inaction, and we began by taking an action, to do something to make a difference. 

The service ended, and the crowd solemnly walked to the front of the White House in order to pray for the people of Darfur, for our President and for world leaders to take action to stop the genocide, for the world to take notice and seek justice.  I was toward the front of the group and I turned to watch the other worshippers coming. The solemn silence was powerful as the mass of people began kneeling along 16th street, heads bowed, voices raised in quiet song, and then in silent prayer...

When the leader closed in prayer, it was clear that this was only a beginning, but it was something that made a statement in  the face of an overwhelming need that threatens to paralyze us in its magnitude.  We can each raise our voices, our hands and lives in prayer and in action.  Natala has a terrific post on the service, and the small steps that we can each take to do something.   and Matt, as a ton of photos, besides the ones you see here.   

bono on forgiving our debtors

Today's Daily Dig from Bruderhof

As We Forgive Our Debtors

Bono

"Now, for all its failings and its perversions over the last 2,000 years—and as much as every exponent of this faith has attempted to dodge this idea—it is unarguably the central tenet of Christianity: that everybody is equal in God's eyes. So you cannot, as a Christian, walk away from Africa. America will be judged by God if, in its plenty, it crosses the road from 23 million people suffering from HIV, the leprosy of the day."

"What's up on trial here is Christianity itself. You cannot walk away from this and call yourself a Christian and sit in power. Distance does not decide who is your brother and who is not. The church is going to have to become the conscience of the free market if it's to have any meaning in this world—and stop being its apologist." 

***Read this companion article from Bruderhof: "A Time to Forgive Debts, the Bible's Radical Solution to Injustice"

get connected: two weeks of action to end the genocide in Darfur

Sojourners is calling people of faith to action during these two weeks, from July 8 through July 21.  Their goal is "to organize over 500 cities, towns and faith communities to take action to generage the political will to end the genocide in Darfur."

My company, Sojourn, Inc in partnership with Crossroads United Methodist Church is sponsoring a Peace Vigil: A Time of Prayer & Reflection for Darfur in the Northern Virgina area.  It will be held on Sunday July17, 6:00-7:30pm @ Crossroad UMC, in Ashburn, VA (directions).

Hope to see many of you there!

I have also posted the event on the Sojourner's site, where you can locate other events and find a number of resources. 

For more information about the National Weekend of Prayer & Reflection for Darfur

Jim Wallis speaks at LaFayette Park worship gathering for justice...stop the genocide!

Don't miss the final Worship in the Spirit of Justice Service is Sunday, July 10th at 1:00pm in LaFayette Park, Washington DC.  Jim Wallis, of Sojourners, will be speaking as we gather together around the theme of justice and peace in Africa, especially in Darfur, Sudan.

Directions, "what to bring," a PDF program, previous sermons in PDF form, and email updates  are all available at the worship4justice website

The G8 meetings are underway...

In Scotland, the flags of the G-8 nations fly as the annual summit begins today.

G8 Gleneagles 2005 homepage

Yesterday, Desmond Tutu said: "Much has been done, but much more is needed.  G-8 must follow up on debt relief with a smart plan to aid

Africa" 

more

BBC news reports  &  Reuters reports

Profile of the G8

The One Campaign/Make Poverty History and the G8 Summit, July 6-8, 2005...

WHAT IS THE G8 AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

The G8, or the ‘Group of Eight’ Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from the world’s eight wealthiest and most powerful countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States). This summer, these leaders will gather in Scotland to decide the fate of an entire generation living on less than ONE dollar a day. On July 6th - 8th, President Bush and other G8 leaders will discuss the major social, political and economic conditions that leave nearly ONE billion people living in extreme poverty – nearly half of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa.  With your support and voice, President Bush and other world leaders will know just how important these issues are, and together as ONE, we can Make Poverty History this July. read more...

Issues  addressed include:  AIDS pandemic, Extreme Poverty, Education, Lack of accessible clean Water, Corruption, Hunger, Orphans, Trade, and Debt Cancellation.

Jimmy at Culture driven life has a great post, on the G8 meeting regarding the Make Poverty History & One Campaign. 

As I prepared this post, i thought about all that i do, consume, take for granted, and waste that costs around $1.00 per day, and i am humbled and convicted....a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, the Sunday Washington Post, another bottle of water, a pack of gum, McDonald's fries, half a gallon of gas, a power bar, a pen or mechanical pencil...all these things that pass through my hands... unnecessary items, luxuries in reality that cost as much as or more than what an entire generation of people live off  each day!  What has happened to make this such an upside-down and sideways world?  How have i been part of making it so?  Oh Lord, forgive me.  And how can I be part of changing it, even in the smallest ways...Lord, help me. 

Please G-d, help me to remember this $1.00 truth, and in remembering to change the way that i live...help me to see the myriad of ways that i fail to love my neighbor as i consume and destroy the resources of this planet.  Forgive me for how easily i forget that a child on this same earth, has no food, no water, and no home, when i am battling for my children's 'rights', or ordering yet another book from amazon.com...help me remember the faces of the other, these my brothers and sisters, and in my remembering, help me to become a different person in the way i live out my faith...i humbly pray, amen.

Africa: Sudan, Darfur, Congo...Worship Together in the Spirit of Justice, DC- june & july

 

Cedar Ridge Community Church is inviting "willing Christians to gather for five Sundays of public worship in Washington DC around the themes of justice and peace in Africa, and especially Darfur, Sudan." The outdoor services entitled, Worship in the Spirit of Justice will be held at various locations between June 12 and July 10, 2005.  Details are available at this website, as well this same link: CRCC:Worship in the Spirit of Justice will remain under the "do justice, love kindness" box on the right column of this blog for easy access.

This is a great opportunity to join together as human beings and raise our voice against the atrocities enacted against and suffered by our fellow human beings, on this same planet, sharing the same sun, and viewing the same stars as we do, each night.

Those who are suffering, are our brothers and our sisters...unlike us, they do not have the luxury of dreaming and planning for their children's futures; no, they are uncertain whether or not they or their children will live to see another day.  They need our voices raised on their behalf, our sacrificial labor in many forms, and our fervent prayers. 

The hardest part of writing this post, is the knowledge of my complicity in remaining blind to the problems, or being too caught up in the next thing, or problem at hand, even  if it is an important issue...i am profoundly aware that to remain silent, uneducated and/or inactive about the atrocities in Africa and other parts of the world is to be part of the system that allows them to continue.

I look back on Nazi Germany and the murder of millions of Jews and remember that during the year, I learned that terrible story of history, I wondered, how did 'they' let that happen?  until one day i realized that I was part of the 'they...'  and that now I am part of the 'we,' who are allowing the same thing to happen in the world today.

On that day, I decided that I did not want to be complicit, I did not want to contribute to the problem, but I wanted to be part of the solution.  Though the need is so great, that it threatens to overwhelm me, I remember that I can give something, speak up somewhere, offer a cup of cold water, just get involved and try to make a difference.  And yet I slip into denial and the ease of my life so quickly.  I confess that as I write this post. 

I will be out of  town on some of the scheduled Sundays, but if I am home in the DC area, I will be at the worship service.  I will invite others, and I will speak on behalf of my brothers and sisters.  please join me. email me and tell me you are coming and we can worship together.  If you need a place to crash, we have a big suburban house with lots of room;)  email me if you are interested and we can talk dates.

FYI:  my other posts about Rwanda, the darfur pledge, darfur: through the eyes of children there are outside links within these posts, and as i come upon more i will add them.  but now i am weary...goodnight.