Separated by a wall at Christmas

by Firas Aridah
December 23, 2005

As a parish priest in the West Bank village of Aboud, my Christmas preparations include recording the identity card numbers of my parishioners to request permits from the Israeli authorities to allow us travel to Bethlehem. Some may be denied permits and prevented from worshipping there. While decorating our church for the joyous birth of Our Lord, we also prepare banners for the next protest against the wall that Israel began to build on our village's land one month ago.

Aboud is nestled among terraced olive groves in the West Bank west of the city of Ramallah. The village has 2,200 residents. Nine hundred of them are Christian. Within the village are seven ancient churches. The oldest dates to the third century. We believe that Jesus passed through Aboud on the Roman road from the Galilee to Jerusalem.

The wall that Israel is building through Aboud is not for the security of Israel. It is for the security of illegal Israeli settlements.

The Israeli government continues to falsely claim that it is building the wall on Israeli land, but Aboud lies 3.75 miles inside the Green Line, the pre-1967 border between Israel and the West Bank. The wall will cut off 1,100 acres of our land for two illegal Israeli settlements.

Sometimes the Israelis give special treatment to Christians. Sometimes they give Christians permits to go through checkpoints while they stop Muslims. They do this to try to separate us, but in reality we Muslims and Christians are brothers.

Our church organist Yousef told me, "Some foreigners believe that Islam is the greatest danger for Palestinian Christians rather than Israel's occupation. This is Israeli propaganda. Israel wants to tell the world that it protects us from the Muslims, but it is not true. In Aboud, we Muslims and Christians live a normal, peaceful life together.

"Last week our village celebrated the Feast of Saint Barbara for our patron saint whose shrine outside our village was damaged by the Israeli military in 2002. We invited the Muslims to share the traditional feast of Saint Barbara. They also invite us to share their traditional Ramadan evening meal. We have good relations. Muslims are peaceful people."

With signs, songs and prayers, our village has been protesting against Israel's apartheid wall every week. Through peaceful demonstrations and the planting of olive trees, we want to tell the Israelis and the international community that we are against Israel taking our lands. We are working for peace here, but still the Israeli soldiers have attacked our peaceful protests with clubs, sound bombs, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.

On Dec. 11, we were honored with a visit to Aboud by the highest Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah. Patriarch Sabbah, a Palestinian, planted an olive tree on the planned route of the wall, and told 1,000 peaceful protesters, "The wall doesn't benefit the security of either Israel or anybody else. Our prayers are for the removal of this physical wall currently under construction and the return of our lands."

"Our hearts are filled with love, and no hatred for anybody. With our faith and love, we demand the removal of this wall. We affirm that it is a mistake and an attack against our lands and our properties, and an attack against friendly relationships between the two people."

"In your faith and your love you shall find a guide for your political action and your resistance against every oppression. You may say that love is an unknown language to politics, but love is possible in spite of all the evil we experience. We shall make it possible!"

Just after Patriarch Sabbah left, an Israeli protesting with us was arrested by Israeli soldiers as he planted an olive tree. We have good Israeli friends. We do not say that every Israeli soldier is bad, because they are just soldiers following orders.

Yes, there are Palestinian Christians here in Aboud, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza. We are the Salt of the Earth.

My religion tells me that I have to love everybody and accept everybody without conditions.

We have here good Jewish people, good Muslims and good Christians. We can live together. This is the Holy Land.

If we in Aboud can send a message to the world this Christmas, it is that Jews, Christians and Muslims have to live together in peace.

[Aridah is a Jordanian priest serving the Roman Catholic Holy Mary Mother of Sorrows Church in the village of Aboud in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank. He can be reached via e-mail at aridah11@yahoo.com/. Thanks to Mazin Qumsiyeh for forwarding the above article.]

Celebrating the United Religions Initiative (URI)

"The purpose of the United Religions Initiative [URI] is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing fo the Esrth snd sll living beings."

The seed for the URI was planted in 1993 when the United Nations invited William Swing, Episcopal Bishop of California, to host an interfaith service in San Francisco. That night the Bishop found it hard to sleep -- he told himself, "If the nations of the world are working together for peace through the UN, then where are the religions of the world?" From this inspiration, a vision took shape to create an organization whereby people of diverse faiths and from all sectors of society would cooperate for peace and justice for all.

From the first global summit in 1996 to the Charter signing in 2000, URI engaged thousands of people from diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions to create the URI Charter. Five global summits and numerous gatherings and consultations took place in different regions of the world. URI used a highly effective methodology for positive change, Appreciative Inquiry, pioneered by Dr. David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University and the revolutionary insights for organizing offered by Dee Hock, founder of VISA international.

The results of this process are a URI Charter*, interfaith action projects in over 50 countries, and an unprecedented network of Cooperation Circles and supporting members and Affiliates dedicated to making the Charter a lived reality all over the world. Today, millions of people are bringing their unique talents to URI and organizing profound acts of care, compassion, cooperation, education and peacebuilding.

*(http://www.uri.org/About_URI.html#charter)

[Thanks to David Enroth ("Sky") for sending me this short description of URI's history and purpose.]

"Waiting has taken on a whole new meaning" -- re Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages

by Rose Marie Berger

WEB EXCLUSIVE
+++++++++++++

CPT member Tom Fox visits with refugee children the month before he and three other team members were abducted.

Living in Baghdad outside the Green Zone, Christian peacemaker Maxine Nash talks about what Advent means while four of her team members are held hostage.

When Maxine Nash volunteered to go to Iraq, she didn't go with weapons ready. She went armed with her faith, her skills in conflict resolution, and her courage to be as defenseless as those she was serving: the ordinary people of Iraq.

Nash, 43, a Quaker from Waukon, Iowa, joined the Christian Peacemaker Teams' steering committee in June 2002. CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an immediate reality. As her service with CPT continued she was hooked by CPT's fundamental question: What would happen if Christians devoted the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war? In the summer of 2003, Nash went through CPT's rigorous training in nonviolent intervention in conflict situations. In February 2004 she was on her way to Iraq, where she has been stationed full-time ever since.

On Nov. 26, four of Nash's team members were kidnapped by people calling themselves the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. In the days following the kidnapping, the group released videos of Tom Fox, 54, Norman Kember, 74, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Sooden, 32, to al Jazeera threatening to kill the four men by Dec. 8 if detainees in U.S. and Iraqi prisons were not freed. The deadline was extended to Dec. 10; the date passed and there has been no further news. These four join hundreds of Iraqis who are currently held by kidnappers.

On Friday, Dec. 16, I called the CPT apartment in Baghdad and spoke with Maxine Nash about the four men, the Iraqi elections, and Advent. - RMB

BERGER: Maxine, thanks for talking to us. What are you and fellow Iraq team members Greg Rollins and Anita David doing in the midst of the kidnapping situation and the elections?

NASH: Well, right now we are pretty restricted to our apartment and our small neighborhood in Baghdad during the elections because of the road closures. They've been closed for three days and everybody is stuck right now. We haven't been able to get out and see what's happening very well, but we've been hearing lots from our neighbors.

BERGER: How was the voter turnout for this election?

NASH: There was an incredible voter turnout. People have told us that they waited in long lines and that the lines at the end of the day were as long as earlier on. This is different from the first election and referendum where the lines were pretty thinned out by the end of the day. This time it seemed pretty quiet. There was not a lot of violence or disturbances. In the past there has been a lot of on-the-ground violence in the voter lines. But the reports we hear is that this time everyone was smiling and friendly, and it was a good election.

BERGER: Were there any bombings?

NASH: The most we heard was mortars hitting the Green Zone. We heard one around 7 a.m. [Dec. 15] and a few more this morning. Because the mortars were clearly aimed at the Green Zone, the message seems to be clearly against the occupying force or the existing Iraqi government who are all headquartered in the Green Zone.

BERGER: Do you think the election outcomes will affect the work of CPT at all?

NASH: It's hard to know if the elections will affect our work. It's just wait and see for us, but we don't expect that the outcomes will have much effect on our ongoing work.

BERGER: Tell me about your ongoing work.

NASH: We have worked a lot on the detainee issue because we were getting requests from families who had a member taken into the American detention system and they needed English speakers to help them navigate the system. We first started doing that work when the Red Cross has been bombed. The Red Cross wasn't available to help, so people came to us. Now the U.S. has developed a better tracking system. We don't have to do so much of this work any more. It's easier for families to find people. Now we are doing a lot of human rights work to give media attention to situations that we think need more coverage.

BERGER: What are the current situations you are focusing on?

NASH: We are getting reports about people being disappeared within the U.S. detention system or in the Iraqi prison systems. We are trying to follow up on this.

BERGER: Have you seen a change in the presence of U.S. forces? The news we are getting is that they are pulling back.

NASH: The U.S. forces have pulled out of a few urban areas. In Karbala, for example, the Iraqi troops have taken over the area and the U.S. is much less visible. But Karbala is a pretty settled area. In Baghdad, there are still house raids and people being detained in the middle of the night - but we are seeing less of the U.S. troops. What we are learning though is that now the Iraqi troops have taken over doing the house raids and detaining people and are now putting people in Iraqi prisons. In areas with increased violence, like Ramadi, the U.S. troop presence has increased exponentially, according to the reports we hear.

BERGER: Thousands of people, including us here at Sojourners, are praying for the safe release of your four team members who are currently being held hostage.

NASH: Please tell every one thank you for us for the prayers. We wish that the four guys could somehow know that everyone is praying for them. In particular, I think Tom [Fox] is very aware of that kind of spiritual presence and I'm sure he feels it. A few weeks before they were taken we had a worship where we were doing centering prayer. Tom said that the word that kept coming to him in prayer was "open." Can you believe that? I think they all know that people are praying for them. Tom, I know, feels the spiritual support. And if he feels it, then he will tell the others.

BERGER: Has there been any further news about their fate?

NASH: There is no news yet. Continued prayers are our best hope. It really is the best thing we think to do. Also, please keep the story alive in the media. It keeps pressure on the kidnappers to acknowledge that the guys are who they say they are and to release them.

BERGER: What are your next steps?

NASH: We are looking for ways to expand attention to our human rights work. Tom, James, Harmeet, and Norman have now become part of that monitoring of human rights abuses. Our human rights work now includes the abduction of our four guys.

BERGER: What has waiting meant to you this Advent season?

NASH: My personal reflection is that waiting has taken on a whole new meaning. Advent is a season of hope. I am personally drawing strength from that. The comparisons between our Iraq and Jesus' Israel run through my mind. The season before Jesus was born was a troubling time. It was the time of an occupation. Jesus' parents were going to register for a census. We know what happened at the end: There was a miracle! We are hoping for the same thing at this point.

BERGER: How has your local community responded to the news of the kidnapping?

NASH: Our neighbors here are very saddened by what has happened. Many of the families here have had members kidnapped. For them it is not a new situation. But they know that we are here for the right reasons and that we are one of the few NGOs still here. They are very much against what has happened. They tell me, "I saw Tom on the TV and I cried," because that's how they found out the news. They bring us meals or ask if they can do shopping for us. The 10-year-old daughter of our neighbor told us she was doing her daily prayers for our kidnapped folks. It's very, very touching.

BERGER: Is there anything else you would like to say?

NASH: We want to express our deepest and sincere thanks for the outpouring of support that we have received. We've found out about all kinds of people doing things for us. Even the variety of people who have come out in support. There are people we would never have imagined - Muslim clerics and religious leaders. We are so thankful for the amount of support we've received. It's very hard for us even to imagine here in our cocoon in Baghdad, but we hear about all the vigils and prayers and things people are doing. We are very grateful.


Iraq Team Message to the Missing CPTers
17 December

Dear Harmeet, Jim, Norman, and Tom,

We still are longing to see your faces. So many people continue to let us know that they are thinking of you and praying for you. As Christmas approaches, we continue to hope that you will be able to join us and your families for the celebrations. Anita has written her aunt for the best turkey dressing recipe known to the world. We continue to stay in touch with your families. Your friends in Iraq ask about you all the time. We don't know how much you get outside, but the weather is nice here in Baghdad. We hope to see you soon.

With much love,
Your Teammates in Baghdad


+ See CPT's response to President Bush's address about the war in Iraq at http://go.sojo.net/ct/zdAk7cn1yzf-/

+ Keep up with the CPT captives' news on the "Free the Captives" blog at http://go.sojo.net/ct/z1Ak7cn1yzfF/

+ Share this issue with your friends - http://go.sojo.net/sojourners/join-forward.html?domain=sojourners&r=vdAk7cn1smr0&

Giving and Receiving Love at Christmas

by Rev. Dr. Dale Turner (from a recent newspaper column)

...The privilege of being able to give and receive love is something much on my mind this holiday season. As we contemplate the birth of Jesus and the warmth of the Nativity, that simple, poignant event that brought such a shining light to our world, I am struck anew by how love can flourish in a humble stable, in a home threatened by war, or in the grandest of mansions. It is something that knows no limits, no bounds, no artificial, manmade constraints. It costs no money, and giving it away allows it to be returned in even greater quantity.

The Christmas spirit is all about expression of the love we have for each other. I often describe the importance of the Christmas message in the following words:

Love is the active power which enables us to break through the walls that separate us -- the doorway through which the human spirit moves from solitude to society, and from selfishness to service. Let us extend the hand of love to one another and take part as co-creators of our world with the Creator of us all.

Rereading a sermon I gave toward the end of my time in the pulpit, I realize this is one topic I haven't changed my mind about. Love is something that sees possibilities in others. "Love is blind" is one of many proverbs that are only partly true. Love is the only reality that really sees. It can call into being what is hidden but nonetheless real. As Luther Burbank, America's great horticulturist, often said, "Every weed is a potential flower."

This little poem is one of my all-time favorites:

A bell is no bell till you ring it

A song is no song till you sing it

Love in the heart wasn't put there to stay

Love isn't love till you give it away

This is the practice of love as found in the Christmas message, and it is the love that I hope you experience, whatever your faith.

Now I hope to surprise you a little. If you think my concern is entirely with the spiritual side of Christmas, and that I place no stock in the giving or receiving of gifts at Christmastime, guess again. The three wise men who visited the manger with gold, frankincense and myrrh knew the importance of gifts to those we love or who we know to be in need. The giving of gifts renews us, and brings joy to ourselves and others.

One curious thing I've found over the years is that it's often easier to be the one who gives than the one who receives. Remember, to receive with genuine pleasure, enthusiasm and appreciation adds to the joy of the donor. One of the basic delights of giving is that it makes someone else happy. We've all known people in our lives who received the smallest favor graciously and warmly, making us wish we could give something more.

Of course, words are gifts, too. George Bernard Shaw said: "My idea of a good conversation is to find someone who will listen to me." I sense that there is a little George Bernard Shaw in all of us; which means that we all appreciate that someone who will graciously receive the gift of our words.

Jesus himself, who shared so many gifts with the world, knew how to be a receiver as well. Remember the woman who used precious ointment to anoint Jesus? The disciples criticized her, saying the ointment should have instead been sold and the money used for the poor. But Jesus praised her instead because he knew the woman's gift came out of love. He was the most graceful of receivers. That's something to keep in mind when your elderly aunt sends you another fruitcake!

In ending, I'd like to say it's not always possible to know how the love we sow endures through the years or how it affects someone's life. When someone takes the time to let you know, it is also a gift...

[Dr. Dale Turner recently published his fifth book, "Imperfect Alternatives." He can be reached through his Web site at http://www.drdaleturner.com/.

Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company]

Comments on Christian Peacemaker team abduction

by Rev. Dr.Ken Sehested

Many of you know about the four Christian Peacemaker Teams delegates kidnapped in Iraq on 26 Nov. One of them is an old friend, which makes this case all the more poignant for me personally.

FYI, below is a piece I wrote recently, in large part as an act of prayer. However, it's also true that public attention in situations like this can have an indirect but potentially important impact on the final outcome. Which is the reason for this larger broadcast. If you're up to it, I hope you will forward it to others.

Blessings on you and yours.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
Prisoners of hope: Letter to a friend kidnapped in Iraq

I nearly gagged on my granola when I saw your name, about 10 paragraphs into a story summarizing the weekend’s violent episodes in Iraq. Having been among the references for your application to join the delegation, I knew, but had almost forgotten, you were there.

The two-sentence account said that four "humanitarian aid" workers in Iraq had been kidnapped, naming only you: Norman Kember.

Earlier, during the phone interview with CPT staff checking your suitability for this trip to Iraq, I remember thinking: this will be a stretch for you. But then, being stretched is as integral to spiritual formation as the slower, more incremental kinds of growth. Besides, I have come to admire not only the courage of CPT but also their intelligence and street-smarts. I knew you would be in good hands.

Even so, none of these thoughts—even knowing now that your three companions were seasoned travelers in conflict zones—could dispel the grief that washed over my breakfast table. It’s interesting what comes to mind in such stunned moments. Like my first night in your home, when I slept soundly through the history-making storm that came crashing through London in 1987.

I referred to that story in the prayer vigil we did here for the four of you. For that occasion I created a poster with your enlarged photos. It was propped on the altar of the local Episcopal Cathedral and surrounded by votive candles, serving as the visual aid for our petitions. I mentioned that all of you would be embarrassed, maybe annoyed, that your faces are displayed rather than the millions whose lives have been taken or tattered by a quarter century of oppressive rule and violent conflict in Iraq. But your faces are not only yours. They are our intercessory portal into the larger world of which we know very little. I think that’s how intercession works: moving from the familiar to the slightly less familiar, on and on, until we find connection with the stark "otherness" of creation—and thereby with God.

When news of our friendship reached British media outlets, several called for interviews or wrote asking for background. "Who is this person; and why is he doing this?" Odd how common it is to assume the soldierly commitment to face danger for the sake of national honor. But how outrageous—foolish! naïve!—at the thought that Christians might do likewise, for the sake of the beloved community. "What would happen," as the CPT mission states, "if Christians devoted the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war?"

As you might imagine, cynics abound. Popular talkshow host Rush Limbaugh laced disbelief with gruesome glee in recent commentary on your kidnapping: "I’m telling you, folks, there’s a part of me that likes this." Our own Commander-in-Chief’s blustery appeal to patriotic vigor in defense of the war sounds like history unfolding in reverse. Just this past Sunday he assured us that "we can win the war in Iraq—we are winning the war in Iraq," now more than two years after having claimed "Mission Accomplished."

I’m confident that what you and your captive companions were finding is what CPT has been steadily reporting (including the first news of torturous happenings at Abu Graib prison), first-hand, for a decade: the escalating loss of faith in the purported U.S. reconstruction, stunning absence of security, scandalous lack of basic services, and continued violent reprisals by every armed sector in the country. A quarter of a trillion dollars doesn’t buy what it used to.

Ironically, despite our plummeting international reputation, your kidnapping has provoked a global outpouring of Muslim and Arab protest against your captors and on your behalf. Notoriously as contentious and sectarian as their Christian counterparts, a stunning array of Muslim leaders and organizations have united to call for your release. I can only hope that some of these developments have made their way to your ears.

Norman, if I could steal into your cell and whisper in your ear, I would say: "Fear not those who can only kill the body" (Matt. 10:28). Look what you’ve done, without even meaning to—which, more often than not, is typical divine protocol. I would also chide you for your self-depreciatory comment, before you left, about how "cheap" your Christian witness has been heretofore. There’s nothing cheap about 74 years of persistent advocacy for those with no place at the table. The race, my friend, is not to the swift.

In the end, though, I would draw from your memory the assurance spoken by that ancient Semite, Joseph, whose ancestral home is not far from where you are shackled: They have done this for evil, "but God intends it for good" (Gen. 50:20).

Whatever comes next, be confident of this: nothing is wasted. The heavy night of those who rule this dark solstice season shall end. For you, and all who sit in the shadow of darkness, light is coming. The Advent word is rarely heard outside the context of threat. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope (Zech. 9:12).

[Ken Sehested is co-pastor of Circle of Mercy Congregation in Asheville, N.C., and co-editor, with Rabia Terri Harris, of "Peace Primer: Quotes from Christian and Islamic Scripture and Tradition." He has been on two CPT delegations: in 2002 to the West Bank following the Israeli Defense Force invasion; and to Iraq in 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq.

For an overview of CPT’s work in Iraq: cpt.org/iraq/projectoverview.php/. See also "Texts of Hope for Christian Peacemaker Hostages" at http://ecumenicalnews.blogspot.com/2005/12/texts-of-hope-for-christian-peacemaker.html in a previous blog article.]

A disturbing lack of awareness and openness by churches

by Rev. Rick Mitchell, Ph.D.

Following is a reflection I wrote following a memorial
service for a gay man in a church which he had left
for its refusal to welcome or accept homosexuals. In
the service, the ministers offered no recognition or
acknowledgment of his position or his decision to
withhold participation because of the church's lack of
inclusiveness and openness to all people.

In order to respect the feelings of this gentleman's
family and friends in the church, I have not
identified either him or the church. Suffice it nto
say that it is located in the 'progressive' San
Francisco Bay Area. I believe the church's
discriminatory policies should not go unchallenged.


I just attended a memorial service for a friend (or,
more accurately, a portion of a service).

A year or so back, I reconnected with this friend whom
I had previously met. We decided to have lunch
together, and then over the course of the ensuing
months, we had lunch together a number of times. We
exchanged books on current topics and discussed a wide
range of subjects, including the world situation,
national politics, and the church. I learned that
though he had been very active in his church, he had
dropped out and had become inactive after several
discussions with the minister about the church's
refusal to pass a welcoming and affirming policy
toward homosexuals.

You see, my friend, who had agonized for years over
the need to hide his own sexuality, decided to 'come
out' as a gay man. In recognition of the sensitivity
of the subject, he did so with discretion, and he did
not let his decision diminish his participation in the
church, at least not at first. After he and his wife
split up, he remained devoted to their only son, and
they were faithful in attendance at various church
events. He also continued to give generously of his
time to many civic and community activities and served
on some of their organizational boards and committees.

When the church hierarchy proposed that churches in
the area take the formal step of adopting a policy of
openness toward gays and lesbians, he assumed that his
example of personal openness and dedication would
offer the church an inspiration and basis for 'doing
the right thing.' But such was not to be the case. The
church, located in a conservative suburban community,
felt that such a policy might be misinterpreted,
attract the 'wrong type of person,' and drive away
families with children. Despite long discussions with
the minister, the church leadership declined to pursue
the issue further.

After much soul-searching, my friend reluctantly
decided to withdraw from active support and
involvement in the church, though as a consummate
gentleman, he said little and he continued to maintain
his pledge to the church budget. And he kept his
obligations to the community groups he was involved
in.

At his memorial service, held at this same church (for
the sake of family and friends there), many spoke
glowingly of his contributions to the church and the
community. But not one word was said about his being a
gay man or his decision to leave the church -- except
an oblique reference by one person who said she had
only been at the church for two years and wished she
had had a chance to know him. The minister and his
assistants gave no indication, of course, that there
might have been anything out of the ordinary in the
situation.

I appreciated hearing comments and testamonials from
many of the other friends who had gathered, but I felt
that my friend's wishes and integrity were not honored
in keeping a polite silence about his personal
orientation and decision regarding the church.

And so, for this reason, I left the service after the
time of remembrances and prayers, and following the
'sharing of the peace' -- when I greeted several
people I knew who were in attendance. I tried to do so
inconspicuously, as I did not want to be a disruptive
influence. I knew that my friend had no doubt agreed
to having the service there in order to have it be in
the familiar church that his son and many friends knew
and were comfortable with. But for me, my heart was
not in this place of formal liturgy and ritual that I
knew had said to my friend, "You can stay but we want
nothing to do with others who share your ideas or
proclivities."

In this time when gay and lesbian people are
struggling to keep their hard-won rights and civil
liberties, I find it impossible to excuse the church
which turns its back on them because of its need for
convenience and a comfortable status quo. The
particular denomination of which this church is a part
has done more than most, but the problem is with
getting the local congregations to support the need
for inclusiveness. Another denomination which is also
a leader in this area nationally only has a scant ten
percent of its congregations on record as supporting
such openness and affirmation of gay and lesbian
believers. It is a shameful situation, in my opinion.

But what of others who do even less? Part of the
problem is the cultural isolation between our cities
and the suburbs -- a state of affairs that has been
building since the years just after the Second World
War. It's possible, even likely, for folks to live
within the very same metropolitan area, or even within
the same city, and not be aware of the existence of
other sub-cultural groups which are also resident
there. And if they are aware, the tendency may be to
'live and let live' -- peaceful coexistence -- at
best.

While this is preferable to open discrimination and
prejudice, it does not further the need for
understanding and mutual sharing of life's
experiences. When a majority of a church's governing
board can say, in effect, "We choose to keep this a
place for families with small children," and turn away
others who do not fit that idealized mold or
stereotype, it has, in my opinion, ceased to be the
Body of Christ.

Is this too harsh a judgment? Ultimately, it is not
for us to judge, is it? But as a person of similar
'proclivities' to my friend, I find myself reacting in
the same way he did to a church like this. I do not
want to be there. For me, it lacks the essential
charity of accepting other people in all their
humanness. So, no matter how often they may say a
creed or display an image of Rembrandt's painting of
the prodigal returning home, I am left waiting for
their personal word of welcome to me and others like
me: "Come, enter into the place prepared for you by
the Father. Whosoever will may come."

Perhaps the memory of my friend's life and selfless
service will yet inspire this church and others to be
more open and affirming of people who are 'different.'
I sincerely hope so.

-- RickM

Church(es) struggle with homosexuality (part of the real world around them....)

by Rev. Rick Mitchell, Ph.D.

The link below is to an article from a Presbyterian church site - sent to me by a gay man who was raised as a Presbyterian, attended and graduated from a Presbyterian seminary, and essentially left the church (though he still has connections with it today) because the church could not accept him as he was. Now, some thirty years later, like most churches it still can't, though enormous amounts of time, energy, and words (and one would assume prayers) have been expended in the struggle to come to grips with this aspect of the real world that surrpounds the church.

I read it while watching "Rabbit-Proff Fence" -- a film about the systematic abuse of aborigine children (under the guise of 'helping' them, of course), which occurred in Australia until 1970. I am always amazed at the way in which the majority sees itself as justified and able to speak piously about such things as racial purity or solution to the threat of unwanted strains of humanity -- or, in the case of the church, future 'growth' and denominational 'standards.'

After some 50 years of adult sensibility, I am utterly astounded to learn there are still widely prevalent forms of national and racial discrimination of which I have been unaware existed -- such as that practiced against native peoples in many parts of the world (including Australia and Israel). We are well aware of what occurred in our own country, and I believe this conditions us to consider ethnic 'cleansing' to be a normal and expected process of the 'development' of a country or region.

Such an understanding of 'normalcy' has clearly been the rule in many or most of the world's cultures for a very long time, indee
I think gay people are especially prepared to recognize this pattern, as it apparently results from a seemingly inbred tendency to see abberant peoples as inferior -- requiring controil, oppression, and eradication. In our own culture, influenced so strongly by the Judeo-Christian ethic, such a tendency is bolstered by the ancient Hebrew teaching to abhor anomaly and to honor and demand cultural cohesiveness and coherence in all things -- but in sexual and 'moral' habits especially.

I think the deepest tragedy and apprehension associated with this tendency is the apparent willingness of those who have been victims of such discrimination to inflict it on others when they have a chance to do so. This has unfortunately been the case with the nation of Israel in their treatment of the Palestinians (long before there were any 'terrorists') and among those whose heritage has been blessed by successful integration (like most American people) in their exclusivist attitudes toward present-day immigrants, legal or illegal.

I am posting this to the HumanRightsForum because I consider it a basic human rights issue and concern. In my reading iof the "map" published by the Presbyterian church spokesman, I realize and acknowledge that my own bias and defensiveness make me unreceptive -- regardless of the intent of the writer(s). This undoubtedly happens a lot -- it certainly is the case with my own reading. Whatever the purpose of this "map" may be, I react and pull back from it and from the church -- partly because of the language and obviously inbred point of view which knows little or nothing about how gay people think or feel.

-- Rick Mitchell

Rick Eckel wrote:


The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:

Shortcut to: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:_n7Ify1FD0AJ:www.schoolofministry.ac.nz/reformed/ Documents/Mapping%2520the%2520Gay% 2520Debate%25202003.doc+presbyterian+life&hl=en

UCC Open and Affirming Program Reaches 10% of UCC Congregations

[This letter comes to us from the UCC ONA (Open and Affirming) Program Staff.]

Dear Friends in Christ,

It is with great thanks and joy that we write to officially declare that 10% of the congregations of the United Church of Christ are currently listed with The UCC Coalition as Open and Affirming (ONA)!

"Currently" is a key word since the number of UCC churches does vary (due to churches that close, merge, leave or join the denomination). Given our understanding that there are now between 5,700 and 5,800 full-standing UCC churches and 585 of them are listed as ONA, we thought this an opportune moment to say, "Yes, we have reached the 10% milestone!"

As you know, this announcement has been some time in coming; it's been twenty years since the 1985 General Synod adopted the Open and Affirming resolution which began this denomination-wide witness to inclusion, affirmation, and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/same-gender-loving (lgbt/sgl) persons. We have high hopes, however, that it won't be another twenty years before we can say 20% of our churches are listed as ONA! Indicators that this movement is growing and Spirited include:

Our having listed 26 churches as ONA just since General Synod 2005!
Our listing an increasingly wider scope of ONA settings:
ONA New Church Starts
ONA Campus Ministries
ONA Seminaries and Divinity Schools
UCC Conferences/Associations which have adopted ONA statements
Congregations in Conversation with the UCC (those not designated officially as "new starts" or that are coming in from other denominations)
ONA-Spirited Youth and Young Adults
Our training of ONA Consultants who are now doing dynamic outreach on behalf of this gospel witness in more than a dozen UCC Conferences (with another training planned for spring 2006).
Our awareness of the many, many individuals and settings which have been spiritually deepened and challenged by the ONA witness that God's love, Christ's Church, and the Spirit's power are for person's of every color, economic situation, age, ability, and ethnicity - whether lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
In this season when we are especially mindful of giving thanks, we extend our gratitude to every UCC person and setting, and our many ecumenical, interfaith, and secular friends for support of the ONA and wider lgbt/sgl-welcoming witness. The struggles for justice and peace continue. So let us be of good courage as, together in the Spirit, we continue to work for a church and world that are abundantly life-giving for all.

Blessings, Ann B. Day
Donna E. Enberg
ONA Program Staff
The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns

GLAD Alliance Inc.
P.O. Box 44400
Indianapolis, IN 46244-0400

Texts of Hope for Christian Peacemaker Hostages

by Rev. Ken Sehested

[Thanks to Rev. Ken Sehested for compiling these scriptural texts of hope for prayerful reflection and support for Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages in Iraq. Ken is pastor of the Circle of Mercy congregation in Asheville, North Carolina, and is a long-time activist minister for peace.]

Posted below, fyi, is a collection of texts on hope I compiled and printed out for distribution at our Wednesday night vigil in Asheville, NC, for the CPT captives threatened with execution. The local Episcopal Cathedral altar held an enlarged poster of the four, below a caption that read, "Prisoners of Hope," and illuminated by dozens of votice candles.

(These four would be embarrassed--probably annoyed--to be the center of such attention, insisting that we focus instead on the hundreds of thousands in Iraq and elsewhere who have died, whose bodies have been maimed, whose lives have been shattered by this abominable war. But their complaint would be misplaced. Their faces on the altar are not simply about them; they are our window into a world with which we are barely acquainted. Their faces are, in fact, our intercessory opening, a vehicle for mobilizing greater resistance to policies and ambitions rooted here.)

Of course, the vigil continues. And without illusions, as these friends may perish despite our fervent prayers. We make the same affirmation as those more ancient friends--Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--made in the face of Babylonian (what is now Iraq) King Nebuchadnezzar's threatened sanction for disloyalty:

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.. . . BUT IF NOT, be it known to you that we will not serve your gods. .. ." (Dan. 3:16-19)

Ken Sehested

--------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Hope from Scripture and Tradition

Our capacity to grieve and lament is directly related to our capacity for hope, much like the circumference of a tree's limbs is proportionate to its root system.

Without hope, lament sounds like the death rattle of the dying. Against the backdrop of hope, lament is the wail of the newborn gasping for breath: clearing throat and flexing lungs, stretching for life outside the womb. Why life must begin with a bloody scream is a mystery. But it is in my experience and, I believe, in the witness of Scripture. KLS
------

Zecheriah 9:12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

There are things that can be seen only with eyes that have cried. Roman Catholic Archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa, martyred in 2001 in the war in Democratic Republic of Congo

Hope is the radical refusal to calculate the limits of the possible. William Sloan Coffin

Habakkuk. 3:17-18 Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation.

Repentence is the response to grace that overcomes the past and opens onto a new future. Repentence distinguishes Christian life as one of struggle and conversion and pervades it, not with remorse, but with hope. The message of Jesus is not Repent but Repent for the Kingdom of God is near. John Shea

Psalms 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise the Lord, my help and my God.

At the center of our pain, we glimpse a fairer world and hear a call. When we are able to keep company with our own fears and sorrows, we are shown the way to go, our parched lives are watered, and the earth becomes a greener place. Hope begins to grow, and we are summoned to the work that will give us a feeling of wellness and make possible that which we envision. Elizabeth OConnor

Jeremiah 29:11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime, therefore we must be saved by hope. Reinhold Niebuhr

Psalms 9:18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper the hope is. Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. In short, I think that the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, the only source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit and its efforts, is something we get, as it were, from elsewhere. It is also this hope that gives us the strength to live and continually try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do here and now. Vaclav Havel

Hebrews 13:6 So we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?

The best definition of the Gospel message I ever heard is that the Gospel is the permission and command to enter difficulty with hope. Donna Schaper

Jeremiah 29:11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage: anger at the way things are and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are. Augustine

Romans 8:18-28 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. Barbara Kingsolver

Romans 5:2 We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -- and there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory. Howard Zinn

Job 14:7 For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.

To hope is a duty, not a luxury. To hope is not a dream, but to turn dream into reality. Happy are those who dream dreams, and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. Cardinal Leo Suenens

Romans 8:31, 35-36 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Faith becomes the one wholly inflexible ground for resistance to violence, precisely because it teaches us how to face death not in excited expectation of reward, but in the sober letting-go of our fantasies in the sure hope that a faithful God holds us firmly in life and death alike. This is the hope that allows us to recognise power for what it is and isn't: As what is given us for the setting-free of each other, not as the satisfying of our passion for control. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

Advent Reflection: Iraq, Rush Limbaugh, and Reality (Sojourners)

by Ryan Beiler

In August this year I began considering participation in a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation to Iraq in November. With much prayer by friends and family, I began my discernment process, weighing the obvious risks. In Colombia I had traveled through territory controlled by guerillas with a penchant for kidnapping. In Gaza I had fled from warning shots fired by Israeli soldiers. But I had never walked in solidarity with people whose land had been invaded and occupied by my own nation's military. I struggled with the notion expressed by kidnapped peacemaker Norman Kember, the heart of the CPT mission: am I willing to take the same risks for peace that those in the military take for war?

As weeks passed, circumstances and logistics dictated my choice not to go. The November delegation had filled up before I could join. And even before Kember, and fellow team members Harmeet Sooden, Jim Loney, and Tom Fox were taken hostage on Nov. 26, I had been told that my primary reason for going - photojournalism - would not be worthwhile because of the team's own security precautions.

Tomorrow is the day that the so-called Swords of Righteousness Brigade have set for the peacemakers' execution if U.S. forces do not release all detainees held in Iraq. So today, with a vague sense of survivor's guilt, I reflect on the impending miracle or tragedy of these men's lives.

Their survival would be a miracle. And yet, statements of support from the likes of Hamas and cleric Abu Qatada, a suspected al Qaeda terrorist imprisoned in the U.K., are already miraculous. Our enemies - by any conventional definition - have appealed for the release of our friends. The cynic will say that support from such quarters merely confirms that CPT must be as anti-American as the terrorists. But hints of parable permeate: The Samaritan, a despised foreigner and outcast to Jesus' audience, disregards religious and ethnic division to aid one in need, while countrymen preoccupied with their own purity pass by.

Indeed, Rush Limbaugh is glad these "leftist feel-good hand-wringers" are being "shown reality." To follow his version of the parable, they'd never have fallen among thieves if they hadn't been walking on the road to Jericho in the first place. His reference to reality is intriguing, coming in support of an administration now widely regarded as out of touch with the reality in Iraq. Promises that we would be greeted as liberators, that Iraq would pay for its own invasion with oil revenue, that we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were, that only a few troops would be needed - all evaporated in the face of a reality that the likes of Limbaugh can only imagine, while the men and women of the armed forces, CPT members, and the people of Iraq experience its horror on a daily basis.

Hawks are always eager to chide doves that though war is hell, it's the only realistic course to security. But frankly, their reality is terrible. While the body count in Iraq surpasses 10 times that of Sept. 11 (I will not here discriminate between theirs and ours), this week the 9/11 Commission has issued a report card filled with Ds and Fs - evidence that while our military misadventures overseas have exacted billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives, measures at home that could truly make us safer have been neglected. Katrina is merely one case in point.

Jesus warned us, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15). Watching file footage of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz, and hearing their hollow promises followed by claims of "mission accomplished" - one is not sure whether to laugh at the absurdity or cry at the resulting tragedies such as Abu Ghraib. "A few bad apples," we were told. "You will know them by their fruits," Jesus said (v. 16).

But in stark contrast with neo-con messiah complex fantasies, Tom Fox had no illusions about the dangers he would face in Iraq. "I am to stand firm against the kidnapper as I am to stand firm against the soldier," he wrote more than a year ago. "Does that mean I walk into a raging battle to confront the soldiers? Does that mean I walk the streets of Baghdad with a sign saying ‘American for the Taking?' No to both counts. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right, then I am asked to risk my life, and if I lose it to be as forgiving as they were when murdered by the forces of Satan."

Far from "feel-good hand-wringers," these men knew the difference between good and evil, and that living out Christ's call is costly. They were so in touch with reality that officials preferred to ignore that they denounced abuses at Abu Ghraib long before the photographs came out - before anyone was listening.

I could denounce the Swords of Righteousness Brigade for threatening to kill the people who have defended the very detainees they demand be released, but that doesn't seem productive at this moment. Instead, I stand astonished as other Muslims - militants, politicians, and religious leaders - defend these captive Christians, and Jesus' upside-down kingdom glimmers. CPT's risky Christianity, broadcast by al Jazeera, has done more to promote mutual understanding and goodwill than any ham-handed tour by Karen Hughes, the U.S. State Department's head public relations envoy.

This week's advent theme is promise - the promise that a true and trustworthy savior is coming. We are called to cast aside false prophets and anticipate a messiah who was willing to become vulnerable, to enter dangerous territory, to put his life in the hands of those who couldn't tell enemies from neighbors, and taught us to love them all. 1 John 2:17 tells us, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." If this seems unrealistic, we now have four more witnesses to the contrary. While in a spirit of Advent anticipation we wait and pray that tomorrow will bring a new promise of life, I am confident that as they walk in his steps, the Christ who defeated death will work more miracles regardless of grim realities.

[Ryan Beiler is web editor for Sojourners.]

Playing Out the Christmas Drama, by Rev. Rodney R. Romney

December 7, 2005

BRRR. It's 20 degrees below zero here in Idaho Falls today, but the sky is cloudless and the sun is painting all kinds of interesting shapes and shadows in the snow. Winter has come earlier than usual to this part of the country, which brings hope that the recent years of drought and aridity here in the West may be over.

All creatures, human and otherwise, are dominated by the weather. That is just one more sign that something greater than ourselves rules this universe and reminds us from time to time that we are just the players in this drama of life, not the playwrights. We can alter the script from time to time, but we are far better off if we listen to what the playwright has given us. We will discover that everything in the script is there for our learning and our ultimate good.

And if we listen carefully, we may even discover that underneath all of it is one basic message, a message that has been repeated over and over down through the ages: LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.

The following is a hymn I have written to be sung at the church we attend here in Idaho Falls. The hymn grows out of my discontent and disgust for the war our government has chosen to initiate, a war poorly conceived and deeply destructive to thousands of people and to the planet that we all share. No matter how justified war may seem to be, we have to find a better way to settle our disputes than killing each other's children. And we have to realize that wars are never what God wills or wants.

I no longer pretend that I know everything about God that I need to know, and sometimes I am not even certain that some of what I have been taught about God is any longer true or relevant for me. But call God what you will: Ultimate Mystery, Creative Force, Sublime Love, etc., the one thing that remains clear is that we are all here to love. To love ourselves, to love one another, to love this earth and all its creatures -- this is our sublime and highest task. It's the best gift we can ever offer. Let's sing the following together.


GOD OF ALL PEOPLE
by Rodney Romney, 2005
(Tune: Adeste Fideles, "O Come All Ye Faithful")

God of all people, God of every nation,
We come to Christmas with a yearning for peace.
Grant us compassion for each land and nation,
For everyone is sacred,
Yes, everyone is sacred,
Each person a creation of your love and grace.

Forgive our blindness and our selfish motives,
Forgive our violence and our craving for pow'r.
We are one family from the same Creator,
And when we hurt another
We hurt a sister, brother,
Each person a creation of your love and grace.

Now on this Christmas send to us your angels
To sing again their songs of peace and good will.
Let us respond by loving all creation,
For all of life is sacred,
Yes, all of life is sacred,
This world is a creation of your love and grace. Amen.

The Fight Against AIDS Must Be Won

December 4 was World AIDS Sunday. Following is a letter from the Ecumenical AIDS Consultation in Bangkok.

We, the participants of the Ecumenical AIDS Consultation 2005- "Keep the Commitment: Stop AIDS" held in Bangkok, Thailand from October 28 - November 1, 2005 recommit ourselves to the Statement of Commitment by religious leaders made at the 15th International AIDS Conference 2004 to work together to respond to the urgent challenges posed by HIV and AIDS to individuals, communities and the global human family. We heard, discussed and deliberated on a range of issues and strategies to monitor and evaluate the principles, policies and guidelines that underline positive action. We are encouraged that the church, as a healing community, has responded positively. However, we felt that the Church can achieve much more than it has in the areas of awareness building, training, networking and advocacy to overcome prejudice, ignorance, fear and judgmental attitudes.

In the light of this, we call upon all member churches endowed with their rich experience and unique spiritual strengths to continue to:

• Deepen a spirituality based on the love of God, love of neighbour and love among ourselves especially as regards people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

• To constantly review our religious policies and structures, to promote holistic care of our sisters and brothers living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

• To strengthen networks amongst ourselves, our churches, governments, and non government organizations at multi-sectoral and multi-faith levels.

• To participate creatively for the realization of universal treatment and effective services for all persons living with HIV and AIDS, making access to Anti retroviral therapy (ART) a reality.

• To recommit ourselves to a concern for orphans and vulnerable children by making our churches and church institutions sanctuaries of love, where the rights of the child are protected and promoted.

• To encourage others to join us in this important mission of love and compassion.

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) jointly with the St. John's Cathedral HIV Education Centre and the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC) has released a liturgy that can be adopted by member churches for use in worship on AIDS Sunday 2005. We encourage and invite you to observe World AIDS Sunday on December 4, 2005. The liturgy can be downloaded from the website of Christian Conference of Asia: www.cca.org.hk or St. John's Cathedral HIV Education Centre: www.sjhivctr.com.

We thank you again for your support and prayer for the Ecumenical AIDS Consultation. We look forward with anticipation to working together to reduce the prejudice and stigma that surround HIV/ AIDS and bring God's love and healing to our broken and hurting world.

Yours in Christ,

Dr. Prawate Khid-arn, Christian Conference of Asia (CCA)
Mrs. Usanee Nanasil, Catholic Committee on HIV/AIDS
Rev. Sanan Wutti, CCT AIDS Ministry, Church of Christ in Thailand
On behalf of the participants of the Ecumenical AIDS Consultation, Bangkok, 2005.


For current information on AIDS in Africa, go to www.avert.org/aafrica.htm.

When George W. Bush announced a $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in his 2003 State of the Union address, he compared the fight against AIDS to the war on terrorism. Unfortunately, the analogy has proved apt. More than fourteen months and 3 million AIDS deaths later, the Administration's "war on AIDS" has been characterized by unilateralism, disregard for international consensus and corporate cronyism.

Rather than support existing and proven international programs to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, the Bush plan has undercut and circumvented them at nearly every turn... [To read more, go to www.thenation.com/doc/20040426/editors2.

[Editor's note: May 2006 bring real concern and cooperation toward conquering AIDS in Africa and all over the world -- starting with effective and universally available and affordable drugs.-- Revrickm]

Is Giving Thanks Sufficient?

"Year of Jubilee" by Debora Colquohon

by Rev. Richard Fewkes
[Note by Editor: Tonight, I quoted from a sermon, by the Rev. Richard Fewkes, which asked if giving 'thanks' is sufficient or if more is required of us as people of faith and good will. In other words, is the 'giving' an indispensable part of Thanksgiving? He makes reference to the ancient Hebrew requirement that remnants of the harvest be left around the edges of the fields -- for use by the poor to alleviate their hunger. Here are a portion of Rev. Fewkes' remarks (made on Thanksgiving, 2000, at an Interfaith service in Bridgewater, MA).]

Is it enough to simply feel thankful for one's blessings and to say so? On one level I would say, certainly, it is enough, if it comes from the heart. But on another level I would say, it may be enough, but it is hardly sufficient to fulfill the full meaning of what Thanksgiving is all about. Thanksgiving is both an attitude and a response, it is both faith and works. The writer of the Book of James said, "Faith without works is dead." Likewise, thanks without giving is no thanks at all. Thanksgiving has both a subjective and objective side. The subjective attitude is necessary, but not sufficient, to fulfill the full meaning of thanksgiving.

I am impressed by the verse from Leviticus [Lev. 23:22] which noted that the ancient Hebrews were told to leave the remnants of their harvest for the poor and the stranger in their midst. Their harvest festival of Succoth, or Sukkot, which has at least metaphorical links to our secular celebration of Thanksgiving, was not complete if the people of Israel gathered their harvest and kept it all for themselves. Gratitude without sharing was no gratitude at all. There was also the tradition of the 50th Jubilee Year, in which the people of Israel were admonished to forgive all financial debts and obligations of service to one another, and to permit every citizen to reclaim their land and property free of all liens and accumulated debts...

This ancient Hebrew tradition of sharing resources and forgiving debts reminds me of this lovely prayer from the hand of Abigail Van Buren...

"We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
That thy gifts to us may be used for others."

Our materialistic secular culture elevates getting over giving to an inordinate degree... If we can remember that we are celebrating Thanks-Giving, not Thanks-Getting, and if we can reclaim the attitude and actions expressed in the ancient Hebrew celebration of Succoth which rejoiced in the harvest and remembered the needs of the poor and the stranger, and also recapture the Jubilee sentiment of forgiving one another our accumulated debts, then perhaps, and only then, can we honestly say with Meister Eckhardt that a simple prayer of "thank you" honestly expressed in word and in deed, will be enough. In fact, it will be more than enough, abundant and overflowing with grace and love made manifest.

[Additional note by Editor: The people who wrote some of our oldest religious texts understood that true gratitude involved humility and a willingness to share blessings with those less fortunate. Justice required that something be left for those who had nothing, so that their basic human needs could be satisfied. This has, until recently, been a core American value as well.

At the time this sermon was delivered, the Rev. Richard Fewkes was the minister at the First Parish Church, Unitarian Universalist, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.]