The DREAM Sabbath

One of the saddest experiences I can remember was the deportation of a Bolivian family that attended the church I used to serve in Baltimore.  The parents and the children were deaf.  They came on a visitor’s visa and decided to stay.  This was not permissible per the laws of the Immigration service but they stayed anyway, sleeping in the basement of a home of their friends who had come to the U.S. years before.  The two deaf children, both teens, had the opportunity to attend the Maryland School for the Deaf for many years and they got a good education there.  Sadly, the family’s undocumented status was brought to light and they were told they had to leave by immigration court.  These young people were sent back with their parents and had to make a way for themselves in Bolivia, where opportunities for deaf empowerment was much less than in the United States.  I still get a text message from this family occasionally.  Life is very difficult for them.  I wish they could have stayed in the U.S.

            

The United Methodist Council of Bishop’s committee on Immigration, the United Methodist Interagency Immigration Task Force and the General Board of Church and Society encourage congregations of Observe a DREAM Sabbath.

           

The interfaith observance to be held on a Sunday between September 16 and October 9 will enlist churches, synagogues and mosques across the country to dedicate time during or around their regular weekly worship service to a conversation about the DREAM act, which is intended to rectify an injustice in U.S. immigration law.  The bill, “Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM),” would give undocumented students a chance to earn legal status if they came here as children, are long-term U.S. residents, have good moral character, and complete two years of college or military service in good standing.  The DREAM Act is bipartisan legislation pioneered by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill and Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah.

            

There is a free downloadable toolkit available to help congregation participate in the

Sabbath.  The packet includes planning resources, sacred readings, reflections, and links to videos and sample bulletin inserts. (http://www.interfaithimmigration.org/index.php/2011/07/01/dream-sabbath-launch/)

           

As United Methodists we have a history of speaking up for the needs of children.  This is an issue of justice that we need to be more aware of.  Others may not be concerned about the well-being of children, but we know that God’s angels are not only looking at our care for them, but reporting every injustice before the throne of God.  No matter what our political beliefs, God is going to look at whether we are causing his little ones to stumble by our actions or our inaction.  I do not believe that willful ignorance will be a useful excuse when we stand before our Lord.  “When did we see you, Lord, and not respond?”

            

Ola Kaso came to the United States from Albania in 1998, when she was 5.  Ola recently graduated from a high school in Warren, Michigan.  She was a valedictorian of her class.  She took every Advance Placement class offered by her school and has a 4.4 grade point average.  Ola is on the varsity cross country and tennis teams.  She was treasurer of the student council and treasurer of the National Honor Society at her school.  She tutors students who are learning English.

            

Ola was accepted into the honors program at the University of Michigan, where she will be a pre-med student.  In a letter to Senator Durbin, Ola wrote, “I aspire to ultimately become a surgical oncologist, but more importantly, I intend to work for patients that cannot afford the astronomical fees accompanying lifesaving surgeries, patients that are denied the medical treatment they deserve.  My goal is not to increase my bank account; my goal is to decrease preventable deaths.  I wish to remain in this country to make a difference.”

            

The Department of Homeland Security granted a stay of deportation to Ola, to give her a chance to continue her education.  That was the right thing to do.  It makes no sense to send someone like Ola, who has much to contribute, to a country she barely remembers.

            

Observe a DREAM Sabbath.  Take time to listen to the voices of these young people who cry out to God for justice.  Educate yourselves on the issues and seek the Lord’s guidance on how you are called to act, as a congregation or as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

More information: www.umc-gbcs.org or http://www.epaumc.org/news/stories/dream-sabbath. 

            

Grapes Grow on New Wood

Recently at a presentation of Large Church pastors, Dr. David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary said an amazing thing: “grapes only grow on one-year old wood.”  He was not talking about gardening, of course, but about church growth and the “fruit” of evangelism, which are new souls won for Christ.  In John 15:2 Jesus reminds us that those who bear fruit will be pruned so they can bear even more fruit.  That is so the wood is always new so the growth can keep happening.

                

As pastors and lay persons committed to the ministry of Jesus Christ, how can you be more effective?  Is there something that needs to be pruned from your life that is getting in the way of witness or effectiveness?   Pruning is not a pleasant experience but it is more unpleasant not to be pruned.  Making disciples is our goal.  To stay as we are leads to decline and death.  To choose to change and be pruned leads to growth and life.  Choose life.  

Fruit and Vegetable Month

When the children of Israel went into captivity into Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar enlisted the brightest and best of the Jewish young men to be trained to work in his government.  Among them were Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel.  During their training time they were offered food from the king’s table.  Daniel objected and asked if he could eat vegetables and drink water instead of having meat and wine.  At first the servants of the king objected fearing that this diet would be harmful.  But Daniel persuaded them to allow a trial for ten days.  After the ten days of eating only vegetables and drinking only water the Israelites were healthier than the other interns, who had been eating the royal rations. 

               

The truth of the Bible never gets old.  Still today we should be eating vegetables and drinking lots of water to keep our bodies strong and nourished.  This month is national “Fruit and Vegetable Month” and it is a reminder of the importance of these basics elements in our daily diet. 

You are the temple of the living God.  Take care of your temple!  Eat right and you will be able to serve the Lord better and longer.  

Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11

As we approach the 10^th anniversary of the modern day “Pearl Harbor” in the American memory we can all remember where we were when we heard the news about the twin towers at the World Trade Center in NY.  I was at home getting ready to go to church in Baltimore and the report appeared on Good Morning America.  My first thought was to go tell someone.  I looked out my front door and called out to my neighbor across the street, who was watering his plants.  For the next few hours we sat spellbound, watching the nightmare unfold on TV, and many tears were shed.  That evening there was a prayer service at the church and we all wondered what would happen next.

            

Ten years later much has happened.  The innocence of air travel has ended.  Many lives have been lost in wars. Many tears have been shed.  Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent are sometimes profiled and feared.  The poor have become poorer.  Terrorism has increased around the world and there is no telling where it will all end.

            

If we are people of faith we are Easter people.  We are people that work for life in the midst of death; people who seek hope in a deadly cross; people who personally find ways of waging peace in this world.  The world needs the saving love of Jesus more than ever and no one will know it unless we spread the word.  Just as I urgently told my neighbor about the airplane that struck the World Trade Center on that fateful Tuesday morning 10 years ago, we need to, just as urgently, tell people that God loves them and that in Christ there is peace with God and with all people. 

            

Telling people is just one part of it.  We need to live in peaceful ways in this world.  Peace making only comes when there is justice for all people.  We all want peace and tranquility but it only comes when the hard work of dismantling oppressive power blocks that keep the powerful in power and the weak under their thumb.  This year is the 50^th anniversary of the Freedom Summer.  In 1961 a group of young people, mostly white college students, came from the north to work for civil rights in Mississippi. They lent their political power to those without voices, helping African Americans get voter registration cards, helping people learn to read, and speaking out in political rallies.  Much good was accomplished but many of them were killed doing this work of peacemaking.  Any time power is challenged the pushback is quick and fierce.  But oppression is never the last word.  Jesus rose from the grave and that ends the oppression of death in this world. 

            

Wherever you have power, can you lend it to someone without power?  Wherever there is inequity in this world, can you speak out?  Is this not the work of Christians in the post 9/11 world?

Prayers in Action

At a recent meeting of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women that I attended, the preacher, Dr. Joan Wolf related a story about prayer time at her church in a inner city church whose constituents included people in poverty as well as people of means. On one particular Sunday morning when people were asked to give voice to their prayer concerns, one man stood up and said he wanted a job so he could buy his own clothes with his own money and take those clothes to the dry cleaner and pay to have them cleaned with his own money. He went on at great length about wanting a job. The failing economy of the city took away the job that he had and life was difficult. Dr. Wolf thanked him for his prayer request and told the congregation to pray for him. In a moment of “holy disruption” the man jumped back up on his feet and said “I don’t want your %$#@ prayers, I want a job!” Seated around him in this congregation were people who could provide a job for him. A shocked congregation had a lot to think about that day. Dr. Wolf reminded us that we have in our possession many times the ability to answer peoples’ prayers and yet we often withhold those things from those in need.

Be it apathy, selfishness, thoughtlessness or prejudice, we regularly neglect people who need our help. The Old Testament reminds us not to withhold the wages of the worker when it is in our power to pay them. The same is true about the goods and services that we possess that God has given to us for the express purpose of answering someone’s prayers. These things are not only our left-overs but our means. There is always something we can give.

I read a story about an old woman who regularly sent a check to a missionary in China. It was not much but it was regular. The checks began to increase and she wrote to the missionary and explained how. She said she cut off her cable service and the money she saved she gave to the mission. The next month she cut off her phone and the month after that she cut off her hot water heater. The missionary was not a little bit encouraged by this fragrant offering of sacrifice.

What do you have in your hand right now that you can give away that would bless someone? Jesus said that we would be rewarded for even a cup of cold water that was given to someone in his name. Be the water of life for this world that suffers from so much want.

Mincha

Jewish people have traditionally prayed three times a day. The Shacharit prayer is the longer morning prayer and the Maariv is the evening prayer. Mincha is the afternoon prayer and it is the shortest time of prayer and sometimes overlooked in the busy-ness of the day. Mincha is a short time to stop and give thanks. Psalm 145 is to be read during Mincha: “I will praise you, my God and King and always honor your name. I will praise you each day. You are wonderful, Lord, and you deserve all praise.” This psalm speaks of the wonders of God’s world and how God graciously provides for the needs of the world. “You satisfy the desires of all your worshipers and you come to save them when they ask for help.”

Sometimes in the middle of the day I don’t feel like singing. Work piles up and I begin to think it is me that is running my life. That is when I need Mincha the most. It is a time to stop and recalibrate my soul and put God once again in the center of everything and to give thanks for God’s gracious providing.

Try it yourself. Giving thanks to God lifts the soul to a higher place and assures us once again of the presence of power of our loving God.

http://www.minchamoment.com/videos/video-3-our-treasures/

Please Help Save Starving People in the Horn of Africa

The United Methodist committee on Relief (UMCOR) is planning a regional response to the growing hunger crisis in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti due to a severe drought. In Somalia, where relief efforts have been hampered by ongoing violence and war, has seen thousands of its citizens fleeing to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. It has been estimated that there are 400,000 people in refugee camps there. There are an estimated 3.7 million people in crisis.

Please take a special offering this summer for this urgent need, and earmark your gift to the “Horn of Africa Crisis,” Advance Special #982450.

Read more about the crisis on UMCOR's website: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/newsroom/releases/archives2011/hornofafrica/