God and Country

As I listened to the news cast last night – on every major news network - I listened in disbelief to the conversation, questioning Senator Obama for his association with Trinity UCC church here in Chicago and his relationship with Dr. Jeremiah Wright. As I was drawn into the news frenzy, my disbelief turned to anger and then to sadness as I listened to the conversation questioning his ability to lead this country, his patriotism and his relationship to God based upon comments made by Rev Wright. Not only was the exchange unfair to Trinity and Dr. Wright’s vast and long history around social justice, ministry to the African American experience, and prophetic voice, but I found it profoundly sad that our political system has come to this. Have we come to a point in our religious and political history in this country, that a prophetic/religious critique of our social systems, economic distribution and the fairness of our access to opportunities is not allowed by any candidate or the people in the wider circles he/she travels? Has the dominate voice praised God and America with the same breath for so long that it has forgotten how to separate the demands of God’s justice from the demands of being a patriotic citizen. It seems as though empires always try to silence or marginalize voices of dissent. Isn’t that what Holy week is about? As I pushed beyond my anger this morning - perhaps, I thought, (trying to see some positive side of this debate) there is a window of opportunity for Americans to seriously ponder just how much their feelings and thoughts about God are separated from their feelings and thoughts about America. Let us remember that God is not at god that aligns with any particular government, or people, or economic system. But rather, God stands as an ethical critique and a prophetic voice of all systems, stands as a voice of protest against any national policy that exploit, oppress and/or uses violence as a way of enforcing and maintaining the self interest of some at the expense of others.

Northern Illinois University

My heart goes out to those directly touched by the tragedy at Northern Illinois University and to those the ripples of this violent have reached and traumatized. Unsettled and aching from the horrible shooting in Tinley Park just a few days ago, we absorb the full impact of this horribly violent act. It is too much. There are no words, no logical reasoning, no…no...no...

Lent - we are invited to ponder

Lent is a time of reflecting upon our world and our contributions to that world. Often Lent has been seen as a season of inward focus, a season that calls us to reflect upon one’s personal spirituality. Lent is much bigger than that, much larger than us. While Lent does offer opportunities for personal reflection, our faith calls us well beyond our private spirituality. It invites us toward a “world” spirituality. This is a spirituality that is grounded in the reality of the state of our world and to acknowledge honestly the mess it is in. In today’s world, we cannot afford to privatize Lent.

While browsing the web today, I discovered a sobering web-site – a site listing the 3,948 Americans who have been killed in Iraq. When I caught my breath when I saw the thousands of names, I began to notice their ages – most were in their 20’s. Then I noticed their faces. The link to the pages is: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/index.html
Lent invites us to ponder …

Peace on Earth?

It is with great sadness that I write of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination Thursday. The familiar phrase of “peace on earth, good will to all” that we sang for Christmas seems if not silenced, at least over taken by the ring of a gunshot and the blast of a bomb. Peace seems now a distant dream, and even perhaps an unachievable one in the wake of such a violent act. The foundation of this dream of peace of which we sing, is built through non-violent, risky compassion. It is still my belief that this risky compassion is the only way that offers the world a way out of its self-destructive track on which violence sets us. Redemptive love, ultimately is our only hope. While today’s act of violence sends shock waves around the world, it is a reminder of the cruelty of violence. Violence has always been a part of the political landscape. When power feels threatened, it moves to secure itself unremorsefully of the death it causes and the means it must use. The innocent are victims to this age old, all too familiar paradigm. This week’s reading from Matthew 2: 13-23, tells of the brutality of power again reminds us of the paradigm.
May the song of “ peace on earth, good will to all” continue to ring in our ears, pond in our hearts and fuel our work to be agent of that peace as we mourn the death of Benazir Bhutto.

The Story of Stuff

It's a short film - 20 minutes.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

"What is the Story of Stuff?From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

Frank's reflections at the School of the Americas

Hi, All:

To those of you interested in my adventures, I have just competed the weekend of protests at the School of the Americas (SOA), now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). There were approximately 25,000 people in attendance, including more that 150 from the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN). On Saturday were were entertained by protest musicians and heard inspiring speeches from Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of SOA Watch, Rep. Jim McGovern, who is the primary sponsor of HR 1707, which seeks to suspend funding for SOA/WHINSEC and examine the effect the School has had on Latin American foreign policy, and many Latin American indigenous representatives who told us about the horrors SOA has caused to their individual countries. We also had the chance to attend teach-ins on Latin America, Iraq and other foreign policy disasters.

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend. We all gathered in front of the gates of Ft. Benning to remember the victims of SOA/WHINSEC violence and place our memorials on the fence which served as the barrier to the base. Eleven people engaged in civil disobedience and were arrested for trespass on a Federal facility for a political purpose. These eleven will be tried beginning January 28, 2008, and I will be there with the other lawyers of the Legal Collective of SOA Watch to defend them and allow them to tell the Federal Court (and the world) why they deliberately violated the law.

If you want more information on the activities at Ft. Benning, SOA Watch has a website, SOAW.org.

Peace to all.