"Christ's example is being
demeaned by the church if they ignore the new leprosy,
which is AIDS. The church is the sleeping giant here.
If it wakes up to what's really going on in the rest
of the world, it has a real role to play. If it doesn't,
it will be irrelevant."
- Bono
Monday, December 24, 2007 Monday, December 24, 2007
Knowledge is like a garden: If it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.African Proverb
Today is Christmas Eve. Millions of children around the world await the miracle of the season with hope that Santa will bring them their heart's desire.
For the children of the world, I ask for:
Enough food for them to eat
Clean drinking water
Access to education
Health and Freedom of disease
Hope
Love
and a long, productive life, filled with choices.
No matter what faith you practice, have a blessed season.
Monday, December 03, 2007 Monday, December 3, 2007 "True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness." Albert Einstein
I received the following over the weekend in Bishop Peter Weaver's Partners in Ministry newsletter. He is the bishop of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church and one of the most amazing men - and Christians - that I have had the honor to meet. His mission work in Africa is phenomenal.
In the following passage, he addresses an issue that I have been thinking about for a while. It seems so easy for people to give - locally, nationally or globally - at this time of the year. However, the gesture of that one time is not enough. We see news stories and features about some politician or star helping at a shelter for a holiday - it often does more lasting good for them than it does for the people who they are helping.
From Partners in Ministry:
THANKSGIVING MORNING thousands of families (I would guess, for the stories I hear) had something more, or better to eat because of Thanksgiving baskets or food pantries or Thanksgiving dinners from our United Methodist Churches. Probably many of you helped out by donating food, or serving or delivering food. I hope you need no thanks...but thanks for doing at least this! As Linda and I helped out Thanksgiving morning and delivered hot meals "with all the fixins" to folks we did not know, I was struck...and convicted...by several thoughts. 1. There are more people out there in need than I realized. The "facades" of our houses and neighborhoods can be deceptive...or maybe sometimes I just ignore and don’t want to see what is really there. We were delivering to 200 families...including one that would meet us at the Wal-Mart parking lot...and this was not a so-called "poor" community.
2. As we made the visits, I was reminded again how important it is to get out and meet your neighbors...the ones you don't already know. That's why many of our churches are now doing house to house visiting in their neighborhood...you meet a lot a great people...and you learn a lot...as well as giving you the opportunity to confront the "shy/fear" of ringing a stranger's doorbell (as one woman said to me once during visitations, "I'd rather have all my teeth pulled without Novocain, than visit strangers!" But after it was over, she was ready to do it again...it was such a good experience).
3. "All the Fixins" are not just gravy, pie, turkey, and sweet potatoes. The real 'fixins' that count the most are simply being present, caring, showing interest and concern...just show up! The people that we visited were "hungry" for more than a meal. They seemed most delighted by the simple fact that we came..."hello"....."how are you doing?"...."it's good to meet you"..."that's a wonderful picture of Jesus on your wall"....."how long ago did your husband die?"..."would you want me to pray for you?"...and on and on.
4. And then I was "convicted"...why do we only do this on or around Thanksgiving, as if that's the only time people are hungry, or lonely or hurting...as if it's the only time of the year (maybe Christmas too) that we're called to "love our neighbor as ourselves"...as if it's the only time that our churches (meaning "I") need to learn about our neighbors...make new friends...grow beyond "shy/fear."
5. And I was "convicted" that once I start to say "hello" and build a relationship with someone, it proves how shallow, or frightened, or insincere we are if we never come back...never follow-up...never risk really getting to know each other...really caring...really loving as Jesus first loved us and continues to love us through all eternity. What happens next after the Thanksgiving visit, or the person receives food at your food pantry, or clothing or toys from your church? Could we move beyond "hand-outs" to "hand-in-hands" for the long haul? Or, now that I've been to their house, what if I invited them to my house?...what if I asked them to pray for me? What if we had Thanksgiving, and Christmas and Easter...and Pentecost every day?
Thank you Bishop Weaver. I hope this spiritual food for thought inspires you to remember that there is need in the world every single moment of every single day.
Saturday, December 01, 2007 Saturday, December 1, 2007 "Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die." Bono, U2
Today is one of the most important days of the year. It is more important than any of our national or faith based holidays. Today is World AIDS Day. It is a day of reflection, celebration, education and mourning.
Here is my column, in part, from this week's Sun Chronicle in Saco, Maine. I joke that it is my one piece of writing every year that I do for very little compensation because of the time I spend researching and analyzing data.
One addition to my column below is that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have underestimated the number of new cases in the United States due to a new method of testing blood samples. They estimate about 55,000 to 60,000 new cases this year.
...On this day, we celebrate the lives of those infected with HIV/AIDS who are still with us. We remember those that have died from the disease – whether family and friends, or strangers that we read about in personal stories or statistics.
In November of every year, the United Nations (UN), with the World Health Organization (WHO), put out the latest UNAIDS report - the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. (Other partners include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO and the World Bank.)
On the surface, this latest report looks as though the number of people in developing countries with HIV/AIDS is decreasing. However, the most significant change this year is in the methodology in collecting data from third world countries, rather than change in combating the disease and related complications.
India alone reported a significant drop due to reporting standards as did Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The UN and WHO promise to keep abreast of the situation while new data, research and analysis emerge.
The report reduced the number of people with HIV/AIDS from about 40 million to 33.2 million. This past year, 2.5 million people became infected with the virus and 2.1 people died from HIV/AIDS or an AIDS related illness, with 76% of them dying in sub-Sahara Africa.
“The qualitative interpretation has not changed - this remains the leading infectious disease challenge to global health," said Kevin de Kock, head of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department.
In 2007, the two worst areas of epidemics are in sub-Sahara Africa – especially the most southern part of the continent – and in the rest of the world where sex trade workers and IV drug use is prevalent.
UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot said, "Unquestionably, we are beginning to see a return on investment - new HIV infections and mortality are declining and the prevalence of HIV leveling. But with more than 6,800 new infections and over 5,700 deaths each day due to AIDS we must expand our efforts in order to significantly reduce the impact of AIDS worldwide."
With an estimated 330,000 children under the age of 15 dying last year, and 420,000 newly infected with the virus, we have a long way to go. If you do the math, that translates to close to one thousand children dying from HIV/AIDS while 1,150 become infected every day.
With philanthropists such as Bill Gates and organizations like the Clinton Foundation working to solve the global AIDS pandemic, there remains hope. In South Africa, Bill Clinton is not known as a former US president, but as a man bringing hope and healing to small villages. This past year, the Foundation built an HIV/AIDS clinic and worked with communities to build programs for AIDS education. In fact, during half-time at soccer games, AIDS awareness and education is now a standard part of the festivities.
...please take a moment to reflect on the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Perhaps you can support education in your community, attend a service at a local church or the special event held by an HIV/AIDS organization such AIDS Response Seacoast (ARS). As the estimates and percentages drop, we must be conscious that aide, education and access to antiretroviral drugs do not drop as well. When the number of newly infected is close to the number of those who died, we have a fragile balance at best.
173,045,325 People Stood Up & Took Action Against Poverty Worldwide
between Oct. 16 - 18, 2009!
They gathered at over 3,000 events in more than 120 countries.
116,993,629 People Stood Up & Took Action Against Poverty Worldwide
between Oct. 17 - 19, 2008!
That is almost 2% of the
total world population!
43,716,440 People Stood Up Against Poverty
Worldwide between Oct. 16 & 17, 2007! Were You One of Them?
23,542,614 People Stood Up Against Poverty
Worldwide on Oct. 15, 2006! Bless Them All!
"Be the Change You Want to See In the World." Gandhi
Upcoming Events
Send Me Your Events!!! October 17, 2009 NEIDEEP Interfaith Service & Conference
at Fairfield United Methodist Church, 10am to 2pm, including potluck lunch
Join people of all faiths
Discover the role of women in
ending local & global poverty
Location - FUMC, 33 Rt. 201, Fairfield, Maine
Just off I-95, Exit 133
This event is in conjunction with
Stand Up & is Free
The Rev. Dr. Paige Blair Episcopal Priest & Bonnie N. Davis
Buddhist
First NEIDEEP Conference
Our First Meeting took place in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA on 2/21/06.
The day began with an Interfaith Service.
Sister True Virtue, who at the time was the Abbess of the Green Mountain Dharma Center, teaching in the tradition of
Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing, led a meditation, centering & grounding
the more than 80 participants for the rest of the day.
Local Christians including The Rev. Dr. Paige of St. George's Episcopal Chuch (York Harbor), Pastor Sharon Miesel of
York-Ogunquit United Methodist Church (UMC)
& Pastor Sue Kingman of Sanford Unitarian Universalist Church (UUC) also took part in the Interfaith Service.
Iman Ibrahim Sayer, Boston Dialogue Foundation, did a transforming reading from the Koran in Arabic.
Rabbi David Mark, Temple Israel in Portsmouth, blew the Shofar,
made from Ram's Horn, reminding us that it is made from the same material as our fingernails &
that the work before us must be done with our hands.
The Rt. Rev. Peter Weaver, presiding bishop of the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church (NEUMC)was also
serving the Worldwide head the United Methodist's at the time of the conference. He spoke about trips to Africa, meeting with
religious leaders to speak with President Bush, & attending the Transatlantic Forum on Global Poverty in London prior to the 2005 G8 Summit.
Jan Schrock, Senior Advisor of Heifer International at the time, is the daughter of
Dan West, Heifer's founder, spoke about Heifer's interaction with communities, helping them plan their futures.
Lallie Lloyd, Episcopalian's for Global Reconciliation (E4GR), spoke about her book -
"Eradicating Global Poverty - A Christian Study Guide on the MDG."
Margaret Udahogora, of Rwanda, spoke about educating orphans from her country, also
reminding us of Africa's beauty. Suzanne Bowman,
talked about BeadforLife - Ugandan women (many HIV/AIDS positive) making beads and jewelry for two years and now
supporting 170 families.
NAACP, Salvation Army and United Way attended as guests with clergy and
other participants. Program stressed MDG, trade issues, & activisim.
Millennium Campaign Pledge & ONE Declaration were signed - "No Excuses" White Wristbands were handed out with
resource guides. By setting the example of working together across potitical, cultural, spiritual & religious boundaries,
we can make an amazing difference.
Interfaith Communities Can Heal the World!
A second round of NEIDEEP is planned for October 2008.
Activating New England will make a difference in ending extreme poverty. After all, we hosted a memorable
tea party that changed the course of history.
In a world where so many go hungry,
Let us make the fruits of creation available for all.
In a world where one billion of our brothers and sisters do not have safe drinking water,
Let us help the waters run clear.
In a world where so many die so young,
And so many mothers die in childbirth,
And so many families are ravaged by disease,
Let us bring health and healing.
In a world where women carry such heavy burdens,
Let us recognize and restore the rights of all.
Let us join together, with a new sense of global community,
A new awareness of our need for one another,
And for this fragile planet,
To meet the clear challenge of the Millennium Goals,
To bring hope as substantial as bread,
To make human dignity as visible as wheat in the fields.
Special thanks to The Rev. Mike Kinman for his assistance on how to set up a cool blog!
