Playing For Change

Check out this neat video. Even more neat is the vision behind it - to bring about unity and help the hurting through music. Check out the site playingforchange.com

Virginia Tech, Guns and Torture

"The second question you asked was a theological question. And I get that asked every time there is a tragedy. And you properly ask that question over and over again. And I say things that always get incredible uproars because people don't think. And it's as simple as this: God is not in control of everything. I know that's going to sound like heresy, because we love to say in the midst of everything that's going on, "Oh God's in control, God's in control, God's in control," but that's absolutely absurd. God did not bring about Auschwitz. God does not bring about these horrible events on this planet. They are the doings of human beings in most instances. May I say this: It's obvious that God is not in control, by God's own choice. When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them freedom. Now, you can't give your children freedom, and still say you're in control of them…"

Tony Campolo's podcast on the Virginia Tech tragedy covers several questions:

• How can God allow such a thing to happen? Campolo explains that God has given up much control in order to allow us, His children, to be free. In Campolo's words, "what we do with that freedom has been horrendous, but it's also been glorious."
• The legitimate question asked by the parents of US soldiers "Where's the outcry for our fallen?" And where's the outcry for the many thousands of fallen Iraqi civilians?
• The power of lobby groups such as the NRA over politicians through financing.
• The strong connection between the NRA and the religious right in the US, and the difference between the potentially violent outlook of many Christians with that of Jesus' teachings.
• US patriotism being placed as an idol above Jesus.
• Accountability for US soldiers who massacre Iraqi civilians, in contradiction to the Geneva accord, and the unquestioned support for these obscenities by US citizens. "In fighting the dragon, we have become the dragon."

I deeply respect Tony Campolo, and have begun listening to his collection of podcasts found on his website. They're worth checking out, as is his book, Speaking My Mind.

On The Move

The One Campaign has published a book based on Bono's powerful speech at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. Check out the live preview here (it's really neat).

"Because where you live should no longer determine whether you live." Bono

Famine Again?

Art by Trevor Romaine

The problem lies with those who have not or cannot join the modern economy—those in poverty-stricken urban slums, whose labor will not earn enough money to buy food, or those in remote places pursuing traditional lifestyles that are subject to natural disasters. The number of such traditionalists has grown, even as their ability to feed themselves has declined. Their land has been restricted (by war, land grabs, or borders) or degraded (often by overgrazing or poor farming techniques). Crime and war and bad government have kept them isolated from education and business, forces that could change their lives. They are more vulnerable than ever.

When I talk to people in relief and development organizations, I find them frustrated by these realities. They want to make a lasting difference but, by and large, they cannot. By feeding people, they are putting off problems to another day. Drought will come again. Donors will groan and ante up again—we hope.

Read the rest of this great article about the hidden faces of famine...

Holiness

"God save yer holiness."

From The Project Gutenberg EBook of Irish Wonders

"In the Bible holiness always includes the public, social dimension, which is connected inextricably to the personality of the individual. Not only the human heart must be holy, but also the living conditions, social structures and the forms of the environment in which people live and which they continually construct. In all probability, reified, ritual holiness in the Old Testament and in Judaism always intended this. We must be extremely careful about reducing the requirement of holiness to the purely moral. In no case may the social dimension be lost.

The New Testament obviously knew why it referred to the believers of a church as "the saints," why it spoke of the "holy people" and why it called the church a "holy temple." In all these expressions "holy" always connotes "separated." Not separated in a ghetto, in religious self-satisfaction or in cultural or intellectual isolation, but separated to a different style of life and to new forms of life which realize what God wants society to be, in contrast to the structures of a sick society that is far from God."

From Jesus and Community by Gerhard Lohfink, p. 135

Ouch!

While in the throes of a migraine, Lydia "PRUNES" her flowers.

Migraine by Crystal Star &Peggy Hoffman

I've been battling a migraine for over two weeks now, so I haven't had a lot of original thoughts to post here. It's amazing how something so seemingly minor can (temporarily) transform my journey into a holding pattern. I've been thinking about the poor a lot during this time - I know that many of the world's poorest poor have no access to HIV or malaria medication. The sad truth is that something as accessible as aspirin is also hard to come by - a migraine like mine with no treatment could lay someone flat, robbing them of their ability to work. Bono's words really stand out to me right now: "I'm talking about the right to live like a human, the right to live, period. Those are the stakes in Africa right now."

Technorati tags: migraine, poverty, social justice

Bono Teaches Us True Religion

Here are some powerful quotes from Bono's speech:

"I'm talking about the right to live like a human, the right to live, period. Those are the stakes in Africa right now."

"This is not about charity...It's about justice, justice and equality."

"This is true religion. True religion will not let us fall asleep in the comfort of our freedom. Love thy neighbor is not a piece of advice, it's a command. That means, in the global village, we're going to have to start loving a whole lot more people, that's what that means."

"Because where you live should not decide whether you live, or whether you die. And to those in the church who still sit in judgement on the AIDS emergency, let me climb into the pulpit for just one moment. Because whatever thoughts we have about God, who He is, or even if God exists, most will agree that God has a special place for the poor. The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes, where the poor play house. God is where opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble, the cries we hear during wartime. God, my friends, is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with them. This is not a burden, this is an adventure. Don't let anyone tell you it cannot be done. We can be the generation that ends extreme poverty."

Thank you, Bono, for being a prophet to the western world.

Technorati Tags: Bono, Africa, Make poverty history, poverty, HIV, pure religion, social justice

Gypsy Girl Chronicles

Even men admit that Congo, indeed Africa, is being held up on the backs of women. I have been encouraged by more than one thoughtful, intelligent Congolese man, “If you are going to help Congo – please, please help our women.”

My friend Tonya has been travelling through the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the last several weeks. Read her moving stories on her blog, The Gypsy Girl Chronicles.

Torture on TV Rising and Copied in the Field

I've taken this entire post from the Human Rights First website.

U.S. soldiers are imitating torture techniques from TV.

They are in serious need of clear guidelines.

Click here TODAY to demand oversight from Congress!

The Problem: Torture on TV on the Rise
The number of scenes of torture on TV shows is significantly higher than it was five years ago and the characters who torture have changed. It used to be that only villains on television tortured. Today, “good guy” and heroic American characters torture — and this torture is depicted as necessary, effective and even patriotic.

The Impact: Soldiers Imitate What They See on TV
In interviews with former interrogators and retired military leaders, Human Rights First learned that the portrayal of torture in popular culture is having an undeniable impact on how interrogations are conducted in the field. U.S. soldiers are imitating the techniques they have seen on television – because they think such tactics work. Listen to former interrogators describe the problem.

The Background: U.S. Policy Shifts Ushered in Abuse
Hollywood writers, of course, did not create the environment that led to the torture and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere; the U.S. government created this environment by authorizing coercive interrogation techniques, departing from the long-held absolute ban on torture and cruel treatment, suspending the Geneva Conventions, and by assigning soldiers to tasks for which they were not trained. »more

What Can Be Done: The Primetime Torture Project
Human Rights First has launched a project that seeks to limit the impact TV has on the way interrogations are conducted in the field and also the way Americans view torture. Working with military educators and prominent Hollywood producers and writers, Human Rights First is developing a training film aimed at educating junior soldiers about the differences between what they see on TV and the way they ought to act in the field. Human Rights First is also working to encourage those with control over creative content in Hollywood to consider portraying torture in a more nuanced, more responsible fashion. »more

Are We Using The Poor?

Morteza Katouzian

"Philanthropy has the potential of immense good and yet it can crush the souls of the recipients when it’s mixed with the ingredients of a new-colonialism or an insistence on superiority of race and pride; the ancient injunction to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’ will eventually produce the inevitable diabolical result of dehumanizing others."


A perspective on service that encourages us to search ourselves.

Read the full post on SoulGardeners

Visiting The Viv

On Sunday I went with some friends to view The Vivian - a shelter for the hardest to house women in Vancouver, run by Triage. It is my company's chosen charity, and is dear to my heart. The Viv was gutted in a fire last May. My company has committed to raising $100,000 in the next 5 months to help rebuild this home of hope. If you're inspired to give to this worthy charity, get in touch!

Spread the Warmth!

Those of us in the leadership training program at work were required to do a whopping one hour of community service this fall. A few of us got together and decided to do something a little bigger - we organized a blanket and jacket drive in our office. The goal - 200 blankets and jackets in 5 weeks.
It was a little stressful -by the beginning of the final week, we had only collected 120 items, which was pretty disappointing, as almost 150 people work in the office! Thankfully, we heard that Superstore was selling fleece blankets for only $3, so we started collecting money. Cam B. went to Superstore on the weekend, and completely cleaned it out! In the end, we blasted through our goal, with over 310 blankets and jackets, which were donated to Triage the following week.

This is one thing I love about my company - it has a huge commitment to giving to the poor. Even though the blanket and jacket drive was a small thing, I felt like I was making a difference.

A Dollar A Day

And here I am, a few days after the experiment ended, and I'm sure of two things:
That what I call "liking nice things" or "looking after myself" or "spending the money which I earn to treat myself" has another name. Gluttony. Forget images of clinically obese, aging emperors gorging themselves on global delicacies, the truth about gluttony in the 21st century is that it wears a thousand perfectly respectable, blinking, flashing, shining, enticing masks. Gluttony is not the preserve of the ultra wealthy; it is the driver that powers our materialism.
And if I'm sure that I've got a long way to go, then I'm even more assured of this eternal truth: that change is possible, that my life does not have to conform, that nothing is written.
850 WORDS OF RELEVANT :: 06.19.06

This is a quote from an impacting article I read by Craig Borlase who lived on 53 English pence a day, for one week. Details on his blog, nothing is written.

One by One

This weekend my good friend Ellie hosted a fistula "party". A fistula is condition suffered by women who, because of prolonged and difficult births, develop a permanent leak in their bladders. In the Western world, fistula was eradicated in the mid 1800's. It takes a simple operation to repair the condition. However, in developing countries the problem is rampant, due to a combination of poor nutrition, early motherhood, and lack of basic medical services.

In many developing countries, when a woman develops a fistula, she is often completely rejected by her community because of the odour that accompanies her constant leaking. Sadly, the $300 that a repair operation costs is often beyond the woman's means.

A few years ago in the US, a couple of women learned about this tragic situation and decided to take action. They formed a grassroots organization named One by One and began hosting Giving Circles, groups of 10 women who would give $30 each, in order to pay for these fistula surgeries and free their sisters overseas One by One! So far they have been amazingly successful! Women all over Canada and the US have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At Ellie's place on Saturday, about 15 women attended, and $1280 was raised! That's enough to give four women back their lives! It may be small, but it feels great!!

To find out more, go to http://www.onebyoneproject.net/.