Did you pray or protest?

I had a wonderful day with 20 women from my church on a retreat. We spent time praying and learning from each other. I enjoyed getting to know the women as individuals. Many of the women told me they enjoyed the retreat and suggested we do it again.

Catherine of Siena:

“You eternal Trinity are the artist and I your handiwork have come to know that you are in love with the beauty you have made.”

Meanwhile, on Broadway.....

"300,000 protesters marched Saturday 29 April through lower Manhattan to demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

"We've been lied to, and they're going to lie to us again to bring us a war in Iran," said Marjori Ramos, 43, of New York"

Make your voices heard

If you had pick one, which would you choose?

A march to protest the WAR IN IRAQ and IRAN, IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE.

or

A retreat at an Episcopal Convent to learn about prayer and spiritual community.

It's a difficult choice, but I have to chose prayer over protest. I believe prayer is stronger.

I'll pray for everyone marching on April 29th and for the soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq.

Wake up WASHINGTON

China Wins Over Washington, but D.C. Proves a Bit Tougher

In Washington the state, Mr. Hu beamed as he hobnobbed with the capitalist kings of computers, coffee shops and airplanes, who are among those making a mint in China's markets.
In Washington the city, Mr. Hu got a rather frostier reception. A dissident heckler startled him on the White House lawn, a White House announcer called his country the Republic of China — did someone say Taiwan? — and a senator warned that China should open more of its markets to American products, or else.

Yet while the disparate receptions awarded Mr. Hu would appear to indicate a deep divide in the United States' approach to China, the breach, in fact, might not be so deep: never mind the talk, nobody really wants to rock the boat.

Read More
Americans are upset about Darfur, but find China an acceptable business partner. This is hypocritical since China is currently underwriting the genocide in Africa.

"Chinese oil purchases have financed Sudan's pillage of Darfur. Chinese-made AK-47"s have been the main weapons used to slaughter several hundred thousand people in Darfur so far, and China has protected Sudan in the U.N. Security Council."

Nicholas D. Kristof - OpEd New York Times Sunday April 23, 2006

Where are the voices of protest? It was the other Washington that provided a voice for those who protest the unlikely union of China and Washington.

WASHINGTON - The arrival ceremony for Hu Jintao was interrupted by a protester who appealed to President Bush to stop the Chinese president from "persecuting the Falun Gong."The woman began shouting from the top of a camera stand that had been positioned directly in front of the two leaders so that news photographers could record the arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

Read More

Friday Photo Blog

Celebrate the beauty of every flower and the opportunities of every day!

Lenten Retreat

We spent a wonderful day and a half at a monastery outside the city. We read in the library, prayed with the monks, walked the labyrinth, played with the dog and cat that live there, and talked and talked.

Tom Fox - Why are We Here?

Written by Tom Fox the day before his abduction in Iraq.

I have read that the word in the Greek Bible that is translated as "love" is the word "agape." Again, I have read that this word is best expressed as a profound respect for all human beings simply for the fact that they are all God's children. I would state that idea in a somewhat different way, as "never thinking or doing anything that would dehumanize one of my fellow human beings."

It seems as if the first step down the road to violence is taken when I dehumanize a person. That violence might stay within my thoughts or find its way into the outer world and become expressed verbally, psychologically, structurally or physically. As soon as I rob a fellow human being of his or her humanity by sticking a dehumanizing label on them, I begin the process that can have, as an end result, torture, injury and death.

"Why are we here?" We are here to root out all aspects of dehumanization that exist within us. We are here to stand with those being dehumanized by oppressors and stand firm against that dehumanization. We are here to stop people, including ourselves, from dehumanizing any of God's children, no matter how much they dehumanize their own souls.

What would happen if Christians devoted the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war?

Christian Peacemaker Teams

Go Global

I recently found a great sit for global blogging. It's full of international writers.

Global Voices Online

From there comes my belated contribution for International Women's Day:

¡Feliz Día de la Mujer!

You certainly don’t need to speak Spanish to feel the raised hairs on your neck as you watch this moving video, edited by Argentine blogger Malearg, which recounts the progress and achievements made by women across the globe.

PEACE

Blogging against Sexim Day

We've got a long way to go.

Phoebe Griswold's address at UNCSW forum-

"..... the Anglican Communion has four instruments of unity: that is the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the 38 primates, the 700 plus bishops and the ACC members. That adds up to over 800 people who sit at the decision-making tables of the Anglican Communion. Of those 800 people, 30 are women."

For some interesting stories from international women see blog: http://happening-here.blogspot.com/

When a cup of water becomes a crime

This week I have been attending side events which are part of the 50th Session of the UNCSW. It has been an educational and challenging experience. The Anglican Consultative Council has sponsored over 100 women from the US and around the world as delegates. I've listened to women from Africa talk about the trafficking of women and girls in Los Angeles, watched a documentary about women from Iran who are forced into prostitution due to poverty and then punished for their illegal "job", listened to panelists discuss the role of women in decision making processes and peace making missions, and met women from many countries. I'm privileged to live in NY and have the opportunity to attend an event like this.

Unrelated to the UNCSW, but in the same building was a meeting sponsored by Episcopal Migration Ministries. The director of Annunciation House spoke about the work they are doing on the US-Mexican boarder. He told powerful stories of immigrants who risk life and limb to cross the boarder. We often hear from popular sources that the boarder is a "national safety" concern with drug dealers and terrorists using it as a highway for criminal activity. What we don't hear about are the hard-working families who cannot survive on the extremely low wages they earn in Mexico and so attempt the life-threatening track into the US in hopes of starting a new life. Or the story of Shanti and Daniel, two volunteers with NO MORE DEATHS were arrested and prosecuted for helping migrants they found badly dehydrated in the Arizona desert.

In the US, it is a crime to help someone in need?!!!

As a faith community we have moral obligation to help those who in need. Make your voice heard if you are concerned with the plight of immigrants and the moral decline of our society if we continue to oppress the poor of God's world. Urge the U.S. Senate to Support Bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The trouble with power

March 2006 will mark yet another anniversary of the war in Iraq. Iraqis and Americans continue to die. Children continue to grow up in an atmosphere of violence and neglect. We watched "Turtles Can Fly" last night. It's a painful reminder of the children who suffer from the trauma of war and will never escape the consequences of actions of the powerful. My husband found this prayer by Stanley Hauerwas which he wrote after the US sent missiles into Iraqi because Iraq had allegedly tried to kill George Bush I.

Graceful Lord, we find ourselves living in the most powerful country in the world. The pride and self-righteousness such power breeds are beyond compare. No power exists that can humble us. We are tyrants of all we survey. We decide to bomb these people, send rockets against these people, kill those we call terrorists-all because we can. We are the most powerful people in the world. It is hard not to be caught up in such power. It is intoxicating. Save us from it. Sober us with the knowledge that you will judge this nation, you will humble this nation, you will destroy this nation for our pride. Send us a reminder that you are God, that you alone have the right of vengeance, and if it be your will, make those we bomb instruments of you judgment. At the very least, save us from the "normality of killing." AMEN.
To see some of the consequences of our abuse of power, check out....

http://www.bushflash.com/liberation.html

America uses its might in the service of principles.
Bush, April 2003

How can you liberate people by killing them?
Sheik Serif Maskari

In the footsteps of St. Francis

How do I know when I have too much? St. Francis sent out his friars with "nothing but a harp" saying "If we had possessions we should need weapons and laws to defend them." St. Francis wanted his friars to engage with the world and to never feel tied down either by loyalties to rich patrons or by the accumulation of possessions. He wanted his friars to mix freely with anyone and everyone they came across and in so doing, to be open to every reflection of God on earth.

Is it possible for someone in the 21st C. to live this way? This year, Lent offers me the opportunity to investigate what this lifestyle might mean for me. I want the freedom follow my spiritual journey wherever it leads.

The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.

St. Benedict

Do I have too much?

The USA alone, with only 6%of the world's population, consumes 30% of its resources.

What causes global hunger is not a shortage of resources, but the unequal distribution of those resources in favour of the rich. No solution to world poverty can ignore this basic fact: putting an end to it will inevitably involve a fairer distribution of the world's food, resources and wealth. This is not compatible with the consumerist creed of ever-increasing consumption.

Enough.org

I've been reading from this website and We are Everywhere about anticonsumerism and anticapitalism. Also thinking about the central theme of Lent, which is sacrifice. I wonder how much we are willing to sacrifice. Not giving up soda or chocolate, but having the guts to revision our world in light of the huge disparity between Western consumption and the poverty of so many countries.

There are so many things we can do every day to return balance to the world. We are responsible for the decisions we make everyday - from owning too much to buying products that support the continued "slavery" of poor workers in other countries.

Life on a string

There are so many issues that I would like to write about. Right now I don't have the experiance or knowledge to speak intelligently about most of them. So I've spent a lot of time reading other people's ideas and trying to sort out my own ideas.

Still reading about St. Francis. G.K. writes that St. F. saw the world like a man standing on his head. He saw the world as hanging by a string - dependent on God for everything. From a human point-of-view I often worry that I am making mistakes - that whatever I'm doing is wrong. But in an upside-down view of life NOTHING I could do is right-so I can rejoice in my foolishness and see how God controls even my inability to make the right decision. Perhaps I should consider my total dependence on Him and my total inability to even make a decision. In this way I don't escape my situation, instead I find a way deeper into my situation. Only by going deeper can I find myself or rather lose myself in dependence to God.

The main reason to lose myself is so that I can be more aware of the needs of others. There are so many situations in the world that do not reflect a balance of power or even a recognition of the humanity of so many people. Political and social instituations keep women, children, and anyone without power from fulfilling their purpose.

Moving toward Lent

In the cycle of the church calendar we are traveling toward the wilderness of Lent. It is not a season that comes easily - like Advent or Easter. Instead of celebrations and feasts, we fast. Instead of candles and greenary we have the hard wood of the cross. Instead of lessons on love and peace, we have the desert temptation and the suffering of the cross.

I am trying to spend some time preparing for Lent. Having come from a tradition that didn't pay much attention to Lent, I have only recently come to see Easter in light of Lent. During Advent we wait with anticipation for the joy of Christmas, but during Lent we are drawn with increased tension into the Passion. Only after the suffering of Maunday Thurday and the darkenss of Good Friday are we finally able to celebrate the Resurrection Mass.

In preparation for Lent I am reading G. K. Chesterton's St. Francis. I'm looking for a saintly example to emulate during Lent. On a larger scale I want to live a sustainable lifestyle that reflects the tenents of self-renunction and spiritual ecomomy as taught by the Franciscans and other monastic orders. This presents a conflict considering my present location - NYC and my natural preoccupation with having things. In the words of Jennifer M. Phillips:

God, My wisdom,
When I begin to see how my choices
are part of a pattern of wanting and using
by which others are hurt,
I am overwhelmed and I look away.
Cast out my fear.
Give me a large imagination
to see the hidden connections of your world,
wider compassion
to know my kinship with all people,
and to live as you desire,
one choice at a time.

Prayer for Penitents