Re-Entry

It is finished.

My colleagues in the initiative have (for the most part) all returned to their home countries, families and jobs. We have begun the task of unpacking, giving gifts to loved ones and appreciating the many blessings of our lives. We are putting together advocacy plans even as we take a deep breath and try to get the knots out of our backs from all the stress.

We were told during training that these people we spent so much time with would become good friends. Thanks to social media, goodbye doesn't have to mean what it once did. As long as we continue to stay connected by the tether of electronics we will be able to keep in touch over the miles. For this, I am most grateful.

We did it. I say "we" because the past three months of sabbatical have definitely been a team effort.

My family stood by my decision to live in a conflict zone and accompany people who don't really have a choice in the matter when it comes to security. Yes, there were dangerous moments, which is a burden I'd rather my loved ones not have to carry. On the hard days (and the easy ones) staying connected to family and friends helped me turn from despair towards hope.

I owe my husband Clark a deep debt of gratitude. He supported my decision to live in Israel/Palestine and reminded me that what I was doing was important. I appreciate my mom for listening and letting me authentically be who I am. She let me name my fears and reminded me that I am called to be brave.  My children, Cady and Zack, thrived beyond my wildest expectations - despite the occasional stresses in their lives.

And finally, the church. What can be said about a community that commits to wrapping me in prayer AND feeds my loved ones fresh, delicious homemade dinners a couple of times a week? If food is love, it is crystal clear that we are cared for and I am most grateful.

Sabbatical is supposed to be a time when lay leadership of the church is "handed back the reins", and I hope to find out more soon about how that all went for them. And I hope that the deep joy I have seen from our teens and their advisers on creating Youth Sunday this year without me will be a lasting reminder of their strength and spirituality. You did it, too!

My focus in the next month or so will be to reconnect with our elders, our lay leaders and those in crisis. Relationships are so important, and separation is really hard. Give a hug to someone close to you today. Remember the people of Israel and Palestine who are working towards a just peace and end to conflict. Commit to non-violence today in word and action, Refuse to be enemies.

Proclaim Jubilee

“Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan…In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.” (Leviticus 25: 10,13)

Imagine that you are a father of five teenage boys living in the small, overcrowded village of Beit Hanina, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Your family hadn’t always lived here. Your true home, as your father tells the story, is the Negev. He and your mother (who has long since passed) were internally displaced in 1948 in what Israelis call the “War of Independence”.

The ruins of your home

Your family calls the war “al-Nakbah” or “the Catastrophe”. They remember it as a time in which 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes as some five hundred villages (including your family’s) were destroyed. Since that moment in time, your people have been living in an occupied territory. Even though it began ten years before you were born, your standard of living, access to religious sites and education, the jobs that are available to you, where you may live, even the identity of the person you are able to marry – all will be dictated by a political system in which you are not allowed to participate. Unlike other democratic countries, you may not vote for the representatives that make decisions on your behalf, because you are living under an occupation, you are not considered a full citizen.

One morning at 5 am you hear loud banging and shouts at your door. About 20 soldiers are there with automatic weapons and a large bulldozer. It breaks your heart to see your sons and wife so full of fear as you all get pushed outside so the movers can do their work. The men quickly move through your house, taking out some items and leaving others. You wish your sons had their backpacks for school, but you don’t see them on the pile – they must be under the rubble. You gather your family together in safety just as the wreaking ball begins to swing, demolishing the cement block home that you built with your own two hands just nine years ago.

An empty space where
your home once was

 You thought that the 40,000 shekels (10,000 USD) that you paid in fines for not having the proper building permit would help delay this dark day, but your lawyer was unable to have the case thrown out of court. And now, you will not only have to pay his costs but also the costs for demolition. You and your family are suddenly homeless. Sure, you could just leave and go somewhere else, but the only places available are the nearby refugee camps at Shu’fat or Qalandia – both rife with violence. That’s no environment to raise your teenage sons.

During our second week of placement as international human rights observers, we encountered the man I describe above and his family. Seeing the rubble of what had been their lives, their home base, their shelter and safety… well, there is simply nothing that can be said to ease that kind of helplessness.

More rubble and destruction

It’s a situation that happens quite frequently in Jerusalem. According to the Society of St. Ives Catholic Center for Human Rights, only 7% of building applications are approved for Palestinians while the remaining 93% are granted to Israeli Jew’s. In the Palestinian areas of Jerusalem, there is a housing shortage of 43,000 units. Since permits cost over $30,000 and 75.4% of Palestinians live under the poverty line and are unable to afford it, many have no choice but to build illegally and hope for the best. At this moment, 60,000 families are under demolition orders and are at risk of waking up to find a bulldozer at their door. And it seems, given the current political state, that it is only going to get worse. Unless we decide to do something about it.

Prayers are good, but advocacy is too. It’s been 50 years of unjust occupation, so let’s proclaim Jubilee today. Write your senators and congress people, ask them what they know about this situation which our tax dollars are supporting. Talk to your friends about it. Read up on the human rights abuses taking place here in this “Holy Land Full of Holes”. Better yet, come and see for yourself.

Sabbatical Reading List

One of my loudest complaints (to myself) these past few years in ministry is that I haven't had much time to read. And there is SO MUCH good stuff out there! Having the opportunity to dig into a stack of books will be fantastic. Carrying them to the Holy Land... may be rough but I'll deal.

If you want to read along with what I'll be reading during my overseas sabbatical, here are the titles (along with intro snippets from Amazon), Some of them have been on my list for a while.

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams: Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.

Because - Joy. How do we find it after tragedy, oppression, trauma?

From Beirut to Jerusalem, by Thomas L. Friedman:  Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman drew upon his ten years of experience reporting from Lebanon and Israel to write this now-classic work of journalism. In a new afterword, he updates his journey with a fresh discussion of the Arab Awakenings and how they are transforming the area, and a new look at relations between Israelis and Palestinians, and Israelis and Israelis.

Because - The Middle East is a complicated place. Much of what is available in news channels is so black and white. How do they build a path to peace?

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates:  Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

Because - It's our original sin as a nation, and the disturbing rise of neo-nazi groups have underscored the fact that racism isn't over in the US. How do we heal the brokenness and move forward together? It's a difficult question to answer without listening to the voices of those who are most directly impacted.

Hillbilly Elegy, By J D Vance:  A passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

Because - We witnessed this phenomenon this summer on a mission trip to Frakes, KY. The American dream is not equally experienced across the country. What are the underlying factors that have disintegrated the dream and how do we move forward?

Simple Church, by Thom Ranier and Eric Geiger: #1 national bestseller Simple Church guides Christians back to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required. With insights based on case studies of 400 American churches, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove the disciple-making process is often too complex. Simple churches thrive by taking four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus.

Because - I'm on sabbatical from leading a church, and I'd like for us to begin tackle governance when I return. My gut tells me that we over complicate things. What does "simple church" look like? Hopefully this is not a dumbing down, but a streamlining for effectiveness.

Thank You for Being Late, by Thomas L. Friedman: Exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them and cushion their worst impacts. You will never look at the world the same way again after you read this book: how you understand the news, the work you do, the education your kids need, the investments your employer has to make, and the moral and geopolitical choices our country has to navigate will all be refashioned by Friedman’s original analysis.

Because - The World is shifting in new ways and I'd like to know more.

Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood, Lisa Lamour: In this sane, highly engaging, and informed guide for parents of daughters, Dr. Damour draws on decades of experience and the latest research to reveal the seven distinct—and absolutely normal—developmental transitions that turn girls into grown-ups, including Parting with Childhood, Contending with Adult Authority, Entering the Romantic World, and Caring for Herself. Providing realistic scenarios and welcome advice on how to engage daughters in smart, constructive ways, Untangled gives parents a broad framework for understanding their daughters while addressing their most common questions

Because - I feel sometimes like I don't understand the transition to adulthood for girls, and knowing more may help. Also, the last book I was able to read was Masterminds & Wingmen by Rosalind Wiseman, a book about adolescent male development. It greatly helped me in both understanding my son, but also the other young men that come through our youth program at MCC.

I'll write some thoughts from time to time about the readings, my adventures (w/pics) so that you know what I'm up to. Happy reading!

Love is from God - A Valentine

Love is from God. Everyone Who Loves is Born of God. (John 4:7)

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm here in chilly Silver Springs about to pack up my stuff for the week and head for home. Grateful to my friends Matt and Chris and their wonderful kids for hosting me for a week, and also really thankful for the conversations I've had with his church's staff and members. They've been open and honest with me about the joys and limitations of a larger church, and I've been happy to share with them some of my impressions as a visitor.

I realized something really important this week. As an Open & Affirming church, Christ Congregational Church has an active and thriving ministry around LGBTQ justice issues. Last night, about a dozen of us went to Annapolis to speak with state representatives in anticipation of a Marriage Equality vote that will happen sometime this week. I was inspired to hear Heather Miseur, one of the representatives at the heart of the debate, tell a roomful of her constituents about her journey as a devout Catholic and lesbian. I heard others talk about how difficult it was to be in the middle of this to have their families voted on. I also heard how they were loving the folks who were uncomfortable into a new reality and their hope that the tide was turning.

I also did a little self reflection. Because, in order to make this trip fit into what I've wanted to do on this sabbatical, I chose to be away from my husband on Valentine's day. Yes, it's a little bit of a Hallmark holiday. But Clark is a pretty romantic guy. There are so many couples in this country who do not have the basic rights and privileges of marriage that I enjoy, and here I am ditching him for my own personal and professional agenda. Not cool. So I'm leaving soon to come home a day early, on Valentine's Day, to surprise him. I think he will be happy to see me, because after 20 years together a person just knows.

Prayers today for all who love, for those who want to be loved, and those who are too scared to love. God bless.