Already and Not Yet

Since 2002, I have been intimately involved with Spirit and Truth Fellowship, a CRCNA church in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Hunting Park.  Our late Pastor, Dr Manuel Ortiz, was a professor of Urban Mission at my alma mater, Westminster Seminary, and he often spoke to me and the other pastors in our community about his dear friend and mentor, Harvey Conn, who was also a professor of missions at Westminster.  In 1992, Dr Conn published a book called “Eternal Word and Changing Worlds,” and in this book he argued for the need to reevaluate our Western-centric approaches to

Content warning: this post reflects on how society - mostly personal attitudes, but to an extent legal approaches - responds to and treats perpetrators of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. I am not a survivor of trafficking or exploitation, so my reflections about these matters are from a distance. As someone who works closely with individuals who have been personally affected by these crimes, I make every effort to be sensitive to their victimization and experiences.

When I was 11 years old

Sometimes people like to exclude you from their circles. We are not always sure why and sometimes we do know why. In any case it doesn’t feel good to be rejected by others. Some people reject you to make you feel bad. Some people don’t even think about how their rejection affects you.

I am in a position where I provide support to survivors of human trafficking after they have already experienced trauma and exploitation. I am “down river,” in a position to provide assistance and aid after people have fallen upstream. With more awareness, I am hopeful that prevention efforts will make a greater difference in keeping youth safe. 

Good Friday is a day for the church to remember that, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it so well, ‘when Christ bids us ‘come’, he bids us ‘come and die’.  Despite all of our attempts to construe Jesus’ death as a comforting and comfortable way out of pain and suffering, the reality is – to steal a line from my friend and biblical scholar Andrew Rillera – “Jesus does not die instead of us.  Jesus dies ahead of us.”  We who embrace and are embraced by Jesus are invited to follow Jesus on the way of the cross.  Walking the way of the cross with Jesus is where we learn to suffer for a suff

In waters not far off the U.S. coast, there are 15 Marine Sanctuaries, stunning marine environments where one might encounter the beauty and diversity of God’s creation. Indeed, if they were to live up to their name, one might even encounter God. The word “sanctuary” comes from the Latin word sanctus, meaning holy. In many faith traditions, the sanctuary is the place where God came to dwell. It is the holy place where believers can come to know and experience the presence of the divine.

I started a new job as an Art Teacher at a Juvenile Detention Center in August of last year. Prior to teaching, I volunteered at the facility through my church. As you can imagine teaching justice-involved youth comes with a unique set of challenges. I’m at the center of a lot more angst and less excitement than I ever was as a volunteer. I also know a lot more about the residents– now my students.  Their stories are more pronounced in their daily classroom behavior. It can be a hard thing to carry.  I can’t imagine how hard it is to live the stories. 

In my late twenties I was presented with an opportunity to work with at risk youths and children who lived in post conflict Sierra Leone. At that time, I was working in Washington, DC and had a wonderful life. I loved my friends. I love the house I was living in. I was happy. At that time, I was working to support people who were homeless and in desperate financial situations. With my friends, we wrestled with how to live in a world with so much suffering, injustice and poverty. I was idealistic and took God’s call in Isaiah 58 very seriously.