News from the Field

On 9/11 the West was suddenly confronted with the reality of Islamic extremism in the form of Al-Qaeda and the ideology of Osama Bin Laden. We all woke up to the dangers of fundamentalism. This was especially true for the Church in North America. Since 9/11 and despite or, as some might argue, as a result of the war on terror, extremism has only increased. Now we hear constantly about ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shabab, and other groups. Our own countries of the USA and Canada are more secure thanks to the efforts of Homeland Security and CSIS.

Why treat prisoners humanely? What’s the point? This is prison we're talking about, not a country club. What can they expect? 

And that leads to the next question, as a voter and taxpayer in the State of Michigan, what do I expect of our prison system? What should I expect?

Ask these questions of a dozen people in one room, and you’ll get a dozen different answers.

Over the course of the past couple of years, I have been introduced to the term “microaggression.” I think I have known what microaggressions are for years, but hadn’t had the right word for them until recently. The term “microaggression” refers to an unconscious discrimination or degradation of a person related to their gender, race, ability, income or sexual identity.

We live in a land that was taken from others, and in a nation that was built by the slave labor of others. Only God can work to redeem and restore what has been done, but God seeks to do that through us, particularly in what we teach our children.

There are already many things you should go read about McKinney. Before this becomes about you and your actions and your reactions and your thoughts and your assessment and your judgements, I need you to know two things.

Rarely do we get out of our left/right echo chambers here in the US when talking about these things – so this was a real conversation not just an exercise in embellishing each other’s views.

So the neighbourhood became a place of welcome, not an agency but a neighbourhood. We began to paraphrase the African saying, “It takes a neighbourhood to welcome a refugee."

This was the fourth time that I have traveled to Honduras to witness the work of AJS-Honduras; each time I have been moved and inspired by the bravery, imagination, dedication, and enthusiasm of the staff.

Imagine for a moment that someone has caused you harm—stolen from you, vandalized your property, assaulted you, lied to you, killed a loved one. Make a list--what would you need from others so you could process the harm you have experienced?

Now imagine that you have caused someone harm—you’ve lied to them, ignored them, maligned them, stolen, vandalized, assaulted, perhaps even murdered them. List what you would need from others so you could address the harm you had caused.

Look at each list. What do you notice?

Let me begin by stating the obvious, Ferguson is about more than Michael Brown, the unarmed, eighteen year old African American who was slain in the street by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. It is even about more than the disregard shown for his body---which was desecrated and left out in the street for four hours to rot, left on display to serve as a public service announcement to his community. While it is definitely about these things, it is also about much more! At its core, Ferguson is about declaring the inherent worth of black people.