Commissioning

So I haven't written in awhile, partially because of laziness and partially because it's hard for me to put things into words.

I got commissioned on July 15, 2007 at St. Paul and St. Andrew's UMC in Manhattan. There were 9 US-2's and 8 Mission Interns (my program). Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar of the Greater New Jersey Conference gave the message and led the commissioning. He said "This is not about success, it is about faithfulness." This is something I've known, but as he said that the reality of the situation hit me hard. I am a missionary. Not the negative stereotype of imposing beliefs and customs onto "poor native savages", but as in living out my faith, putting that faith into action. Amazing. Love. Christ's unconditional love and Ubuntu forgiveness. Community. Connection. Peace and Social Justice. Walking with my neighbors as Christ intended. Being connected to the global community. Humility. I am finally going to be able to do what matters the most to me. And what God has called me to do which is why it matters to me.

One of the songs that we sung during that service is called "The Summons." I first heard that song at the Womens Retreat with Westminster UMC this past year. I was touched by the lyrics then but on this day, it meant even more.

Here is one of the verses. The rest are under the picture if you want to read them. The hymn came from the Iona Community which is an ecumenical community based on an island off of Scotland. So picture a Irish/Scotch type melody.

4. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
Wow.

Here's a picture of the commissioning:

Here's the rest of the lyrics:

The Summons by John L. Bell(I think)

1. Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

2. Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

3. Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

4. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

5. Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

July 4th

So we went to a pier on the Hudson River in W. Greenwhich Village to watch the fireworks. Here's a few pictures that didn't turn out as well as I would've liked...





Christy, Christina and I...a little windblown...

Protest-please read

Today we went to the Church Center at the United Nations (CCUN). Our seminar was on globalization and more specifically sweatshops. We watched "The Corporation" which is a Michael Moore movie and I recommend it to everyone. It's very scary, the corporate world. It doesn't seem that we really live in a democratic, capitalistic society afterall, not that I thought we did in the first place, but it's worse than I thought it was.

But what I really want to talk about is that we participated in a protest with the "Justice Will Be Served!" campaign which is a coalition of the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, The Chinese Staff & Workers' Association, and 318 Workers Union. The protest was aiming to boycott and to inform people so that they will boycott the "Saigon Grill" here in Manhattan. What happened to lead up to this was that 36 delivery workers (delivery by bicycle) were unlawfully fired because they were organizing and planned to file a lawsuit. The owners demanded that the workers sign an illegal contract, stating that they had received minimum wage. They were actually receiving under $2.00 as low as $1.60 an hour. The workers, which included documented and undocumented, refused to lie.

The Saigon Grill's three locations earn more than $2 million per month. The workers would get paid under $2.00, while the legal minimum wage for NYC is approximately $4.85 for a job that earns tips. One worker said that he would get paid $120.00 for working a 75 hour week. On top of that, they would get fined for silly things like slamming a door on their way out (accidentally), taking sick leave, being late entering something into the computer. If the workers hurt themselves on the job, they had to pay their own medical bills. If they got robbed or beaten (common) while making a delivery, they had to pay not only their medical bills but the orders that got taken. Workers that spoke out against these conditions were automatically fired. They were verbally harassed by their supervisors and not allowed to call their families or eat. Some of these workers had been with Saigon Grill for 10+ years.

Why, you ask, would someone work in these conditions? They have to make money and they can't get a better job elsewhere because it would be similar conditions. Documented workers would be told that they could easily replaced with undocumented workers. The owners would threaten undocumented workers with calling INS. I was told that in New Jersey there are work conditions worse that this, where workers are working for nothing but tips!

These workers along with the orgs supporting them are fighting for justice. They are demanding that Saigon Grill immediately rehire all delivery worker and that they obey the labor law and pay workers their minimum wage and overtime pay, which was something else they weren't getting. This boycott has been going on for five months. A public press release was done. Members of the state legislator and others are aware of the situation but have not done anything to help. I did read however that a federal wage lawsuit has been filed.

Here are some pictures:

Oscar Romero

This is what we are about.
We are the seeds that one day will grow.
We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promises.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
It enables us to do something, and to do it well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

~~~from Prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero
Assasinated by the Salvadoran military in 1980 because he walked with the oppressed. The Salvadoran Military was funded by the U.S.

Amazing

I would like to thank everyone for the support and prayers while I am here in New York City. I cannot begin to put into words how amazing it is to be here with other people that have the same or similar passions that I do. Hearing people's stories and sharing my own, we all come from different walks in life, but we were all led here. This has and is going to be a completely transforming experience and I have never in my life felt so strongly that I am doing what I should be doing, without a single doubt in my mind, heart, or soul, this is where God wants me. It is both amazing and humbling.

On Sunday, June 17th Pastor Jenn and Pastor Dave at Westminster UMC commisioned me as a way of showing support from the church that I went to growing up and where I first learned what it meant to "serve" through my experiences on Volunteers In Mission trips. (my official commissioning is on July 15). Here's a picture of Jenn and I:



And here's a picture of Mom, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Sherry, and Gaggy (grandmother):

Finally

Well, I'm finally in New York. My life has been so busy up until now that it doesn't seem real that I'm actually here. We met as a group for the first time yesterday at dinner. There's 2 MIRYAP's(Missionary in Residence of Young Adult Programs-they are leading us), 9 Mission Interns(my program) and 8 US-2's(2 years in the U.S.) After dinner we got our schedules and although we do have down time, we are going to be very busy. My "down time" usually consists of being with a small group of people b/c I'm extroverted and get rejuventated by being around others. However, I may actually need my own down time during these three weeks.

Yesterday, as part of introductions, we picked a quote and explained while we liked it. I picked one by Mahatma Gandhi that means a lot to me because it describes my restlessness, my desire to not be sitting around dreaming and thinking about injustices in the world, but actually doing something about it. I feel that God has call me, has been calling me for a while and I can't ignore it anymore. The quote was: "Be the change you want to see in the world." And with that I will quote Mother Teresa: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

Love and Wisdom

This is something that my friend Lisa emailed me:

"Love and wisdom without the good of use are nothing; they are mere ideal entities, which are only realized when they are employed in use....Therefore when love by means of wisdom is put to use, it actually exists, because it is realized in action. These three are exactly like end, cause and effect; the end is nothing unless by means of the cause it is realized in the effect."
True Christian Religion 387