It was made even moreso, because I do not consider my life in a vacuum, isolated from what is going on around me. I felt as part of my life experiences the conditions and events that took place around me, captured and held my attention and affected my mood, choices, decisions and general circumstances of life. So for me, 2009 was many tough years rolled into one. And the jury is out as to the implications for 2010.

But hear me, when a year like 2009 comes around it is not easy to predict what’s coming next. It offers at least 2 possible interpretations. On the one hand, you could look at it negatively and say based on how this ends its only going to continue on this downward spiral into the abyss. However, on the other hand you might say this is it. It can only go upward after this there is no further down.

I like the latter and so will remember with thanksgiving that God has brought us safely over. So you might have thought it was the end, and maybe whatever situation you are faced with  now you are thinking you’d rather not go on. But receive this assurance at the end of this year, and let it fill you with hope for the year to come.

Paul the apostle puts it like this in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9:

7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Over the past year I’ve had my share of those difficulties of which Paul speaks. And guess what, I’m alive. I know I did not make it through 2009 by my own skill or power. God’s favour was upon me; and God’s power kept and continues to sustain me. I resolved to let each experience impart to me more of life’s wisdom. And I’m all the more stronger for them. So for me, I am looking forward to 2010 because I believe that 2009 was preparation for what is to come.

What about you? Do you share a similar hope for 2010 or have you hit rock bottom and feel like you can’t go on anymore? If you’ve made it this far to the end of the year, don’t let go. Here’s some more encouragement from the Kurt Kerr Singers:

May your heart be filled with hope and thanksgiving for the coming year.

Marvia

[UN Photo - Sudanese Women Carry Bag Of Rations]

When I feed the hungry they call me a saint
When I ask why so many people are poor they call me a communist
- Dom Helder Camara

World Hunger is a scandal. The earth produces enough food to feed all its inhabitants, yet hunger has reached chronic proportions across the world especially in Asia and Africa. Women are the primary producers of the food the world consume. Moreover, in Africa alone 80% of the food produced is produced by women.

The irony?  The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics show that more than 60% of the world’s chronically hungry people are women.

Poor Women Chronically Hungry
Its one thing to be chronically tired. The rapid-paced world we’ve created guarantees that we get little or no rest. Chronic fatigue seems to be a normal way of life for most of us. But how many of us know what it feels like to be chronically hungry? The world’s poorest women do. According to the latest World Food Programme report:

There are 1.02 billion undernourished people in the world today. That means one in nearly six people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to the health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

To be chronically anything, is to be in that condition for an ongoing or lengthy period of time. Hunger having reached chronic proportions globally, has become like a disease on the face of the earth. Chronic hunger describes the state of ongoing daily, weekly, and more often than not months of undernourishment. These women consume far less than the required daily caloric intake necessary to keep them healthy and active.

In addition, hungry mothers give birth to hungry children. Malnourished children face great challenges including learning disabilities which in turn perpetuates socio-economic underdevelopment and the inability to free themselves from poverty. It is a vicious cycle…

[UN Photo/Martine Perret]
Women and Children Search Garbage Dump for Cans to Sell

Main Factors That Cause Hunger
The World Food Programme highlights the following factors as the main causes of hunger.

• Natural Disasters
  
• War
• Poor Environmental Practices
• Agricultural Infrastructure
• Poverty
  

All these factors are interconnected, one impact on the others. To address the causes of hunger, all the contributing factors must be tackled together. October 16, is observed worldwide as the World Food Day, and October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This entire month of October is dedicated to bringing the world’s attention to the ravages of hunger and poverty across the world, but especially in Africa and Asia.

Sometimes, the situation seems hopeless when we look at the extent of the challenges we face. I for one, tend not to think of it as though I’m alone but remember that no single person or nation can solve all the world’s problems. However, we can build on the efforts of others and together we can make a great difference. So what can we do?

[ UN Photo/Milton Grant]
Somali Women and Children Walk To A UN-supported Center For Food

Take Action:

Significant progress can be made if the heads of all nations, and us as people commit to implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Discuss them with your congregations to learn ways we can make a difference.

Get resources to educate your congregations about world hunger and poverty from organizations such as  Bread For The World and the Baptist World Alliance which observes Hunger Month annually in October.

If you have a Blog, then become a Blogger Against Hunger advocate and use your voice to promote awareness of the hunger and the global food crisis. Sign up by just clicking the banner below it will take you to the site.

This is just a start on the many things you can do. Do something. Feel free to share your resources with us as well.

Peace and Love,
Marvia

On International Day of Peace September 21, 2009 I joined with others across the world in my deep desire for a global culture of peace. This year, the United Nations issued a call for nations to disarm, under the focus we must disarm or wmd. It is believed that to disarm will be a significant gesture in creating the desired culture of peace is the leadership of world leaders.

As a servant of hope who inspires faith is some to believe that all things are possible when we trust God,  it might seem contradictory to some to hear me say peace the way we perceive it will not come anytime soon. And I’m not being original in those sentiments either. Jesus never offered his disciples any such consolation of ‘world peace’ the way they anticipated it. Yet, the way he taught them how we should live with our neighbours would bring about precisely that peace we yearn after.

The present culture of war and violence that characterizes life as we know it has been centuries in the making. None  of us alive know any other world, and a world of peace we can only imagine. We can speak of relatively safe and less violent times when we were children. Today’s youth and children have no such memories of ‘good old days’.

There is no shred of evidence to support exactly what a world at peace might look like, except what we hear about and believe to be possible. The wisdom of Prophets, Sages and Religious Leaders who receive(d) glimpses into Divine mystery, teach us that the present path of war and violence, hatred and hostility is a fool’s path. It’s present and its future breeds nothing but destruction.

[Photo courtesy of UN Photo/Jorge Aramburu - UN peacekeeper patrols Lebanon border]

Many peace initiatives have already been tried and proven. Some have failed, some are still being flogged, and we are thankful for every ounce of success. The call to disarm must go out to nations as well as individuals with high powered sophisticated nuclear weaponry for national defense, and small personal arms for protection.

The call to for disarmament is not gaining sufficient ground among the powerful world leaders. I believe it is because it is not a profitable option, and thus cannot gain sufficient popularity from those who now profit greatly from war and violence. I am no geo-political pundit but as I see it, religion, distrust and money are the three main reasons why nations will not disarm anytime soon.

Religion, Violence & War

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three Abrahamic faiths share a history of war, violence and conquest interpreted as sanctioned by God oftentimes depicted as the most cruel warlord. Historic religious conflicts are kept alive in religious memories, rituals and traditions of synagogue, mosque, temple and church.

Religion seems to be more a matter of death, not life as seen in the violent clashes around the world. There is conflict within each religion, and there is conflict among communities of adherents of these religions. The race for arms to defend territories, and current wars being waged have strong religious links that seem only to be getting stronger.

Distrust From Historical Hurts
Our ancestors taught us not to trust each other, and with some good reasons too; and with some bad ones we can’t overcome. There is a reason why we are told not to trust strangers. They first came walking, riding horses or in ships and pretended to be friends from far away lands. Or they come pretending to trade with the locals, and end up stealing precious resources, kidnapping and or killing women and children.

Every single nation has a primal story that goes something like that. Soon we learn that the foreigner is the enemy. Generation after generation hate each other. The foreigner want what we have; and the foreigner always believes you are coming to take it back.  We bear arms to protect ourselves and those we love. Where there is no trust, no one will disarm.

Disarming, throwing down arms/weapons allows us to throw open our arms to embrace each other as sisters and brothers where we once considered the other our enemy. But this disarmament thing is a costly exercise.

Money And Profits We Stand To Lose

The billions of dollars spent on nuclear and other sophisticated weapons only promises psychological delusions of national security. Who cares about the loss of lives, when we believe that fighting wars is the way to protect lives? Who cares about the current threat to lives from the disposal of radio active wastes? Who cares about nations living under the threat of those weapons detonating by accident?

Nuclear weaponry rakes in mega-profits for a few powerful people. Many related industries benefit from the ‘trickle down’. To disarm will disrupt the world’s economies that have for centuries been built on war, violence, conquest and exploitation and the mentality of the survival of the fittest (fittest = ones with bigger guns/smarter war lords are the fittest to lead). Backed by religion, devoid of trust who is willing to lose profits and weapons?

Evil spares no resources to increase its power while peace earns no profit.
Listen to Michael Jackson’s cry in the Earth Song as it echoes the pain and anguish of the land and the world’s most disenfranchised by war and violence:

May Justice roll down like waters (Amos 5:24a)…and therein we’ll find peace,
Marvia

[Photo Courtesy of the WCC: Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit]

The World Council of Churches, after much deliberations, prayers and not a little bit of intrigue by the grace of God have been led to elected a new General Secretary. The Press Release conveying the joyous news out of Geneva, Switzerland. Many of us have been waiting since the start of the year, to learn who would follow on the heels of outgoing General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia. We look forward to renewed vision under the new leadership.

And so the story goes…

Norwegian theologian and pastor Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 48, was elected 7th general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Thursday 27 August during its Central Committee meeting. Tveit will be the youngest general secretary since Willem A. Visser ‘t Hooft who had led the WCC while it was in process of formation and following its founding assembly 61 years ago.

“This task I really feel is the call of God. I feel that we have a lot to do together”, said Tveit in his acceptance speech before the central committee. He stressed the spirit of unity that dominated the whole process and expressed hope that it will continue to reign in the common journey. Tveit encouraged the committee members to continue praying for him: “Please do not stop!”

Since 2002, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has been the general secretary of the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations. Tveit is a member of the WCC Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the board of directors and executive committee of the Christian Council of Norway.

Tveit was one of two candidates standing for election to the WCC’s highest administrative post. The other candidate was Rev. Dr Park Seong-won, a Presbyterian theologian from South Korea. Tveit will replace outgoing general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia who in February 2008 informed the Central Committee, the WCC’s highest governing body, that he would not seek a second term in office. Kobia has served as general secretary since 2004.

PRESS CONFERENCE:

A press conference with Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit will be held:

Friday, 28 August, 12:40 – 13:20 pm

at the Ecumenical Centre,

150 route de Ferney, Geneva, Visser ‘t Hooft Hall

Biographical information on Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit:

http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6908

Information on previous WCC general secretaries:

http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4110

More information on the 26 August – 2 September 2009 Central Committee meeting:

http://www.oikoumene.org/cc2009

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

Let us keep the WCC in our prayers. And while you are at it, do check out their new website and send them some feedback.

Peace,
Marvia

“Be Still My Soul” is a popular revival hymn written by Katharine von Schlegel (1697-c.1768) and translated into English by Jane L. Borthwick (1813-1897). Read more at Christian Music Suite101

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.
Be still, my soul.

Here’s a short video that I’ve found very inspiring. I do hope you enjoy it too.

Peace,
Marvia

In a worship service opening the “Churches against Racism” conference in Doorn, Netherlands, 14-17 June, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia said the Bible was the “ultimate immigration handbook”.

Kobia asked Christians to apply the parable of the “good Samaritan” to the current context in which they live.

“It speaks to us in this week after virulently anti-immigrant parties made unprecedented gains in European elections”, he said. “This parable of Jesus calls us again to consider, ‘Who is my neighbour’ and how are we to live out that relationship? Christ calls us to be neighbours of immigrants, of oppressed minorities within our own nations, of all who are in need of a neighbour.”

The service was held to give thanks for the WCC Programme to Combat Racism. Launched 40 years ago the programme assisted the victims of racial discrimination in different parts of the world, most prominently in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Some fifty church leaders, activists and theologians are attending the international conference.

Expected outcomes of the conference are theologically founded strategies and networks to advocate against racism within society and the church. A message of commitment will be read during a closing worship service 17 June in the presence of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

The conference was organized by the WCC in cooperation with the Council of Churches in the Netherlands, the association of migrant churches in the Netherlands SKIN, the missionary and diaconal agency KerkinActie, the interchurch organization for development cooperation ICCO and the ecumenical advocacy group Oikos.

Get the full text of Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia’s sermon here.

Peace!

This video depicting the brutal killing of Jesus draws heavily on the movie the Passion of Christ – so be careful if you are watching with children.

Blessed Easter,
Marvia

The Water That Gives Life
[Extract of World Water Day Sermon]
By Dr. Anthony G Reddie

Mark 1: vv 10: Jesus’ Baptism
Water is perhaps with air, the most elemental of entities in the world. Put simply, we cannot live without water. Water is essential to life. It is perhaps because of the basic elemental quality of water that many cultures and religions have placed particular importance on it as a way of representing the divine.

The importance of water as a metaphor or analogy for talking about the essential qualities of God become all the more pronounced when the context in which such conversations are located are those that are particularly arid or desert like in their appearance. So it was with the ancient land of Israel and Judea. The so-called Middle East as we have been taught to call it, is an area that is particularly arid, where rain fall is sporadic; making water a very precious commodity indeed.

Especially in this context, perhaps, it is no wonder that water took on a special importance as a way of highlighting the central importance of God as the provider of the very means of life and the continuing sustenance of that life.

In the early Church, when converts were being put through their paces, being trained to understand the Christian life (often called the Catechumen); the culmination of this process was Easter Sunday, the traditional end of Lent. In the service on Easter Sunday, converts would be baptized into the family of God, in the name Christ, echoing Jesus’ own baptism as recorded in Mark 1: 9-11.

Baptism involves water, which symbolizes the new life in Christ for the Christian believer.  The church does not believe that the water is to be literally understood as God nor is there any magic qualities in the water per se, but it does symbolizes an essential quality of God as both the giver life and the new resurrected life of hope in Jesus the Christ.

And yet for all its importance both as a natural, real resource for life or as symbol for God’s life-giving presence within creation, there is always a tendency to take water for granted; so much so, that it is only in its absence that we see the true potency of significance of it our lives – both individual and collective.

Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus challenging those who would, through their enforcement of unjust rules and structures, deny the free access to God that is the right of every human being, especially those who are poor and on the margins of society. Just as access to water must be given to all,  so too does God seek to restore all those who are denied access to God’s own self through the life changing presence of Jesus.

On this World Water Day when we remember the central importance of water as an elemental force in the world that is essential for life and well being, let us consider all those people who are denied access to safe, clean water. All those who cannot afford to buy water. All those who find their access to water rationed and controlled by those with the power to do so. Jesus’ baptism at the start of his ministry, with water, in the river Jordan, marked his commitment to an ongoing ministry, both within his initial life and in his continuing life that seeks to offer all people the full and abundant life (John 10:10) that is symbolized by water (baptism) – the new life in Christ, which is available to and for all people – free of charge and without restriction.

May all those who are denied access to water – an essential element for life, find not only the water they need, but God’s very self, who is often symbolized by water and is the creator of all things, including water.
Amen

Women and men united to end violence against women and girls is the International Women’s Day March 08, 2009 theme of the United Nations. It is an ambitious and hopeful theme. However, ff seriously put into action, it has the power to disrupt the present violently oppressive status quo in many societies across the world.  I welcome the disruption.

Yesterday, I attended a worship service put on by a church related women’s organization. Their theme for IWD was Women Of Courage. Given the increasing incidences of violence against women and girls in this country, women of the church (who are not exempt from being viciously beaten) do need a lot of courage.

The woman who preached the day’s message encouraged women to regain their courage. Women should know their value, strengthen their faith, and recover their determination. She used as her focus Hebrews 10:38-39 & Genesis 3:15.

When she started with the Genesis passage, I grew very tense. That’s my usual mode when I hear preachers from a conservative background tackle the story of Eve and Adam in the mythical Garden of Eden. I am yet to hear any woman from her conservative church background preach anything liberating for women from Genesis 1-3.

Therefore, I schooled my features as I know my members are very keen on watching my reaction to any teaching/preaching that suggest that women be passive under oppression. I was pleasantly surprised. Not blown away now mind you. But pleased she did not forever damn Eve and all her daughters. Of course she ignored the inherent difficulties in the text but that aside she did a great job at encouraging women to action.

It was to call women to regain their courage to choose and to make the best decisions they can. Sometimes those decisions are disobedient ones, made with the best intentions such as to provide for your family. When such moments occur, women should never begin to devalue themselves because God has not devalued us. Her encouragement was not suggesting that God condones wrong. Her point was that where society so easily write people off for making mistakes – God never gives up on us.

She went on about how the offspring of Eve will bash the enemy’s head. I confess it does sound like fighting violence with violence. We hardly need more of that in an already violent world. Especially, when most of that violence is directed against the weak and powerless like women and girls (children on a whole). Once again, though she was encouraging women to affirm their victory over their enemies and challenges in their lives even when it looks like you are losing the battle. So she was not advocating literal violence.

But one woman commented afterward, that she used to take a battering from her husband. One day she got fed up of the beatings, and fed up with herself for taking it. She got the courage and hit him right back. When she saw his surprise, she got closer to him and said, and if you hit me again I’m going to break your hands. He never hit her again. She divorced him shortly after that incident she said. Now I wonder how many women really feel like that – tired of being told not to go the route of violence.

Every woman knows her circumstances and what she can put up with. Some never live to respond like Jennifer Lopez  in the movie Enough. They were killed or murdered in a violent relationship. And some women who suffer are too afraid to do anything about their situation. It is for ALL women that the call comes today – get the courage to make a change. Regain or develop the courage to do something about ending the violence not only for yourself but for other women and girls as well.

For the preacher, Eve’s offsprings were both daughters and sons and the promise for the son is the promise for the daughter. I’ll suspend my ‘trained’ Biblical exegesis for a while and go ‘Hooray’!! Yes. Women its about time we exhibit the courage that this promise gives us. We have the strength to crush the head of the adversary who continue to deceive men (and even other women) to perpetuate violence against women and girls.

Historically, and still in too many places today the daughters of Eve are treated like the enemy. It is our heads that continue to be bashed in, battered, and traumatized by Eve’s male offsprings. So when will men – who stand to benefit from the institution and practice of violence join with women to to bring about its end?

Like the sister said – We are not of those who shrink back (Heb 10:39a ) So let’s have the courage to keep the faith. Stand on the promise that the faithful will be rewarded and even though some perish along the way, there are signs that the present order of things is changing.

Blessings of Grace and Peace to all my sisters across the world – Take heart and be courageous the Divine is on your side.

Marvia

Preaching at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on 21 January, Watkins, a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, said: “Even in these hard times, rich or poor, we can reach out to our neighbour, including our global neighbour, in generous hospitality, building together communities of possibility and of hope.”

In a 20 January letter to President Obama, representatives of WCC member churches in the United States, declared that they wanted to “roll up [their] sleeves and partner with [Obama] to help bring about the changes that are so desperately needed for the United States and the world to more closely reflect God’s vision for humankind and all of creation.”

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia assured Watkins of the Council’s joy and pride over her role as preacher in the inaugural service. Watkins is the first woman to fulfill this responsibility in US history. With regard to domestic and international challenges that will have to be addressed by the new administration, he wrote in a 19 January letter: “Your prayers will be much needed.”

Watkins’ sermon took on a recent suggestion by Muslim scholars worldwide for love of God and love of neighbour as “common basis for building a world at peace”, explaining that the best way to express love of God “is by facing hard times with a generous spirit: by reaching out toward each other rather than turning our backs on each other.”

Download the full text of Rev. Dr Sharon Watkins’ sermon Harmonies Of Liberty here.

The above is a World Council of Churches – News Release.

And so say all of us…
Marvia