The extract copied below is from a recent blog, seen at a Sojourners site. The phenomenon he notes is probably typical and his perspective should be a prod for us, whichever side of the contribution equation we normally lean.
Also, from consideration of poverty ( and DC in part) I strongly suggest that you check out http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/seeingpoverty/index.shtml. Either listen, or download and read the transcript. Now that I think about it, a JEPR group discussion on this program would be useful and possibly inspiring.
Scott
I Got Mugged (by Ryan Rodrick Beiler) ( an extract of the longer article)
Why can't we - both as a society and as a church - do better at providing positive choices for our youth? And for me it is a both/and. I've seen more small-government conservatives willing roll up their sleeves and volunteer as tutors. Meanwhile, it's mostly the justice-minded liberals who march and lobby to end poverty and violence. How can we get more liberals to show up at UFD and more conservatives to advocate? (I know these categories are unfair and far from universal, but I've seen this dynamic over and over in my own church experience.)
Government at every level must do better at making the needed resources available, if for no other reason that the churches simply don't have the resources to do it all on their own. But the church must also be the conscience of the state - challenging not only with words, but by example in serving and caring for those at the margins of society. Conversely, the words of the prophet Jeremiah may inspire the church, but they were originally spoken to a king: "Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? says the Lord." (Jeremiah 22:15b-16)Consider this as the onslaught of opportunities for "Canned Compassion" wash over us with the holiday season, and look for opportunities to do both justice and mercy, not with band-aids of a march here or a meal there, but with sustained service and activism that seeks real healing for our communities.
Ryan Rodrick Beiler is web editor for Sojourners.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
U.S. Funded Child Soldiers
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3763
Kids in combat
U.S.-funded child soldiers
by Dean Peerman
In the decade 1995-2005, 2 million child soldiers were killed and 6 million permanently disabled or injured in armed conflict, according to a United Nations report. Of the estimated 300,000 children (younger than 18) currently serving as soldiers in various parts of the world, some have joined voluntarily, out of economic desperation or for their own safety. Others have been forcibly recruited, trained and deployed by rebel forces. But many are conscripted and used in combat by recognized sovereign governments—at present the governments of nine countries, and eight of the nine receive military assistance from the United States. The eight: Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.
Some of these exploited children are as young as eight. Sometimes girls as well as boys are recruited—and often the girls are raped or otherwise sexually abused. In addition to being compelled to engage in combat—wielding AK-47 assault rifles and the like, often while hopped-up on drugs—the children may serve in support roles as porters, cooks, guards, medics, messengers, spies, human mine detectors or sex slaves. Children are often targeted as recruits because they are viewed as more malleable and easier to manipulate than adults.
On occasion child soldiers are forced by their commanders to commit grisly ritual killings or engage in torture and mutilation, and sometimes other children are the victims. The child warriors are at great risk not only of physical harm but of severe psychological trauma as well. That trauma is likely to be heightened when the shooting is over and they return home, where they tend to be stigmatized and ostracized and may be disowned by their own families. Since they are without suitable skills and often without means of rehabilitation, the transition to a comparatively normal and productive life is extremely difficult. Generally branded as terrorists by U.S. immigration law, former child soldiers are denied asylum or refugee status.
That U.S. taxpayers' money would be dispensed to finance state-run armies using children is an atrocity in itself. Such funding is also in violation of treaties and agreements to which the U.S. is a signatory, such as the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict—a protocol approved and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 2002. About 125 countries have ratified the protocol, but not all of them enforce it; five of the above-named eight nations are signatories. People who recruit and use child soldiers run little risk of being prosecuted.
Last spring liberal Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and conservative Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas introduced the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2007 in the Senate. Designed to end the use of children in hostilities around the world, the measure encourages governments to "disarm, demobilize and rehabilitate child soldiers from government forces and government-supported militias." While putting restrictions on U.S. assistance to child-using militaries, the bill would not immediately cut off such aid but would allow for a phase-out period of up to two years, during which the U.S. would help the affected countries to professionalize their armed forces and to provide therapy and reeducation for former child soldiers and restore them to society.
A coalition of NGOs—headed by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Defense Information and the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision—is strongly backing the bill. One of the arguments advanced by this coalition: "It is . . . in our own national interest to reduce the incidence of child soldiers in the world: our commanders do not want U.S. troops to confront the spectacle of an armed child in a combat situation."
Speaking about the child-soldiers bill to fellow senators, Durbin quoted Cicero's dictum that "in times of war, the law falls silent," then went on to say: "We must prove Cicero wrong. Even during times of war, the law should never fall silent for the most vulnerable among us—our children."
The bill is still in committee and has yet to come up for debate, much less for a vote. A similar bill is pending in the House.
On October 1 the United Nations held a meeting to reaffirm political support for the Paris Principles—a multination pledge not to use children to wage war that was signed in Paris last February. The U.S. participated in neither the Paris conference nor the October meeting at the UN.
Kids in combat
U.S.-funded child soldiers
by Dean Peerman
In the decade 1995-2005, 2 million child soldiers were killed and 6 million permanently disabled or injured in armed conflict, according to a United Nations report. Of the estimated 300,000 children (younger than 18) currently serving as soldiers in various parts of the world, some have joined voluntarily, out of economic desperation or for their own safety. Others have been forcibly recruited, trained and deployed by rebel forces. But many are conscripted and used in combat by recognized sovereign governments—at present the governments of nine countries, and eight of the nine receive military assistance from the United States. The eight: Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.
Some of these exploited children are as young as eight. Sometimes girls as well as boys are recruited—and often the girls are raped or otherwise sexually abused. In addition to being compelled to engage in combat—wielding AK-47 assault rifles and the like, often while hopped-up on drugs—the children may serve in support roles as porters, cooks, guards, medics, messengers, spies, human mine detectors or sex slaves. Children are often targeted as recruits because they are viewed as more malleable and easier to manipulate than adults.
On occasion child soldiers are forced by their commanders to commit grisly ritual killings or engage in torture and mutilation, and sometimes other children are the victims. The child warriors are at great risk not only of physical harm but of severe psychological trauma as well. That trauma is likely to be heightened when the shooting is over and they return home, where they tend to be stigmatized and ostracized and may be disowned by their own families. Since they are without suitable skills and often without means of rehabilitation, the transition to a comparatively normal and productive life is extremely difficult. Generally branded as terrorists by U.S. immigration law, former child soldiers are denied asylum or refugee status.
That U.S. taxpayers' money would be dispensed to finance state-run armies using children is an atrocity in itself. Such funding is also in violation of treaties and agreements to which the U.S. is a signatory, such as the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict—a protocol approved and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 2002. About 125 countries have ratified the protocol, but not all of them enforce it; five of the above-named eight nations are signatories. People who recruit and use child soldiers run little risk of being prosecuted.
Last spring liberal Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and conservative Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas introduced the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2007 in the Senate. Designed to end the use of children in hostilities around the world, the measure encourages governments to "disarm, demobilize and rehabilitate child soldiers from government forces and government-supported militias." While putting restrictions on U.S. assistance to child-using militaries, the bill would not immediately cut off such aid but would allow for a phase-out period of up to two years, during which the U.S. would help the affected countries to professionalize their armed forces and to provide therapy and reeducation for former child soldiers and restore them to society.
A coalition of NGOs—headed by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Defense Information and the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision—is strongly backing the bill. One of the arguments advanced by this coalition: "It is . . . in our own national interest to reduce the incidence of child soldiers in the world: our commanders do not want U.S. troops to confront the spectacle of an armed child in a combat situation."
Speaking about the child-soldiers bill to fellow senators, Durbin quoted Cicero's dictum that "in times of war, the law falls silent," then went on to say: "We must prove Cicero wrong. Even during times of war, the law should never fall silent for the most vulnerable among us—our children."
The bill is still in committee and has yet to come up for debate, much less for a vote. A similar bill is pending in the House.
On October 1 the United Nations held a meeting to reaffirm political support for the Paris Principles—a multination pledge not to use children to wage war that was signed in Paris last February. The U.S. participated in neither the Paris conference nor the October meeting at the UN.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Where Have All the Prophets Gone
Please check out this web site: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=9631
We would love to hear responses or discussion.
We would love to hear responses or discussion.
Free Special Movie Screening Thursday Night!
Dear friends,
There is a movie focused on Darfur called "Darfur Now" that will be screening as a pre-release movie. (www.participate.net and www.myspace.com/darfurnow)
I received a packet of invitations to the screening at Phipps Plaza theater Thursday, at 7:30pm. Each ticket admits 2 people. The movie is produced by Warner Independent and is rated PG.
They suggest you get there early because they naturally send out more tickets than they have seats, so come early so you can get in.
I have about 25-30 2 person tickets, so please mention this to as many folks as you can.
I can't go because I have a CBF/GA interfaith task force meeting at 7:00 that night in Alpharetta. I'll leave these tickets in the church office for anyone to come by and pick up today, tomorrow, or Thursday.
Blessings,
Matt
There is a movie focused on Darfur called "Darfur Now" that will be screening as a pre-release movie. (www.participate.net and www.myspace.com/darfurnow)
I received a packet of invitations to the screening at Phipps Plaza theater Thursday, at 7:30pm. Each ticket admits 2 people. The movie is produced by Warner Independent and is rated PG.
They suggest you get there early because they naturally send out more tickets than they have seats, so come early so you can get in.
I have about 25-30 2 person tickets, so please mention this to as many folks as you can.
I can't go because I have a CBF/GA interfaith task force meeting at 7:00 that night in Alpharetta. I'll leave these tickets in the church office for anyone to come by and pick up today, tomorrow, or Thursday.
Blessings,
Matt
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
10/25, sure would be good to have a rep there
Again, sorry but I am committed and cannot attend this important learning program. Wish someone could/would.
Georgia Interfaith Power & Light invites you to participate in our Energy Star Training Program for Congregations on October 25!
Join us for a training session with representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star for Congregations Program to learn how to measure and reduce your congregation’s carbon footprint. The program will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, October 25 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (www.uuca.org). This program is especially helpful for congregations who have had or plan to have an energy audit or assessment of their facilities, as it will help you track the progress you are making in reducing your energy use.
Your congregation can be a front runner in energy efficiency by measuring your carbon footprint with Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager Program. Portfolio Manager is an online data management tool that helps track and measure your building’s energy use. Portfolio Manager can calculate the energy intensity and associated carbon emissions of a particular building while taking into account changes in weather. Once a baseline is established in Portfolio Manager you can calculate the percent energy use reduction to track progress towards your goals. Help your congregation measure your current energy use and track improvements as you become more efficient!
Please plan to attend or to send someone from your congregation to attend this valuable training session!
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta is located at 1911 Cliff Valley Way, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.
Feel free to call or e-mail us if you have questions!
Georgia Interfaith Power & Light invites you to participate in our Energy Star Training Program for Congregations on October 25!
Join us for a training session with representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star for Congregations Program to learn how to measure and reduce your congregation’s carbon footprint. The program will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, October 25 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (www.uuca.org). This program is especially helpful for congregations who have had or plan to have an energy audit or assessment of their facilities, as it will help you track the progress you are making in reducing your energy use.
Your congregation can be a front runner in energy efficiency by measuring your carbon footprint with Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager Program. Portfolio Manager is an online data management tool that helps track and measure your building’s energy use. Portfolio Manager can calculate the energy intensity and associated carbon emissions of a particular building while taking into account changes in weather. Once a baseline is established in Portfolio Manager you can calculate the percent energy use reduction to track progress towards your goals. Help your congregation measure your current energy use and track improvements as you become more efficient!
Please plan to attend or to send someone from your congregation to attend this valuable training session!
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta is located at 1911 Cliff Valley Way, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.
Feel free to call or e-mail us if you have questions!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Energy Star Training; and miscellany
I will not be available on the night noted below but wish that at least one of us would be able to be there. It would at least be a start for JEPR and Wieuca's energy usage.
Georgia Interfaith Power and Light invites a representative from your congregation to attend Energy Star Training Program for Congregations. Learn how to measure and reduce your congregation’s carbon footprint. The program will be held at 7 PM on Thursday, October 25, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. 1911 Cliff Valley Way, NE, Atlanta 30329.
=====================================
On a different matter, it was good to have the African children movie as our first ( or second?) film to tweak our faith and conscience and provoke conversation on tough topics.
Thanks to Matt and Andy for moving this activity forward.
Georgia Interfaith Power and Light invites a representative from your congregation to attend Energy Star Training Program for Congregations. Learn how to measure and reduce your congregation’s carbon footprint. The program will be held at 7 PM on Thursday, October 25, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. 1911 Cliff Valley Way, NE, Atlanta 30329.
=====================================
On a different matter, it was good to have the African children movie as our first ( or second?) film to tweak our faith and conscience and provoke conversation on tough topics.
Thanks to Matt and Andy for moving this activity forward.
Monday, October 8, 2007
A crime to feed the homeless?
Here is a link to a very disturbing article that I found on the CNN website today:
http://www.wftv.com/news/14289861/detail.html
Here is the summary:
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial city ordinance has led to a number of protests and now a trial. An Orlando man is the first person to face a jury for feeding the homeless.
Very sad.
http://www.wftv.com/news/14289861/detail.html
Here is the summary:
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial city ordinance has led to a number of protests and now a trial. An Orlando man is the first person to face a jury for feeding the homeless.
Very sad.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Invisible Children
Hey folks, don't forget about the Invisible Children showing tomorrow (Sunday, October 7th) at 1:30pm in the Heritage Room. Grab some lunch after worship and make your way back to church to watch. We will have some brief discussion afterward.
I invite you to make comments on this post, giving your reflections and thoughts on the movie.
Matt
I invite you to make comments on this post, giving your reflections and thoughts on the movie.
Matt
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
More Spam
Hey folks. Sorry about the additional SPAM. I found another place where an email post was permitted. I've tied that loophole. Hopefully this is it.
I appreciate your patience.
I appreciate your patience.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Blog Spam Corrected/ Invisible Children
Dear JEPR group,
Scott brought to my attention some blog spam that we got. It was posted in my name because spammers running programs find blogs and try different email combinations so many times that they finally get it. There is an email address that if I send something to it, it will come up as a post on the blog. Somehow they found that email address. I will disable this feature so we will not have any more erroneous posts about watches. :)
Let's keep it to justice.
I have a copy of Invisible Children, the movie from Andy Smith. He showed it to his youth in VA. Would be good to hear from him his perspective on the experience. We're still on for the 7th of October, 1:30 for the movie. I got something running in the supplement, but we'll need some more.
Matt
Scott brought to my attention some blog spam that we got. It was posted in my name because spammers running programs find blogs and try different email combinations so many times that they finally get it. There is an email address that if I send something to it, it will come up as a post on the blog. Somehow they found that email address. I will disable this feature so we will not have any more erroneous posts about watches. :)
Let's keep it to justice.
I have a copy of Invisible Children, the movie from Andy Smith. He showed it to his youth in VA. Would be good to hear from him his perspective on the experience. We're still on for the 7th of October, 1:30 for the movie. I got something running in the supplement, but we'll need some more.
Matt
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