A Xenophobic Christmas

A friend encourages me to go to Church on Christmas Eve. “Great music, It’ll put you into the Christmas Spirit.”

I'm already moving in that direction.

Earlier in the day, I travel to a neighboring village and help Operation Feed provide a hundred families with food and gifts and toys for their children. 

Families gather at Operation Feed

 The program is a collaboration between Mexicans and expats. A local Mexican leader and restaurateur spear-heads this and many other weekly projects.

Augustine and volunteers become a Christmas message

I meet two women who tell me more.

“We’re the egg ladies,” they announce. “We help sort eggs for distribution out into the village.”

They tell me it’s a volunteer job but they pay 200 pesos each time for the privilege. 

Imagine paying to volunteer. “It’s egg money,” smiles one of the women. “How else can we have money for eggs?”

The organization’s motto is... Stop The Hunger - Start The Hope. 

What a wonderful Christmas message, I think.  

I hop on a crowded bus and make my way to music and Christmas eve worship. 

As expected, the music is grand. Harmonies mix with congregational singing. We sing O Come All Ye Faithful – all 6 verses.

Nativity fills the Plaza at Ajijic

The sermon starts with a light hearted joke and promises to be brief. 

A story unfolds of expats celebrating a first Christmas in Mexico. “We had no church, but we made a large living space feel like church.” 

We settled into traditional Christmas worship even though we all had been transported from our homes to Mexico. It felt good to be with other expats.

Afterwards continues the Pastor, “we decide to go into the town to see how Mexicans celebrate Christmas. 

We had images of a Mexican procession moving slowly towards the Church with candles in hand,”

Posada in Mexico

But in stark contrast, we meet “utter chaos.”

Raucous, loud, alcohol out-of-control masses are some of the derogatory words used.  Negative caricatures follow in describing this Mexican Christmas celebration.  It jolts me.  

The sermon continues poking fun at Mexican behaviors.  A few congregants begin to snicker.  

I’m feeling more uncomfortable. To me, it sounds xenophobic. Why would a sermon poke fun at Mexicans on Christmas eve in Mexico? 

It must be something unconscious – maybe an ignorance saying that our way is the better way.  Could that be why some of the people around me are now laughing and not growing more uncomfortable as I am.  

The sermon concludes with Church bells says the Pastor. “At first, a single bell rings out.  And then others join in. Soon many bells are filling the town air and quieting the Mexicans,” reassures the Pastor. 

He ends the sermon with a broad smile.  Next is passing the Peace of Christ.

People clasp hands and a few hug one another. An older woman quickly clasped my hand and then just as quickly turns away. 

What's it like to be an outsider?

Huh? I look around towards others, but no one returns the glance or makes an effort.

Even the Pastor, when he comes down the aisle, skips my row. I’m not sure why. But it does make me feel like an outsider. 

It’s then that I decide to leave before Eucharist is served. I think, “It’s not a place for me.”

On the bus ride home, the sermon still rumbles within. I need an antidote.

I regain some comfort in seeing ordinary Mexican men and women with children in tow making their own way home. A guy plays his guitar and fills the bus with song. I pass him some money. 

 A young man stands to give up his seat. I shake my head, not necessary, but with a smile, he insists. Unexpected kindness on a crowded bus.

I get home. I watch a new movie, The Two Popes, and regain some perspective. I surf the net for sermons and Christmas messages.

In spite of my recent experience, I’m reminded how lively Christmas Spirit can be. 

Congregations do act with kindness, justice and peace and not just at Christmas time. They stretch themselves to welcome the stranger and embrace the forgotten.

Sure, the sermon was unfortunate. But ironically, it opens a broader reflection into the insidious persistence of xenophobia. 

It can slide into conversations and sermons without awareness. I feel a new urgency for the message of Christmas...especially here in Mexico.

Tear gas used on Mexican families at the border

Too many cruel and hate-filled images of Mexicans are in our media and on the lips of our leaders. 

Insistently Xenophobia seeps into awareness smearing good people who just want to live... a little differently.

Singing with some students at a Christmas party

I want to keep my focus on the kindnesses I’ve experienced here and embrace human differences that surround me everywhere in Mexico.

So when the bells ring out tonight for Christmas eve, I’ll be thinking of angelic words proclaimed to ordinary shepherds.

Peace on Earth and Good Will to All.

Older women belong here

I’ll keep remembering expats paying to volunteer and a Mexican leader who cares for the poor and lives  the Christmas message every week... 

End The Hunger. 

 Start The Hope

http://www.operationfeedsjc.org/

March For Our Lives

In the 60s, we boomers marched on Washington for racial equality and got laws passed that made a difference. 

We protested the Vietnam war and forced a corrupt President to finally end it. We rallied against nuclear weapons and in favor of environmental protection with some success, but not enough.

Through the decades, we promoted justice for all and welcomed more diversity and equality into our American life. Women gained rights and their voice. LGBT people came out of the closet, married and had families.



Lest we forget, progress has been made in spite of the bleakness covering us these days.   It's easy to loose perspective and hope. 

 But look - positive social change is coming forward in the "Marching" of a new generation.

Last Saturday, The March For Our Lives packed Pennsylvania Avenue from the US Capital towards the White House. 

More than 200,000 and maybe as many as 500,000 people filled the broad Avenue and spilled into the side streets. It was standing room only - shoulder to shoulder.

Voices were raised as one... 

Stop gun violence.

Protect our kids.

Enough is enough.

Ban assault weapons now.

Thoughts and prayers don't cut it. 

And my favorite ones... 

I like gum not guns. 

Arms are for hugging
Not for killing

As I scanned the crowd, I realized that the young really turned out.

Mothers and fathers pushed strollers and carried their little one. 

Elementary school groups snaked through the crowd holding hands.

High school friends were serious. When asked why they came, two said to me, "Cause we're afraid."

It's sobering, but I'm encouraged to see so many Gen-xers and Millennials. 

They greatly outnumbered us Baby Boomers. 

I think leadership for positive social change is being passed forward.  New leaders. New energy.

I see groups of Millennials in bright neon yellow vests. They're registering people to vote. These young adults are so savvy. They know how to use technology, build inclusive coalitions and engage Americans to become more active citizens.

A new mantra is entering awareness. 
R...E...V...Register, Educate and Vote. 

Beware. Those in Congress who have been bought-off by NRA money will be exposed and voted out.

As they say, the youth are WOKE (Define) . And now us older folks can stay WOKE too. We can amplify their voices with our own.

So let's be one in promoting equality and diversity...
seeking more justice and kindness...
cherishing all of life and creation. 

And let's follow the leadership of our youth by finally getting those rapid fire assault weapons out of our communities. Enough...

No More Anger and Fear

Since the November election in America, I've been moaning and groaning.  Like many, shock, anger and fear hung over me.  

But recently, there's begun a transition...It began happening with the Million Women March in Washington, DC.

NY Times photo

With my friends, Jan and Bruce, we're making our way to the Washington Mall. Soon we are caught up in the crowd, shoulder to shoulder.

I look around. Millennials, aging Baby Boomers, Families. Grandmothers with grandchildren. Grand fathers too. Gay families and straight couples. Veterans, Disabled, Women with pink hair and others wearing hijabs.

Jan wears her pink pussy-hat as do so many others. 

The organizers of the March had suggested that people knit these hats as a somewhat gleeful way to say “NO” to the ugliness of misogyny.

I step up on the curb to get a better look. As far as my eyes can see, crowds occupy the space from the step of the Capitol to the Washington Monument and beyond.

Maybe It's not a million, but it's more people in one place than I have ever seen and over the years I've been to more than a few marches.

Everywhere I see signs. “Love Trumps Hate; Dump Trump; Not my President.” 

Among the many jabs, there are others promoting core American values - freedom, equality, justice, and kindness to refugees.

My sign says, “No more hate and fear.” 

I didn't know it at the time, but these simple words became my harbinger for a more sustainable activism.

In the evening we make our way to All Souls Church.  About 800 of us are gathering to learn four part harmony to Leonard Cohen's Anthem. 

Candles are passed out and we perform it for one another. 

Volunteers with cam recorders circulate so that a YouTube video can be made. 

It's quite inspiring. 

Take a moment to see and listen for yourself.

(For a second 1:10, my friend Sally and I are on the stairs in a human chain from historic bell to singers below) 

The March activities are soon over and there's a nagging question. Now what? 

I continue attending All Souls. Along with so many others, we are discussing next steps and trying to figure it out.  I know we are not alone. The same kind of discussions are happening across the Nation.  

One Sunday the minister says with such a big bully in the White House, we need an even bigger love for one another. This begins a discussion about resistance.

Resistance is what you do when faith is tested by the “principalities and powers” of this world, says our minister. It's a response to core values being assaulted. 

It's a relentless effort to meet false tweets with truthfulness; intolerance with understanding; and hate with love.

Another Sunday, the minister gives some guidance for those, like me, who are struggling to find our way during these difficult times. She outlines five tips for resistance.

1.Seek some form of spiritual practice. “We need it to sustain us.” It's not that everyone should sit in a circle humming Kumbaya. No, there are many ways to develop spiritual practice. Find your own way to become more nourished in love for others and connected to God, the source of all being.

2. Take seriously what is being said by the “principalities and powers”. Recently Bannon, chief strategist for the administration, said, “If you look at these Cabinet nominees, they were selected for a reason, and that is deconstruction.” Deconstruction of agencies and institutions?

Does that mean no more civil rights enforcement by the Justice Department; and no more clean water regulations by the EPA; and no more safety in food and drugs because the FDA has been deconstructed.

Is it the deconstruction of the Peace Corps too? Agricultural Department; Labor Department; Medicaid; Veteran Affairs and more? 

Pay attention. Amidst the clowning and tweeting distractions, they’re saying what they intend to do.

3. Stay close to the ones being marginalized. Some of us are fortunate enough to know people who are immigrants, green card holders, Muslim, Black, transgendered or other likely targets. 

What's our plan for supporting them if and when (we all hope never) their time comes?

All Souls and many churches are taking steps to become Sanctuary Churches. 

You can read more about it here in the Washington City Paper. 

People are organizing and preparing just in case. I begin thinking is there something I could be doing?

4. Be positive in our approach. Many Americans are struggling to understand the chaos since Inauguration Day no mater who they voted for. The minister reminds us “to keep kindness in our resistance.” 

As Martin Luther King practiced and St. Paul wrote, “Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) For me that means letting go of post election anger and fear.

5. Be relentless in our resistance. This is not a time to give up on democracy or a nation we love. 

I was so proud to be an American while serving in the US Peace Corps.  For two years in Ukraine and and another year in Macedonia, I served my Country. When I worked with people, I could tell that they respected America. But now?

It's not a time to destroy the social progress of the past decades. Immigrants and refugees are human sisters and brothers and children. It's not a time to compromise away bed-rock values.  Human rights belong to all.

We have a constitution, institutions and the rule of law. It matters.

A statue lifts a lighted torch over New York's harbor and speaks to me, America and the heart of humanity -

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

With the help of others, I'm looking for ways to support values that are true and dear to my heart. I've joined a new public policy and witness group at Church. Another group is working on voting rights. I'm attending their meetings too.

Whatever emerges, I realize that it's time for more justice work. No more moaning and groaning.  No more anger and fear. 

As Henry David Thoreau once said and still says to us, “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” 

I guess it's time to get walking...again.

Remembering Legacy and the Lafayette Urban Ministry

I belong to a club. It has no bi-laws and no regular meetings.  In fact it only has three members. We're the club of the LafayetteUrban Ministry Executive Directors – Ron Elly, myself and Joe Micon. Over the years we have remained friends keeping in touch with occasional meetings, emails and phone calls.

Last week we lost one of our members. Ron Elly died. He had been battling cancer for a long time, but at 76 years, cancer finally took him from us.

I was invited by the family to share my thoughts at his funeral in Lafayette, Indiana. In a whirlwind of a flight from Washington, DC, I share this eulogy...

July 1, 2016

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of celebrating the life of Ron Elly...my colleague in ministry and friend. Our lives intertwined through our work with the Lafayette Urban Ministry and our friendship grew over the years. During my last extended stay in Lafayette, we began having regular coffees together. No agenda – just a little reminiscing, laughter and friendship.

On Monday the phone rings. There's no premonition of the news it would convey. I learn Rev. Ron Elly died.

A wave of sadness slides thru my soul. “Oh no,” I mutter or something like that. I knew he had been battling cancer, but still the news hits me hard. Memories flood my consciousness. “Oh Ron, you're a good one. You made such a big difference. We'll miss you.”

For some reason, I find my thoughts returning to a bible verse from the prophet Micah.

What does God require?  Do justice.  Love kindness.  And walk humbly with God

I first met Ron on the pages of the Green Book as I was interviewing for a new job with LUM. For those who may not know, the Green Book was a strategic report on the Lafayette Urban Ministry prepared by Dr. Jim Davidson, a sociologist of religion from Purdue University in collaboration with Ron Elly, Tom Hull, Don Nead and a host of others from the staff and board of LUM. 

Dr. Davidson analyzed strengths and weaknesses and importantly saw great opportunities for LUM.  Oh yes, It was called the green book not because of some deeper metaphorical meaning, but simply because its cover was a bright green.

I learned about Rev. Ronald Elly on those pages...recruited by Presbytery from Seminary in Louisville Kentucky to Hope Chapel – a small Presbyterian congregation on the south side of Lafayette. Here lived some of Lafayette's poorest families and most marginalized people.

The year was 1967. It was an activist time. Churches were beginning to realize that they would have to see beyond their stained glassed windows and get involved in their communities. 

It was a time to connect with the marginalized. It was a time to correct racial injustices. The government was launching a War on Poverty. The times they were a changing and social justice was in the air.

Ron saw an opportunity at Hope Chapel. He felt that it was well positioned for renewal as a Servant Church – loving neighbors and doing justice in the world.

Unfortunately, leaders at this congregation did not share his passion for a Servant Church. They wanted to recapture a more traditional model for church life - One that served their own members and not so much the community. They balked at Rev Elly's ideas...Unfortunately.

Or was it fortunately. God does work in mysterious ways. Sure there were plenty of false starts, disappointments, conflicts and heart aches. We can only imagine the anxiety that Ron and Ellen must have felt as Hope Chapel back-tracked.

But Ron had persistence. Amazingly he didn't loose hope. Something new was beginning to happen in Lafayette, Indiana and Ron's ministry was at the heart of it. I'm not sure he realized it at the time, but looking back we see it clearly.

Ron was brilliant in his ability to gather people together. He was always out in the community. First through the NDP (Neighborhood Development Project) he reached out to Presbyterians and then to Methodists and quickly to a broader ecumenical circle. He had a knack for identifying people with a social justice gene and then he got them involved.

All of us, where would we be if not for Rev Elly's ministry? We have lots to be grateful for and so much to celebrate.

By 1971, the idea for a Lafayette Urban Ministry was taking shape. More people got involved. Seven churches became charter members. And in January of 1972, it became official when Dee Tritschler moved and Les Gaylor seconded a motion to create the Lafayette Urban Ministry and call Rev Ronald Elly as LUM's Pastor Director.

It was exciting times. Work with youth as well as a transportation program expanded. A Centralized Emergency Fund was created to help with emergency needs. Work on racial justice took off through an Integrated Hands Program. A Hispanic community festival was organized thanks to LUM securing additional church funds. Participation as well as budgets increased. More than 20 congregations were discovering new ways to do Church.

But Ron was not to remain Pastor Director. He sensed a calling to a more personal ministry of pastoral counseling. Soon hundreds of people were able to sort out troubling issues because of Ron's guidance. Imagine the renewal in their lives and the difference Ron's pastoral counseling ministry made. Many recall his deep concern and wonderful kindness to this day.

Still Ron Elly is and always will be the birthing parent of the Lafayette Urban Ministry.

Among his many gifts, he gave us vision. He taught us that through persistence, prayer and faith, many good things are possible. We can see beyond stained glass windows or self-obsessive lives. Ron's vision gave us hope and has already changed Lafayette.

It's true...isn't it?

Because of his vision, we catch glimpses of a servant church. Now churches, secular organizations and all people of good will are regularly engaged with the poor and embracing the marginalized.

They walk for hunger

They counsel at an immigration clinic.

They volunteer at the homeless shelter.

They support the Food Finders Food Bank and give away bags of groceries.

They write letter to legislators pleading for a social safety net.

They work on community task forces.

They give to the Good Samaritan Fund. 

And more...

It's like we are echoing the words of the prophet Micah. Do justice...Love kindness...Walk humbly with God.

Indeed, Ron, we recognize what you have accomplished among us. You leave a living legacy and we are most grateful. We thank God for all blessings... And today, we, especially, thank God for you. Amen