Africa: Sudan, Darfur, Congo…Worship Together in the Spirit of Justice, DC- june & july
Cedar Ridge Community Church is inviting “willing Christians to gather for five Sundays of public worship in Washington DC around the themes of justice and peace in Africa, and especially Darfur, Sudan.” The outdoor services entitled, Worship in the Spirit of Justice will be held at various locations between June 12 and July 10, 2005. Details are available at this website, as well this same link: CRCC:Worship in the Spirit of Justice will remain under the “do justice, love kindness” box on the right column of this blog for easy access.
This is a great opportunity to join together as human beings and raise our voice against the atrocities enacted against and suffered by our fellow human beings, on this same planet, sharing the same sun, and viewing the same stars as we do, each night.
Those who are suffering, are our brothers and our sisters…unlike us, they do not have the luxury of dreaming and planning for their children’s futures; no, they are uncertain whether or not they or their children will live to see another day. They need our voices raised on their behalf, our sacrificial labor in many forms, and our fervent prayers.
The hardest part of writing this post, is the knowledge of my complicity in remaining blind to the problems, or being too caught up in the next thing, or problem at hand, even if it is an important issue…i am profoundly aware that to remain silent, uneducated and/or inactive about the atrocities in Africa and other parts of the world is to be part of the system that allows them to continue.
I look back on Nazi Germany and the murder of millions of Jews and remember that during the year, I learned that terrible story of history, I wondered, how did ‘they’ let that happen? until one day i realized that I was part of the ‘they…’ and that now I am part of the ‘we,’ who are allowing the same thing to happen in the world today.
On that day, I decided that I did not want to be complicit, I did not want to contribute to the problem, but I wanted to be part of the solution. Though the need is so great, that it threatens to overwhelm me, I remember that I can give something, speak up somewhere, offer a cup of cold water, just get involved and try to make a difference. And yet I slip into denial and the ease of my life so quickly. I confess that as I write this post.
I will be out of town on some of the scheduled Sundays, but if I am home in the DC area, I will be at the worship service. I will invite others, and I will speak on behalf of my brothers and sisters. please join me. email me and tell me you are coming and we can worship together. If you need a place to crash, we have a big suburban house with lots of room;) email me if you are interested and we can talk dates.
