Fingerprints and Tomatoes in February

The Little Rock YAVs were given a delicious trey of Ziti, salad, and a cheesecake from our adopted mother Heather from church. Oh it was so good and such a treat to come home and have this wonderful food ready in front of us.  What a privilege and gift! THANK YOU HEATHER!!!!!  God please bless this food and the many hands that have prepared it.

While eating from this wonderful bounty I opened a carton of "All Natural" grape tomatoes.  I must say it was a terrific treat in the middle of lent as I've cut back on my intake of heavily processed foods.  I like tomatoes, and I haven't seen them in a while since the fall.  I am excited that Dan and Molly don't like grape tomatoes; Even though I grieve that they don't appreciate such a lovely member of the nightshade family, I celebrate for they are all mine!

DELICIOUS!

Gardeners know tomatoes are somewhat tricky to grow. They like sun, heat, and critters like to eat 'em too.  Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are actually native to the tropics where they are grown as perennials (bearing fruit every year) and here in the US where we have cold winters, we grow them as annuals (re-planted every year).  They die each winter and we plant new ones in the spring.  Occasionally you can find a greenhouse in the US where someone has kept a tomato alive for several years.

So how does one come across such a warmth-loving, cancer-fighting fruit when there is snow on the ground and a high of 27 degrees?  Granted February 2015 in Arkansas is far from terrible this year but when tomatoes need the soil at 70 degrees to germinate, there is no way tomato plants can be "all natural" and still bearing fruit on February 25.

Below "All Natural" the package says "Product of Mexico"  I like Mexico. I've been there a few times building houses for farm workers on the Baja peninsula.  The tomatoes remind me of those visits....

In the US a growing demand for processed and fresh vegetables started the growth of large farms in the deserts of Mexico and California putting a strain on the water table.  To meet labor needs, families would move from Oaxaca to Baja to work in the fields and greenhouses. They were promised a better life, a place to live, and money.  In reality they would be placed in terrible company housing, paid less than $5 a day.  It would take years for them to save enough to buy land and move, then a few more years to save enough to build a house.  They could send their kids to work with them in the fields for some extra income, or spend years of savings on a school uniform and lose that extra income.  Our team would work with International Discipleship Training (IDT), now called Heart Ministries to build houses for families that owned their own land.  It could free up some money to send the kids to school and have one less thing to worry about.  It was a basic house 20'x22' stud and plywood walls on a concrete slab.  While there we'd visit some of the farms to see the working conditions.  They gave us a taste of the living and economic conditions.

Above: temporary structure Lorentino lived in as we built the house.
Below: Lorentino and his wife

Some of my team and local children painting Lorentino's new house

Scenes from one of the work camps in Baja

It was life-changing seeing these things as a sixteen year old.  I returned at age 17 and again at 21.

 It is possible that those tomatoes I am enjoying now may have been picked by one of Lorentino's sons, or the countless other people I met there whose names I have long forgotten.  They may have come from another family housed in a Heart Ministries/ IDT house.  They may have come from a better place, or maybe it was worse.

This LA Times Article has a great summary of what I saw in Baja, and Mexican agriculture in general. It explains the situation well.--A situation the US feeds and perpetuates every meal.   http://graphics.latimes.com/product-of-mexico-camps/

Someone picked these tomatoes, and I have a tiny taste of what life might be like for them in my memory.

My friend Maggie last year reminded me, "all food has fingerprints on it"  It was picked by someone. Somebody touched it.  Somebody packaged it, transported it, took it off the truck, put it on the grocery store rack, picked it up and brought it to my house.  Someone touched it to put it on my plate.  When we pray, "Lord bless this food and the hands that have prepared it,"  There can be many hands involved--more than we know.

Mom used to tell me not to put things in my mouth because I don't know where it's been......

If we eat tomatoes in February, shouldn't we know where they come from?

Tonight I am reminded of my friends in Mexico and their hands.  I think fondly of my time there, the experience of looking at poverty and the life changing confusion upon returning home.  I think of the friendships; But I also remember the pains and hardships I saw from those without a life as "good" as mine.  Those who maybe can't even afford the tomatoes they pick at the price of the ones I eat.

Some questions return to mind.  Ethically, should we buy tomatoes from the farm that didn't pay it's employees enough that they need a mission team to build them a house?  Maybe I should boycott that industry because I don't like what they are doing to their workers.  Or on the other hand, do I buy their tomatoes and at least in a small way contribute to their business so they get at lest some wages even though it may not be enough to afford a house?

Heart Ministries director Bill said the latter, but it's best to buy USDA Organic label fruits and vegetables from Mexico.  On the larger farms in Mexico they still spray pesticides on the fields while the workers are in the fields.  If we buy USDA Organic we give preference to the farms that do not use synthetic pesticides and can work toward solving that problem with our dollars. Organic label means slightly better labor practices so the more we buy, the more we push the market in that direction.

I also ask larger questions.  Why as a society are we comfortable exploiting farm workers in this country and other countries so we can eat tomatoes in February?  Why is it so easy to eat tomatoes this time of year?  The supermarket has whole displays of juicy red tomatoes in twelve different sizes packaged eight different ways all year.  I am eating some now, a little uncomfortably.  What happened to eating in season like most of the world?

And another layer of complexity: Why are the problems so complex in the food system that I found something to gripe about in an amazing meal crafted from scratch by hands of one who loves me?  Heather has only good intentions when she goes out of her way to cook dinner for the YAVs.  It's not her fault (entirely) that she's contributing to a broken system in her generosity.  Heather has taught me a thing or two about economic justice from her own life experiences just the six months I've known her.  I now realize these complexities and injustices sneak even into generosity, kindness and gift-giving!!! I can find imperfection in the gifts given by even the folks on my team in this religion of showing love to one another. In her love to me, I can't tell if we showed love to the farm workers who grew the out of season tomatoes far away.  YIKES.  I have internal conflict criticizing the tomato-purchasing habits of a loving role model in my life as I write this.

Wouldn't anyone with the typical busy schedule and handful of kids just swing by the store and pick up what's there? Probably thinking lovingly, "Alex likes vegetables, oh look tomatoes." How many of us would think twice before buying grape tomatoes? Honestly?  If you ordered a salad this week, in February, you probably ate some and it didn't phase you.  We don't see a problem.  Heck, I didn't see the problem until I took a risk and a week to build a house in Mexico.  It is hidden quite well, and overlooked often .  We don't see the fingerprints on our food.

But even more importantly for food justice workers, how can we bring this conversation in a loving way?  How do we tell the story of migrant farm labor and not get dismissed as the annoying hippie fun-sucker and buzz kill?  How can I invite a busy parent in to this confusing world of passionate awareness on one issue and make sure that I also let her know how freaking awesome her Ziti is and how overjoyed I am to eat it!?  Trust me, it's been a balancing act bringing this up to her.  She is so busy showing God's love in other ways this one gets left out.  Lord forgive us when we fall short. Help us to do better and help each other find righteousness.

Well, I'll eat a few more tomatoes while I think on this. I hear they are good for your heart.

"Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me"

Arkansas Presbytery 2: Mawwage is what bwings us togevor today

Christians out there, hold on to your hats and your cross necklaces, Alex is writing about gay marriage.

In continuation about the Arkansas Presbytery meeting....

Back in June in Detroit, the Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly re-wrote and passed the following addition to the PCUSA policy.  Since it is a change to the Book of Order, part of the "Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA)"  It needs to be ratified by a majority of presbyteries before it takes effect.  That is why Presbytery of Arkansas was voting on it this weekend.

This website has info on the denomination's summary of the proposed policy change and additional resources. http://oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/ga221/ga221-marriage/

Here is the actual text:

Amend W-4.9000 by striking the current text and replacing it with the following: [Text to be added or inserted is shown in italic.] 

“Marriage is a gift God has given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. Marriage involves a unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love and support each other for the rest of their lives. The sacrificial love that unites the couple sustains them as faithful and responsible members of the church and the wider community. 

“In civil law, marriage is a contract that recognizes the rights and obligations of the married couple in society. In the Reformed tradition, marriage is also a covenant in which God has an active part, and which the community of faith publicly witnesses and acknowledges. 

“If they meet the requirements of the civil jurisdiction in which they intend to marry, a couple may request that a service of Christian marriage be conducted by a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), who is authorized, though not required, to act as an agent of the civil jurisdiction in recording the marriage contract. A couple requesting a service of Christian marriage shall receive instruction from the teaching elder, who may agree to the couple’s request only if, in the judgment of the teaching elder, the couple demonstrate sufficient understanding of the nature of the marriage covenant and commitment to living their lives together according to its values. In making this decision, the teaching elder may seek the counsel of the session, which has authority to permit or deny the use of church property for a marriage service. 

“The marriage service shall be conducted in a manner appropriate to this covenant and to the forms of Reformed worship, under the direction of the teaching elder and the supervision of the session (W-1.4004–.4006). In a service of marriage, the couple marry each other by exchanging mutual promises. The teaching elder witnesses the couple’s promises and pronounces God’s blessing upon their union. The community of faith pledges to support the couple in upholding their promises; prayers may be offered for the couple, for the communities that support them, and for all who seek to live in faithfulness. 

“A service of worship recognizing a civil marriage and confirming it in the community of faith may be appropriate when requested by the couple. The service will be similar to the marriage service except that the statements made shall reflect the fact that the couple is already married to one another according to the laws of the civil jurisdiction.” 

“Nothing herein shall compel a teaching elder to perform nor compel a session to authorize the use of church property for a marriage service that the teaching elder or the session believes is contrary to the teaching elder’s or the session’s discernment of the Holy Spirit and their understanding of the Word of God.” 

(you can download a full copy of the Proposed Ammendments here: http://www.pcusa.org/resource/ga221-proposed-amendments-constitution/)

Here is Alex's summary of the change in marriage policy: 
If this amendment takes effect:  the definition of marriage is changed from "a man and woman" to "two people, traditionally a man and a woman."   So in state's where same-sex marriage is legal, Presbyterian ministers can preside over weddings, and/or Presbyterian churches can host same sex marriage weddings.
This does not take away the right of a Presbyterian pastor to refuse to do the wedding.  And it does not take away the right for a session to prevent a wedding from taking place at the church property.  Pastors have ALWAYS been able to refuse to do a wedding--Pastor Steve at 2nd Pres once refused to marry a man who showed up drunk, and then happily did the wedding the following day when he sobered up.

Sessions have ALWAYS been able to use their power of controlling what happens at the church to prevent or allow a wedding to take place on the church property.  That does not change.

Basically it says this is now ok.  Please note THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IS NOT FORCING ANY PRESBYTERIAN TO MARRY A SAME-SEX COUPLE OR HOST A SAME-SEX WEDDING AT YOUR CHURCH.  It says you can as a pastor, you can as a session, or you can still choose not to like you always have been able to do.

Seems it's about as good a job you can do to please everybody.

I have seen this issue lead churches who disagree to leave the denomination.  That makes me sad. I would like to suggest that for the churches who feel this is reason to leave such an active denomination that is mentoring me in work for Environmental Justice, and Food Justice please consider the great works of this church body.  This is also a denomination that is very active in building the kingdom of God through PDA after disasters, Living Waters for the World providing clean drinking water, and has mission co-workers like Paul and Mary advocating for the poor and oppressed ALL OVER THE WORLD.  This is no reason to leave the larger denomination.  We all believe the body of Christ is made of many different parts with different gifts, different opinions, different preferences on who to marry.  We can't all be toes, we can't all be hands, or ears.  Yet we still need all the toes, hands, and ears attached to the body. We still need each other to be the body of Christ to the world. Please don't go. I'd love to keep you involved on my team in the AWESOME work this denomination is doing. Have you seen the Presbyterian Mission Agency website? www.presbyterianmission.org  That is where all the stuff that makes me proud to be a Presbyterian is happening!  Churches combating serious mental illness, the root causes of poverty and hunger, YAVs and churches loving the folks in the desert at our southern border, the office of public witness!  And that's not it!  This is probably the denomination who set you up with your first mission trip to see that not everyone has it as good as you do and life is different for most people.  PCUSA has so much good stuff going on. Please ask me about it!  This is the work that kept me involved in Christianity at a time when I had a clear path to athiesm with some friends.  If you can agree with any of those ministries please stay with us. We can learn from you too.  Really I mean it. It hurts to hear you have left or you want to leave.

Here is some debate from the Arkansas Presbytery meeting

One man said the amendment conflicts with previous definitions of marriage in our Book of Confessions.  Good point, it makes us contradictory in what we say we believe.  There are lots of places where we would be contradicting our current "beliefs" Those are listed here: http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/theologyandworship/marriage-book-confessions/

One man cited part of the confession of 1967 reminding us that scripture is to be interpreted for what it means in our time not just what it meant when it was written.
          
"The Bible is to be interpreted in the light of its witness to God’s work of reconciliation in Christ. The Scriptures, given under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, are nevertheless the words of men, conditioned by the language, thought forms, and literary fashions of the places and times at which they were written. They reflect views of life, history, and the cosmos which were then current. The church, therefore, has an obligation to approach the Scriptures with literary and historical understanding. As God has spoken his word in diverse cultural situations, the church is confident that he will continue to speak through the Scriptures in a changing world and in every form of human culture. God’s word is spoken to his church today where the Scriptures are faithfully preached and attentively read in dependence on the illumination of the Holy Spirit and with readiness to receive their truth and direction.---From the Confession of 1967:  9.29 and 9.30.  http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/boc2014.pdf 

One man agreed that the church should be a leader in offering the benefits and blessings of marriage to all committed loving relationships but would vote against this amendment because of the line in the third paragraph " if they meet the requirements of the civil jurisdiction in which they intend to marry..."  He was disappointed that it indicated the church was following behind in the progress of the state on a justice issue that the church should be leading regardless of the state's civil laws.   I mean he's right in a way.  The church and God's people in our call to provide justice to the widow, orphan, and oppressed among us shouldn't wait for the US government or state government to show love, equality and acceptance, should we?  The church should be a prophetic witness to the gospel independent of what the state says, right?

Historically Second Presbyterian of Little Rock was one of the only churches to support integration during all the mess at central high school in 1957, primarily due to the leadership of the pastor Dr. Boggs.  University of the Ozarks, a Presbyterian college where this week's meeting was held, claims the first college in Arkansas to integrate sports.  I could feel those undertones in this man's opinion.

After the debate and before the vote, one commissioner asked they briefly stop for prayer that the Holy Spirit guide our decisions.  He also asked for prayer afterwards for peace, healing, and for God to work in the actions of the body.--My favorite part is that prayer and worship services are scattered throughout church government gatherings.

Here is Saturday's vote on the Marriage Amendment
YAADs voted 25 Yes, 2 No
Commissioners voted 93 Yes, 25 No, 2 Abstain
The amendment passed

Here is the condition of same-sex marriage in the state of Arkansas politically

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/litigation/entry/arkansas

Basically it's a battle between the courts.  At least two local courts have ruled the state's ban in same sex marriage is unconstiturional and for a week after

May 9 2014 a Pulaski Co. Judge rulled a ban on same sex-marriage is unconstitutional.and same sex marriages were legal until the state supreme court  issued a stay on  the decision on May 16.  In that one week when it was legal in Arkansas, almost 600 same sex couples were married!!!!

also November 2014 a district court judge in Little Rock ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage in Arkansas was unconstitutional denying equal protection under the law to three gay couples.
In December 2014 the state of Arkansas filed an appeal so the previous ruling was suspended  until the 8th circuit court makes a decision.  No decision was made in December and it was deferred to the next session in January when the new court was sworn in.
As of February 2015 no ruling has been made on the appeal, but on Valentines Day, another lawyer sued the state because some of the marriages from the week of May 9 2014 were not being upheld in the state.

The circuit court has not made a decision.  So Hear Ye Hear Ye.  Arkansas Presbytery voted to allow same-sex marriages within the church before the state has made a final decision on it.  Prophetic witness? You tell me...

Nationally it is already legal in 37 states and seems it will be legal everywhere in the next few years.  A friend pointed out this is one of the fastest turn-arounds on a civil rights/equality policy in the last century!


Here's what I think:

I have come a long way on this issue since I first heard about it in college where the question was to allow ordination of openly LGBT individuals in the infamous "Ammendment 10-A"  Back then I thought if the rule is that if gay people can't be ordained as elders or pastors, they should follow the rule.

I soon learned a good role model who directed a Jesus-related play my parents did was gay.  Some of the people I met in college are LGBTQ.  They were very effective leaders I'd met and worked with at different college ministries, and were great to work with.    That made me think maybe this one thing about a person shouldn't stop them from being a Sunday school teacher or other leader in the church?

I came to my own opinion, that if being gay is a sin (which I'm not sure of) and lying is also a sin, breaking the Sabbath is a sin, then why should one sin be pointed out more than others?  Seems like we're all headed straight to Hell if we don't change our ways when you pull the judgement card.  Which reminds me of Matthew 7. "Judge not lest ye will be judged" and "how can you remove the sawdust from your neighbor's eye while you have a plank in your own eye?" Perhaps we just drop it?

My mom said we were seeing the exact same argument and opposition she faced as a female pastor before I was born.

It became tricky.  My thoughts  changed a little at General Assembly hearing it as a social justice issue and thinking of it as a group of people who have been shunned by many groups, clubs, parts of society and even the churches.  I wrote about a sermon by Annanda Barclay with More Light Presbyterians.  She said she was more scared to be an openly queer woman in a white crowd than in a black crowd.  She is black.  That showed me this conversation DRASTICALLY impacts someone else's life WAY MORE than it impacts mine in ways I honestly don't understand.  I'm a sheltered old-fashioned white heterosexual male from Appalachia and I really don't have a clue about the LGBTQ community.  In fact maybe I shouldn't even vote on the issue and leave that voice up to those it effects unless I have true compassion and learn the struggles of that lifestyle.  Coming to that conclusion was a big moment of growth in my life.

Starting in January until last Sunday, Second Presbyterian had a Sunday school series on "Marriage, the Bible, and the Presbyterian Church."  Church members explored the topic with the bible in hand in the weeks approaching the vote.  YOU can call the church office for copies of the DVD recording of all seven weeks if you'd like. 501-227-0000

The two-part lecture from Hendrix College Professor Dr. Bobby Williamson really set me straight.   Bobby presented that the bible can support marriage only between a man and a woman, you might even go as far as to say having children is the only purpose of marriage.  BUT it may also be showing that a marriage is a kinship unit in which to witness the word of God, not limited to just one man and one woman.  Perhaps like Ruth and Naomi who were no longer bound by marriage law, but Ruth stayed with Naomi because of kinship and God still worked.  For one thing it showed me anyone can quote the bible till the cows come home to make a point on either side.  In that case we must deeply rely on the discernment of the holy spirit.  As a good educated Presbyterian I can't say I'm right I don't know

I do know I have my own sins, my own passionate desires, and lustful thoughts that sometimes probably wouldn't be much less "evil" things that in our judgmental state we associate with "them" to say "they" are sinful and wrong and we shouldn't encourage "them".  As a church I think we should always be keeping ourselves in check. Are our thoughts and actions pointing toward Christ like they should be?  We should call each other out when we see a brother or sister sin, but we must not condemn. We will be judged by God.  Each one of us every day needs to make a damn hard effort to put God first before our desires, wants and even our needs.  Community--a church community helps us support each other in this righteousness.  And as a Church community (capital C) Global Church (not just Presbys) WE ALL have a better job to do on welcoming others into our quest for righteousness.

If this amendment passes or not I would like to see more of my brothers in Christ gay, straight, black, Latino, Appalachian...., showing more love to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Is it right? is it wrong?  I don't know?  I know I am asked to love and welcome everyone and stand up for and reach out to those who need help.  After all this experience I now begin with compassion--as old fashioned and "Christian" as it gets.

Arkansas Presbytery

Dan, Molly and I recently attended an over-night meeting with the Presbytery of Arkansas at University of the Ozarks and First Presbyterian Church of Clarksville, Arkansas.  We took the last train to Clarksville and they left me at the station.  I got distracted trying to identify the decorative ferns.

The meeting was attended by Presbyterian (PC USA) churches in the northern 2/3 of the state.  For those of you who may not know what a Presbytery Meeting is, it is the government organization of the denomination.  Each church elects "ruling elders" (Presbyter means "elder") who serve on session and manage the church property as a group.  Sometimes deacons are also elected to help them.  Each church is part of a presbytery (group of churches) .  Groups of Presbyteries form a Synod, All of the Synods make up the General Assembly (national body) of the Presbyterian Church USA.  General Assembly meets every 2 years. Presbytery of Arkansas meets three times a year.  Each church appoints and sends commissioners which are ruling elders and pastors (pastors are also called teaching elders) to go to the Presbytery meetings and make decisions.  Each Presbytery sends commissioners to the General Assembly to make decisions.  Make sense?  We have a very representative church government similar to Congress.  Church leaders make decisions as a body for their church, for their presbytery, and for their denomination.

 I want to go over 4 really cool parts of the meeting

1.  Mission Co-Workers

Part of the meeting was a 30 minute presentation by Rev. Dr. Paul Matheny and Rev. Dr. Mary Nebelsick telling us about their work since 2001 as mission co-workers in the Philippines through Presbyterian World Mission.  Mission Co-workers are like grown up YAVs; adults that give more than a year of service to live and be the presence of God in a long term mission role through the Presbyterian Church.  If you visit their website (pcusa.org/paul-matheny-and-mary-nebelsick) or send them money you can get a prayer card with their picture, address and description of thier work.  It goes well on your refrigerator as a daily reminder to pray for those doing justice work through the church, and the partners they work with.  Don't forget to pray for the justice leaders in our communities here at home Below is their card on our fridge. Mary, Paul, and their daughter Rachel.

Paul, Mary, and Rachel's card next to a cool picture of Jesus also on our fridge

The Rev.Dr.s  both teach at Union Theological Seminary in Dasmarinas.   They prepare students from the Philippines and other nations for leadership in ministry.  Also, being Christians in the Philippines they are called to be a voice for the poor and the oppressed.  I ate lunch with Mary and Paul and they told some stories about standing up for the poor.  The government doesn't like it when the foreigners take the side of the poor, it's embarrassing so that puts Mary and Paul in a good place to make changes.  They have to rely heavily on relationships with local citizens who know the political and social climate much better to navigate how to strategically make changes to help the poor.  They've witnessed people get murdered for taking a stand and helping the poor as Christians.  They've seen a man get kidnapped by the government and a response from the world church community pressured the President of the Philippines to reveal his whereabouts and eventually release him.  They've seen the government lock up children and the homeless to get them off the streets so Manila would be cleaner for Pope Francis and President Obama to visit.  Here's an article on that with some tough pictures.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2906730/EXCLUSIVE-Children-CAGED-God-Police-seize-orphans-chain-filth-clear-streets-Pope-s-visit-Philippines.html


2.  Rachel Shepherd Passed her Ordination Exam!

Rachel Shepheard has been a new pastor at Second Pres (our church) since November.  A former Virginian, and Union Theological Seminary (Richmond VA) graduate, she was quizzed at the meeting by five or six commissioners on her Theology, or how she would react as a pastor in certain situations.  She was then approved to be ordained and installed as Interim Associate Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church where she's already been filling in.  She is a great lady! We love her. She leads our "Tap Theology" and other Young Adult Activities.  She's helped me plant trees at Ferncliff, and she preached at the Ash Wednesday Service.  I'll point you toward a seminary project of hers I found online. Keep in mind this project is for mature audiences; http://justiceunbound.org/carousel/daughters-of-eve-biblical-women-take-back-the-microphone/

This is Rachel in front of the Osmanthus shrub at the church

3.YAADs

Just like General Assembly I attended in June, The Arkansas Presbytery has Young Adult Advisory Delegates (YAADs) The churches send members of their youth group along with commissioners (elders and preachers).  On most decisions the YAADs get to vote first.  The voting commissioners get to see how the YAAD's voted, the moderator says, "you have been advised" and they can choose to listen to the younger folks or listen to their own conscious.  YAAD votes do not count officially but give a voice to the younger church.  YAADs study up on everything being voted on just as much if not more than the commissioners.  It was cool to see so many passionate young people there to give a voice to how their church could be run.

We heard the most YAAD opinions when the hot buttion topic came up of allowing same-sex marriages in the PCUSA denomination.  Three young girls got up and asked questions like "why are gay relationships wrong?" One questioned how do we know that the times when the bible says it is wrong are not just words influenced by their time?  How can we tell if it was misinterpreted in translation or added after the original writing?"  One asked, "even if it is a sin why are we making this sin such a bigger deal than all the other sins?"  I admire these people younger than I to have the courage to ask these things to a room full of white people with grey hair.  Way to go YAADs!

4. Commissioner's resolution

At the very end of the meeting, Rev. Marie from First Presbyterian, Little Rock presented a commissioner's resolution asking the body of Arkansas Presbytery to "declare its opposition to Arkansas House Bill 1228, allowing discrimination based on religious conviction, particularly intended to target gay, lesbian, and transgender people as well as others; and against Senate Bill 202, barring localities from passing anti-discrimination laws..." and also ask the Governor to veto SB 202.  That passed unanimously so the stated clerk will let the legislature know that as a church body we oppose this "Conscious Protection Act" that could allow businesses to deny service to LGBT folks based on "religious convictions"  The main idea here is that our religion, on the books as the same one the legislature is trying to "protect" is about loving your neighbor as yourself, respecting the dignity of every human being, has previously spoken out against prejudice based on race, religion, country of origin, gender, sexuality, etc, and that religion shouldn't be a cloak for discrimination.

 Another important part of the meeting was a vote to change the denomination's policy on marriage and particularly same-sex marriage.  In June an overture was brought to General Assembly changing the definition of "marriage" to " between a man and a woman" to "between two people" essentially allowing same-sex marriages to be performed by PCUSA churches and clergy.  It was sent to all presbyteries to be ratified before it takes effect.  It passed in Arkansas Presbytery this weekend and if enough other presbyteries vote in favor of the amendment it will take affect at the next General Assembly in 2016.

I plan to write another article about my experience seeing the marriage policy go through both General Assembly and Arkansas Presbytery.

Who says church government is boring?  (maybe I've just been in it too long)

Mac, Water and Cuba

This weekend I've been crashing the Living Waters for the World education retreat.  They happen to be here at Ferncliff, a few of the Solar School instructors are part of it, Mac from my first out-of-the-country mission trip to Baja, Mexico in 2006 is part of it, and I'm going to attend their Clean Water University training in April.  So I took some of my weekend to sit in, hear more about them and meet more technology-minded Christians doing impressive work in the name of God.  There are eleven other small world moments that make me feel drawn to this group, a few of which I will explain at the end of this article.

Me and Mac (Shenandoah Buddies!)

They got a tour of the Eco Center, a bonfire, and a demonstration of depression fireworks out of me in exchange for letting me hear all their trade secrets.

"Living Waters for the World mission teams empower their partners to provide clean, sustainable water and health education for their communities."  Pay attention. clean water AND health education.

 

This video and others from  http://livingwatersfortheworld.org/LWW_Video.php

This is a group of Presbyterians that set up water filtration systems to provide purified, filtered, and treated water to communities across the world.  AND they set up health education in the communities, by members of the communities along with the water treatment system.  They have 689 working systems  in 25 (soon to be 26) different countries.  They are so large because four times a year they train missionaries on how to install and teach about their system at Clean Water University.

After training at Clean Water University, mission teams go into the area, install the system, train an in country operator, AND train a handful of local teachers to teach health and hygiene to the customers who will get the clean water.

At this weekend's retreat, staff, board members, Clean Water University instructors, network leaders, and long time volunteers met to discuss some larger organizational shifts, and to re-format their curriculum based on a new direction of the organization.  They focused on keeping consistency in the process for their systems in all 26 partner countries.

Picture from http://livingwatersfortheworld.org/LWWPO.php

This organization has become much bigger than ever anticipated and they are responding to keep a consistent quality and effectiveness in all their systems.  Recently with the opening of US trade with Cuba, LWW made national news in a NY Times article about how faith partnerships between the two nations have existed while economic partnerships were on a hiatus.  More on faith partnerships with Cuba through Living Waters here.  Mac and a handful of other folks here recently returned from a trip to Cuba.

Steve on LWW staff says that it is amazing that they are becoming more widespread and well known, but they need to make sure they are delivering a consistent model and a consistent product to systems carrying the Living Waters for the World name. This meeting was to get all of their US leadership on the same page, and now I'm sort of on that page as an observer and future Clean Water University student.

To avoid explaining the hours of boring details of the organization's new direction, I'll sum it up as best I can.  The idea is this;  in the name of sustainability, there needs to be more effort and work by the people in the country to asses sties, organize sites, and keep them running after the mission teams set up the system and education.  Some assessments and surveys originally done by Clean Water University graduates in the US will be more sustainable if they are done by people who live in the country and know it better.  The U.S. teams are starting to work themselves out of some of the work so that more ownership and responsibility lies with "The Networks".  By empowering more people in the communities where the systems go it builds more ownership, feeling of responsibility and importance that can keep the systems running without dependence on the Clean Water University grads.  They still keep the partnership but it puts more of the power and ownership to the people that actually make and drink the water.  That is the shift toward sustainability.  

I want to emphasize that if you train at Clean Water University you are being trained to organize a community to provide clean water for themselves.  Your job will be to teach them how the system works, and set them up to run the system on their own.  It is easiest to work in countries where networks of leaders are already established.  They are happy to train you to set up a network in another country.

Although much of the meeting was like watching a cake bake in a solar oven, over my head, and a little bit boring, it was very insightful to see a Presbyterian group grapple and struggle with an issue so important as bringing bacteriologically-safe water and health education to communities without something so basic as clean water.  At a time when the denomination is being divided over some divestment issues and rules on same sex marriages I am glad to see people that disagree on those topics come together to make decisions about providing sustainable clean water to a generation.  There are still things we agree on as Christians and it's important we act on what we believe is right.  We shouldn't dissolve partnerships on things like clean water because of political ideals and differing biblical interpretations of something entirely separate like gay marriage. 

Please pray for this organization in their discernment of a sustainable future.  You may even consider Living Waters for the World as a partner with your church mission teams. They offer Clean Water University several times each year for you to learn how to set up a trip to bring their teaching model and water system to a church or community you already partner with, or to tag along in a place they are already working.  If you don't have time, tell someone about it or consider donating toward their work in your monthly or annual giving. https://www.livingwatersfortheworld.org/Page6-GetInvolved.php

They are an inspiring group of missionaries that I was grateful to spend the weekend with, and I'm sure you'll love them too!

 The End.

LWW Retreat group.  Can you spot anyone you know?

P.S. Here are just a few other small world connections I saw this weekend, if you ever wondered how small the world is, or how much Presbyterians do together.

At General Assembly in June, I met Stephanie and Dan T of LWW.  Dan and his son Ben were key leaders in the Fossil Free PCUSA effort I mentioned in a past article.  Stephanie introduced me to Chris McRae of Solar Under the Sun and the conversation with him was essentially the reason I chose accept the placement here at Ferncliff.

Another guy, Danny K has a son who works at Camp Hopewell and met my fellow Little Rock YAVs Molly and Dan B. at the Program Connection conference a few weeks ago.  Camp Hopewell is where I'm taking Clean Water University 103 in April.

The only other 103-trained person in Shenandoah Presbytery is a man named Dan W. who is a cousin to Liz B., Liz is our PDA National Response Team leader here in Little Rock.  I was with Liz on Friday when the LWW arrived.  Dan W's grandaughter Isabelle was one of my campers at Nature Camp that I taught with Gus and Kate.  Liz asked me about Isabelle during my interview with Ferncliff just before I went to General Assembly.

I decided to come to Ferncliff because so many of these things were lining up in June and I figured God was involved somehow.