Tag Archives: poverty

Intercultural Ministries

When “IT” Makes the News

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By Gimbiya Kettering

I’ll admit, the news story about Jamar Clark has not been on my radar. I have been caught up in the pre-pre holiday business, local meetings, life with a toddler who now takes off her socks as I look for her gloves and her gloves while I am fastening her shoes. The news beyond my front door seems far away. In the midst of my own life, I can lull myself into thinking that the wider world has calmed down, become more reasonable, more sane, more sustainable. That something like peace has descended.

Of course, the reality is much more complicated and the lives of brothers and sisters around the country continue to be disrupted by oppression, poverty, racism, and violence. And in the case of Jamar Clark –ended. The protestors in Minneapolis were paying attention and came out to raise the national awareness about what happened – of the disturbing patterns that continue to happen around the country. They are protesting to raise the awareness of people like me – caught up in our own lives but who would also want to know, who want to be the type of person who pays attention and cares.

Protests are a way of raising awareness, as news reports carry the information into the homes of those of us who aren’t making it through our front doors and into the communities where protests are happening. Yet, the news that someone (it is not clear yet who) has fired on the protestors is frightening. It flies in the face of our American traditions of gathering together as part of raising national awareness that encompass movements from the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the March on Selma in 1965 –and the public witness of our church such as the On Earth Peace tradition of having a “Peace Walk” at Annual Conference and International Day of Prayer for Peace celebrated by many congregations.

That someone – regardless of who – opened fire on the group is very disturbing. Thankfully, no one has died. However, the act of violence is horrific. And it calls us to ask what is our response as a people of a faith? As a church? As a people of peace?

General

Why I got arrested

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I got arrested today, as the Director of Peace Witness Ministries of the Church of the Brethren. And it was something that needed to happen.

There is a long tradition of members of the Church of the Brethren participating in acts of civil disobedience – you could certainly say that the formation of our church was in itself an act of civil disobedience. And ever since, when the church has felt that steps the government was taking were forcing them to be unfaithful, we have responded – living out the values of the realm of God rather than adhering to the laws of the nations in which we reside.

Over the course of the last two and a half weeks, and really for months prior to this, the Church of the Brethren, in conjunction with the interfaith community, has been speaking out on behalf of those living in poverty, those who hunger in the United States and around the world, and those on the margins. We have stated, repeatedly, that it is the role of the government in a just and compassionate society – and the role of our government, in a democracy that claims to speak on our behalf – to offer care and opportunity to these people. People whose voice often doesn’t end up around the power tables of Washington, DC – it is this voice that the church highlights.

And so, over the last number of months, you have seen action alerts. There have been sign on letters, which General Secretary Stan Noffsinger, as well as Brethren Press director Wendy McFadden, have joined. For the last two and a half weeks, the faith community in Washington has held daily prayer vigils outside of the United Methodist Building, and met with both Administration and Congressional leadership. In fact, it was during the meetings with leadership that we realized more needed to be done.

A staff member told us that, for poor and vulnerable communities, what was going to happen was going to be bad. They couldn’t say how bad, but bad. Brothers and sisters, when we consider the priorities with which the government uses our money – and that we have a voice in how that happens – that just isn’t acceptable. It is not acceptable to turn more people toward poverty, while cutting off the support for those that are already there.

And so, I got arrested today. Not only because Members of Congress need to hear from the faith community about the sinfulness of what they are doing – but that you, members of the Church of the Brethren, need to know what your Congress is doing. And that it is time for it to stop. Brothers and sisters, it is time for a just and compassionate budget – one that reflects the values of those who live, move, and breath in this country, and one with which the church can partner to continue the inbreaking of the realm of God.