A Humble Walk

by Karalyn Colopy 

When I was a child preparing for the CROP Walk, I walked up and down my street knocking on doors.  I told my neighbors I was raising money to help end hunger and that I was hoping to walk 6 miles.  Would they sponsor me for 10 cents a mile?  I was trained to solicit sponsorships on a per-mile basis, so if I only made it 4 or 5 miles, folks wouldn't be on the hook for the whole 60 cents.  

That was a long time ago.  The donations I'll collect today might be bigger.  No matter how generous, they'll still seem like too little.  

"If all 36.2 million Americans faced with food insecurity stood in line at a food pantry in New York City, the line would stretch to Los Angeles and back. Twice."

"Each day almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes - one every five seconds"

I can become easily discouraged by the basic facts of hunger.  The problem is so overwhelming, so complicated.  My possible contribution is so insignificant.  It's instinctive for me to put such big, distant problems into the mental bucket of "nothing I can do about that one."  And then stop thinking about it.  Move on.  Put my energy towards something productive.

"We poor people are invisible to others - just as blind people cannot see, they cannot see us."  Pakistan

"Being poor is being always tired."  Kenya

"When you are hungry you can't think about anything else."  USA

Simply having energy is a way of life I take for granted.  Having many choices about how to spend my energy... a given.  But naturally I want to make the best choices.  Our mission theme this year invites me to reflect: "What does the Lord require of us but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8).   

"We've had to stop buying milk for our two-year-old baby.  What we earn now isn't enough to feed ourselves properly or buy medicines."  Guatemala

"Lack of work worries me.  My children were hungry and I told them the rice was cooking, until they fell asleep from hunger."  Egypt

"It wasn't my turn."  Response of a US child who had fallen asleep at school when asked if he had eaten breakfast that morning.

What a wake up call.  Is it possible to hear such words and know of an opportunity - the CROP Walk, for example - and yet do nothing?  The message is so simple.  Forget the calculations - will I succeed? will I make a big difference? is it worth my time? - and just DO it!  Walking humbly may be dealing with a problem that has no easy solution, that requires a prolonged effort, that swallows all you give and demands more.  

"The lives of millions of children can be saved each year, at low cost, with vaccines and micronutrient supplementation.  Almost every child can be reached with vaccines and supplements, even under the most difficult circumstances." 

"In South Asia alone, it is estimated that if women and men had equal status, there would be 13.4 million fewer malnourished small children."

"Climate change adaptation programs are helping growing numbers of poor, smallholder farmers reduce the vulnerability of their crops to increasing climatic uncertainties. "

The end of the hunger may not be in sight.  The CROP Walk is not about sprinting to the finish, with trophies for the winners.  It's a humble walk.  After the crowd has finished the 4.8 miles, many in Durham and around the world will still be hungry and tired.  But maybe a few will have a little more hope.  And next year, we'll walk again.

If you would like to make a donation to the CROP Walk on behalf of the Duke Memorial walking team, please see: http://hunger.cwsglobal.org/site/TR?team_id=78929&fr_id=16528&pg=team

Durham CROP Hunger Walk
Sunday, March 17, 2013
@ Duke Chapel

1:30 Registration

2:30 Walk

For sources of "Quotes" above, see Church World Service: http://hunger.cwsglobal.org/PDFs/Resources/Hunger.pdf

Reflections on "Learning Our Story: The Importance of Black History for the Church"

Reynolds Chapman 
 
On Tuesday we had Rev. Keith Daniel and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove share with us about the importance of Black history for the church. We were reminded about the ways in which individuals within the Black community have contributed to our society, but have often gone unnoticed. Keith Daniel shared the striking example of how it wasn't until his junior year of college at Duke University that he discovered that Duke Chapel was designed by an African American architect, Julian Abele. 

And so we discussed how we go about remembering African Americans - how we pay special attention, and how we honor the story of Black people as part of the story we all share. A key part of our conversation was the role the Church plays in this - how has the Church (both the black church and white church) formed us about how to understand our God and what it means to be Christian, and how do we discover new ways of seeing that make us more like Jesus, that recognize everyone as made in the image of God, and that bring us together as sisters and brothers. 

Below are some quotes from the evening. Also, see the video below!

From Keith Daniel:

 “[There is] this dual identity that the African American had to persist in, this sense of not belonging, or not being human, or not being valued, or not being created in the image of God. And those seeds  are long and deep in the roots of our history. So it’s important for members of our community to take time to reflect that we are indeed we are the people of God. We make up God’s beautiful kingdom here on this earth. How else will our children know that? How else will our communities  come to embrace that identity, even in light of the persistent opposition and obstacles our community continues to face?”

“There’s still too much dehumanization going on in our communities in the ways we understand and interpret our narratives, and so Black history gives us occasion to hopefully reframe and refocus on that significance.”

 “Clearly it’s not a matter of a month of reflection, it’s a matter of how communities are shaped and how we see each other. We do a real good job in our country to still make people invisible.” 

From Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove:

“Racism isn’t just about some laws that we used to have in this country that thankfully we did away with, with the Civil Rights movement. Racism isn’t just about a sort of bigotry that some nasty people have, and we all think those people are either dead or pushed back in the mountains or something. Racism, rather is a way of seeing the world, and it has deeply shaped the way our society works. And it has deeply shaped our forms of Christianity…Part of my discipleship, part of my continued conversion was going to require me to be in fellowship with people who were Christian in black skin.”   

 “I think that the history that we’re talking about, Black history, includes something that Dr. Vincent Harding calls the ‘Black-led freedom movement.’ And the Black-led freedom movement, it seems to me, is the best way to learn the history and why it matters, because the same movement is happening today. And the best way to join the Black-led freedom movement as a white person like me is get on in behind some leaders who are raising these issues.”

Thanks to Keith and Jonathan, and to everyone else who came out!

Here's a link to the video of Tuesday's program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx--zQORr-c

Our Sameness in God's Eyes

A reflection on hosting families Interfaith Hospitality Network

by Susanna Lambert

I have done evening meal hosting before, but this was my first time as an overnight host.  This role involved simpler logistics, less interaction and fewer responsibilities than I had imagined.  (And the room was pleasantly warmer than I'd imagined, too.)  However, the experience offered me a more humbling perspective.

First, observing these families ushering their children through bedtime routines made their situation more real to me than ever.  Second, keeping the same hours they keep was a deeper experience than sharing a meal in Whitford Hall. I felt more like their guest up there, since it serves as their most private space for the week and I was a newcomer.  Third,  sleeping under God's roof with these families was a timely reminder about our sameness in His eyes.  Being in service to these less fortunate brothers and sisters of Christ grounded, humbled and refreshed me.

Before becoming involved in IHN, these families' presence at our church was ghost-like to me; I knew they were there for that week, but the reality escaped me.  If you have never participated in this ministry, please consider it.  This important work will fortify your connection with our congregation, our city, and our faith.

From the Mouths (and Hands and Feet) of Babes...

In case we forget our calling, we can listen to the little ones. In this case, it's the artwork of a 6-month-old.