Scandalous
So you might have seen that something went on in Colombia recently, although it was not likely to have been very focused on the actual goings-on of the major hemispheric meeting that took place in one of the most charming spots in the country.
Perhaps it is not surprising that an international diplomatic summit can be overtaken by an all-too familiar sex scandal – but what does that show us about ourselves? There has been a lot of ink spilled over this scandal, but Juliana Jiménez at Slate’s XX Factor hit it best. Read the whole thing, but here are some tidbits to get you interested…
That this happened, I believe, is a result of, and will add to, the image of overly sexualized Latin American women. The reputation Colombia has for “its women” is notorious and stereotypically sexist. Lonely Planet, for example, says of the city of Cali, Colombia: “While the city itself isn’t breathtaking, Cali famously claims to produce the most beautiful women in Colombia.” Produce. Like sugar cane or mangoes…
Distraction or not, a beautiful moment of transnational bonding took place in this scandal: both sides of the Caribbean did their part to reduce women to their sexuality and perpetuate the stereotype of the over-sexualized Colombian woman. Observers may not have been able to come to terms on Cuba or the war on drugs, but many were able to agree that the sanctity and preservation of the age-old transaction of women’s bodies and dignity deserves the utmost attention. I guess we do share some common values after all.
Mamie will have some more reflections from the Cumbre de los Pueblos up soon, once the mountain of translations have been scaled…
Inspiration
I am hoping to get a post up soon to tell you all more about the People’s Summit, but until then, I wanted to share a story from one of our supporting churches, First United Church of Oak Park. They have been an amazing partner for Colombia in terms of advocacy, accompaniment, financial support, education, and more.
Thanks y’all. You are indeed an inspiration.
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“You are an inspiration to me.”
Those words were about the last thing I expected to hear when a group of us from First United Church met with Joseph, a legislative aid to U.S. Rep. Danny Davis in Washington, DC. We were there for Ecumenical Advocacy Days, and we had 30 minutes in the Congressman’s office to talk about issues related to a fair federal budget and human rights issues in Latin America.
I began by saying we were there to preach the good news of Jesus Christ, who proclaimed liberation for those who are oppressed and poor. Secondly, we were there as constituents who VOTE and citizens of the republic. Thirdly, we were there as friends and companions to our partners in the Presbyterian Church of Colombia.
Joseph’s eyes got kind of wide when I started talking about Jesus. Maybe people in Washington aren’t used to that kind of talk . . . at least when it is connected to justice and love for people in other countries. And he really paid attention when Mahala and Laurand, two of our youth delegates, began to articulate the issues. Five million people in Colombia have been displaced. Their rights to restitution are difficult to claim. Labor leaders are subject to harassment and assassination. U.S. military and police presence contributes to violence.
We asked the Congressman to use his power to influence American involvement in Colombia, to support development aid rather than weapons. We asked for enforcement of labor protections prior to the implementation of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. We asked for the U.S. to monitor treatment of those who have been displaced from their homes and lands.
And by the end of our visit, he turned to us and said, “You all are an inspiration to me!” Rep. Davis signed a Dear Colleague letter that we asked him to endorse.
Sometimes God’s work happens in surprising ways. I was glad our presence made Joseph’s day. May he — and all public servants — be inspired to continue working for liberty and justice for all.
Rev. Dr. Julie R. Harley
Want to YAV?
One of the experiences that Mamie and I always go back to as one of the most transformative and life-giving to each of us is our time as Young Adult Volunteers. Of course, we met through the program, so that doesn’t hurt! Through one year of service and community living, either in the US or internationally, the YAV program connects young people’s passion with the desperate needs of this world. Our time a YAVs has shaped our lives permanently, and for that we are truly grateful.
So when I think of the one thing I really can stand behind recommending to a young person looking at who they want to be and how they want to spend their life, their passion, and their calling, I never hesitate to suggest looking at service with the Young Adult Volunteer Program. Are you interested? Do you know someone in your family or church or circle of friends who might crave this type of challenge? Do them a favor, and pass on this invitation. It is a year of service that offers a lifetime of fruit.
Do you want to spend a year (or more) serving in mission and putting your faith into action? Are you interested in a career in non-profit or humanitarian aid? Then apply to be a YAV! The PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer program still has open spots in their domestic sites. The extended due date is next month! May 25. Check it out! http://gamc.pcusa.org/
ministries/yav/
La Cumbre
So right down the road from us in Cartagena this weekend, most of this hemisphere’s leaders are gathering for the Cumbre de los Americas – or Summit of the Americas. Obama is there, and the Castros are not – there have been no shortages of tempests in the lead up to this event.
Mamie is in Cartagena at another event – the Cumbre de los Pueblos - or Summit of the Peoples. It is an alternative voice to the meeting of heads of state, a place for people’s organizations, churches, unions, and academics to lift up the true concerns of the people, over and above the political niceties and formal yet flimsy statements the official Cumbre will likely result in.
Below are several good reflections on some of the most important issues to be discussed at the Summit. Take a moment to read and think about these issues – our whole hemisphere is in this together…
From the Washington Office on Latin America “Obama Poised To Give Presidential Seal of Approval To Gross Labor Rights Violations in Colombia“ It is now widely expected that Obama will certify that the Colombia – US Free Trade Agreement is ready to be implemented at the Cumbre. This is in spite of a clear set benchmarks that have not been met. The real news here is the same as it has always been – this free trade deal favors the powerful at the expense of those without voice. And in Colombia, those without voice are often at risk of death.
Here’s a positive perspective on what this hemisphere’s leaders could be addressing – the spate of human rights abuses throughout the region. “What Should be on the Agenda at the Summit: Protect Human Rights Defenders.“ (From the Latin American Working Group)
And finally, here is a poem from a Colombian, reflecting on the pain of not being believed about grave human rights abuses in your own community “They Don’t Believe Us.” An excerpt:
Yesterday we said that they are murdering us,
cutting us into pieces, disappearing us, displacing us,
torturing us, mistreating us. And they don’t believe us.
That we are victims of the state. And they don’t believe us.
That the army, police and paramilitaries are the same. And they don’t believe us.
That many children are sobbing, for their parents are disappeared.
And they don’t believe us.
Añoñi
Three years into this gig and we are definitely still learning a lot. that applies to pretty much everything, but certainly to the acquisition of Spanish – and Colombian Spanish to be more exact. The hard thing about other languages (and knowing that you are still not proficient in them) is that it is difficult to know whether you don’t understand something someone said because:
A) You did not hear them well
B) You do know know the word they used
C) Even knowing all of the words they used you simply still have no idea what they are talking about.
Costeñol can sometimes mess with a person’s brain on all three fronts. This time it was a “B” (not knowing the word) masquerading for a long time as an “A” (thinking I had not heard them well). After all, it is kind of a weird word…
“Costeñol Palabra del Dia”
Añoñi (ah-nyo’-nyi): idiom – of course, indeed, obviously, duh.
Ex: Did you have a good time at the party last night? Dude, añoñi!
However, though I think it would be funny, it would evidently not be used like this – not that I have personal experience or anything…
Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen…añoñi!
Holy Saturday
Today we wait.
Today Jesus is dead.
Today hope has taken one in the teeth.
Holy Saturday is perhaps the hardest day in Holy Week to figure out. There is little or nothing in our Gospel stories about Holy Saturday. Perhaps everyone just sat around in shock today, so many years ago, so there is not much to be told. Perhaps it was too hard to write about the emotional devastation; maybe it seemed impossible to admit to the anger or despair of today once the resurrection had happened. Still, the truth is, it had to be a blow. What we can be sure of is that today is a day of mourning. The crucifixion was yesterday. The casseroles start today.
Over the years I have felt more and more deeply the importance, the sacredness of Holy Saturday. It is a liminal space. It a an “already, but not yet” moment in which Christ has risen already, but not yet. That still waits for tomorrow. Today is for sad. Today is for depressed. Today is for hopeless. Today is for confused. Today is for desperate. Today is for disbelief. Today is for angry. It often feels like folks want to skip over today, as the texts do – to make today about tomorrow. I want us to always remember that we live in a resurrection world, in an empty cross, open tomb reality, but that does not mean we are always about rejoicing. Part of what Holy Saturday does is it offers one day in which sadness and despair are holy. It says that exhaustion and emptiness are not outside of God. It says that if you can’t quite get over the disappearance of your husband, the murder of your son, the loss of your land and your dignity, then that piece of you that remains in waiting and cannot yet feel any joy…that part is holy too.
Richard Rohr points out that “…there only needs to be one single Easter Sunday for us to know the final and eternal pattern. We now live inside of such cosmic hope”, and I totally agree with that. I also agree with him that, “Most of human life is Holy Saturday…”
Waiting is hard.
Good luck.
Roll-em Up
Yesterday was International Land Mine Awareness Day.
Let that sink in a minute…
Did you even know there was a Land Mine Awareness Day? To be honest, I really didn’t. Other than Heather Mills’ brief stint on Dancing with the Stars several years ago, land mines are something I did not ever really have to think about – before moving to Colombia.
This February on a Presbyterian Peace Fellowship delegation, we visited a home in Bogotá that takes in land mine victims while they are being treated. While the 2012 campaign to raise awareness of land mines focuses on rolling up your pant legs, the most difficult moment for us was meeting a 2-year old who was in the capital for eye surgery from the shrapnel that had blown up in her face. Nothing could stop me from seeing Peanut in shoes.
According to El Espectador, a newspaper here, as of 2009 Colombia had the second largest number of land mines in the world (second only to Afghanistan). Of the nearly ten thousand victims of the past 22 years, more than 10% were children. Mines are a tool primarily used by the country’s primary guerrilla groups (FARC and ELN), and because they are usually placed in rural locations, it is often poor farmers and their families who are casualties. It is believed that up to 100,000 mines still remain in the Colombian countryside.
The United Nations says this day is meant to call for continued efforts by states, with assistance from 
the UN and relevant organizations, to help establish and develop national mine-action capacities in countries where mines and explosive war remnants constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of people, or hinders social and economic development at the national and local levels. ”Mine action” refers to a range of efforts to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war and to mark and fence off dangerous areas. It also includes assisting victims, teaching people how to remain safe in a mine-affected environment, advocating for universal participation in international treaties related to landmines, explosive remnants of war and their victims, and destroying landmines stockpiled by governments and non-state armed groups.
This day has only been officially observed since 2006. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to give this day away to some other cause in just 10 years? We have to start somewhere, so roll-em up people, roll-em up.
Holy Week Stations
I was invited to be the preacher for a vigil this past Friday night to prepare for Holy Week. The vigil was to start at 8pm and end at midnight. My “sermon”was to come at 10:30pm… Now I don’t know about you all, but it seemed to me that the likelihood of anyone (including me) staying awake in a church service at the end of a long week for a sermon of any length, no matter how fascinating and dynamic and inspiring is the invited preacher-lady, seemed dim.I figured my best bet was to talk a little and have them move a lot. With some inspiration from Rev. Theresa Cho, but adapting for the theme of Holy Week, I decided it was time to break out.
My sense is that folks were engaged, albeit a bit hesitant. After three years I have not really seen anything like this in church services, and it didn’t seem like the congregation had either. Folks seemed to gain confidence as they went along, but some had trouble overcoming the sense that there were “right”answers they were supposed to come up with. Admittedly there are probably some wrong answers (i.e. Judas was not giddy with glee over the anointing of Jesus by Mary (in John) or the unnamed woman (in the other gospels)), but the activities were really meant to have people think more carefully and move a bit more slowly through Holy Week (as the Bible does). I started with a quick overview, including an emphasis about the importance of Holy Saturday because I am still concerned with the supreme emphasis on joyhere. Quickly though, we moved on to the stations…
Holy Monday:
A House of Prayer for All Nations
Scripture: Mark 11:15-19
Read the text aloud. Form a circle, and pray for all the nations of the world. Try to pray specifically for one country in each of the following continents or regions:
Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, Central America, North America, South America
One person should begin the prayer and, upon finishing, squeeze the person’s hand at their side to continue. Give each person the chance to pray, silently or aloud.
Materials: Bible, Newspaper
Holy Tuesday:
Making Visible the Invisible
Scripture: Matthew 27:15-23, Mark 14:66-72,
Luke 23:26-31, John 19:23-30
Many times, the women of the Bible remain invisible. Have each person in the group choose a scripture from those above and draw a picture about it from the perspective of the woman (or women) in the text - making them central figures in telling the story.
Put your drawing on the wall before you leave this station.
Materials: Paper, Crayons, Bible
Holy Wednesday: The Anointing of Jesus
Scripture: John 12:1-11
Read the text aloud. Have someone take a slip of paper from the cup and read the name on it. Imagine that you are that person in the text and share with the group your thoughts/feelings.
Materials: Bible, Perfume ,Paper strips (Mary, Martha, Jesus, Lazarus, Judas, Other disciples), Cup
Holy (Maundy) Thursday:
Denying Jesus
Scripture:Matthew 26:69-75
Think about a time that you denied Jesus with your words or your actions (or failing to act).
- Who (or what?) helped you see what you had done (as the servant-girl did for Peter)?
- When you realized what you had done, how did you feel at that moment?
- How do you feel now?
Even though he denied Jesus there times, Peter was “the rock” of the church. Take one of the paper rocks provided and write on it how you denied Jesus. Afterwards, take a paint brush and paint over your words with an image (or images) that represent your commitment to strengthening the church. Place your rock on the wall before leaving the station.
Materials: Paper rocks, Washable paint, Paint brushes, Pens/Pencils, Water, Newspaper, Dish Towel
Holy (Good) Friday: Holy Week Around the World
Look at images of Holy Week from around the world. As a group, respond to some of the following questions:
1. What image(s) seem familiar/normal to you?
2. What image(s) makes you feel uncomfortable/odd, or which one(s) did you dislike?
3. What image seems most faithful?
4. What image would you like to see in person?
5. If a photographer were taking photos in Barranquilla, how would you want the photo of your celebrations of Holy Week to look?
Materials: Holy Week Images Slide Show, LCD Projector, Computer
Holy Saturday:
Waiting Faithfully
Answer for yourself the following questions:
How do I show my faithfulness to God through my actions?
How can I show my faithfulness to God through my actions?
Take a slip of paper and write on it two ways that you can be faithful to God in your daily life. Keep this paper with you during Holy Week to remind yourself.
Materials: Paper strips, Pens/Pencils
I divided folks up in groups by counting off days and they rotated in their groups as they finished the stations. This was not seamless since the stations don’t all take the same amount of time, but we worked it out. The logistics of people movement in the midst of such a brand new experience was probably the most difficult for me to plan for. Also, I am sure a station for making Palm Crosses or some such would be great for Palm Sunday, but I didn’t have space for more stations, and since we were close to Sunday and folks tend to go to church more regularly on Sunday I left that out. Oh, and no one does palm crosses here – like at all – which is funny since there are palm trees everywhere…
* Without my trusty partner at my side Friday night since evidently someone always has to be with the 18-month old, these photos are from a Palm Sunday remix.
Colombia Sign On Letter
Yesterday we posted information about the Days of Prayer and Action. One additional project for these days that our Colombian church partners are offering is a sign on letter to Colombian President Santos urging him to engage in peace talks to end Colombia’s armed conflict. If you, your congregation, or any other groups are interested in joining this effort, please do two things: a) Print and sign the letter and send it to the Colombian Embassy in your country and b) send your name and organization in to me (rawillia13 (a) gmail punto com) so we can collect all signatures and deliver them to the President’s office here in Colombia
The full text of the letter is here:
Carta Santos Paz – Ingles (pdf)
Carta Santos Paz – Ingles (.doc)
The address of the Colombian Embassy in the United States:
Embassy of Colombia in United States
2118 Leroy Place NW
Washington DC 20008
From the letter:
The signers of this letter are Christians from different churches and Christian organizations in Colombia and countries throughout the region who, sensing a call from God to work for peace, have been involved in programs and initiatives that seek to contribute non-violently to create peace and overcome the violence that Colombia has suffered for almost 50 years.
We write to you because we are motivated by the Spirit of God who encourages us to keep hope that peace will be possible in Colombia despite the news that we see in which one day the media euphorically announces the death of guerrillas and the next the death of soldiers at the hands of the guerrillas. Both stories cause us sadness and pain since brothers and sisters in Christ killing one another is a sign that the social and spiritual order created by God in Genesis is not on a good path. Accordingly, these murderous acts among brothers and sisters produces a curse between those who kill one another and the land they inhabit and work (Genesis 4:8-14).
The Spirit of God, which animates our work for peace in Colombia, today pushes us to write to you to help overcome this cycle of fratricidal violence that we in Colombia have lived for the past 50 years…
Also – here is another activity for the Days of Prayer and Action – a 24 hour prayer from our partners at Christian Peacemaker Teams. Visit here to find out more, and to sign up.
Praying and Acting – Care to Join?
April 13-16 :: A Place to Call Home
Be a voice for peace and justice in Colombia by joining thousands of people of faith for the 7th Annual National Days of Action for Colombia.
With more than five million people forced off their land, Colombia is home to the world’s greatest displacement crisis. More and more people are driven from their homes every day.
Help us flood Congress with our message of peace and justice for Colombia. During the National Days of Action for Colombia we will call on our government to pursue policies that protect small-scale farmers, Colombian human rights advocates, and communities at risk for displacement. For sustainable peace in Colombia, the U.S. must stop funding the Colombian military and pushing the unfair trade and failed drug policies.
Here is the organizer packet with all the information to help plan some events. We’ll be praying and acting here in Colombia. Why don’t you join us?
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Here is a video of the ecumenical event held here in Barranquilla two years ago to get you excited…
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