washington;day 5

           Met with Cassandra Carmichael this afternoon of the National Association of churches, an umbrella grouping of 35 church denominations in the US. They unite particularly around the issues of peacemaking, poverty and caring for God’s creation.

     Our conversation mostly focused on the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and particularly the work being done still infact by faith communities in New Orleans, especially with such a poor government response to the disaster. There were 900 places of worship destroyed in the hurricane and even two and a half years later many are not restored.

       My heart particularly went out to the pastors some of whose stories I heard about today, hearing from one on DVD. Men and women who had lost their own homes, their church buildings and were caring for the thousands of people in the churches who had also lost everything. Incredible stress. I was then particularly struck by something Cassandra said, that many of the pastors could not come to terms with getting involved with community development after the crisis. To give community leadership and get a vision to rebuild their communities. I have found myself asking the question, what does it mean for a pastor and for a church to be involved in transforming their community?? What does that look like, where do you even begin? 

      The journey continues.

 

Gordon  McDade

 

washington; day 5

            Another remarkable person impacting their community today. We met Theresa Mullen this morning, who with her husband Steve started Kids Konnection in 1987 in the Anacostia area of DC, a poor, deprived and much neglected part of the nations capital. Originally connected to Bill Wilson’s Metro Sunday School on the streets  of New York, this is a sidewalk Sunday School which today sees 1500 kids and young people through its programmes every week.  Each week a truck pulls into a public housing site in DC and with games, lessons, puppets and songs the kids are told about Jesus and invited to place their trust in him. They learn that they are special and loved by God, forgetting their difficult surroundings for a while. Every week the family of each child receives a visit from a Kids Konnection volunteer to build relationship and show the love of God.

 

    Other needs of the kids became apparent as Theresa and her volunteers got to know them and so they started life skills classes, a choir, a dance group, photography classes, job skills classes and are currently working on a cyber café with barista training to equip the young people to get jobs and hope for the future. The work crosses denominations and attracts active support from the churches in the area and beyond. All this for $240,000 a year which they have to raise.  The passion to reach and equip kids outside of the church is so real and apparent in the lives of Theresa and her team.

 

     We then met Steve Park who runs a ministry called Little Lights in another part of DC, again working with very disadvantaged kids and young people, only twelve blocks from Capitol Hill, the seat of government in this nation. I have really been struck by the extremes of this city. We have seen the White House and been to Capitol Hill twice with all the opulence of those parts of DC and yet we have been in areas totally deprived with incredible poverty and enormous needs!  How can this be?  Steve runs an after school academic club for kids with tutors and mentors to help them with their studies and touches about 50 kids each week. Another inspiring guy.

 

    We were all greatly struck by Steve’s comments towards the end of our conversation today. He said the culture of the north American church is not living up to the Kingdom values expressed in the New Testament. I wondered if the NI church is actually any different? He was speaking in the context of churches being unwilling to engage with their community and its transformation. Have they, he wondered, as do I, way too narrow a definition of the gospel?

 

Gordon  McDade

 

Washington; day 4

             To meet Rico Rush and Tyrone Parker of the Alliance of Concerned Men in DC is to encounter two remarkable men, passionate, visionary, committed and contagious, at the head of this amazing organization, with a great sense of humour and an infectious attitude to their community ministry in one of Washington’s most difficult districts. Both of these men and indeed many others in the ACM are  ex-offenders, Rico a former heroin addict, who in 1991 on release from prison formed this organization which has the goal of saving the lives of “at risk” youth in high crime areas of the capital. The guys shared with us particularly the truces they have negotiated between rival gangs in the city, both boy and girl gangs, violent and disruptive in their local communities. The change effected by these truces has been remarkable. They are unashamedly a faith based organization and working closely in partnership with local churches, the police and with government. The meeting this morning, as with all their meetings, began with prayer. The sense of God among us was almost tangible. These men have testified before the US House of representatives and the US Senate Sub committee on children and families. Some  of the lines from Tyrone that struck me were, “ before I go into one of these situations I need to soak myself down in the Spirit of God.”  And “ we just use the Spirit of God and the spirit to make change.”  And “ its not just a job, it’s a mission.

 

Gordon  McDade

 

washington trip; day three

             We spent this morning at the American University here in Washington, meeting with some academics in the Peacebuilding and Development Institute and in the School of International Service and International Peace and Conflict Resolution.  Bit of a mouthful but ostensibly these schools seek to provide research, training and capacity building exercises and events for those working away in their communities, often without thinking or reflecting too much on what they actually do. These scholars wanted us to think about community development, advocacy and conflict resolution.

       Must confess I wasn’t sure going into this meeting about whether it would be a helpful conversation or not but there were a number of things that really struck me as good to take away for further reflection and action. One of the things was that scholars and practitioners do need each other in this work of community activity. Scholars need to see ideas tried out while practitioners need to reflect and write up what they do so that others might learn and grow. The importance of hearing the journeys and stories of others is so important if lasting peace and united communities are to be formed.

       I was very challenged to think about what it means for a church community to build peace, say in my situation in Ballynahinch? To seek to listen to divided people, to grapple with sectarian issues, to bring people together to talk and listen to one another.  Not even sure that I would know how to go about doing it or whether I am even up to it but should it not be part of the calling of the people of God to make peace among neighbours?   Today really made me think a lot about my own story, my upbringing, my prejudices; I told some of my story to the group and how I felt the conflict in NI had impacted my life. Probably more than I thought.  And am I doing anything now to build peace in my country? We as a church are doing brilliant work in our community, is there more we could do to be peacemakers?

      Was really interested in the pretty constant mention of understanding and engaging with people of other faiths and the need to dialogue with them. Have never really thought about that at all and want to think some more. Reality is that other faiths are going to be increasingly part of our lives. The scholars we met with today were encouraging dialogue and learning through listening. Lot to chew over.

     That theme continued as we met the International Ambassador for Habitat for Humanity this afternoon , Tom Jones. Habitat is also seeking to engage with the other monotheistic faiths in building houses and encouraging understanding in the process. All three religions share in common a call not to neglect the poor . In talking about NI, Tom said we were a place that needed the process rather than the product when it came to building houses. I knew what he meant, it was the working together that mattered. The “theology of the hammer” he called it. Its giving people a hand up not a hand out. The church has a missional calling, to serve others sacrificially and to both tell and show the gospel of Christ to the world.

     Such a lot to think about today, my head is buzzing with the implications of all of this. The journey continues.

 

Gordon  McDade

 

Washington trip; day 2

               This afternoon we visited an organization called SOME which stands for So Others Might Eat, a visit which made a huge impact on us all. SOME “exists to help the poor and homeless of our nations capital. We meet the immediate daily needs of the people we serve with food, clothing, and health care. We help break the cycle of homelessness by offering services, such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment and counseling, to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness.”

     SOME began as a soup kitchen in 1970 and still feeds 1000 people a day seven days a week. Each day, SOME is restoring hope and dignity one person at a time. There are a number of centres offering housing for families, food and clothing, medical and dental care, addictions treatment, mental health care  and advocacy and social justice programmes.

      It was the President of SOME, Father John Adams who impressed us so much and was for me the embodiment of the mission and message of the organization. Last year 248,058 meals were provided for people of all ages, 13,767 showers and free clothing was provided, 10, 524 medical and dental care visits took place and 51,336 hours of intensive job training to homeless and low income men and women.  John has been with SOME for 29 years. His Christian character, humility, love and compassion were so apparent. His faith strong and personal, his commitment to prayer obvious. When asked by one of our group what kept him going he said, simply but profoundly that it is about “ seeing Christ in the people that we’re serving”. 

      The budget for SOME annually is sixteen million dollars, raised mainly through individual generous donors and the gifts of churches. It just touched me so deeply and challenged me about the value of each human life and the Biblical imperative to care for the poor and to see Jesus in them.

 

    Talking about the value of each individual life, we visited the Vietnam memorial in Washington, a long black marble wall near the Lincoln memorial in the centre of the city. On it the names of every single person from the US forces who lost their lives in the conflict, over 58,000 names, their average age just 19. Talking to one of the veterans who volunteer to be there at the wall each day revealed the utter horror of the war and its continuing devastation in the lives of many. Many people take a thin sheet of paper and a crayon from the veterans and do a tracing, a rubbing of the name of a loved one from the carved letters on the wall, a keepsake to take away. Others leave little messages or flowers at the foot of the wall in memory of a family member or friend who fell in the conflict. We must surely continue to hate war and its consequences. To be an agent of reconciliation is surely the call of Christ on our lives.

 

Gordon  McDade

 

day one; Washington trip

              So I’m here on a clergy study trip sponsored by the Department of Social Development at Stormont to have a look at some community projects which are faith based and significantly impacting their communities in the city of Washington. Am part of an overall group of 16 clergy, half in Washington and half in Pittsburgh and the end result will be a report and a presentation for the DSD and hopefully some developments and encouragements towards faith based community ministry in Northern Ireland.

        This morning for me was a visit to a local church here in the city, so I decided to get a different Baptist experience by attending the Metropolitan Baptist Church, a large black Baptist church in downtown DC. Their pastor rejoices in the name of Dr H. Beecher Hicks, Jr. Sounded like a guy born with authority to me!!  Today is the beginning of the 19^th Black church Week of Prayer for the Healing of Aids  so that was the prayer focus of the service. The banners at the front of the church declared the church’s vision and mission and that they are currently in the season of Humanity, manifested by 40 days of random kindness.

       Right from the start there was such a sense of the presence of God. The worship group, praise leader, the 40 strong choir robed in yellow and purple, the robed male and female clergy, the white robed Dr Beecher Hicks himself led powerfully, enthusiastically, energetically, vocally, verbally, prophetically a large and growing congregation, with we three whites in the almost back row, in worship. Oh for a bit of this passion I thought, the service punctuated with shouts and cheers, frequent rounds of applause, people standing up, raising hands and waving arms. There was a bit of performance to it but it had energy and engagement by the ton!! The flow of the Spirit led into response and free flowing worship and praise. The singing became even more excited as we sang about how great it was to be in the service and then mercy there was great and grace was free. We were sitting under the balcony and at one point looked up to see the ceiling above us moving up and down as the people above us bounced and danced about!!!  The choir led us with such passion that by the end the whole church was on its feet in heartfelt praise to God. Newcomers were greeted and asked to stand and given a gift. Then hugged to within an inch of our lives!! New members were received and welcomed with the singing of leaning on the everlasting arms. An hour and a half had passed and we hadn’t even arrived at the sermon yet!!  Or the offering of the tithe.  

        At the start  of  the printed order of service there were the words  “from world to worship”,  while at the end of the same order were the words “from worship to service” as we left. Interesting perspective. Challenging.

 

 

     This afternoon we visited the United States Holocaust Memorial. Incredibly moving, heart rending, sobering realities of the attempted extermination of the Jewish nation and of other groups of people. The story of the marginalization of the Jewish people and of the so called final solution of the death camps and the gas chambers. One of the most poignant images still in my head was the massive pile of shoes left by those who died. Thousands and thousands of pairs of worn out shoes, decaying now but each one representing  a life lost. So moving. It reminded me of the depths of the fallenness of the human heart and of the value of each human life. Of the potential within all of us to prejudice and the need to confront such attitudes within myself and others. And in a rapidly changing society like ours with many people from all sorts of backgrounds and races now coming to our shores, the challenge to love and accept and value and help others in Jesus’ name.

         

 

Gordon  McDade

 

trust

          God has not chosen to answer every question we ask. It all revolves around trust. But trust is not easy. Perhaps one of the greatest evidences of our ability to trust is our willingness to walk on in the darkness. Can we trust God? One measure of trust is how deeply we relate to God and are prepared to live without answers.

 

Gordon  McDade