Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Chris & Kerry
David's friend, Chris, and his girlfriend, Kerry, came to visit us last weekend. We had a great time! =)
I'm going to preach!
My friend, Greta, asked me to come preach at her church on October 12th for Children's Sabbath. I agreed! YIKES!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Bakers
Steve and Patty came to Denver and we had a great visit! They finished the drive early Sunday morning and made it to Trinity in time for my Borderlands presentation, which was VERY thoughtful. Monday we went to Silver Plume and rode the Georgetown Loop on the train. We had lunch in Golden and then toured the Coors Brewery. We also did a lot of "hanging out" and visiting, which was nice. =)
Friday, September 19, 2008
It's Time For the Pulpit to Speak
Here is a recent statement by Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief at Sojourners, regarding the economy:
Everyone has heard the famous phrase, attributed to James Carville, which supposedly won the 1992 presidential election for Bill Clinton: "It’s the economy, stupid!" It’s still good advice, especially as the shocking collapse of the financial markets has turned the election campaign into a much more serious and somber discussion than lipstick on pigs.
But the issue is deeper than just the economy. I would now rephrase Carville and say, "It’s the morality, sinner!" And I would direct it to the people who have been making the decisions about the direction of this economy from Wall Street to Washington. Here is the morality play:
Aggressive lending to potential home-buyers using subprime and adjustable rate mortgages led to "mortgage-backed securities" being sold to investors at high returns. As housing prices dropped and interest rates rose, homeowners got caught, fell behind on payments, and millions of foreclosures followed. That resulted in the mortgage-backed assets losing value with banks unable to sell the securities. So the subprime lenders began to fail. Asset declines then spread to investment banks. We have now seen the sale of Bear Stearns brokered by the government, and last week the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as mortgage defaults threatened them. Then Lehman Brothers fell into bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch was sold. Now another bailout, this time of AIG, the largest insurance company in the country -- whose potential demise threatened the whole financial system even further.
During the height of the lending frenzy, many people got very rich, as they did during the previous technology bubble. Now with the collapse, experts say the most likely result will be further tightening of credit and lending standards for consumers and businesses. Home, retail, and business loans will become more expensive and harder to secure. And the consequences of that will spread to most of America.
In the accounts and interpretation of these events, a word is slowly entering the discussion and analysis — greed. It’s an old concept, and one with deep moral roots. Even venerable establishment economists such as Robert Samuelson now say, "Greed and fear, which routinely govern financial markets, have seeded this global crisis ... short-term rewards blinded them to the long-term dangers."
The people on top of the American economy get rich whether they make good or bad decisions, while workers and consumers are the ones who suffer from all their bad ones. Prudent investment has been replaced with reckless financial gambling in what some have called a "casino economy." And the benefits accruing to top CEOs and financial managers, especially as compared to the declining wages of average workers, has become one of the greatest moral travesties of our time.
In the search for blame, some say greed and some say deregulation. Both are right. The financial collapse of Wall Street is the fiscal consequence of the economic philosophy that now governs America — that markets are always good and government is always bad. But it is also the moral consequence of greed, where private profit prevails over the concept of the common good. The American economy is often rooted in unbridled materialism, a culture that continues to extol greed, a false standard of values that puts short-term profits over societal health, and a distorted calculus that measures human worth by personal income instead of character, integrity, and generosity.
Americans have a love-hate relationship with government and business. The climate seems to shift between an "anything goes" mentality and stricter government regulation. The excesses of the 1920s, leading to the Great Depression, were followed by the reforms of Franklin Roosevelt.
The entrepreneurial spirit and social innovation fostered by a market economy has benefited many and should not be overly encumbered by unnecessary or stifling regulations. But left to its own devices and human weakness (let’s call it sin), the market too often disintegrates into greed and corruption, as the Wall Street financial collapse painfully reveals. Capitalism needs rules, or it easily becomes destructive. A healthy, balanced relationship between free enterprise on the one hand, and public accountability and regulation, on the other, is morally and practically essential. Government should encourage innovation, but it must also limit greed.
The behavior of too many on Wall Street is a violation of biblical ethics. The teachings of Christianity, Judaism, and other faiths condemn the greed, selfishness, and cheating that have been revealed in corporate behavior over decades now, and denounce their callous mistreatment of employees. Read your Bible.
The strongest critics of the Wall Street gamblers call it putting self-interest above the public interest; the Bible would call it a sin. I don’t know about the church- or synagogue-going habits of the nation’s top financial managers, but if they do attend services, I wonder if they ever hear a religious word about the practices of arranging huge personal bonuses and escape hatches while destroying the lives of people who work for them. We now need wisdom from the economists, prudence from the business community, and renewal courses on the common good from the nation’s religious leaders. It’s time for the pulpit to speak — for the religious community to bring the Word of God to bear on the moral issues of the American economy. The Bible speaks of such things from beginning to end, so why not our pastors and preachers?
Everyone has heard the famous phrase, attributed to James Carville, which supposedly won the 1992 presidential election for Bill Clinton: "It’s the economy, stupid!" It’s still good advice, especially as the shocking collapse of the financial markets has turned the election campaign into a much more serious and somber discussion than lipstick on pigs.
But the issue is deeper than just the economy. I would now rephrase Carville and say, "It’s the morality, sinner!" And I would direct it to the people who have been making the decisions about the direction of this economy from Wall Street to Washington. Here is the morality play:
Aggressive lending to potential home-buyers using subprime and adjustable rate mortgages led to "mortgage-backed securities" being sold to investors at high returns. As housing prices dropped and interest rates rose, homeowners got caught, fell behind on payments, and millions of foreclosures followed. That resulted in the mortgage-backed assets losing value with banks unable to sell the securities. So the subprime lenders began to fail. Asset declines then spread to investment banks. We have now seen the sale of Bear Stearns brokered by the government, and last week the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as mortgage defaults threatened them. Then Lehman Brothers fell into bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch was sold. Now another bailout, this time of AIG, the largest insurance company in the country -- whose potential demise threatened the whole financial system even further.
During the height of the lending frenzy, many people got very rich, as they did during the previous technology bubble. Now with the collapse, experts say the most likely result will be further tightening of credit and lending standards for consumers and businesses. Home, retail, and business loans will become more expensive and harder to secure. And the consequences of that will spread to most of America.
In the accounts and interpretation of these events, a word is slowly entering the discussion and analysis — greed. It’s an old concept, and one with deep moral roots. Even venerable establishment economists such as Robert Samuelson now say, "Greed and fear, which routinely govern financial markets, have seeded this global crisis ... short-term rewards blinded them to the long-term dangers."
The people on top of the American economy get rich whether they make good or bad decisions, while workers and consumers are the ones who suffer from all their bad ones. Prudent investment has been replaced with reckless financial gambling in what some have called a "casino economy." And the benefits accruing to top CEOs and financial managers, especially as compared to the declining wages of average workers, has become one of the greatest moral travesties of our time.
In the search for blame, some say greed and some say deregulation. Both are right. The financial collapse of Wall Street is the fiscal consequence of the economic philosophy that now governs America — that markets are always good and government is always bad. But it is also the moral consequence of greed, where private profit prevails over the concept of the common good. The American economy is often rooted in unbridled materialism, a culture that continues to extol greed, a false standard of values that puts short-term profits over societal health, and a distorted calculus that measures human worth by personal income instead of character, integrity, and generosity.
Americans have a love-hate relationship with government and business. The climate seems to shift between an "anything goes" mentality and stricter government regulation. The excesses of the 1920s, leading to the Great Depression, were followed by the reforms of Franklin Roosevelt.
The entrepreneurial spirit and social innovation fostered by a market economy has benefited many and should not be overly encumbered by unnecessary or stifling regulations. But left to its own devices and human weakness (let’s call it sin), the market too often disintegrates into greed and corruption, as the Wall Street financial collapse painfully reveals. Capitalism needs rules, or it easily becomes destructive. A healthy, balanced relationship between free enterprise on the one hand, and public accountability and regulation, on the other, is morally and practically essential. Government should encourage innovation, but it must also limit greed.
The behavior of too many on Wall Street is a violation of biblical ethics. The teachings of Christianity, Judaism, and other faiths condemn the greed, selfishness, and cheating that have been revealed in corporate behavior over decades now, and denounce their callous mistreatment of employees. Read your Bible.
The strongest critics of the Wall Street gamblers call it putting self-interest above the public interest; the Bible would call it a sin. I don’t know about the church- or synagogue-going habits of the nation’s top financial managers, but if they do attend services, I wonder if they ever hear a religious word about the practices of arranging huge personal bonuses and escape hatches while destroying the lives of people who work for them. We now need wisdom from the economists, prudence from the business community, and renewal courses on the common good from the nation’s religious leaders. It’s time for the pulpit to speak — for the religious community to bring the Word of God to bear on the moral issues of the American economy. The Bible speaks of such things from beginning to end, so why not our pastors and preachers?
Update
Yesterday David took his Pharm final and is OFFICIALLY done with his first quarter of nursing school! I am SO proud of him!!! He's waiting to hear about his grades, but he is confident that he passed all his classes. (You have to have better than a 74 to pass and if you fail ONE class, you're held behind and get off track) He is working today, but will have the next two weeks off before starting a new quarter October 6th.
I finished week 2 of classes yesterday, which in quarter world, means I'm already 1/5 done! On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have "Christianity in the Modern World" and "Reformation to Enlightenment." On Wednesdays I have my Advanced Field Education group and "Exodus." Yes folks, in seminary you can spend 10 weeks on Exodus! =) I am really liking my classes so far and doing pretty well keeping up with the reading. I am also co-leading Disciple Bible Study at Trinity on Thursday nights.
Last weekend my mom came to visit and we had a great time. She entertained me while David studied for finals! =) We are looking forward to Steve and Patty's visit in a couple of days.
I finished week 2 of classes yesterday, which in quarter world, means I'm already 1/5 done! On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have "Christianity in the Modern World" and "Reformation to Enlightenment." On Wednesdays I have my Advanced Field Education group and "Exodus." Yes folks, in seminary you can spend 10 weeks on Exodus! =) I am really liking my classes so far and doing pretty well keeping up with the reading. I am also co-leading Disciple Bible Study at Trinity on Thursday nights.
Last weekend my mom came to visit and we had a great time. She entertained me while David studied for finals! =) We are looking forward to Steve and Patty's visit in a couple of days.
Monday, September 8, 2008
It's Clovis!
I was able to squeeze in one more visit with Lauren before she and Rusty move to Scotland at the end of September. I had a great time in Clovis, New Mexico hanging out with her and the fam! =)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Borderlands Trip: "No More Deaths"
We arrived in Tucson and were greeted by John Fife and Gene Lefavbre. John and Gene are retired Presbyterian pastors who started the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980's and provided sanctuary to Central Americans fleeing Civil War in El Salvador and Guatemala. They have a long history of getting into trouble! They are AMAZING people and I learned so much from them. They're pretty darn funny too. =)
The "No More Deaths" camp is in Arivaca, south of Tucson and north of the border. Each day we divided into patrols and hiked the trails to deliver water and food. Volunteers date the water and this helps them know which trails are being heavily used. The area is enormous...over hundreds of thousands of square miles. No More Deaths services about 180 square miles.
One of the volunteers had brought tags that were made by migrants who have successfully crossed. We tied the tags around the water. Each tag had a different message on it. For example, one tag read (in Spanish) "You are beautiful and strong. Remember this when people here tell you that you are less."
There were many difficult moments on the trip, but an especially difficult one was visiting Josseline's shrine. Josseline was a 14-year-old girl from El Salvador who was trying to get to Los Angeles to reunite with her mother and grandparents. She was traveling with her 10-year-old brother and along the way, she fell behind and could travel no further. Her brother made it safely and the family contacted "No More Deaths" to plead for help in finding Josseline. She was finally found, three weeks after she separated from the group, and the coroner discovered she had survived alone for two weeks. She was 14 years old, and she died alone in the desert. Since recovering her body, a shrine has been erected and all NMD volunteers carry her picture in their pockets.
One of my favorite moments in camp was our dinner on Tuesday night. The "No More Deaths" camp is located on the land of Byrd Baylor, a famous author of children's books. She came for dinner and we enjoyed Pad Thai and fried rice, brought to us by a Buddhist monk who brings meals every week to the camp. Our guests of honor were the three migrants who were resting and rehydrating in the NMD camp. It rained most of the time we were in camp, but let up for dinner, and in fact, there was an enormous rainbow to entertain us at dinner. Byrd read us one of her articles, and we laughed, sat by firelight, and dined on Pad Thai. My heart was full of joy.
Unfortunately, the next day when we returned from our morning patrol, we were greeted by Border Patrol agents who had raided the camp. The migrants who had been recovering were taken and deported. Gene was held in custody for over 2 hours and it looked like Border Patrol might arrest all of us for "harboring migrants."
The Saturday before we came to camp, NMD volunteers had finally convinced a migrant staying in camp that he needed to seek medical help. He was in the early stages of renal failure and the volunteers told him that if he didn't get to a hospital, he would die. He finally agreed and as he was being wheeled into the ambulance, Border Patrol intercepted and took him away. I think this recent incident helped us avoid arrest. Plus, we think Border Patrol knew it would be a media nightmare if they arrested 12 seminarians!
After our time in Arivaca, we drove to Altar, Sonora in Mexico. Altar is a staging area for migrants and is about 60 miles south of the border. Most migrants are coming from Central America or southern Mexico so Altar is where they rest before crossing the border. The Center we stayed at gives migrants a place to sleep, eat, shower, get clean clothes, and receive medical care. Enrique, the coordinator of the center, gave us a tour and one of the group members asked him why he does what he does. His response? "Mateo 25." (Matthew 25: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.")
One of the migrants I met in Altar is named Martin. Martin is from Honduras and migrated to the US 7 years ago to work. He recently returned to Honduras to see his two girls (now 9 and 10 years old) and to bury his mother. He told me his daughters wanted desperately for him to stay, but there is no work and he must return to the US if his daughters are going to eat.
There are so many more stories to tell. I don't pretend to be an expert on Border issues and the more you learn, the muddier the water gets. It is a complex situation. However, here's what I believe to be true:
*The US needs to revisit NAFTA and take responsibility for the greed and self-interest that has contributed to the economic crisis in Mexico. Since NAFTA passed, the US has flooded Mexico with products that drove down prices and caused farmers to lose their land. Farmers who had supported their families by growing and selling corn could no longer afford to do so.
*In 1994, the US initiated a Border Policy that tightened security in major US cities along the border and forced migrants to cross through the deadly Arizona desert. The American people were told that migrant deaths would result, but it was "collateral damage" for ceasing illegal border crossings. The policy has not been effective and has been recognized by the international community (UN) as a violation of human rights. Let me repeat, the international community condemns our current border policy!
*Over and over we heard the familiar rhetoric "They choose to come here and it's their fault if they die in the desert." I met dozens and dozens of migrants who did not choose to illegally cross the border. To apply for a visa or work permit would take 7-15 years and there's no guarantee of approval. Most of the migrants I met couldn't afford to wait 7 years. It was cross or starve.
I don't know what the solution looks like or should be. What I DO know, is that in the meantime, I salute "No More Deaths" for taking Matthew 25 seriously.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)