‘I eat your garbage’
I am a thief. I steal our food system’s waste.
I am a thief. I steal our food system’s waste.
In his own words, Reverend Ibrahim Nsier, a pastor of the Arab Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Aleppo, tells about his ministry in Syria. Mennonite Central Committee, through the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches, supports the work of Nsier’s church as it addresses the urgent needs of the most vulnerable.
A mini-retreat this week for me, with a couple nights spent at a local camp while my spouse leads the Bible time. Good time for reflection, writing, thinking, reading scripture, walking… and swatting mosquitoes. A poem from one evening...
The view was breathtaking. On a clear day, from the 52nd floor, they said we should be able to see Mount Fuji. It was too hazy that day, though. All we could see were the blocks and blocks of concrete, towering buildings, and grids of traffic.
Easter this year felt special. I guess it does every year, but I thought a lot this Lent and Easter season about the meaning of all of this in a way that I haven't before.
In our reflection time on Sunday, I wrote:
A new year begins. It's such an exciting and fun time of the year. So many expectations, plan, and ideas for how the year will go.
About ten years back I was the caretaker of an apartment block that a church had renovated to provide low-rent stable apartments in Winnipeg's West End. The visionary and work-horse of this and many other projects was the late Harry Lehotsky. I can still remember coming back to the apartment one evening seeing two faces peering out of what should have been an empty basement suite. I went to check it out and there was Harry and the superintendent who oversaw all the blocks. They were on a 'steak-
Three times in one day, I was reminded of the need to listen. Worship in the morning focused on listening for God's voice, trying to calm our own voices and chattering to hear what God says.
Later, a social gathering with voices overlapping in a crowd of people needing to talk told me the importance of having someone to listen and the human need to express one's voice and be heard.
To start off the school year, I decided to make the first week a personal prayer week. Although I usually prefer this kind of commitment together with others, like Will's efforts with reading through the Bible, the crazy-ness of getting back to Harrisonburg, starting a new semester teaching, and trying to finish off data collection with my research project make meeting with others regularly a challenge, and creating space for my own time of re-centering a must.