The Congo, Liberia, & the Bronx
The recent film, Hotel Rwanda, features the genocide and injustice taking place on the beloved African continent. Soon after, Don Cheadle, the lead actor in Hotel Rwanda, hosted a Nightline episode reporting the refugee crisis and relecting on his own realization of the horror. A popular line in the film makes the statement: "People in America will see this on the evening news, say 'Oh my ---' and go back to their dinner."
Perhaps the average Western Christian sitting at his/her dining room table does not know what to do. But how easily do we chalk it all up to 'God's will' and move on with seeking as much comfort as possible for our own lives. We may not know what to do, but wanting to do something is a start.
This trama has come home to impact me in a personal way. My life in the Bronx has brought me to a crossroads with these stories. I have met new friends and associates who have traveled from Liberia, the Congo, Rwanda, and the Ivory Coast. I have sat in a worship assembly, on the train, in my home and in theirs, with those whose stories sound very much like the late night news. (The African continent is seldom given the honor of primetime attention.) The stories of lost spouses, lost parents, lost siblings are commonplace and heartbreaking. I have friends who have been shot at with machine guns and beaten until bloody. The only hope they have is escape. These, whose stories have intersected with mine, are the ones whose names have been called to board a plane and fly to JFK under the cover of refugee status.
What can the multitudes of middle and upper class churches scattered across this wealthy continent really do? What is there to do? How about this? What if a church decided to sponsor a refugee (who is working hard to provide for his family with the kind of job that many of us worked when we were a 20 year old university student) with the necessary salary and tuition in order to enroll as a full-time student at a local city university? It would be a gift beyond measure, and I happen to know a man right now that I would trust with such a gift! What about tutoring children? Teaching computer skills? Even disposable diapers are a sign of the wealth of their new land.
Or... if Evangelicals across the country can rally (whether we should or not is less the issue here) as a political niche, why not do so for the sake of the Congo? The Sudan? Will constitutional amendments or political speeches really change sexual and/or domestic practices -- much less people's hearts? How is that conservative capital being spent? Really, I don't have all that much to say about the interaction of church and state. For me, it is entirely too personal. These are my friends.
Perhaps the average Western Christian sitting at his/her dining room table does not know what to do. But how easily do we chalk it all up to 'God's will' and move on with seeking as much comfort as possible for our own lives. We may not know what to do, but wanting to do something is a start.
This trama has come home to impact me in a personal way. My life in the Bronx has brought me to a crossroads with these stories. I have met new friends and associates who have traveled from Liberia, the Congo, Rwanda, and the Ivory Coast. I have sat in a worship assembly, on the train, in my home and in theirs, with those whose stories sound very much like the late night news. (The African continent is seldom given the honor of primetime attention.) The stories of lost spouses, lost parents, lost siblings are commonplace and heartbreaking. I have friends who have been shot at with machine guns and beaten until bloody. The only hope they have is escape. These, whose stories have intersected with mine, are the ones whose names have been called to board a plane and fly to JFK under the cover of refugee status.
What can the multitudes of middle and upper class churches scattered across this wealthy continent really do? What is there to do? How about this? What if a church decided to sponsor a refugee (who is working hard to provide for his family with the kind of job that many of us worked when we were a 20 year old university student) with the necessary salary and tuition in order to enroll as a full-time student at a local city university? It would be a gift beyond measure, and I happen to know a man right now that I would trust with such a gift! What about tutoring children? Teaching computer skills? Even disposable diapers are a sign of the wealth of their new land.
Or... if Evangelicals across the country can rally (whether we should or not is less the issue here) as a political niche, why not do so for the sake of the Congo? The Sudan? Will constitutional amendments or political speeches really change sexual and/or domestic practices -- much less people's hearts? How is that conservative capital being spent? Really, I don't have all that much to say about the interaction of church and state. For me, it is entirely too personal. These are my friends.
posted by Jared | 5:44 PM
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