I LOVE: you.

I LOVE:

.. north Philly.

..the beauty in the midst of the brokenness of my neighborhood.

..the Golden Dragon.

..receiving leaves to put in my hair from neighborhood kids.

..impromptu late night epic roommate bonding sessions in the kitchen.

..getting snail mail from people I love.

..having communion as a community and committing to each other and this year together.

..witnessing things lost being found.

..the Giants. And my father.

..learning from neighbors.

..seeing this city at night. And the people who live here.

..witnessing a dear friend find beauty and joy in the little things.

..silliness. (awesomeness) 

..sleepovers. Brought on by Sandy (Frankenstorm).

..us. 

..them.

I love many things.  I love learning and growing. I love being pushed and stretched. I love seeing God protect and provide for me in the moments that I am most fearful, uncomfortable, and weak.  I love knowing that I am loved. And that I am cable of love because God is so gracious to us.  I LOVE everyone who prays and supports me and my team.  

I love ..you. 

PRAISE. 

Reaching Out to God

“Don’t we use the word “prayer” mostly when we feel that our human limits are reached? Isn’t the word “prayer” more a word to indicate powerlessness rather than a creative contract with the source of all life?

It is important to say that... feelings, experiences, questions, and irritations about prayer are very real and often the result of concrete and painful events.  Still, a spiritual life without prayer is like the Gospel without Christ.  Instead of proving or defending anything, it might be worthwhile to simply bring all the doubtful and anxious questions together in this one question: ‘If prayer, understood as an intimate relationship with God, is indeed the basis of all relationships--to ourselves as well as to others--how then can we learn to pray and really experience prayers as the axis of our existence?” By focusing on this question, it becomes possible to explore the importance of prayer in our own lives and in the lives of those we have met through personal encounters of through stories and books. 

Prayer is often considered a weakness, a support system, which is used when we can no longer help ourselves. But this is only true when the God of our prayers is created in our own image and adapted to our own needs and concerns. When, however, prayer makes us reach out to God, not on our own but on God’s terms, then prayer pulls us away from self-preoccupations, encourages us to leave familiar ground, and challenges us to enter into a new world which cannot be constrained within the narrow boundaries of our mind or heart.  Prayer, therefore, is a great adventure because the God with whom we enter into a new relationship is greater than we are and defies all our calculations and predictions. The movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads us from false certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to a risky surrender, and from the many “safe” gods to the God whose love has no limits. ” 

- Henri Nouwen

I Need Wisdom and Grace.

As a team we read and discuss books about culture, race, urban environments and God. Currently we started reading "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria" by the Psychologist Beverley Tatum, PH.D. 

I find her words very powerful. Growing up in a predominately White community it can be easy to distance myself from issues of race and even to unknowingly perpetuate passive racism due to being unaware of certain advantages I may possess simply because I am White and privileged.

Tatum writes: 

"The impact of racism begins early. Even in our preschool years, we are exposed to misinformation about people different from ourselves.  Many of us grew up in neighborhoods where we had limited opportunities to interact with people different from our own families. When I ask my college students, "How many of you grew up in neighborhoods where most of the people were from the same racial group as your own?" almost every hand goes up.  There is still a great deal of social segregation in our communities.  Consequently, most of the early information we receive about "others"--people racially, religiously, or socioeconomically different from ourselves--does not come as the result of firsthand experience.  The secondhand information we do receive has often been distorted, shaped by cultural stereotypes, and left incomplete. 

Some examples will highlight this process. Several years ago one of my students conducted a research project investigating preschools' conceptions of Native Americans. Using children at a local day care center as her participants, she asked these three- and four-year-olds to draw a picture of a Native American.  Most children were stumped by her request.  They didn't know what a Native American was.  But when she rephrased the question and asked them to draw a picture of an Indian, they readily complied. Almost every picture included one central feature: feathers.  In fact, many of them also included a weapon--a knife or tomahawk--and depicted the person in violent or aggressive terms. Though this group of children, almost all of whom were White, did not live near a large Native American population and probably had had little if any personal interaction with American Indians, they all had internalized an image of what Indians were like.  How did they know?  Cartoon images, in particular the Disney movie Peter Pan, were cited by the children as their number-one source of information.  At the age of three, these children already had a set of stereotypes in place.  Though I would not describe three-year-olds as prejudiced, the stereotypes to which they have been exposed become the foundation for the adult prejudices so many of us have. 

Sometimes the assumptions we make about others come not from what we have been told or what we have seen on television or in books, but rather from what we have not been told.  The distortion of historical information about people of color leads young people (and older people, too) to make assumptions that may go unchallenged for a long time.... 

Stereotypes, omissions, and distortions all contribute to the development of prejudice.  Prejudice is a preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information.  I assume that we all have prejudices, not because we want them, but simply because we are so continually exposed to misinformation about others" 

Tatum continues the discussion about racism defining it as a system of advantage based on race. She writes:

"Understanding racism as a system of advantage based on race is antithetical to traditional notions of an American meritocracy. For those who have internalized this myth, this definition generates considerable discomfort.  It is more comfortable simply to think of racism as a particular form of prejudice. Notions of power or privilege do not have to be addressed when our understanding of racism is constructed in that way....

Frequently someone will say, "You keep talking about White people. People of color can be racist, too." I once asked a White teacher what it would mean to her if a student or parent of color accused her of being racist. She said she would feel as though she had been punched in the stomach or called a "low-life scum."  She is not alone in this feeling.  The word racist holds a lot of emotional power.  For many White people, to be called racist is the ultimate insult. The idea that this term might only be applied to Whites becomes highly problematic for after all, can't people of color be "low-life scum" too?  

Of course, people of any racial group can hold hateful attitudes and behave in racially discriminatory and bigoted ways.  We can all cite examples of horrible hate crimes which have been perpetrated by people of color as well as Whites.  Hateful behavior is hateful behavior no matter who does it. But when I am asked, "Can people of color be racist?" I reply, "The answer depends on your definition of racism." If one defines racism as racial prejudice, the answer is yes.  People of color can and do have racial prejudices.  However, if one defines racism as a system of advantage based on race the answer is no.  People of color are not racist because they do not systematically benefit from racism.  And equally important, there is no systematic cultural and institutional support or sanction for the racial bigotry of people of color.  In my view, reserving the term racist only for behaviors committed by Whites in the context of a White-dominated society is a way of acknowledging the ever -present power differential afforded Whites by the culture and institutions that make up the system of advantage and continue to reinforce notions of White superiority.  (Using the same logic, I reserve the word sexist for men. Though women can and do have gender-based prejudices, only men systematically benefit from sexism.)   

Despite my best efforts to explain my thinking on this point, there are some who will be troubled, perhaps even incensed, by my response.  To call the racially motivated acts of a person of color acts of racial bigotry and to describe similar acts committed by Whites as racist will make no sense to some people, including some people of color. ... At moments like these, it is not agreement that is essential, but clarity. ... 

For many White people, the image of a racist is a hood-wearing Klan member or a name-calling Archie Bunker figure.  These images represent what might be called active racism, blatant, intentional acts of racial bigotry and discrimination. Passive racism is more subtle and can be seen in the collusion of laughing when a racist joke is told, of letting exclusionary hiring practices go unchallenged, of accepting as appropriate the omissions of people of color from the curriculum, and of avoiding difficult race-related issued. Because racism is so ingrained in the fabric of American institutions, it is easily self-perpetuating.  All that is required to maintain it is business as usual.   

I sometimes visualize the ongoing cycle of racism as a moving walkway at the airport.  Active racist behavior is equivalent to walking fast on the conveyor belt. The person engaged in active racist behavior has identified with the ideology of White supremacy and is moving with it.  Passive racist behavior is equivalent to standing still on the walkway.  No overt effort is being made, but the conveyor belt moves the bystanders along the same destination as those who are actively walking. Some of the bystanders may feel the motion of the conveyor belt, see the active racists ahead of them, and choose to turn around, unwilling to go the same destination as the White supremacists. But unless they are walking actively in the opposite direction at a speed faster than the conveyor belt--unless they are actively antiracist--they will find themselves carried along with the others. ... 

It is important to acknowledge that while all Whites benefit from racism, they do not benefit equally.  Other factors, such as socioeconomic status, gender, age, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, mental and physical ability, also play a role in our access to social influence and power" (3-12).

While I have never thought of myself as an active racist, I do think that I have become too content with how things are in the world when it comes to issues regarding race. Like Tatum suggests, I have probably been standing on that conveyor belt, not making an active enough effort to walk in the other direction.  

I pray God will give me (and everyone) wisdom and grace in this area as we seek out justice in a broken world. 

Hunting Park Christian Academy

This year I am so blessed to be able to work at Hunting Park Christian Academy (HPCA).

HPCA's mission is to provide a quality, affordable, Christian education that celebrates a diverse community and leads children to know and serve the Lord. They serve approximately 200 children (pre-k- 8th grade) who are primarily at-risk children who also come from low income families. HPCA maintains a very low tuition and has a great scholarship program so quality and Christian education can be available to the poor in their community. 

As found on their website, the HPCA community is in great need of education:

The high school drop out rate is 53.4%, and only 3.3% of community members have a college degree.  According to the neighborhood middle school's report card, only 6.5% of the students graduating 8th grade in 2003 were proficient in math and 18.6% were proficient in reading. The 19140 zip code has the highest rate of domestic violence in the city, and the third highest rate of murders. In addition, drugs and prostitution have taken over the neighborhood park, making it unsafe for children.

At HPCA, I work for the Director of Development. I help with all things donor, contribution, receipt, fundraising, event, organizing, planning, newsletter, and administrative related. I love it.