Circuit Writer

Here’s the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for September 2010.  You can read the original article here.

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For I am sure that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:38, 39

The Palestinian Christian community, with roots dating back to earliest Christianity, now numbers less than two percent of the population in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.  But the community prominently offers a non-violent witness for justice and peace.  Last December in Bethlehem, Palestinian Christians launched “A Moment of Truth.”  They called it a “Kairos” document, the word in early Greek meaning “opportunity” or critical moment in time, and meant to allude to the crucial South African Kairos document which in 1985 prompted debate about Apartheid worldwide.  The Kairos document states that “… Love is seeing the face of God in every human being. Every person is my brother or my sister. However, seeing the face of God in everyone does not mean accepting evil or aggression on their part. Rather, this love seeks to correct the evil and stop the aggression.” continue reading…

Here’s the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for August 2010.  You can read the original article here.

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By God’s great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…I Peter 1: 3b

I recently flew to East Timor for a week of teaching a group of lay preachers who were being prepared to administer the sacraments and provide pastoral care to the many tiny groups of Protestant Christians scattered throughout the mountains of East Timor.  The Protestant Church of East Timor (IPTL) grew a good deal during the Indonesian occupation due to the presence and money of Indonesian protestants, but is now left with an unsustainable structure, empty churches in some areas and Christians, but no churches in others.  They are in a long process of death and resurrection, and Global Ministries has been one of their most faithful partners in the struggle. continue reading…

My column for The Tahlequah Christian for the weeks of July 18 -  July 31.

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I came across a fascinating article in The Disciples’ Advocate, a publication of Disciples Home Missions. The headline article for the summer edition is entitled “Considering Peace,” and is writted by Rev. Craig Watts, a member of the Executive Committee of the Disciples Peace Fellowship. It caught my attention from the first sentence: “Outside of the historic ‘peace churches,’ no American religious tradition has a richer peace heritage than the Disciples of Christ.” This piqued my interest enough to want to share some of the highlights with you. continue reading…

My column from The Tahlequah Christian for the weeks of July 4  -  June 17.

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I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek–
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

continue reading…

Here’s the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for July 2010.  You can read the original article here.

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“I will not let you go until you bless me.” (Gen. 32:26)

Every Wednesday at noon, Mrs. E is there. She sits in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, Korea with her friends to ask the Japanese government to apologize for its past treatment of Korean women as sex slaves during the Asia Pacific War. Mrs. E is elderly, as are her friends. Many of the so-called “comfort women” have passed away. Mrs. E hopes that justice will be done before she meets her grave. She is surrounded by a crowd of civilians who support her struggle. Over the loud speaker a statement is read, a song is sung, a prayer is given. The window blinds of the Japanese embassy are shut. Stone faced guards and secret police make sure there is no outright confrontation. This peaceful sit-in has continued for seventeen years.

In December 2009, religious leaders from around the world, gathered for the Second Conference on Article Nine and Peace in Asia. There were various Buddhist, Christian and Muslim denominations represented. There was great meaning when we gathered in Seoul, because we were all made aware of the realities of the Cold War which still divide the Korean peninsula. East Asia has not been able to move beyond the dualisms of the Cold War era. What we witnessed was a wall; a remnant from the Cold War. The wall is invisible, but no less as real as the wall being built in Israel.

Part of our program was to join the sit-in, and pray alongside these women who were victimized by war. We were all moved by the experience. I was reminded of the story of Jacob who wrestled all night with the angel of God. Jacob refused to let the angel go until he received a blessing. Mrs. E is one of those Jacobs of our time. I see in her a faith that refuses to let go, trusting that God is a God of love and blessing for all.

Let us pray for the tenacity of Mrs. E and others that their belief in the possibility of justice becomes our call for the enactment of justice.

Jeffrey Mensendiek serves as a Global Ministries missionary with the Council on Cooperative Mission, and as director of the Gakusei (Student) Center in Sendai Japan.

For More Information
Xiaoling Zhu
Area Executive
East Asia and the Pacific
700 Prospect Ave.
Cleveland,Ohio 44115

216-736-3226
Phone: 866-822-8224 ext. 3226
Fax: 216-736-3203
zhux@ucc.org

My column for the June 20 -  July 3 publication of The Tahlequah Christian.

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“Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”
- Genesis 9:25 (NRSV)

These words of Noah, ostensibly spoken to his sons following his drunken revelry (Genesis 9:20-27), became one of the greatest biblical justifications for slavery in the theological imagination of Christendom in the slaveholding United States. In this exchange, Noah becomes drunk off the fruit of his vineyard, passes out naked and drunk, and his son Ham commits the great sin of looking upon him in his nakedness. On awaking, Noah then proceeds to curse Canaan, Ham’s son, for this affront, and some 2,500 years after the Hebrew canon was collected into one book of scripture, it becomes one of the centerpieces of Christian justification for holding black slaves. continue reading…

Pastor’s column from The Tahlequah Christian for the weeks of June 6 -  June 19.

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This past Sunday I raised the question as to why hunger in the world is so rampant when our own food supplies here at home seem so abundant. It occurred to me that it might be a good time to follow up on that sermon with some information, so I turned to the United Nations World Food Program and found some pretty striking information. Did you know …

• · that roughly 1 in 6 people doesn’t receive enough food? (1.02 billion)
• · that this number rose by 75 million in 2007 & another 40 million in 2008 due to the rising cost of food?
• · that 65% of the world’s hungry live in 7 countries? (India, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, & Ethiopia)
• · that Vitamin A deficiency due to malnutrition kills a million infants a year?
• · that the World Food Program dewormed 10 million children in 2007? (Yes, that’s the same type of deworming we do for our pets.)

continue reading…

Here’s the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for June 2010.  You can read the original article here.

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For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. II Corinthians 1: 5

There are a few “commodities” and “luxuries” our family had in Chicago which we no longer have, relatively speaking, here in El Quiche, Guatemala.  For example, having access to potable water is not only a national problem, but for our area has been a years-long problem. The water truck drives down our street as early as 6 am every day of the week honking the horn and selling water. We buy our water this way. It is then stored in cisterns where the already murky water gets even murkier. Some days I wish I could submerge myself in Lake Michigan to bathe – and to be honest, I have never been interested in Lake Michigan, but now I miss it! continue reading…

My column from the May 23 -  June 5 edition of The Tahlequah Christian.

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It’s that time of the year again: ordination season. As some of you know, I like to attend the ordination services of friends whenever I can, and I kicked off this year by attending the ordination of fellow graduate Geoff Brewster this last Sunday. As you may also recall (especially if you were present for the Pentecost potluck!), last Sunday is the day we traditionally celebrate the birth of the church. And I remember thinking to myself, “I’m not sure about this ordination service taking place on Pentecost…” This is a day for celebrating the whole church, and I wasn’t sure about a service that really seems to celebrate the individual being ordained into the profession of ministry. continue reading…

My column for The Tahlequah Christian for the weeks of May 9 – 22.

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I was moved to do a little looking online and discovered that Mother’s Day has changed quite a bit over the years. While we gather to honor the mothers in our lives now, it originally started out as a gathering of mothers from both sides of the Civil War to mourn the loss of their sons in battle and affirm together their opposition to war. One of the earliest supporters of this original holiday was Julia Ward Howe (of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” fame), and she wrote this “Mother’s Day Proclamation” that I’d like to share with you.

Arise, then, women of this day!

Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly: continue reading…