Streams of Justice Public Action

Streams of Justice

Public / Symbolic Action
Lenten Acts of Mourning and Lament

Why

We want to raise a public witness to the suffering and exclusion of the
poor in our city, and to our own participation in the structures and
perspectives that sustain and deepen their marginalization. The action
testifies to the dehumanization that we all experience as a result of the
injustice and inequality that has become normalized in our society. The
action dramatizes the destructive exclusion of the poor and mourns our
own complicity in the unjust social & economic patterns of our world.

What

The action will consist of a gallows (used in the play we did in October)
set up in a public area, adorned with various symbolic items. A sign
above the gallows will read: “The Crime: Being Poor in a World Class
City.” We will gather around the gallows, dressed in black, holding
candles; this symbolizes the act of repentance and mourning. There will
also be opportunity to write and wear a sign that names the ways we
participate in social and economic inequality.

When

Every Monday during Lent: Feb 26, March 5, March 12, March 19,
March 26, April 2. We will gather just after 6 pm, and remain on site
until 6:45 pm. Then we will go to the church.

Where

South East corner of Broadway and Commercial, just outside the
skytrain station.

Check Out my map in the sidebar

I am starting a map with restaurant recommendations.

Drop a place you like in your city.

It doesn’t have to be in Vancouver.

My family is in DC, I will be there in May so drop in some new restaurants that have come up since I left 3 yeras ago.

Job Openings

I used to work for Little Lights.

It is a great organization.

If you are looking for a job look at the listings below from Mary:

Here are some job openings at Little Lights and also our summer missions brochure.  The job openings we have are:

1)  Special Events/Fundraising staff (Americorp VISTA–full-time)
2)  Volunteer Coordinator staff (Americorp VISTA–full-time–available fall 2007)
3)  After-school program coordinator/Administrative Assistant (Full-time staff)
4)  After-school program assistant (part-time)
5)  Summer Missions (Day camp counselor–9 weeks summer–support raising)

If you have any questions, please email Mary Park at maryyun at yahoo.

Windows out the Window

Check out Graceful Flavor’s blog on a kid who gets angry at his Dell and throws it out the window b/c it was not a Mac!

Quality Film

I just saw the movie Quinceanera.

Anybody seen it?

It is a story about Latin families in Cali.

More reflections to come, but I was curious to see if others have seen it.

I think it does a great job of showing some of the effects of gentrification on a community.

Shout Out

This is a shout out para mi amigo Eliacín.

I met this cat in Seattle on Mon.  Check out his blog.

He hosted Rudy Carrasco.

It was a talk on Multi-ethnic ministry.

A great talk.

I don’t know if it is online, but Eliacín’s blog might have it.

Streams of Justice

Here is a new website of a group getting the ball rolling on addressing justice issues here in Vancovuer.  Check out Streams of Justice.  They got some cool stuff going on.

Check out this great Devotional

Are you looking for a Lenten devotional with some substance.

Check out Christine Sine’s work on Lent.
She has a Lenten discipline that I find very challenging.   Instead of giving up a trivial thing like chocolate how about trying to live on $2/day for 1 week and then giving all the $$$ you save to an organization that is trying to end hunger?  Wow what a great concept.  Check out the devo and see what you think.

May we not move too quickly to the resurrection during Easter, but live in the shadow of the cross and grow deep roots in the Lenten season.

Reading

Right now I am reading Mr. Ambassador: Warrior for Peace by Edwards Perkins.   I am still at the first few chapters.I am most overwhelmed by the sense of care he received from strangers.  Mr. Perkins was an ambassador to S. Africa during apartheid.  He faced some tough struggles as a kid and teenager.  However as a teenager he received lots of good mentoring by different people.  As a teenager he was invited into college professor circles and was able to spend Sunday afternoons with a prof. talking about life and academia.

On the one hand, I am very envious at the attention he recieved as a teen by adults.  In my own teen life I really sought out mentorship, but I did not have such a wide range of mentors like Mr. Perkins.

On the other hand, I am proud of my own investment in the lives of children.  In college I worked in various education programs in Philly with disadvantaged children, teens and adults.  I tutored in different community centers and I taught GED.  Teaching GED was one of the best things I did in college because I got to use some of my skills I learned in college that I passed on to high school dropouts.  Then after college I worked for the Buckingham Youth Brigade and for Young Life.  This week is one of my proudest moments because one of the kids that I mentored has returned to his own neighborhood to continue mentoring teens in Arlington, VA.  This youth program is a great program that relies heavily on the volunteers to sustain it.

This theme of mentorship is what stood out to me in Mr. Perkins book.  You never know what kind of life you will shape by sharing your life with others.  I think that is what the gospel is about.  Mark 8:35 says:

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

 So give your life away.  You will be richer for it.

Ash Wednesday Coming up

Here is an opportunity for public lament:

A Lenten Vigil

For the Silenced

Wednesdays, 12 noon to 1:00 PM

February 21, 2007 through March 28, 2007

 Robson Street, outside the Vancouver Art Gallery

We stand in solidarity with those with whom Jesus identified — the poor, the homeless, the shunned, the aged, the sick, the foreigners, the criminal outcasts— THE SILENCED.

We represent various Christian communities. During these six weeks of Lent, we prepare for Easter, a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus who we confess to be the Christ, God’s anointed One.

Lent is a time for each of us to ask ourselves: How does my life reflect what I believe? Do I show the respect due to all because they are made in the image of God? What do I do to affirm and promote justice for all people and all of creation?

From Jesus own words, we know our responsibility is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison— ALL OF THEM SILENCED as Jesus was silenced by the occupying Roman empire and collaborators.

Yet in our name and with our tax dollars, our governments— and sometimes our churches — turn deaf ears to the cries of the poor. 

Even now, 5000 people living in Single Room Occupancy hotels in Vancouver are being forced into homelessness in mid-winter with the aquiescence of Vancouver City Council despite pre-Olympic promises that they would be housed .

You too can help us to urge Mayor Sullivan, Vancouver City Council, Premier Gordon Campbell and Prime Minister Harper to act compassionately by housing the homeless.

Please Join Us