The Battle of a Social Justice Advocate

As a Social justice advocate and missionary, I root my battles in the concepts of human rights and equality. I hope to participate in the movement towards a socially just world. I also hope to make my voice heard by promoting the idea that all people should have the same and equal political, social, economic, and civil rights. I strongly believe that injustice, inequality, discrimination, and racism do not apply to Christian teaching. In addition, the Bible teaches us that it is wrong for a Christian to have feelings of superiority. Philippians 2:4 says, “Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” On the other hand, believers are told not to make class distinctions among themselves. James 2:5: “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

John Wesley placed primary emphasis on Christian lives, putting faith and love into action because he saw the love of God in loving neighbors and correcting societal problems. Many Christians today tend to focus more on loving God whilst ignoring loving their neighbors. Jesus told us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. That is one of the recommendations that a true Christian should put in practice. Love is never only verbal but rather love is action. Many Christians today arguably do not care about social action but rather prefer addressing prayers to God expecting to see the Messiah come to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and so on. Churches as well at times preach the gospel without responding to people’s needs. Why we can announce the gospel without taking into account the social reality?

Anany Kasongo

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Brazil

Shade and Fresh Water Project

#3022192

Trumpets of Thanksgiving at Matola

Grateful hearts at Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday (Accao de Gracas) at Matola Circuit

Giving thanks to God in the midst of Trials and Tribulations.

Since time immemorial, it has been the culture of United Methodists to meet in celebration of what is commonly known as the Harvest Thanksgiving or “Accao de Gracas” in Portuguese. Hundreds of congregants gather in their respective circuits to give thanks to God and to celebrate and acknowledge God’s favor and kindness to them. Thanksgiving is such a genuine and most valuable event in the history of the United Methodist Church and more importantly in the history of our Christian faith. Harvest Thanksgiving is a time to reflect and be thankful from our innermost souls for all that God has done to us. I had previously experienced Harvest Thanksgiving in my home country Zimbabwe, but this present year 2017 I was honored to witness a vibrant, live, and blessed Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday at Matola Circuit of the Southern Save Conference in Mozambique where I am currently serving as a Global Mission Fellow of the United Methodist Church.

On August 6, 2017, more than a thousand congregants gathered at Matola Circuit as they celebrated and expressed their gratitude to God, where Rev Naftal, a fellow GMF, and Rev Joao Diogo Inguane are currently serving as the pastor in charge and the assistant pastor respectively. The following Sunday, August 13, 2017, was followed by a visitation to one of the local churches–Joaquina Nhanala Local church, named after the resident bishop–where we continued with the Accao de Gracas. This is still a small local church that is slowly growing into an independent big circuit, and the congregants worship in an incomplete building. l was happy to see dedicated congregants, who despite economic hardships are striving to finish up the church. May we remember them in our prayers for God to continue give them strength and resources as they labor in his vineyard.

This has made me to reflect how more often people ask why they should give thanks to God when faced with trials and tribulations. Sometimes I also reflect and ask myself whether amidst all the social challenges people are facing nowadays–from poverty and global diseases such as cancer, H.I.V./ AIDS, and malaria; to violence, terrorist attacks, and civil wars in which people of the same nation wage war against one another; to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, and hurricanes, which have become the order of the day–are we able to find something to be thankful about? Do these challenges mean that God has turned his back on us during these trying times?

Absolutely not. Job, a man who was blameless and upright before God, who feared God and turned away from evil, was tempted. He was a great man of worth who possessed all the wealth in the world, but when he was tempted he lost everything–his children, wealth, status in the community, and health–and yet he didn’t turn away from God. In the midst of trials and tribulations, give thanks to God for who he is, for the mighty works he has done, and for what he continues to do.

Of all the reasons for giving thanks, we see the gift of salvation as the most important one: “For God so loved the world that he have his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Since we have received such love and mercy, let us thank him for his dear life, “the bread of life,” which has come down from heaven for the salvation and strength of our immortal souls. This becomes the root cause of thanksgiving to every Christian who has received Christ as his/her personal Savior.

Let us be thankful as well for the service of creation–that God created us in his own image and sent us into the world to live for his Glory. Psalms 95:1-6 says:

O come, let us sing joy to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation! Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms! For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all Gods, in whose hands are the depths of the sea; the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His for it was HE who made it, and his hands formed the dry lands. Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker!

Let us render thanks, not only with our lips but through our lives as well. As Christians we can show thankfulness to God through a proper enjoyment of his gifts to us. If God blesses us with the good things of this life, we are not going to be selfish where we think of ourselves only. Rather, by all means let us try to be good stewards by showing compassion to others, ministering especially to those who through tiredness, sickness, poverty, violence, and adversity are in need of our help.

Lynnette Hlatywayo

GMF International, Class of 2016-2018

Mozambique

JustaPaz Center of Study and Conflict

#3022221

Finding God in the Water

I’ve always loved water.

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I loved when summer vacations meant a long drive and then a week at the beach.

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I loved “creeking” at Girl Scout camp. I loved looking for crayfish when I went to Boy Scout camp with my brother.

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At church camp in middle school, I tried kayaking for the first time. My favorite part? When we had to practice falling out of the kayak and getting back in again. We tipped our kayaks while in the still lake water, just in case this happened while we were on the river.

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As I grew older, I began to feel God’s presence through water.

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On Church of the Messiah youth retreats in high school, I’d find a waterfall to stand next to. I’d pray or journal, sometimes even sing.

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Even while attending American University in Washington, DC, I was able to find water, both through camping trips and retreats, as well as through hikes around Theodore Roosevelt Island. I saw an eagle fly for the first time while hiking in Washington, DC.

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We often think about water as having the power to cleanse and renew, even when it destroys everything first. “And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” (As a side note, my “Countdown to Missionary Retirement” indicates that I have 40 days left before I end my term of service, and while it will be nothing like in the age of Noah, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rainy season brings similar weather to Miami-Dade County.)

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During the United Methodist Candidacy process, we talked about “One Baptism, One Call.” God created each of us, and God calls each of us to something. I believe God has called me to social justice ministry. When I began to think about baptism–which also involves water–in this way, it became so much more meaningful than the action of putting some water on my head as a baby. I was baptized into a community of Christians who each have unique gifts, and when we use our gifts fully and in a unified way, we form the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).

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While serving as a Global Mission Fellow US-2, I have also been lucky enough to find water: the ocean! (Now that I have well water, I have also experienced times without water, like when the electricity goes out and there is nothing to power the water pump.) Other than searching for shells, watching nurse sharks swim by my feet, and napping in the sand, one of my favorite things to do at the ocean in South Florida is snorkel.

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In most aspects of my life, I like to be in control. When I am in control, I don’t worry. It’s foolish, really, to go through life that way.

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The first few times when I went snorkeling, I started to breathe rather rapidly as soon as my face plunged under water. I knew that I could float, that I could breathe through my snorkel, and that my nose was covered by my face mask/goggles. Even so, I forced air in and out of the snorkel quickly, because I needed to feel in control.

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At times, my relationship with God has been like snorkeling. I know that God loves me and wants what is best for me. Yet, I sometimes have trouble living into that truth. Instead, I flounder around, seeking to overpower God. When I ignore the Holy Spirit’s pull on my life and instead seek to do my own will, I always end up worse off than I would have been if I had let go. Moreover, I often contribute to our structural sin when I don’t do what God leads me to do. Snorkeling, for me, is a reminder that I need to just relax and trust in God.

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For many of us in the US, water is so common that we (unfortunately) take it for granted. I am grateful that God has used water, which I see and experience everyday, to teach me more about God.

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Emily Kvalheim

GMF US-2, Class of 2015-2017

South Florida Justice For Our Neighbors

Miami-Dade County, FL

#3022060

Seeking to Renounce My Heterosexual Privilege in the United Methodist Church

In light of the decision that the United Methodist Church’s Judicial Council made today–and especially considering the unjust rules in the Book of Discipline that the decision was based upon–I have decided to share the following document, which has been added to my Candidacy file:

Seeking to Renounce My Heterosexual Privilege As A Certified Candidate For Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church

April 27, 2017

I believe that God has called me to social justice ministry. If I really love my neighbor, how could I accept or ignore the systems and institutions that harm and oppress her?

I often find myself thinking/talking about my privilege, noting that I benefit because I have white skin, I was born in the US, I speak English as a first language, I am a Christian in a “Christian” nation, I never had to “come out” as straight or cisgender, etc. I recognize that there is injustice whenever I benefit from one of my identities while someone else is disadvantaged because she does not share that identity.

Nevertheless, I confess that I have been a hypocrite. While I have been willing to speak this truth, I have not taken any risks to act upon it. I have wanted to hold on to my privilege, including the privilege that comes from being a heterosexual, cisgender person.

While “self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church,” and while “ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches,” we make LGBTQ people (and many young people, family members, professed allies, etc.) feel less welcomed, less accepted, and less loved by the Church–and by extension, less loved by God. Imagine how this looks to someone who did not grow up in the Church or who left the Church upon feeling judged!

I continue to benefit from my privilege as a straight, cis person, while my LGBTQ friends are disadvantaged for who they are and who they love, both in society and within the United Methodist Church, and that is an injustice.

In conclusion: After a year of prayerful discernment, I have found the courage to finally write this. It is difficult for me to include this in my Candidacy file because I grew up in the UMC, I love the UMC, I am serving as a Global Mission Fellow US-2 Missionary, and I absolutely hope to one day be ordained as a Deacon, living out my call to faith-based social justice ministry through the UMC. However, I feel that I must refuse to be ordained in the United Methodist Church until my LGBTQ friends also have the same opportunities that I have, without restriction.

I hope to remain a Certified Candidate and will continue with the next step in the process (for me, the education requirement), as I pray for the Church and wait to know if the way forward will include justice for the LGBTQ community.
Thank you.

Emily Kvalheim

GMF US-2, Class of 2015-2017

South Florida Justice For Our Neighbors

Miami-Dade County, FL

#3022060

Moving Beyond Expectations

This journey has not been what I expected. Even though we spend pieces of training debunking the stereotypes of missionaries and their work, my ego clung tight to the hope of transforming into some sort of Jesus-following superhero.

Expectations are very limited. Expectations keep us from dreaming grand dreams or living into grander realities. I’m coming upon the end of my mission service, and I am not a superhero of any sort. And thank God, really. What pressure that must be. It hasn’t kept me from discovering the identities I do embody, though.

When I think about who I was and my societal labels at the beginning of this journey, I don’t recognize that girl. I use the word “girl” very intentionally. To me, a girl lacks maturity, both internally and demonstrably. A girl views the world through the lens of her own ego. So while it seems bizarre that it’s taken me (almost) 29 years, the first identity I have come to claim through this experience is “woman”.

Another significant identity I’ve embraced is “worthy”. Every morning I wake up and use a fine line Sharpie to ink an imperfect circle on the back of my right hand below my thumb. The context of the circle is unimportant, but serves as a constant personal reminder of my mantra: “I am worthy of love”. I have come to deeply love who I am, even if some who claim to love me have given me the metaphorical boot from the family because I refuse to deny my self-worth. (I’m a little bitter about this. I’m working on it.)

I’ve claimed other identities, too. Bisexual. Flamboyant liberal. Feminist. Educator. Urbanite. Protest-goer. Ally. All new. All authentic. Notice the absence of superhero.

My point is that transformation is only possible when we free ourselves from the imprisonment of expectation. The one identity I anticipated living into is the one I’m furthest from. And those I claim were the most unpredictable.

I hope to continue through life without expectations. I would much rather be surprised by the endless possibilities of grand dreams and grander realities.

 

Amber Feezor

General Board of Church and Society

Washington, DC

Global Mission Fellow US-2, Class of 2015-2017

#3022063

 

Reflections on Youth

If you showed up to my church on any Sunday around 5 you would be met with the smell and sound of 6-10 preteens/teenagers. You would hear them yelling about some youtube video they watched recently or how many subscribers they have on their own videos. Occasionally someone will talk about classes or their family. This was what I came into on my first Sunday helping with youth at Avondale UMC.

There is almost nothing as nerve-wracking as walking into a room full of adolescents. They can be judgmental, moody, and loud. It is like being in high school again, and let me tell you, that is not an experience I would care to repeat. Working with these kids has done more for me than I think I have done for them. They have taught me to be fearless in my pursuit for myself, to talk loudly, and to question everything.

Adolescents are very self-absorbed. They are constantly trying to find out who they are and are very against others telling them pretty much anything.  Now I am not saying, “put yourself before everyone or God.” I am saying that you should pick up the craft you don’t look at very often, spend the couple of dollars on that coffee you want, and take some time for yourself, even if you have to say no to someone else. Teenagers have no problem letting you know when they don’t want to do something. Try it–maybe be a little more eloquent than your 13-year-old self–but it may surprise you how much you say “yes” to what you don’t like.

I feel like there comes a point in an adult life when it is no longer acceptable to ask questions or talk loudly in almost any setting. We are given the idea that functional adults talk in a civilized monotone. That is not the case with my youth. They are loud. They yell, they voice their opinions, and they question everything. I love the nights when I can see them think about God, and all the questions come gushing out like a waterfall. Sometimes the questions are hard: “Why did my dad die if God loves me?” And sometimes they are funny: “Was Jesus praying to himself the whole time?” Sometimes I have the answer, but a lot of the time I am learning with them, and that is okay.

I never wanted to work with youth. I didn’t think they would like me, and I sure didn’t think that I would become as attached to them as I have. God has a way of taking the thing that you think you can never do and helping you to overcome that fear.

 

Victoria Stanford

GMF US-2, Class of 2015-2017

Avondale United Methodist Church

Jacksonville, FL

#3022130