HAPPY EARTH DAY..

Yesterday we had a community BBQ to commerate Earth Day.






The video is of my neighbor Chongo, and his friend Jordan playing the Native American drums. Thanks Kelsey for getting me this video!

Spring !

We have begun to plant some seeds at the Oakland house. Yesterday Delone really wanted to water Sarah's "garden." The peas are beginning to shoot up. Soon we will be transplanting the vegetables outside. Hooray for Spring !


April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.
- William Shakespeare

Immersion

One of my housemates gave me this poem yesterday. It really struck a chord with me. Some weeks are truly hard to describe, but they feel heavy. This poem is really beautiful in the midst of injustice, pain, and times that may seem silent..

Immersion

There is anger abroad in the world, a numb thunder,
because of God's silence. But how naive,
to keep wanting words we could speak ourselves,
English, Urdu, Tagalog, the French of Tours,
the French of Haiti...

Yes, that was one way omnipotence chose
to address us - Hebrew, Aramaic, or whatever the patriarchs
chose in their turn to call what they heard. Moses
demanded the word, spoken and written. But perfect freedom
assured other ways of speech. God is surely
patiently trying to immerse us in a different language,
events of grace, horrifying scrolls of history
and the unearned retrieval of blessings lost for ever,
the poor grass returning after drought, timid, persistent.
God's absention is only from human dialects. The holy voice
utters its woe and glory in myriad musics, in signs and portents.
Our own words are for us to speak, a way to ask and to answer.

(Denise Levertov)

Beautiful....

Dinomights
Left to Right : Lucy, Nancy, Daisy & Lacy.

This Spring I have been leading the Jr. High girls group on identity.
I lead a 5th-6th grade group, and a 7-8th grade group.

Imagine Me
Loving What I See When The Mirror Looks At Me Cuz I
I Imagine Me
In A Place Of No Insecurities
And I'm Finally Happy Cuz
I Imagine Me

Letting Go Of All Of The Ones Who Hurt Me
Cuz They Never Did Deserve Me
Can You Imagine Me
Saying No To Thoughts That Try To Control Me
Remembering All You Told Me
Lord Can You Imagine Me
Over What Ma Mama Said
And Healed From What My Daddy Did
And I Wanna Live And Not Read That Page Again

[chorus:]
Imagine Me, Being Free, Trusting You Totally Finally I Can...
Imagine Me
I Admit It Was Hard To See
You Being In Love With Someone Like Me
But Finally I Can...
Imagine Me

Being Strong
And Not Letting People Break Me Down
You Won't Get That Joy This Time Around Can You Imagine Me
In A World Where Nobody Has T O Live Afraid
Because Of Your Love Fears Gone Away
Can You Imagine Me

[bridge:]
Letting Go Of My Past
And Glad I Have Another Chance
And My Heart Will Dance
'cause I Don't Have To Read That Page Again
-Kirk Franklin "Imagine Me"

Up to the Mountain..

Tonight I had the opportunity to hear three powerful men speak. Our church held a night of remembrance for the 40th anniversary of the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.



Dr. King's last and possibly most prophetic sermon was delivered on the eve before his assassination in Memphis at the Sanitation worker's strike, "We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop... And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you.. I am not fearing any man."

He was exhausted on the night of this speech, yet continued to stand by his princiiple of "The time always being right to do what is right.

His last speech was less than 2 minutes long.



The speakers were:

Charles F. McDew who was a founding member and chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) int he 1960s. He continues to be involved in programs for social and political change designed to develop local leadership and break down racial and cultural barriers.

Dr. Harry C Boyte worked for Dr. King as a field secretary with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the 1960s. He is a Senior fellow and Founder of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Hubert Humphrey Institute, concerned with community development, citizenship education, and civic renewal.


S.T. Jamison whom I attend church with grew up in the South before and during the civil rights movement in Oxford, MS.

It truly was an amazing evening being in the presence of these men who helped shape history...


One of my favorite musicians, Patty Griffin wrote a song titled "Up to the Mountain" in honor of Dr. MLK Jr.

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere

Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

Compton cleanup.

This past week one of my best friends, Laura & I went to the Los Angeles area to visit our friend Jill. On Saturday we participated in a Compton cleanup event.Compton, CA has been rated the most dangerous city in the U.S. The school district has received a rating of 1 out of 10.(1 being the worst) The crime index is 100% higher than the county average.

You can read more about Compton here

Yet, something beautiful happened in Compton on Saturday.Over 900 volunteers, businesses, churches and residents of the community worked together to "clean up Compton." People cleaned up the city by painting homes, removing garbage, planting trees, fixing fences, etc. Block by block people from the city and surrounding areas worked together making the area a brighter place to be.


I was helping paint a house on one of the main streets and had the opportunity to talk with two women Adrian & Nancy. They have lived in Compton most of their lives. I loved getting to know these two women, and hearing their stories.

This event happens 5 times a year, and they only expect it to get bigger.
It's an amazing thing when people begin to take pride in their city, and see beyond the "urban jungle." Gardens have started to grow in Compton, and the parks have been restored. We can only hope for change...

The earth is what we all have in common.
Wendell Berry