I'm not sure who is still watching this right now. Anyway, Corey was able to get a speaker from IJM to come on October 28, so that is the week I am planning the Human Trafficking Awareness week for that week. This is what I have planned so far.
1. Chapel on Wednesday and then possibly an afternoon session with the speaker as well.
2. Movie night on Friday- I got Trade for my birthday. I have reserved Canterbury lecture hall from 7-10 that day.
3. An Odd job auction, possibly on Monday or Tuesday. This would be where people would donate their time to do things like babysitting, dog walking, car washing, etc and then people would buy those times. The money would go to one of the anti-trafficking groups.
4. I want to do some sort of prayer service Thursday evening. I'm not sure how I'd go about setting that up, but I think that would be a good followup to the speaker on Wednesday.
If any of you have any ideas, I would be really grateful. I'm not sure how we'd go advertising in the community and such. Leif and Ashley, since you guys planned the Poverty Week last year, any advice you guys have would be really helpful.
Edit: I looked on IJM, and we're on their official callender: http://www.ijm.org/component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,92/extmode,cal/date,2009-10-01/
This makes me really excited.
Edit 2: Prayer service is set up for Thursday in Angell Chapel.
8.04.2009
6.02.2009
Howdy:)
I just wanted to say hi to everyone! I am in VA and trying to get settled being so far from everybody. I hope things are going well with the garden and community:) I miss you all and can not wait to see everyone again in the fall:)
4.20.2009
Hey,
I just met with Corey, and it seems like everything is going to come together. IJM had already been in contact with him interested in coming out. He is going to contact them about having a speaker for chapel on October 28.
The only thing is that he is giving us only one chapel day. That means if we want someone from Love146, it will have to be an evening meeting or something.
Still, I think this will be good. He is excited about this too, so I think it will all come together.
I just met with Corey, and it seems like everything is going to come together. IJM had already been in contact with him interested in coming out. He is going to contact them about having a speaker for chapel on October 28.
The only thing is that he is giving us only one chapel day. That means if we want someone from Love146, it will have to be an evening meeting or something.
Still, I think this will be good. He is excited about this too, so I think it will all come together.
4.17.2009
Creative Ideas
Hey guys
Sorry for the multiple posts. I was talking to my parents about our plans, and they were telling me about a couple who we used to know. They have founded an organization that helps women and children get off the streets and out of prostitution by giving them alternatives. Their work is fascinating because they are artists, and they donate their art to raise funds for their mission work. Their organization is all about artists using their gifts to help. I think that is just such a great idea. Here is their website:
http://www.christiancultural.com/
Also, since I know them personally, there is a possibility that they could come out and speak next year if there is an interest and if times work out.
Sorry for the multiple posts. I was talking to my parents about our plans, and they were telling me about a couple who we used to know. They have founded an organization that helps women and children get off the streets and out of prostitution by giving them alternatives. Their work is fascinating because they are artists, and they donate their art to raise funds for their mission work. Their organization is all about artists using their gifts to help. I think that is just such a great idea. Here is their website:
http://www.christiancultural.com/
Also, since I know them personally, there is a possibility that they could come out and speak next year if there is an interest and if times work out.
Poem
Some powerful videos:
Also, a very powerful video about a guy who decided to prosecute himself for eating chocolate made with slave labor: http://www.onevoicetoendslavery.com/video/chocolonly-video
And a bunch of other videos: http://humantrafficking.change.org/videos
Also, a very powerful video about a guy who decided to prosecute himself for eating chocolate made with slave labor: http://www.onevoicetoendslavery.com/video/chocolonly-video
And a bunch of other videos: http://humantrafficking.change.org/videos
Ideas for Next Year
Hey guys,
Just a couple of things I found while doing research:
- I emailed IJM, and they said that we can become a chapter. All we need to do is fill out the form on the website and then request a toolkit. I'm not sure if it would be better to do it for the whole group or for the smaller Abolition group we were talking about setting up for next year, but I think that it is a great idea for next semester.
- Did you know that Hershey's, Mars, and Nestle all use child slave labor in their factories? I knew about Mars, but not the other two. I have made the decision for myself not to buy their chocolate. Here is a site with more information:
http://humantrafficking.change.org/actions/view/tell_hershey_mars_nestle_to_stop_child_labor
There is also a pledge to fill out there that can be sent to the companies.
- I'm thinking for next year to try to schedule Human Trafficking Week for the week of January 11, which is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
- I found a bunch of cool ideas of events that other groups have come up with. For example, one group "traveled for traffick." They took the subway and went to each stop in their city, taking a picture at each stop and holding a sign so everyone would know why they were there. I thought that was a kind of cool idea. Another group did a job auction where they auctioned off odd jobs like dog walking and car washing to raise money for Stop The Traffick.
Just a couple of things I found while doing research:
- I emailed IJM, and they said that we can become a chapter. All we need to do is fill out the form on the website and then request a toolkit. I'm not sure if it would be better to do it for the whole group or for the smaller Abolition group we were talking about setting up for next year, but I think that it is a great idea for next semester.
- Did you know that Hershey's, Mars, and Nestle all use child slave labor in their factories? I knew about Mars, but not the other two. I have made the decision for myself not to buy their chocolate. Here is a site with more information:
http://humantrafficking.change.org/actions/view/tell_hershey_mars_nestle_to_stop_child_labor
There is also a pledge to fill out there that can be sent to the companies.
- I'm thinking for next year to try to schedule Human Trafficking Week for the week of January 11, which is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
- I found a bunch of cool ideas of events that other groups have come up with. For example, one group "traveled for traffick." They took the subway and went to each stop in their city, taking a picture at each stop and holding a sign so everyone would know why they were there. I thought that was a kind of cool idea. Another group did a job auction where they auctioned off odd jobs like dog walking and car washing to raise money for Stop The Traffick.
4.02.2009
Fun stuff this weekend
Hey everyone-
There are a couple of cool-sounding things going on soon that SSJers might be interested in. I don't know if I can go or not, but I figured I'd post them in here if any of you want to.
First is a movie showing called The Examined Life:
In Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today's most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance to them and their ideas. By pulling philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, Taylor puts it back on the streets where it began and creates an intellectual smorgasbord.
Topics discussed include:
-Ethics of consumption
-The environment
-The nature of revolution
-Our culture's fixation on individualism
"The unexamined life is not worth living."-Socrates
Second is Down:2:Earth Sustainable Living Expo:
Friday, April 3: 5:oopm-9:00pm
Saturday, April 4: 11:00am-7:00pm
Sunday, April 5: 11:00am-5:00pm
Hynes Convention Center
$8 for students, $10 for losers
D2E emphasizes local and innovative solutions and connects our consumers with progressive companies that are investing in a more sustainable future. Attendees will explore the latest in green careers/green collar jobs, sustainably produced food, eco fashion and design, green building, socially responsible investing, clean technology, renewable energy, and more.
Fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, a "Kids Block," book signings, workshops on GARDENING, food, energy, public policy, and home remodeling.
3.24.2009
3.20.2009
why do we garden?
I'd like to start a discussion about why we're doing this gardening stuff. Here's just one idea:
One of God's first commands for humanity was to tend a garden.
One of God's first commands for humanity was to tend a garden.
3.16.2009
30 hour famine
What do y'all think of the 30 hour famine? I signed up on behalf of ssj because I thought it would be nice for us to join our friends and other groups in a campus-wide effort concerning world hunger, but we're not obligated to do anything unless you guys want to. And, no surprise, I question just about everything and wonder how worth our efforts this would be... So I'm open to all ideas and opinions, and do share them, please!
Think about it, leave some comments if you'd like, and maybe we'll talk about it at our next meeting. By the way, the famine is next week, March 25-26 or so...
Hey, and I miss all of you! Campus was a lonely place during Spring Break, haha. Please come this Thursday and share about all your adventures!
Think about it, leave some comments if you'd like, and maybe we'll talk about it at our next meeting. By the way, the famine is next week, March 25-26 or so...
Hey, and I miss all of you! Campus was a lonely place during Spring Break, haha. Please come this Thursday and share about all your adventures!
3.06.2009
what i really think
I think I can better express in writing what I tried to explain last night...
I really mean it when I say I'm interested in the kinds of things you guys imagine for ssj, and so I'll probably keep asking. I've all sorts of wild ideas. I'll elaborate on the house idea I mentioned last night to give y'all an example of what I'm thinking...
This would be a place where music and art, creativity and individual expression are encouraged. A place of no judgment. A lifestyle of shared meals and possessions and laughter and burdens and life... of striving and seeking and learning to live rightly even if we're not sure what that means... friendships and loveships and all sorts of crazy different people with all their crazy beautiful differences. And this type of thing, if it was for real, would be radically inclusive and wildly contagious (obviously I'm a bit idealistic!). And if it seems too self-centered or unjust to want to live so truly and happily when so many others can't, think about what it means to actually be the change you wish to see in the world... We have more power than we think to change the world by changing our lifestyle. And hey, everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing him- or herself, wrote good ol' Tolstoy. I don't think this negates concern for the world, but I do think it's hard to make someone else's problem better without a vision of what that better is, and it probably means we've got to get our shit together at least a little bit before we try to clean up someone else's. I could be wrong. Momma T, however, clearly the epitome of justice and Christ-likeness, made wild statements like Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world... and In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. I've a suspicion that Jesus was into the little stuff too, and in doing small things, mad things, with great amounts of love, world-changing amounts of the love-your-neighbor kind of love.
Remember that idea about recklessness? I really do believe that we need to live recklessly if we are to change the world (and by world I mean campus, I mean community, I mean family, I mean ourselves; let's be honest, I don't plan to take on the world). Like Kurtis and some of you guys were saying last night, maybe we should get the hint that the traditional ways of educating others just don't always cut it... And gosh, I'm hardly even worrying any more how to "educate" others, partly because (ironically so) students often seem resistant to education, and partly because I'd rather just live this stuff than talk about it, and in the few years I've been around here I've noticed that that's the only thing that seems to work.
Here's a fun bit from the Irresistable Revolution, I think it's relevant.
I really mean it when I say I'm interested in the kinds of things you guys imagine for ssj, and so I'll probably keep asking. I've all sorts of wild ideas. I'll elaborate on the house idea I mentioned last night to give y'all an example of what I'm thinking...
This would be a place where music and art, creativity and individual expression are encouraged. A place of no judgment. A lifestyle of shared meals and possessions and laughter and burdens and life... of striving and seeking and learning to live rightly even if we're not sure what that means... friendships and loveships and all sorts of crazy different people with all their crazy beautiful differences. And this type of thing, if it was for real, would be radically inclusive and wildly contagious (obviously I'm a bit idealistic!). And if it seems too self-centered or unjust to want to live so truly and happily when so many others can't, think about what it means to actually be the change you wish to see in the world... We have more power than we think to change the world by changing our lifestyle. And hey, everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing him- or herself, wrote good ol' Tolstoy. I don't think this negates concern for the world, but I do think it's hard to make someone else's problem better without a vision of what that better is, and it probably means we've got to get our shit together at least a little bit before we try to clean up someone else's. I could be wrong. Momma T, however, clearly the epitome of justice and Christ-likeness, made wild statements like Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world... and In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. I've a suspicion that Jesus was into the little stuff too, and in doing small things, mad things, with great amounts of love, world-changing amounts of the love-your-neighbor kind of love.
Remember that idea about recklessness? I really do believe that we need to live recklessly if we are to change the world (and by world I mean campus, I mean community, I mean family, I mean ourselves; let's be honest, I don't plan to take on the world). Like Kurtis and some of you guys were saying last night, maybe we should get the hint that the traditional ways of educating others just don't always cut it... And gosh, I'm hardly even worrying any more how to "educate" others, partly because (ironically so) students often seem resistant to education, and partly because I'd rather just live this stuff than talk about it, and in the few years I've been around here I've noticed that that's the only thing that seems to work.
Here's a fun bit from the Irresistable Revolution, I think it's relevant.
My friends and I had a hunch that there is more to life than what we had been told to pursue. We knew that the world cannot afford the American dream and that the good news is that there is another dream. We looked to the early church and to the Scriptures and to the poor to find it.
When Dorothy Day recalls the beginnings of the Catholic Worker movement, she says very unassumingly, “We were just there talking and it happened. We were just sitting there talking and people moved in. We were just sitting there talking and the lines began to form. . . .” The last line of her autobiography is, “It all happened while we sat there talking, and it is still going on.” I know what she meant.
So about thirty of us from Eastern College continued dreaming together about another way of doing life. We stayed up night after night laughing and arguing, and eventually we came to a point where we knew we would never agree on exactly what causes homosexuality or whether Adam had a belly button (some things are best left unresolved), so we decided to go ahead and give our vision a shot. Besides, most of us were getting tired of talking and were ready to live.
3.05.2009
breakfast?
Hey everyone,
I'm tired of just hanging out with you guys on Thursday nights... Are any of you interested in breakfast this Saturday?? I know its break, but I'd love to walk over to somewhere like Newcomb Farms. Let me know if you're interested! You could post here or email me at kurtis.biggs@gmail.com. Hope you all have a great break.
Kurtis
3.01.2009
2.28.2009
garden fun
Look what we did today! Kurtis, Justin and I (and Leif and Hannah briefly too) hung out and cleaned up the garden a bit. Kurtis found some lovely old beans, and there were carrots EVERYWHERE! We'll bring them to our next meeting for you all to see, and to eat if you dare...
2.27.2009
Balance=Kingdom?
Kurtis, you make me think, man...I can't help but hear your words of "compassion" over "fairness" echoing in my head. I think about being a student for social justice and wonder if I should rather be leading you guys to being students for social compassion.
In my head there is a constant struggle for power between rationality and emotion. With rationality comes justice, structure, and a sense of right and wrong, while emotion brings love, hate, happiness, and anger along with all other passions. When either side takes over, I find myself either unable to discern properly between repressing feelings which effect my decisions and seeing past the passion which I am so engulfed by at the time.
Tonight I keep coming back to some sort of balance which I believe only the Holy Spirit can bring to my faulty sense of structure between this immovable object (rationality) and unstoppable force (emotion). It is with this balance that we are able to successfully control our overflowing emotions while being able to somehow accept the irrational idea of giving up what could be our own gain for someone else. In other words: Intentional Community, Kingdom Thinking, or Compassion.
2.26.2009
What do you want to do with your life?
It's a pretty common question. We all hear it often, and I don't know who knows what they want to do or not, but it's something I think about a lot. I have this huge plan of what I want to do- but the only problem is- I don't have any details. I guess those things will fall into place as time passes, so I try not to worry about it.
I stumbled across this song while writting a paper, and it just made me smile. As students that crave Social Justice, I think this song describes what we desire. Enjoy these powerful lyrics!
"Give me your Eyes" by Brandon Heath
Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?
Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?
Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah
I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along
Chorus (x2)
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah
p.s. Sorry to go off topic so drastically, but as I said... I just stumbled across this.
I stumbled across this song while writting a paper, and it just made me smile. As students that crave Social Justice, I think this song describes what we desire. Enjoy these powerful lyrics!
"Give me your Eyes" by Brandon Heath
Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?
Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?
Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah
I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along
Chorus (x2)
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Yeah
Yeah
yeah
yeah
p.s. Sorry to go off topic so drastically, but as I said... I just stumbled across this.
2.25.2009
the kingdom of God?
Good question, Ashley. In fact, I'm not sure if I would know how to imagine a
We sometimes hear "God" tossed around in ways that don't have a lot to say to us and our neighbors in pain. Words like atonement or sin and consolations like "God bless" or "everything works together for good" frustrate me when they are cast half-heartedly to strange faces in anguish as we hurriedly pass by or discretely lock our car doors. The world is demanding a God that is just and human.
This is what captivates me about Christ. If we believe Christ to be the revelation of the infinite and divine in completely human form, then perhaps our typical conception of God has been drastically domesticated.
The Gospels reveal a radically other-focused Christ. A Christ who is dangerously counter-cultural, sacrificing his reputation to associate with and serve the lowest in society – women, tax collectors, lepers, and foreigners. Jesus is a human, a God, who washes dust-caked feet and calls us to “turn the other cheek,” “love our neighbor,” “give up all we have,” and treat the “least of these” as legitimately divine. His parables inescapably describe an illogical ever-forgiveness that result in the reconciliation of a prodigal’s son and the healing of a beaten man left for dead. This Jesus seems obsessed with a “kingdom” that apparently is a community marked by this insane Christo-logic and he is crucified by one that rejects it.
It seems like the
With this in mind, maybe today I can be less angry and more passionate; buy no more than I simply need; pass on a smile instead of returning a harsh remark; be thankful instead of grumbling; forget about fashion and recall my classmate’s name; stop thinking “charity” and start thinking “responsibility” and long for compassion instead of fairness.
This got really long… thanks for sticking it out J
2.24.2009
gratitude & creation
This past weekend a bunch of us hung out at Park Street Church, learned about toxic trash, learned how water's not to be trusted, cosmetics are scary, coffee farmers aren't paid enough, the oceans are rising, everything's a scam... a whole bunch of pretty damn awful stuff.
But despite all of this, we were asked to consider what our relationship to the environment would look like if it were rooted in gratitude to God, and if we, out of love for the God who exists in all of creation, every person, animal, and tree, began to practice resurrection in the broken and forgotten places: vacant lots, dying communities, wastelands and dumps, polluted streets...
Shane Claiborne knows a lot about practicing resurrection, or what he calls "holy mischief", and about following the ancient traditions of living in community and devotion. He made very clear that heaven and hell should be irrelevant because the kingdom of God is now. If there were no heaven and hell, would you still follow Jesus? he asked. Of course we would, of course we are, (of course you learned in bib lit that hell's not biblical anyway), of course that's what social justice is all about - practicing resurrection using a reckless imagination born out of a rage at the brokenness of creation... right? Oh boy, we may have a lot to consider. But how exciting, the chance to imagine and resurrect. :)
If there's one lesson from Shane that I would wish for all ssj'ers to remember, it is this: guilt doesn't motivate, but love does. Guilt may cause people to act, to give away some clothes or some food or some time, but it's a pretty shallow and unsustainable reason to hope for a just world. It's out of love we want a just world, right? And I would add that love is passionate and passion births things like hope and optimism and a vision for the future... the kingdom of God. What on earth (I really mean on earth) would that look like?
Oh my gosh, go crazy. :)
-Ashley
But despite all of this, we were asked to consider what our relationship to the environment would look like if it were rooted in gratitude to God, and if we, out of love for the God who exists in all of creation, every person, animal, and tree, began to practice resurrection in the broken and forgotten places: vacant lots, dying communities, wastelands and dumps, polluted streets...
Shane Claiborne knows a lot about practicing resurrection, or what he calls "holy mischief", and about following the ancient traditions of living in community and devotion. He made very clear that heaven and hell should be irrelevant because the kingdom of God is now. If there were no heaven and hell, would you still follow Jesus? he asked. Of course we would, of course we are, (of course you learned in bib lit that hell's not biblical anyway), of course that's what social justice is all about - practicing resurrection using a reckless imagination born out of a rage at the brokenness of creation... right? Oh boy, we may have a lot to consider. But how exciting, the chance to imagine and resurrect. :)
If there's one lesson from Shane that I would wish for all ssj'ers to remember, it is this: guilt doesn't motivate, but love does. Guilt may cause people to act, to give away some clothes or some food or some time, but it's a pretty shallow and unsustainable reason to hope for a just world. It's out of love we want a just world, right? And I would add that love is passionate and passion births things like hope and optimism and a vision for the future... the kingdom of God. What on earth (I really mean on earth) would that look like?
Oh my gosh, go crazy. :)
-Ashley
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