Showing Up, Standing Together

This post has been cross-posted with MFSA's blog, found at http://www.mfsaweb.org/.

Yesterday was the Prayerful Witness on Health Care at the Supreme Court building, and the staff of the Methodist Federation for Social Action made it a priority to be there. Yesterday (March 26) through Wednesday (March 28) the Supreme Court will be hearing challenges to the Affordable Care Act which, when fully implemented, would prevent insurance companies from charging women higher premiums than men and would ensure that access to healthcare is not determined by socioeconomic status.
This was my first time attending a witness event, so I have to admit that I was nervous as we approached the crowds. I didn’t participate as fully or as loudly as many people did, including my fellow staff members, but just having the chance to be there and to observe and reflect was the highlight of my day. I loved having the opportunity to watch hundreds of people stand up for what they believe is right and to ground it in the faith that is such an important part of their lives. Two things occurred to me as I listened to the speakers and watched the crowds sing and pray together.

The first thing struck me as I watched counter-protesters start to congregate and listened to arguments begin: it is so easy for us to fall into the trap of polarizing issues when there is so much that we could be agreeing on. I don’t think that anyone would argue that some people shouldn’t have access to healthcare, but we get sidetracked about controversial things like abortion and contraception and all progress gets suspended. This isn’t to say that the issues that divide us aren’t important—we wouldn’t be so defensive about them if they weren’t—but it struck me that even among people of faith we are quick to jump to disagreements rather than starting from a point of connection. As we get closer to what could be a particularly divisive General Conference I think this will be more important than ever.

The second thing I realized is how important it is just to show up. So much of the power of a witness really does lie in numbers, in people who show up to say that real people really do care about this issue. The decision made this week in the Supreme Court and the decisions made at General Conference this summer are going to affect countless lives in very real ways. Every person that decides that she or he doesn't need to show up to be seen and heard around the issues that are dear to them makes it just a little bit easier for those issues to be glossed over.

Whatever issues are near to your heart at General Conference or just in your everyday life, I hope that you find the strength to show up and talk about them. I hope that we as the Church can find the humility to start from a place of oneness and to share honestly our hopes and fears about our future. I hope that, wherever you are, you are fully present.

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Heather Kramer is a second year Masters of Divinity and Masters of Theological Studies student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC., where she is also the youth minister at Dumbarton United Methodist Church and an intern at the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA). In her free time (ha!) she tries to read, work for justice, and blogs at The Story I Find Myself In.

Spark12

9 months ago, I was asked to take part in a vision-casting “Design Team” put together per request of the Leadership Table. I spent my first full day living in DC at this gathering of strangers with no idea what to expect. It wasn't long before these strangers became friends, though, and our energy was contagious as we shared visions and dreams of what a new, exciting, and innovative opportunity for young adults might look like.

Lots of long, difficult days and a couple of meetings later, we had an outline of something new. A few months later and it was suddenly 2012 as I found myself flying into Nashville to meet with the team that will carry forward this project. I am really excited about how this project has taken shape. Somehow, this end project simultaneously looks nothing like what we expected, and yet it is full of everything we hoped for. This end project is what is now being called “Spark 12.”

I couldn’t be more excited about Spark12. It feels like the church could finally be doing something right here! How so? For starters: it is young adult led. Not just led, but it is actually being implemented by young adults on staff at multiple general boards and agencies. Who knew: Methodists can play nice AND trust young people to carry it through! (jokes, jokes)

So what exactly is Spark 12? In short, it is being described as a social justice “incubator.” It is a short (12-week) opportunity for young adults to take their own innovative ideas and receive funding to run with them. These ideas are lived out and given a running start with the support of community and the feedback of mentors and experts in a related field. My favorite part of all of it? That we are finally building something new that is, by design, intended to not be US-centric. We are a global church, and its time we start acting like it. That was one of the many clear, non-negotiable themes we had throughout all of our discussions. I for one can’t wait to see what that looks like when the applications start rolling in and the current Design team gets to help the fellows implement it. Watch out, world: Spark12 is about to catch onfire. (sorry, I couldn’t resist)

One last thing: it is never too early to start thinking about being a part of something new. Applications open up on April 1, so I invite you to spend time thinking about how your idea could be launched with Spark 12!

For more information on Spark12, be sure to check out their website, follow them on Twitter, and “like” their Facebook page. You can also check out other articles such as this one by UMNS.

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Jen Tyler is a co-facilitator for OnFire as a part of her role as the Associate for Movement Building at MFSA. Jen is appointed to MSFA as a General Board of Global Ministries Mission Intern. She has a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is a member of the Dakotas Annual Conference, where she is pursuing ordination as an Elder in The United Methodist Church.

More Sing a New Song

Greetings OnFire members! Here is more information about Sing a New Song logistics from MOSAIC's website.

Sing a New Song is a multi-generational event for persons of all ages. This exciting opportunity to gather with progressive United Methodists, worship, learn and work for a fully inclusive church is a DO NOT MISS event for young adults. Learn more at the event website: sans2011.org

Hospitality Suite / Lounge

You are invited to visit the Young Adult Hospitality Lounge in the Shawnee Hospitality Suite for breakfast, snacks, soft drinks, nap, or just to hang out and with other young United Methodists. Informal gatherings are planned during recreation/affinity group time each afternoon, and late night coffee will be served each evening after event programming ends. The hospitality suite is located at the far end of the Shawnee building near Mulligan’s Pub.

Social Events

• Thursday meet and greet: Young adults are invited to meet one another in the Tall Pines lounge from 3pm until the programming begins. The Tall Pines lounge can be found by following signs posted at the pool and Big Sky Lounge (between the front desk and the hotel buildings).



• Late Night Coffee: Conversation, good music, laughter and games will be found in the young adult hospitality suite from 10pm to 1am each night. Join us for snacks, coffee and great conversations.



• Sunday Lunch: Help us finish off any leftover food (pizza will be ordered if needed).

Programming

• Thursday All-Day Forum: Join OnFire and MOSAIC for a day of education and action. We'll be exploring methods of resistance, helping us to become better organizers and activists in our own communities. We'll worship together, and in the afternoon we'll start planning action for General Conference. If you're a young adult in the UMC and you want to work for change, you don't want to miss this! All young adults are invited to attend the worship at 2pm, regardless of registration status.



• Leadership Interest Meeting: Do you have skills and passion for advocacy at the national and global level? Do you want to plan an action for equality at General Conference 2012? Have you ever wanted to serve on the board of directors of a national organization? Join current leaders and alumni of the young adult movements for a discussion about leadership at the national level with MFSA and RMN. This session with conclude with an opportunity to volunteer to work with standing working groups, upcoming projects and event planning.



• General Conference Advocacy Planning: Everyone is welcome to this time of concrete action planning, preparation and mobilizing our grassroots organizers (YOU!) to participate in the work of our Common Witness Coalition to help our church follow God’s call for justice and compassion.

Cost Reducing Options:

We have done our very best to lower expenses and make this event welcoming for those of us at all income levels, but some costs are unavoidable. Here are a few creative ways to lower your costs:

Meals: For those who cannot afford to participate in the event meal plan, light meals will be offered in the Young Adult Hospitality suite. A $20 contribution to help cover the cost of food is requested. These simple provisions will include pastry and fruit at breakfast, sandwiches and soups for lunch, and pasta on Friday evening. Coffee, tea, and snacks will also be available in the hospitality room throughout the event.

Housing: The best way to lower your lodging costs will be finding roommates. A message board has been created for this purpose at: SANS 2011 Roommates. However, if you would be willing to sleep on a couch or cot in the young adult hospitality suite, a limited number of spaces are available for participants who will be responsible for laying out meals, making coffee, and keeping the suite clean and welcoming. You can fill out the application on line for this position, or email Audrey (RMN National Organizer) with questions.

Registration Scholarships: Sing a New Song provides a limited number of scholarships to help cover event registration. For more information or an application, email RMN Associate Executive Director, Rachel Harvey at Rachel@rmnetwork.org

Educating to Counter Oppression

Greetings OnFire members! Planning on joining us in singing a new song? Here is an awesome opportunity for young people:

Young People's All Day Forum: Educating to Counter Oppression
Thursday, August 25, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Young People ages 18-35! Join OnFire and MOSAIC for a day of education and action. We'll be exploring methods of resistance, helping us to become better organizers and activists in our own communities. We'll worship together, and in the afternoon we'll start planning action for General Conference. If you're a young adult in the UMC and you want to work for change, you don't want to miss this!

Look for more information coming soon, and check out the Sing a New Song website and facebook page for more information on All Day Forums!

Join us in Singing a New Song!

Greetings OnFire members! I am writing to you today to inform you of an exciting opportunity in 2011 to join with hundreds of United Methodists committed to organizing for justice as we approach General Conference 2012. Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) and Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) are coming together to Sing a New Song, to worship together, in worship designed by Mark Miller and Tanya Bennett, and organize for justice in our church and world.

Sing! Sing a new song!
Sing of that great day when all will be one!
God will reign
and we'll walk with each other as sisters and brothers united in love!

Save the Date!

August 24-28, 2011
Sawmill Creek Resort
400 Sawmill Creek Drive West
Huron, OH 44839

Not convinced that you need to be there? Then check out the MFSA Love Train!



Join us in August! For more information visit the Sing a New Song! website and look for more information from us soon!

We are called to act with justice.
We are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

*MFSA is still looking for volunteers to join its planning committee, especially those from Ohio and the North Central Jurisdiction. Also needed are individuals with experience or interest in outreach, fundraising, and workshop coordination. For more information or to volunteer, contact MFSA Board member Melissa Calvillo.

Catch 22 of New Leadership

At the 2008 General Conference Reconciling Ministries Network and Methodist Federation for Social Action hosted the first ever young adult day. This space brought young people to speak, rally and proclaim to the church that what we want most of all is empowerment and equality for all God’s people. These young United Methodists demonstrated passion, faithfulness, idealism, and raw unbridled hope that could nourish a soul for a lifetime. Speaking with wisdom beyond their years about the call of God on their lives, they boldly declared that the change we seek has already come, because it is alive and vibrant in this new generation.

At informal youth gatherings I have heard another message as well: Being a young voice in the church can be isolating and lonely. The world tells you that people are not willing for change or new ideas. Our systems and structures at times crush the passion and vision of our young leaders. If we are to create the inclusion we desire—and be on the cutting edge of what we know our church can be—we must empower new and varied voices.

We all have a lot to learn from each other. The passion and the energy that young people have may need a direction, a task, or an outlet. We cannot just tell young people they are leaders. We have to do the work of empowerment, skill training, and mentoring while being open to new ideas and energy. Leadership development takes time, energy, and resources, and we have to be willing to prioritize it to honor new leadership.

We must remember that God told Jeremiah, “Do not say ‘I am only a youth.’” Each of us is more than our age or race or gender identity or sexual orientation or social class. We are a children of God called to do great things. All new leaders of any age or identity need guidance, instruction and support to make their dreams into a reality. As a movement, groups like MFSA (Methodist Federation for Social Action) and RMN (Reconciling Ministries Network) have the ability to nurture new voices and support young leaders. Those that have new vision need the skills and experience of those who have come before to create the change they wish to see.

Rachel Birkhan-Rommelfanger is a second-year student at Wesley Theological Seminary in DC and former Chair of the United Methodist Student Movement. She spends much of her time advocating within the church around LGBTQ equality, anti-racism, and young people's ministries. She currently serves on the General Commission on Religion of Race, Division on Ministries with Young People and the Reconciling Ministries Network Board of Directors.

T.Don Hutto "Residential Center" Taylor, TX

This week, as a part of OnFire's immigration focus, we'll be looking at detention of immigrants and asylum-seekers. Check out this video (a 3-Part series on YouTube) from Grassroots Leadership on the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, TX, and visit the Grassroots site to find ways to take action on this important issue.

Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW_2w0_J6Q0&feature=related

Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F_keG2O8Jk&feature=related

From Grassroots Leadership:
ICE holds immigrant families at the T. Don Hutto family detention center. Before the successful legal action by the ACLU in the fall of 2007, children wore prison garb, and were denied adequate schooling, health care, and recreation. Despite some important improvements made as a result of community organizing, the fight is not over. Hutto remains a medium security prison managed by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a for-profit adult corrections company. Incarceration of infants and children cannot be allowed-- even with the "privacy curtains around toilets" mandated in the ACLU settlement.

The Department of Homeland Security must adopt humane alternatives for managing families whose immigration status is in limbo and work to incorporate alternatives which keep families intact and that do not rely on incarceration. Alternatives must recognize that these families possess equal and inalienable rights to dignified treatment as members of the larger human family.

Actions:

Sign the Facebook petition to end family detention.

Write letters to the Obama Administration.

Resources:

The Big Business of Family Detention, by Courtney E. Martin

The Least of These: Documentary Film on Family Detention

US Should Stop Locking Up Immigrant Kids, by Rev. John S. Rausch

Talkback:

"It's not criminal [...] if you run away from your country looking for peace, a place to live."
--Bahja, Asylum-seeker from Somalia
What should be a common-sense statement resonates as profound, or even controversial in our current cultural climate. And though aware of typical responses, I find myself asking anew, why is this the case? There are Biblical examples of "illegals" from Abraham to Joseph, father of Jesus--strangers seeking refuge in a foreign land. If we rarely question the divine purpose of their migrations, why, then, do we criminalize today's peace-seekers? How can we, as young people of faith, reverse the xenophobic hardening of hearts? Please share your thoughts with the community.