shalom.

today in church, a friend of mine preached a powerful sermon about shalom, a peace and intention for God's kingdom that surpasses merely the absence of war. shalom is unity, compassion, equality, service, justice, love. she spoke too of the culture of domination and oppression that prevails throughout history and our society today. the work of those of us seeking the kingdom of God is to look at ways in which we are a part of this culture of violence, oppression, domination, and the hell that results, and work to bring justice and respect to all people, which in turn brings healing to ourselves. amen, sister!

as i think about the sermon, i think about two different examples of shalom existing in our world today as i've experienced them this week. the first comes from a play called "eclipsed" that i saw on friday evening. this powerful, beautiful, challenging play tells the story of five different women living in a rebel camp in liberia during the last civil war. the glimpses into these women's lives are really heart-wrenching - most are oppressed by male sexual and physical domination, without education, without their own hope for a future or control over even their own bodies. one of the women combats this oppression by taking up a guy and joining the rebel army. she tells a younger girl, this is the only way to keep yourself safe and protected from these men who want to violate you. yet, she is forced to use this gun to bring smaller girls to the generals for the mens' "pleasure." and the system of violence and oppression continues. one of the characters in the play, however, is a "peace woman," part of a large grassroots movement of women in liberia who devoted themselves to working for peace in the midst of this war. outside the scope of the play, these peace women went around the country speaking with rebel leaders, government officials, and the people, promoting peace. when the rebel leaders and government leaders met in ghana for a peace talk, hundreds of these women encircled the building where they were talking, linked arms, and refused to leave until peace was reached. and it worked! the leaders came up with a peace accord, and in 2005, liberia elected a woman president of the country. how powerful the witness of these women are - in the face of violence on all sides, they used non-violence, communication, and the strength of their conviction to affect real change. the play did not end quite so hopefully - the youngest girl is left on stage with a gun in one hand and a book in the other, unsure of which way to pursue. lately, any reference to violence against women gets me worked up, and this play was no exception. the challenge of combating violence with peace still sometimes feels impossible; how can a woman peacefully resist a man who is trying to sexually assault her? yet, these peace women in liberia working towards systemic change brought about greater freedom for all women, not only peace. they are working towards shalom in their country. what an inspiration!

the other example of shalom is at joseph's house this week. in short, multiple law enforcement officers showed up at the house last week to arrest a resident who was clearly on his death bed. the staff showed great compassion and commitment to shalom, to dignity and value for this man, by convincing the officers to go (they camped out in a van across the street watching the house, though!), and they continued to compassionately care for and accompany this man until he died the next morning. imagine if they had let him be taken, if this man would have died en-route to or in prison. i'm working on a paper for one of my classes looking into the incarceration system in this country and the way that punitive attitudes towards offenders leads only to more crime and recidivism rather than to rehabilitation. thank goodness that these co-workers of mine could stand strongly and passionately for compassion and respect for this human being, not seeing him as "criminal" but a man who was dying. how would the world be different if we took away labels and saw each other as human beings, each the beloved of God?

so as i continue to learn about social work, to live in intentional community, to pursue simple living, to invest in my mission group at church, to work at joseph's house, and to pursue deep relationships with others, my prayer is that i can continue to see and promote shalom in my own life and in the world.

p.s. right now, it's a beautiful fall-like evening, the sun is setting in vibrant orange, my windows are open with a lovely breeze, and there's a saxophone playing somewhere down the alley.... recognizing such moments of beauty and celebrating them is part of the pathway to shalom. thanks be to God for this moment.

back to school.

so after two lovely years off from school, i've taken the plunge to revisit the academic world... and to be honest, it's hard! it's hard to get back into all the reading, all the pressure of deadlines, grades, balancing lots of classes and assignments on top of one another. as a full time student, i'm taking 17 credits this semester at catholic, plus two full days a week at my field placement at a catholic charities substance abuse rehab program down in southeast dc, plus working part time at joseph's house, plus living in community once again, plus... LIFE! it's definitely not only an adjustment in terms of my academic state of mind, but also in terms of the pace of my life. my schedule for the past year or so has really been fairly flexible and my time fairly open, and now i'm finding myself writing frantically in my planner to keep track of everything. i trust that as i settle into my new house, my new routine, i will eventually feel a bit more settled and find the bits of time that i need to connect with people and get a bit of rest myself.

despite all the ways in which being in school while my friends are not is really hard, social work school also feels like the right place for me. the national association of social workers define the mission of social work: "to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty." there's a focus on social justice, empowerment, building on strengths, caring for the whole person - physical, emotional, spiritual needs... it feels so me! so much of the way i see the call of the gospel and my part in it meshes right in with what it means to be a professional social worker. joseph's house has given me a context for this work, as well as continues to encourage me that it is possible to be in authentic and empowering and communal relationships in a helping role, and that way of compassion, respect for human dignity, and mutuality is possible. i need to hold onto that in the midst of so much need, so much needed policy change, so many men who relapse instead of continuing in their recovery... that there is hope that the way of love and compassion and justice can and will prevail. i want to continue to see each human being i interact with as the beloved of God, just as i am,not a pathologized problem individual, and not to be a hand reaching down from above but to be empowering from alongside.

thanks be to God for leading me, as i bumble along, continuing to grieve and process and question the events that have taken place in my life in the last six months, for leading me into another place where who i've been created to be can grow and take deeper root in me and in the world.