Faith in Action

Hat Tip: Baltimore Sun

Debt cancellation a victory for the world
By Desmond Tutu

Last month, the House of Representatives showed leadership in the fight against global poverty by passing the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation, which would extend lifesaving debt cancellation to more poor nations around the globe.

Too many of the world’s poor children needlessly starve or go without education because too many impoverished nations - even after the laudable debt relief provided to date - are still funneling scarce resources to multilateral banks instead of paying for needs at home.

The world community has found crushing debt to be akin to a modern-day apartheid, and has responded with debt cancellation. Unjust debt leaves developing nations at the behest of the powerful. Shall we let the children of Africa and Asia die of curable disease, prevent them from going to school and limit their opportunities for meaningful work - all to pay off unjust and illegitimate loans made to their forefathers?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information:
Farajii Muhammad
Office:(410) 494-1588
E-mail:farajii@nllc.org

Youth Empowerment Movement says, “Enough is Enough” to Youth Violence

BALTIMORE, MD—The Youth Empowerment Movement (YEM) is hosting The State of the Youth Forum: Your Life, Your Choices on Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 9:30AM-3:00 PM at the University of Baltimore, to address the issue of the rising youth violence rate.

The State of the Youth Forum: Your Life, Your Choices is designed for middle school students, high school students, college students, and young people that are out of school, between the ages of 14 to 21, to come out and make a difference.

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Hat Tip: Baltimore Sun

Black preachers agree to disagree
Area pastors react differently to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. scandal

By Kelly Brewington
Sun reporter
May 1, 2008

The Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr. considers the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. to be a tremendous pastor and a brilliant theologian. But sitting in the audience of the National Press Club in Washington this week, Hathaway found himself wincing at some of the remarks by Sen. Barack Obama’s embattled former pastor.

“When Jeremiah Wright says an attack on him is ‘an attack on the black church,’ that’s kind of stretching things,” said Hathaway, pastor of Baltimore’s Union Baptist Church. “I think it’s potentially dangerous.”

He is not the only one who thought so.

On Tuesday, Obama condemned Wright’s remarks, characterizing them as disrespectful, offensive and not accurately portraying the perspective of black churches.

Wright’s plunge back into the national spotlight - in which he has defended his fiery remarks, praised the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan and accused the media of distorting his words - has sparked an intense reaction in Baltimore’s black faith community. Some pastors assert that Wright is not the spokesman of the black religious tradition - one as diverse as the black community itself.

Others have defended Wright’s remarks as rooted in a rich history of black ministers using the pulpit to challenge injustices. They fear that the Wright backlash has overshadowed the black churches’ history, value and good deeds.

“Many of us pastors are pained,” said the Rev. Johnny Golden, pastor of New Unity Church Ministries in Baltimore and president-elect of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. “We see a lot of what he is saying and we understand it, but his comments have wounded the opportunity of Mr. Obama to make gains and opportunity for America to embrace its ideals.”

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This past Sunday during one of the sermons I preached I talked about how sometimes even trouble has a way of ushering in an unexpected blessing. While many times it’s hard to see, acknowledge, or fully appreciate during the height of the storm; as the winds die down the presence of some small glimmer of hope and goodness after such a downpour provides a morsel of meaning that helps in a very small way to help survivors see the possibility of a better day.

Since the miscarriage of justice which was the Sean Bell verdict, I have been searching for some silver lining somewhere that might point to Divine Activity even if on the periphery of the pain. As Dr. Raymond Winbush points out, we’ve seen this movie before…many times over! Something is needed to give fuel to our faith that a brighter day is coming…even after dark days like this.

Then I found it. Though only 4:52 seconds long, it encouraged my soul to see it. A sign and symbol that the spirit of unity was being reborn like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I share this small sliver of hope with you as well as a testament that we will make it!

SAFE STREETS invites you to join with us in a Community Shooting Response
Please Come…Together We Can Make A Difference

In the last few days there have been two shootings in southeast Baltimore . One young man was shot in the 3000 block of E. Fayette St. and another young man was shot Monday night in the 2900 block of Monument St.

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.

We will be meeting at the corner of N. Decker Ave and E. Fayette St at 6:30 pm. Then at 7:15 pm we will proceed to the corner of Monument St. and Linwood Ave. Your participation on Thursday evening will make a public statement

Why Is Safe Streets Organizing Shooting Responses?
· To exhibit a collective response that we care about the people in our neighborhood
· To declare that violence is unacceptable
· To offer a platform for community members to join with others who hold similar determination to end the violence.
· To make residents aware that Safe Streets is working to stop the shootings

For More Information Call Jerrod Lewis at Safe Streets- 410-327-0414

It was for male ex-offenders who were there to receive information that could potentially help their situation. Here’s part 1 of my sharing. You can check out the rest on my youtube page.

On that same day I conducted a Social Justice Bible Study session for the United Worker’s Association. They have an Organizer’s Training Program that they’ve just started with some of their low-wage workers. The day before I was in Annapolis meeting with members of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland meeting about Governor Martin O’Malley’s absurd DNA bill and from Annapolis did 95 on 95 to get to the studio of WEAA 88.9FM to be a guest on Front Page hosted by my good brother, Craig Thompson. We were talking about Dr. Jeremiah Wright, the Black Church, and Black Liberation Theology.

Once I got home Tuesday night from this long 48 hours of giving and sharing I went straight to bed and slept for 12 hours. (I never do that)

I’m tired ya’ll. My body, mind, and spirit needs a break. I’ve been going full throttle for months now. Vacation please!?

I must admit that this year, I was feeling a certain way about Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union Roundtable. I’ve watched in previous years and have been inspired but this time around, I just wasn’t interested in the linguistic olympics featuring Dr. Mike Eric Dyson, Dr. Cornell West, Dr. Na’im Akbar and the other usual suspects. I think Tavis needs greater diversity…ideological diversity. It’s getting to the point now where you pretty much know how people are going to come down on the issues. I would like to see more grassroots-activist types, artists, OG’s from street oganizations…I mean let’s really shake it up! Allow the crowd to benefit from the wide variety of thought that is found within our rich culture. I feel like the panel is getting too academic…too “talented tenth”…too…dare I say - bourgeois. That’s not directed at any individual panelist, just the feeling I got from the event this year as a whole. (Disclaimer: to be fair I only watched the 2nd panel) I was thankful last year to see Min. Louis Farrakhan on the panel. In some respects he made the discussion for me with his fiery rhetoric.

This year, Dick Gregory’s participation made the discussion for me. He communicated his truth in lay language - down where the goats could get it and do something with it. He made great sense and though he was the oldest participant, he was, in my estimation, the most courageous. As he said himself - he was the turtle….hard on the outside, soft on inside, and willing to stick his neck out from time to time. I’m not sure I could say that about the others.

Enjoy this clip of Dick Gregory from this year’s State of the Black Union 2008. I uploaded the rest of his sharing to my youtube page.

I went to school with a good dude named Jerome Pleasant. Jerome always had smiles and would make you laugh. Just an all around good guy. I hadn’t seen him since he graduated, but I would see his older brother around and always ask about him. I was glad to hear that he was doing well.

You can imagine then my shock and dismay when I learned a couple years ago that Jerome’s then 3-year-old daughter, Talia Marie Pleasant, had been diagnosed with cancer. She had a grapefruit-sized tumor in her brain. She was rushed to surgery where they removed the tumor, but sadly another rare form of cancer was found some time after that in her stomach. During the successful surgeries to remove the cancer from her stomach, Jerome developed a rare bone cancer. Jerome’s surgery was successful and his cancer is now in remission. He’ll tell you that he is a better man because of Cancer. Though the road was rocky there for a while, it seemed as if Talia and Dad had beaten cancer for good.

However, I received sad news this morning from a high school classmate. Cancer has returned to Talia’s body. At 4 years old, this little girl has had to undergo more surgeries than many people do in their whole lifetime! Talia has proven one thing though. She is a fighter and she’s fighting right now as the doctors are talking to her family about quality of life and hospice care for the remainder of her life. The doctors were wrong before and there are many people praying that they are wrong again.

God is able. And I am a witness that the authority of God is higher than the ability of humanity. I’m sure that there are many people reading this right now who are witnesses to the miraculous healing power of God. I ask that you join in prayer with thousands of others who are interceding on Talia’s behalf right now. Below you’ll find some links to learn more about my boy, Jerome and his lovely daughter - the survivor, Talia.

WBAL TV 11 Coverage

The Baltimore Examiner Coverage

Talias Journey

Add to My Profile | More Videos

In my continuous involvement in social issues from a clergy/activist standpoint; I tend to, from time to time, receive requests from White people about partnering on community projects or initiatives. That’s fine. I’m open for true partnership with most anybody who is serious about social change. However, it’s been my experience that the soils of the souls of White people need to be tilled so that a true foundation for cooperation can be established. Frankly, I’ve wasted a lot of precious time in conversation with some White people who weren’t prepared to engage the world from another’s perspective. This inability or unwillingness hampered any efforts to sincerely seek solutions. Once that was realized, I would walk away choosing to devote my energy to those people/organizations/causes that were primed for engagement. Perhaps that’s why I can count on one hand the number of White people that I’m in budding partnership with. I’ve learned my lesson. I can’t waste time with people - in this case White people who seem to mean well, but who aren’t comfortable surrendering the illusion of their superior positioning in the world…who aren’t willing to peer through the lenses of “minority existence” in the world…who aren’t courageous enough to look in the mirror and see how their people group has oppressed other people groups for generations. So as not to waste anybody’s time, I cut right to the chase. I tell White people where I am, what I believe, and what I think about them. If they get offended and walk away - no harm no foul…no ones time is wasted. If they engage in productive dialogue with me and take actions to show that they are serious about LEARNING and DOING - then I explore the possibility of next steps. For those who are interested, Bro. Malcolm X presents his position on this issue as well.

Where’d this come from? Good question. I had lunch today with two people who are looking to establish partnerships with members of the Black Community. I thought it was a pretty good initial conversation. They emailed me after lunch and I responded a few moments ago. I share this edited version of the email because I believe it provides insight on how I feel about the prospect of interracial partnerships.

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Once again it’s on! I’m back on the air, family! It’s been a long journey, but I’m finally getting ready to bring Faith in Action back to Baltimore’s airwaves. Same “Faith in Action” flavor, but this time I’ll be on Spirit 1400AM (Baltimore) every Monday from 1:00PM - 2:00PM.

Faith in Action is a religious public affairs program that seeks to build the bridge between belief and service. Don’t expect to hear about gospel concerts, church conferences, or “getting your praise on”. We’ll be talking about social issues and how our Faith guides us in engaging them. This show was created with my deep conviction that assures me that there is more to being a Believer than going to church on Sunday and singing/crying/shouting between 11AM and 2PM. I believe God demands more of me and all Believers.

Being that I am a Christian minister, the majority of issues will be engaged from that perspective, but hopefully people of other Faiths (or even no Faith) will find that my style is an inviting one that respects all perspectives.

I make no apology though that the lionshare of the show will target African American Christians in the Black Church. If the Black Church would just extend itself beyond the brick and mortar of its sanctuaries - guided by the message of the Prophets and Jesus - then I think much would change for the better in Baltimore.

So tune in this Monday. If you are tired of the same ol’ same ol’ in Christian radio, then I promise you will not be disappointed with Faith in Action. There will be NOTHING “same ol’ same ol’” about it.

Also, if you are able, I solicit your financial support as well to help me stay on the air. You can make a secure online donation by clicking here and if you would like to advertise your businesses or event please CONTACT ME concerning rates.

Thank you to those members of my family who have already donated. And a special shout-out to Bro. Haki Ammi and Chip Dizard from Absolute Presence for the generous donations as well. I will never forget your support.

Don’t forget - Mondays 1:00PM - 2:00PM on Spirit 1400AM.
(For those outside of the Baltimore area, I’ll be on Itunes soon enough.)