Two years later . . .

I don’t know if you have seen the article in yesterday’s Christian Science Monitor that reported that for the first time since the Sandy Hook tragedy, more Americans support gun rights than support gun control.  This is a big switch that has taken place less than two years following the shooting that took place at Newtown in which 27 people (and the gunman) were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The figures come from a Pew Research Center report.  Some other interesting findings from the study suggest that 6 in 10 Americans believe that gun ownership does more to protect a person from being a victim of crime and 4 in 10 believe that it does more to endanger personal safety.

This caught my eye today since there was a report in the Chicago Tribune that said that there have been 95 gun related shootings on school properties since Sandy Hook.  Half on K-12 campuses, the other half on college campuses. 

That equals almost one incident per week.  You can, and some will, argue over the statistics and if they are “really school shootings” but I think that is missing the point.  We have become an increasingly violent society and believe that a bullet is the way to protect what “is ours.”  That is clear in the gun buying frenzy that took place in Ferguson following the decision by the grand jury not to seek prosecution against officer

CBS news reported yesterday that 80% of whites believe that their local police force makes them feel mostly safe, but that number drops to 52% in the black population.  It also reported that 43% of the black population report that they local police make them feel mostly anxious.

We are standing at a precipice.  One that we haven’t stood on since the 60’s the only difference is that this time it seems to be more violent and vitriolic.  The CBS poll really shows the disparity on how the white and black population view the role of police, deadly force and even race relations in general.

The good news in all of this is that Eric Garner’s death seems to have struck a chord in many white churches.  While Michael Brown’s death was disconcerting, the circumstances surrounding it are very murky to many people.  However, Mr. Garner’s death and the video of it, leave little to the imagination and have become a rallying cry against excessive force.

Players in the NBA and even the Georgetown University Men’s Basketball have been wearing shirts that proclaim Mr. Garner’s cry: “I Can’t Breath.”  This groundswell has touched the hearts of many Americans (on all sides of the racial divide) and has helped many of us to have the courage to stand up and begin to seek solutions to the insidious side of prejudice in America.

I confess, that I often stereotype, and thus prejudice myself against people I do not know.  I am struggling to become more aware of those (way too often moments) so that I can put them in their place.

And I am committed to crossing the divide that we (I) have made --- psychologically and physically that keeps me from getting to know my brothers and sisters.  And I refuse to believe that peace is found at the end of the barrel of a gun, instead I have chosen to put my trust in the Way of Jesus.  A Way that offers love, and hope to all --- not just some.

I hope you will join me in praying for a more just society, and a less prejudiced world.

My Thanksgiving Letter to Ridge Church

Last week I spent an hour at Eads Elementary School as a community reader.  Each month, people from the community come into Eads and read a book to a class (or 2) and talk about a topic that the book was related to.  This month, the theme was gratitude, and I read a cute story about a family that everything goes wrong for their Thanksgiving Dinner --- yet in the end, they realize that Thanksgiving isn't about the food.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I want to take a moment and say THANKS.  Thanks to my family, without you my life would not have the meaning it does!  Thanks to the staff of Ridge Church --- Holly, Dave, Kathy, Sheri, Phil, Allan, Peggy, Linda, Diana and Susan --- each of you have an amazing heart and you share that love with the community in wonderful ways.  Thanks to all of you who call Ridge Church home, without you we cannot reach out and share the love and way of Jesus.  That is why we exist!

As you gather around your thanksgiving table, I pray that you will take time and see all the blessings that you have and that you will remember those who are not as fortunate as you.

I hope that you will also say a prayer for our country.  I don’t know what happened that fateful August night in Ferguson MO.  What I do know is that an unarmed black teenage is dead, the officer who fired the weapon that killed him will not be subject to a trial in which the facts of the incident can be publicly known and scrutinized.  In a country that is becoming more and more polarized over income and race, last night’s decision, I am afraid will only increase the distrust that is felt.

I am not black, and have only once been subject to discrimination based on my racial make-up (I was thought to be Palestinian in Jerusalem); I cannot imagine what it is like to grow up black in America today.  There has to be fear, and last night only added to it.  Whether we want to believe it or not, racial discrimination still is alive in the USA.  We don’t like to hear that, but I hear the jokes, the stereotyping all the time.  We as followers of Jesus must take the lead and say NO MORE!  It is time that we pray and seek a better world for all of God’s children.

I, will be praying for forgiveness.  I know I have not done enough in my own life to stem the tide of hatred in this land.

Humbly,

Pastor Steve