Meditation: A Prayer for a New President and a New America

by Shane Claiborne
http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=3639


God of Abraham, Miriam, Hannah, Rizpah, and David...
God of Elijah, Amos, Ruth, Isaiah, Deborah...
God of Mary, John the Baptizer, Peter, Paul, Philemon and Onesimus...
God of Anthony, Ambrose, Dirk Willems, Teresa of Avila, and Francis of
Assisi,
God of Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, William
Wilberforce, and Oscar Romero
and God of love, grace, and hope...

Thank you for creating a perfect world.
Forgive us for the mess we have made of it.
Thank you for creating Jubilee, gleaning, and Sabbath as patterns to
ensure that the poor are cared for, the earth rests, and inequality is
dismantled.
Forgive us for choosing the patterns of empire.
Thank you for using the weak things to shame the strong and the
foolish things to confound the wise.
Protect us from becoming too strong or too wise.
Protect us from ourselves.

Forgive us...
for the groaning of creation
for the millions who die of hunger and curable diseases
for warehousing people in prisons and using them for labor
for the scandal of billions wasted in war
for worrying about tomorrow and storing up more than this day our
daily bread
for an economy that mirrors the seven deadly sins
for our Caesars and our Herods
for the violence and greed in our own hearts
Save us from ourselves.

Deliver us...
from the arrogance of power
from the myth of redemptive violence
from the tyranny of greed
from the ugliness of racism
from false hope and counterfeit change
from the cancer of hatred
from the seduction of wealth
from the idolatry of nationalism
from the paralysis of cynicism
from the ghettoes of poverty
from the ghettoes of wealth
from the blood-stained pages of history
and from the legacy of slavery.
Deliver us oh God.

Give us the courage...
to bless the poor in a world that blesses the middle class.
to bless the meek in a world that admires aggression.
to bless the hungry in a world that feeds the already fed.
to bless the merciful in a world that shows no mercy on evildoers.
to bless the pure in heart in a world of clutter and noise.
to bless the peacemakers in a world that baptizes bombs.

Give us imagination...
that we might not conform to the patterns of this world.
that we might shatter indifference and interrupt injustice with grace
that we might choose the cross over the sword
that we might be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves
that we might consider the lillies and sparrows as they shame Wall
Street's splendor
that we might choose the dream of God over the dreams of nations
that we might cling to the God that so loved the world, not just America
that we might allow our Jesus to change America rather than America to
change our Jesus.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Poverty Solutions - Urban Farming

Carla is a pre-nursing student at Madonna University.



Amber working to fulfill her service learning requirement for one of her classes.



Dominic harvesting beans. He has been urban farming since he was six years old and serving at Gleaners' since he was five years old.



A Picture of the Urban Farm



Madonna University students serve at Gleaners' Community Food Bank once a month.The Madonna University community have a food drive every semester.

A lot of the poverty pockets in the United States are located in our cities such as Detroit. Even in the best of times, hunger continue to prevail among the urban population. The majority of the urban population lack access to healthy life supporting food to nourish their bodies. These leads to susceptibility to various illnesses.

Large supermarkets have fled from the city, leaving small Mom and Pop operations and liquor stores in the neighborhoods. The inventory selections of these enterprises is very meager and narrow, devoid of healthy food especially fresh fruits and vegetables. The Capuchins and Gleaners' Community Food Bank are the main sources of food security not only in the city of Detroit but also in Southeast Michigan.

In 1999, Brother Rick Samyn, a Capuchin friar had a vision of farming vacant lots in the city. He started Earth Works. Earth Works provides some of the much needed fresh produce for people living in the city.

Madonna University students continue to serve and work with both organizations. Their service help raise awareness of the hunger issues confronting the poor among us. Students and other young people have become part of the solution.

Who cares? - A Page In My Lifeline

" I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace." Dalai Lama

My sentiments exactly! I copied this quote from a new friend in "Facebook." In this globalized environment, I think it is time for all of us to reflect on our responsibilities as human beings and citizens of the world and do something about it.

This sentiment came to me very early in life. I attended a funeral for a soldier killed in the Korean War. One of the speakers said that "this man did not die a "Filipino hero", he died a "world hero" fighting with the United Nations forces in Korea to benefit all "mankind."

Lifeline

I belong to the Pantaleon Montecillo Clan, from Catmon, Cebu. My given name is Ethna Maria Montecillo. Tatay Panta served as the last Spanish Capitan in Catmon until Spain lost the Spanish American War. The US took over the Philippine Islands in 1898.

My grandfather, Emilio came to Michigan in the early 1900's. My mother, Teresa, was born in Detroit in 1926.



I was five years old!I was in first grade.



Religion - faith have always played a big part of my life. This was a re-enactment of the miracles in Fatima. I think I was in fourth grade.



This photo was taken in front of my high school. I was 13 years old.



This is Northern High School - now, Gabriel Jurado Foundation School. I took this in 1997. We did not have a basketball court when I was there. It is by the beach - sometimes the sound of the waves can lull you to extreme drowsiness.



Military training along with comprehensive senior high school examinations were graduation requirements.



Ahh - passed them all: Physics, Spanish, English Comp, English and American Literature, Economics, Filipino Language, Arts and Crafts, Intermediate Algebra, Philippine History, US History, World History,Government...

Lifeline

I grew up with my Lola Bette, my maternal grandmother. I lived with her until I graduated from high school. I am the little girl in the middle. The young lady is my Tita Ulding. She was a biology teacher. I went with her to collect specimens - starting from her college years until she started teaching high school. I looked forward to those outings every year. I have a very big extended family. It is part of Filipino tradition. In the photo are my Lola Dada and Lola Conching.



Sunrise!!! To this day, I love sunrise and sunset.



When I was a child, I spent a lot of time walking along the water on this beach - Catmon, Cebu, Philippines. I played "Chase the Waves" a lot! Swimming is a favorite activity to this day.