out of darkness

The funny thing about darkness is that it is recognized only in the absense of light.  It has no real tangible presence or source.  Light has a source, ultimately the sun.  Light is actual energy.  Color is reflected light.  Darkness and shadow are what we see when there is no light.  As soon as the light appears, darkness ceases to exist.

I hear people speak about a darkness in Aliquippa.  I say that such darkness exists, but its source is in a lack of light.  When we are the light, the darkness will disappear.  I say too that there are lights in this community.  I say too that there have been lights in this community throughout generations keeping this place from complete darkness.  I say too that we need more light.

And how are we the light?  By ceasing our endless chatter about change and beginning the actual work of change.  By tending to our neighbor’s lawn, and keeping it in better shape than our own.  By offering water on a hot day to a stranger.  By acknowledging and listening to pain, by empathizing with the hurts of our fellow citizens.  By living, sharing, and worshiping with our brothers and sisters from other races, acknowledging our differences and loving one another anyway (in heaven, one friend of mine hypothesizes there will be conflict, but we will know how to deal with it respectably, lovingly, and we will actually deal with it).  What you do for the least of these, you do for Christ,

for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

There is a place in town where you can sit with old friends, or make new ones if you’d like, over a $.50 cup of coffee.  You can listen to music, hell, you can play your own music.  You can write your own story, draw your own picture, live your own life, laugh, cry, mourn, or shout in anger if that is what you need to do.  It is a place to heal.  It is a place where light is shining.

There is a group of college students in town again this summer, you can’t really miss them unless you don’t come outside.  They are working, playing, laughing, protecting, teaching, encouraging and cultivating with over 200 of the city’s youth.  They are lights making lights, like a flock of lightning bugs.

There are plenty of others too.  To every city worker, coach, mother, father, grandmother, aunt, uncle, friend, stranger, librarian, officer, volunteer, clergy, and everything in between, be encouraged.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.  May light perpetual shine from you as you walk down our streets.  Know that this city is loved.

A Politic of Hope

So every once in a while I read an article that gets me going about politics. I’ve become disillusioned with national politics a bit in recent years, especially because of our nation’s insistence on solving international conflicts with bombs and military spending, which is short-sighted and symptomatic at best, tragic in reality, and inhumane at worst. I’m tempted by skepticism and cynicism with national politicians, especially the host of characters who’ve been running for office, and to a certain degree I think many of our politicians have earned this attitude. Anyway, regardless of a politician’s affiliations and views, something that is extremely important, in this guy’s opinion, is a realistic form of optimism. Call it a politic of hope.  I’m not talking about inactive, nonsensical, naive, ignorant optimism, I am talking about a politic of proactive optimism. A politician has no business being in office if he does not think he can change the system for the better, or contribute to positive social change.

A previous Baltimore Sun article about the increase of drug trafficking in Aliquippa after the close of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company mentioned the current mayor of Aliquippa in this way:

Mayor Anthony Battalini said he does not believe the town will ever fully recover “unless some miracle thing happened here.”

To a certain degree, I think the mayor is correct. It will take a miracle to change Aliquippa, but the mayor seems to disbelieve in the real possibility of change for Aliquippa. His regime has been tarnished by allegations of corruption, a lack of compassion, and and apparent attitude of hopelessness toward this city. Aliquippa does need a miracle, but it also needs leadership that believes in the daily possibility of the miraculous. It needs leadership that empowers its people to change their city for the better instead of scoffing at them in public meetings (something I have personally witnessed certain community leaders do). It needs leadership that is on the streets working for change. It needs leadership above corruption, leadership that is a role model to its people. It needs leadership that is an accurate representation of the population, that cares about Aliquippa’s children instead of maintaining power. Aliquippa needs leadership that recognizes some of the grassroots movements taking place in Aliquippa and encourages the growth of these movements.

Good things are happening in Aliquippa and they are being done by people who do not believe in hopeless people, hopeless communities, or hopeless situations. John Stanley and Uncommon Grounds, R.O.O.T.S. Incorporated, Aliquippa Impact, the A.A.U.D., and many others are working hard to bring positive change to Aliquippa. Leadership should learn from community development organizers like the ones I have mentioned (and I am sure I have not mentioned every positive work going on in Aliquippa). Change can happen, Aliquippa may need a miracle, but it is far from hopeless.

Musings on Art, Stasis, Determinism and Hope

I’ve been reading Taking it to the Streets by Dr. Corbitt of Eastern University. The book is an inspiring introduction to arts-based community-development, a subject I’ve become recently fascinated in for several reasons. Just by way of background, I grew up as an art lover. I remember early childhood gifts of paint brushes and paint; I remember time passed over homemade easels and rolls of butcher paper. Throughout high-school I took as many art classes as I could. For parts of my Sophomore and Junior years I dreamed of studying at art school in the visual arts. Unfortunately, where I grew up there were no real examples of faith-integrated arts programs, or art-based evangelism. I had a hard time reconciling my love for drawing/painting and my desire to share the gospel to the unreached. I saw the two concepts in a false dichotomy, art or evangelism.

Stasis is stagnation. Stasis is things remaining as they are, unchanged. When something is static, it is cemented, fixed in stone. Stasis, in its essence, is a lack of change. When we see the world around us as static, we perceive the world as incapable of change. Seeing the world as static is a hopeless, cynical and desperate (full of despair) way of looking at life. It is also blatantly anti-Christian and anti-hope. Seeing people, churches and communities as static is seeing them as hopeless. We say it all the time in Aliquippa: the Christian faith is not compatible with hopeless people, hopeless churches, or hopeless communities.

I’ve often expressed to Joel and others that I have hard time believing in determinism of all kinds. In fact, I would go so far as to argue that determinism is evil and wrong. What do I mean by determinism? Determinism is the belief that our actions, lives, feelings, etc. are all somehow determined by something. We live in a society that embraces many forms of determinism. Anthropologists suggest our actions are governed by cultural determinism. Scientists suggest that our thoughts, moods and impulses are governed by biological determinism. Psychologists suggest that our thoughts and actions are governed by chemical determinism. Sociologists believe our reactions are governed by social influences, upbringing and demographics. Reformed theologians suggest our fates are theologically determined (predestination). I am not arguing that these different areas (biological makeup, chemicals, upbringing, etc.) do not have any effect on the way we think and act. What I am suggesting, however, is that when we limit these things to determinism, we are essentially believing in stasis. Determinism inevitably leads to a belief in stasis, a belief that things are determined and fixed. Determinism and stasis stand in direct opposition to hope. When we see the world as static, we see the world as beyond the hope of transformation.