The Miami Herald has an article about the needs of Haiti. After the hurricanes and tropical storm, Haiti is in great need for humanitarian aid. At the same time, America is entering a very difficult time financially. Private donations for the needs of Haiti have dropped as Americans have turned inward to take care of their needs. I understand that most Americans have needed to tighten their belts in these times: we have had to make some cuts personally. But for all of our troubles, I would be hard pressed to find examples in the US that compare to the general situation in Haiti. Even as we are hurting, we need to remember that there are others who need our help more than we need it ourselves.

I have personally seen the situation in Haiti about five years ago during a time of relative peace and stability. I have only seen pictures and video of the current state of crisis. My imagination is not great enough to picture the suffering in Haiti. My parents, who are in their late sixties, are going to Haiti next week as part of a medical mission trip. They are not medically trained but will be serving in support capacities for the doctors and nurses who are going with them. I am proud of them for their willingness to step out and reach out to others in need. Their willingness to help is not something new: it is a part of their spiritual fabric. But this is their first mission trip after a lifetime of local missional living.

My parents are stepping out in these financial hard times, despite a fixed income, to reach to those who are much worse off than they are. Couldn’t we all use a little of their compassion to open our hearts to Haiti at this critical time? If you are not currently offering help to some charity currently or if you have cut back, please consider the needs of Haiti or another trouble spot. Please pray that God will send workers into the field.

Organizations that will get donations to Haiti:

Hands and Feet Project

Hands Together

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NewsNet5 has reported that Ohio has a notorious record in sex trade trafficking. The Governor has signed legislation that will mandate prison terms for convicted traffickers. Personally, I wonder if that is enough. We don’t need only to increase the punishment but step up the enforcement.

This issue has been a concern to me since I first read about it in Christianity Today years ago. It really surprised me then that the U.S. is/ was the largest trafficker for the sex industry. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised considering our obsession with sex and the business of filling our lust.

After reading the NewsNet5 article, I am again surprised to find that Ohio is a major player in the sex trade market. I remember when the story broke about the massage parlor in Chesterland, I was stunned by how close to home this is hitting. As Christians, part of our mission is to free the captives. Who is more victimized in our society than the sex industry slaves? We need to be part of the solution.

Where do we begin? Let’s start by reading:

How You Can Combat Sex Trafficking

Then let’s do what they suggest.

Some websites:

Polaris Project

Initiative Against Sex Trafficking

The Campaign to Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking

Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force

Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking

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emerging toward something redeeming has a couple of quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Kaj Munk. The quotes are quite challenging about our relationship to a bigger idea – do we live for something that we are willing to die for? Are we willing to live recklessly for God?

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Makoto Fujimura writes beautiful and insightful posts. Mr. Fujimura is an artist whose work blends traditional Japanese methods and materials with modern sensibilities to create work that to me is timeless and powerfully emotive. His latest post is about fly fishing, the stock market and business ethics. I love his subtle and profound ways of describing things and arriving in a deep conversation.

I really appreciate the conversation about business ethics. I, too, believe that love can be the guiding principle of business, more than the bottom line. We are surrounded with the world of business and immerse our lives in the thought that the purpose of our lives is to make money. But greater than this is our call to love and business can be an expression of love to our employees, customers, suppliers and communities.

I work for an Amish construction company and I have seen first hand the ways a loving business can be conducted. Business is conducted more for the benefit of the employees and there is a wonderful network of relationships with the customers and suppliers. They hint at the possibilities of a church that lives the gospel.

Please take time to read Makoto Fujimura’s post – it is well worth the read.

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Growing up in a Mennonite church in NE Ohio formed me in ways that I am yet to understand completely. I greatly appreciate the heritage and spirituality of my youth. Yet it was at a Catholic youth renewal that my spiritual life began. Together this has created in me a great love of Christian mystics, justice and peace issues, and healing ministries. But likewise it has created in me a theology that must embrace paradox and ambiguity.

In my late teens and early 20’s, as I grew spiritually, I longed for the depth of spirituality that I saw in monastic life. Thus I fashioned my desire to be a “Mennonite monk”. Later I would marry a wonderful lady who fashioned herself a “Lutheran nun”. The monk and nun live in marital bliss.

My hopes for the blog are to reflect my spiritual journey, anticipate my future journey and provide a forum for others’ spiritual growth. May we grow into Christ as we grow together. I hope to cover a wide range of subjects such as: theology, philosophy, music, and books. Subject matter will range from Mennonite thought, Amish life, Catholic faith, the missional church, small church issues and the RC Lectionary. I’m sure there will other subjects that will come up but for now it is all I can think of.

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