Well, it looks like I forgot to blog yesterday.
I was going to log on and talk about what I did today, then I realized I need to think about yesterday first.
Hmm, let's see...
Wednesday, 2/27/13, what did I do to live out my call to justice?
I tweeted about a few different things going on: firearm safety, death penalty repeal, and the HOME act in MD and the Violence Against Women act nationally...
But I think the most productive thing I did yesterday was meet with a colleague at another local United Methodist Church. This pastor is more progressive than the congregation he is serving... so he has been silently supporting a few state efforts which many in his congregation dislike a great deal (including firearm safety). I was able to update this pastor on what the Baltimore Washington Conference Board of Church and Society has been doing and ask for his support as much as possible (especially if he can get some supportive laity to join in on the less controversial issues such as asset forfeiture or human trafficking). I also updated him on local initiatives that the Southern Maryland Action Coalition is involved in and invited him and his congregation to join us.
Now... today...
Today was my day off, so technically I should have done nothing.
I was going to log on and talk about what I did today, then I realized I need to think about yesterday first.
Hmm, let's see...
Wednesday, 2/27/13, what did I do to live out my call to justice?
I tweeted about a few different things going on: firearm safety, death penalty repeal, and the HOME act in MD and the Violence Against Women act nationally...
But I think the most productive thing I did yesterday was meet with a colleague at another local United Methodist Church. This pastor is more progressive than the congregation he is serving... so he has been silently supporting a few state efforts which many in his congregation dislike a great deal (including firearm safety). I was able to update this pastor on what the Baltimore Washington Conference Board of Church and Society has been doing and ask for his support as much as possible (especially if he can get some supportive laity to join in on the less controversial issues such as asset forfeiture or human trafficking). I also updated him on local initiatives that the Southern Maryland Action Coalition is involved in and invited him and his congregation to join us.
Now... today...
Today was my day off, so technically I should have done nothing.
Which is really hard to do!
My husband and I are fortunate enough to be able to take our Sabbath time / day off on the same day most weeks (usually Thursday). Sometimes we use the day to go on a date and spend some relaxing time together... other times we're more stressed and use it to run errands together. Today we were blessed with some time to relax, so we went to see a matinee together.
We saw Safe Haven. It was your typical Nicholas Sparks romantic story... though with a twist. This one included some domestic violence that haunted the main character. I don't want to give the movie away in case you haven't seen it... but let's just say there were some intense moments. Domestic violence is one topic which really hits me to the core. It literally feels like a punch in the gut, or worse, just to hear the term mentioned, let alone to hear some of the stories of the victims. So it was with great joy that I received a text in the middle of the movie from my former colleague, Rev. Amee Parapella, at the General Board of Church and Society with the news that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) had just passed the house. This was GREAT news, and actually a bit surprising. It was no problem getting it passed in the Senate, but there was a lot of trouble in the house where more conservative representatives wanted to strip it of all the "extra" protections for immigrants, native American women (in domestic relationship with non-native men), and the LGBT community. So, to receive this news while I was watching a movie about a victim of domestic violence, well, it was almost surreal. Hallelujah! Sometimes advocacy really does make a difference. Well done folks.
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