On Monday I shared links to stories from A Common Place magazine about Mennonite Central Committee's work in Guatemala. An audio slideshow has now been added, with narration from my friend Nate Howard. It's so good I want to share it separately here.
During my time in Lancaster I became friends with a number of great people working with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an organization focused on “relief, development and peace in the name of Christ.” I've been so impressed with so much of the work they do around the world, and I'd encourage you to check them out.
While doing research in grad school I traveled back to Sipacapa, the town in the highlands of western Guatemala where our family had lived when I was a kid, to research the impact of a Canadian gold mining company and to interview community residents who were opposed to the mine. That research eventually turned into a PRISM cover story.
I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of fellow Eastern University alumnus Nate Howard, who has been working in that part of Guatemala with MCC for several years.
All that to say that when the latest issue of MCC's excellent magazine A Common Placearrived in the mail last week, I was thrilled to see them profiling the great work being done in western Guatemala with inspiring stories and, as always, fantastic photos from the very talented Melissa Engle. In case it takes a little while for your subscription to kick in (did I mention it's available free?), the content is available online as well. Here are some highlights:
New opportunities without leaving home - as an alternative to the virtual necessity of migration to find work, MCC is helping those who stay find the opportunity to provide for their families through fish farms and other initiatives.
First person: Juan Pablo Morales - I had lunch with Juan Pablo, a dedicated community leader who happens to be remarkably nice and smart. “With so many resources in Guatemala, it’s a shame there are so many people living in poverty,” he says.
The popular banquet - listen to Juan Pablo sing a popular song from that region of Guatemala called “El Banquete Popular” or “The Popular Banquet” (lyrics available in both languages).
Learning about mining justice - a profile of a student who spent time in the Guatemalan highlands and through that experience learned about the gold mine, owned and operated by a Canadian company. “I’m from Canada,” she says. “Why didn’t I know this was happening? Why didn’t I hear about this before?”
A slideshow with audio commentary from Nate Howard is also coming soon, according to the site. [Update: here's the link to that slideshow]
What Dylan has experienced, then, is not exactly a comeback, but something more akin to Johnny Cash’s nearly simultaneous resurgence: it’s a reawakening, a redefinition of how a legendary figure can age and grow and become more human without sacrificing quality or mystery. How has Dylan been able to reach this comfortable point in his career, when he remains relevant enough to play with younger bands at the Grammys and feisty enough to leave them in his wake?
At any rate, contrary to what Putnam and Campbell claim, it has been my experience that Americans want faith-formed values to play a role in discussions about domestic and foreign policies. And they want a leader with a strong sense of faith and convicted humility. They do not want, as Putnam and Campbell themselves confirm, to adhere to religious ideologies with political checklists about how to think, act, and vote. Toward this end, the United States needs to reclaim and strengthen that safe space in which those of opposite, but not necessarily opposing, theological and political views can work together. Americans are a faithful and respectful people. Our capacity to listen to each other's narratives and cooperate without rancor is what made us great. More than ever, such capacity is the key to future greatness in a globalized world.
3. Common good, sphere sovereignty and virtue
Clay Cooke, a PhD candidate in ethics at Fuller Seminary, writes for Capital Commentary that for those who pursue public justice, the cultivation of virtue is essential:
If we take the symphony as a metaphor for our public lives, and the musically trained individual as a metaphor for the cruci-formed Christian, then it becomes evident why cruciformity is indispensable for seeking justice. For although we inhabit the same world as everyone else, when we imitate Christ our inhabitation of the world becomes exceedingly different. We see political hot topics such as tax rates, immigration, and educational reform not through the polarized lens of conservative or liberal ideologies, but through the lens of creating space for others in the pursuit of public justice. Thus, the point of moral formation in the Way of the Cross is ultimately about creating this space for others. It is about counter-formation away from the dominant ideologies that surround us, and formation toward the cruciform restoration of creation. As we imagine what this restoration might look like as we go about each day, we can remember Micah’s call to action—do justice and love mercy.
4. Race and the Christian
If you missed the recent livestream of the discussion on Christianity and race featuring John Piper, Tim Keller and Anthony Bradley, the video of each of the three presentations and another with the Q&A that followed has been posted at Desiring God. It’s an important conversation.
5. Comparing possibilities for change in Guatemala and Honduras Duncan Green, head of research for Oxfam GB, recently traveled in Central America, and compares the prospects for positive change in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras on his From Poverty to Power blog, including what’s better in Guatemala, what’s worse, and what’s similar. Here’s some of the (comparatively) good news from Guatemala:
Compared to Honduras, the legal and institutional panorama feels much more promising – the Peace Accords of 1996 that brought an end to Guatemala’s bloody civil war have left a legacy of institutions such as local ‘development committees’ bringing together civil society and local government, with some access to (or at least influence over) spending decisions.
6. The IMF’s mission to Judea
NYU development economist Bill Easterly often pokes fun at the World Bank, IMF and others, as he does here, imagining what an IMF report would look like around Easter, two thousand years ago:
Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!
During my time in Lancaster I became friends with a number of great people working with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an organization focused on “relief, development and peace in the name of Christ.” I've been so impressed with so much of the work they do around the world, and I'd encourage you to check them out.
Repaso: The reawakening of Bob Dylan; politics of evangelicalism; common good & virtue; religion & race; IMF in 33 A.D.
1. The reawakening of Bob Dylan
Stephen Deusner writes for American Songwriter about Bob Dylan’s “reawakening”:
2. The politics of evangelicalism
Chris Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement, has a piece in Foreign Affairs in response to an earlier article titled “God and Caesar in America,” in which the authors suggest that mixing religion and politics is unavoidably bad for both. Seiple disagrees, writing,
3. Common good, sphere sovereignty and virtue
Clay Cooke, a PhD candidate in ethics at Fuller Seminary, writes for Capital Commentary that for those who pursue public justice, the cultivation of virtue is essential:
4. Race and the Christian
If you missed the recent livestream of the discussion on Christianity and race featuring John Piper, Tim Keller and Anthony Bradley, the video of each of the three presentations and another with the Q&A that followed has been posted at Desiring God. It’s an important conversation.
5. Comparing possibilities for change in Guatemala and Honduras
Duncan Green, head of research for Oxfam GB, recently traveled in Central America, and compares the prospects for positive change in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras on his From Poverty to Power blog, including what’s better in Guatemala, what’s worse, and what’s similar. Here’s some of the (comparatively) good news from Guatemala:
6. The IMF’s mission to Judea
NYU development economist Bill Easterly often pokes fun at the World Bank, IMF and others, as he does here, imagining what an IMF report would look like around Easter, two thousand years ago:
Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!
[Photo credit: americansongwriter.com]