Newsletter March 31st

Spirit of Truth Newsletter March 31, 2011 (see below for what's coming up!)

Hello! This is the Spirit of Truth newsletter, to keep us all up to date on what’s going on with our community.  If you know someone who might like Spirit of Truth, forward this on to them.  If you’d like to be taken off the list, or if you’d like to know more about anything you read here, reply and let us know.

Our Conviction: God is Love, Love is the center of all creation, and Justice is the public expression of that Love.
Our Vision: The vision of Spirit of Truth is a Minnesota and world where love and justice are at the center of our community and society, and where people, through spiritual nourishment, real relationships, dignified work, and public voice, live valued, meaningful lives.
Our Mission: The mission of Spirit of Truth is to be central to realizing that vision.  To be a community of people that through spiritual practices, community relationships, action for justice and faith live into the belief that love and justice are actually at the center, and to create a society that lives up to that belief as well.

 What’s up next:

1.      April 17th – Palm Sunday pot luck and vigil in support of workers that clean Cub Foods – each of you is invited! As many of you know, Spirit of Truth has been organizing with the members of the Justice in Retail Cleaning campaign (click here to learn more about the campaign).  On Sunday, April 17th, we are going to take action to move the campaign forward.  First, we’ll gather together at St Matt’s for a pot luck meal.  We’ll eat together, meet each other, and talk about the campaign.  Then we’ll all go together to hold a vigil near a local Cub Foods.  The vigil will highlight our faith values and what Palm Sunday has to do with this campaign for justice.   This will be a powerful event if all of you join us to make a real, values-based statement to Cub foods, and to the people who clean the stores and have put their jobs on the line to speak up.   Please come join us!  You can RSVP by clicking reply to this email and letting us know.   You also might get a call or individual email from another leader at Spirit of Truth.  See you on April 17th!

2.      Receipt Collection – As part of this same action, we will be launching a period of collecting grocery receipts, and asking people to sign a card that pledges to use our money to follow our values, including the value of dignity for workers.   Why are we doing this?  We want to show Cub Foods that we are people who have strong values for justice, and that collectively, we spend a lot of money on groceries.  It will help Cub understand how important it is to sit down and talk with the workers leading the campaign.  We’ll be collecting receipts all through the month of April, and into May, so start saving them now! Not a Cub shopper? That’s ok.  We are collecting all kinds of grocery receipts, not just Cub receipts.  The point is to show how much economic power we have as a group, regardless of where we get our groceries. Interested in joining us? Reply to this email, and we’ll make sure to get you the pledge card and figure out how to get the receipts.

 We continue to meet every Sunday morning at 11:15.  Please join us to learn more about the people involved, and what Spirit of Truth is all about!

 Thanks,

 Peter Marincel

651-336-6726

www.spiritoftruthtwincities.org

Palm Sunday: What Jesus and a Donkey Have to Teach Us

Our Palm Sunday gathering is approaching so I read the scripture of Christ's entry into Jerusalem in Mark 11:1-11 and Matthew 21:1-11. I also read a few commentaries and one gave me a new perspective on this old story.

The word "triumphal" is often used to describe this event in Jesus' life. This sounds amazing, even dazzling, doesn't it? But when you look at the elements that made up this scene, the word "humble" is the only way to describe it.

Jesus enters, riding a donkey. Not a magnificent horse, which can prance, fling its mane and offer its rider a lofty perch from which to look down upon people. No, this was a donkey. Actually, it was a donkey's colt--not even a grown-up donkey! And a borrowed one at that.

Donkeys have admirable traits but flamboyant isn't one of them. They are smaller than horses and not as fast. They are ridiculed, and aspects of donkeys are used to ridicule people in many ways.

They are the animals that, to this day, carry the burdens of the poor. Even Scripture describes this animal as "a beast of burden."

And as to the young donkey in Jerusalem, there was no leather saddle for Jesus to ride on, no ribbons or bells for decoration. Jesus' disciples took off their cloaks and placed them on the animal's back, a makeshift kind of seat that may have been threadbare, dusty or even smelling like fish.

The people who came to accompany him laid their cloaks on the road for his passage. Others cut branches from trees to strew on his path. They wanted to honor him, but the shirts off their backs and the nearby nature were all they had to offer.

Yes, it was a triumphal moment because it was a a proclamation that the crowds of people believed him to be a prophet who had come to them from the Lord. But it was not majestic, not a procession of a king of wealth. There were no musicians, banners, no sedan chair held high.

Even at one of his greatest moments of glory, Jesus made it clear that he was a king for the lowly and humble in a society. His example teaches that for those with resources, the riches are not the treasure.

Some questions to ponder this week: What is your burden to carry? What is your treasure?

This Sunday's conversation - what would it look like to organize our money behind our values?

Hi Spirit of Truth,

I want to take a moment to get you caught up about our conversation last Sunday, and the one coming up this Sunday, especially for those of you who weren't there last week.

Our one to one conversations, and our group discussion was about money.  We talked about how in our world, money is a huge source of power.  It is the way we get things done, and the way people who make important decisions for our communities, get into decision making positions.  Our question was: WHAT IF YOUR MONEY FOLLOWED YOUR VALUES?  And not just the money you spend for leisure, or even just the money you give away to charity or causes.  What if as a community, we started to learn how ALL of our money could be used for our values, instead of values we don't agree with?  What could that look like?  

So that's what this week's conversation will be about - the next step.  During our prayer time, we'll talk more about that question, explore what we've been thinking about this week in relation to money, and what it has to do with our faith.  Then after prayer, we'll gather for a co-creation meeting around the tables, and talk about next steps.  I'll bring some proposed ideas for further exploring and maybe acting on this concept of using our money for our values, and we'll discuss and make decisions.  

This topic had a lot of energy last week.  In the world as it is, money is power.  And if we want to change the world for the better, we can't shy away from the money conversation.  I'd like to invite each of you to come be part of this on Sunday!

We'll also be giving quick updates on the CTUL campaign, and our pot luck and action coming up on Palm Sunday, April 17th.  

Take care all, and see you on Sunday at 11:15!

Pete

Vigil for our Families (SEIU Sponsored)

What could possibly force a child to support their able bodied parent? Over 1,950 immigrant families in the Twin Cities have had their primary bread-winner fired in the last 18 months as a result of actions by ICE (US immigration and Customs Enforcement). Why? Because they are immigrants and our broken system gives them no way to be here legally. Workers at Chipotle who made your burritos, Janitors who cleaned your offices at night when you were home, these are the victims of our countries’ broken immigration system. Children pulled from schools, houses falling into foreclosure, communities torn apart, these are the results of our country’s broken immigration system.

Time	Sunday, March 20 · 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Location	Incarnation Catholic Church 3817 Pleasant Ave Minneapolis, MN

 For more information visit here Working Partnerships

or here at the facebook event page

Pride

Lately I’ve been thinking about the idea of pride.  It’s a word I hear often, and I have conflicting feelings about its use and meaning.  So I thought I’d take a minute to put my thoughts down about it. 

It seems to me that there are at least two different kinds of pride.  They have distinctly different sources, and vastly different effects on the world. 

The first kind of pride is the destructive kind.  At its essence, this kind of pride is really about insecurity.  It’s about defensiveness.  It is the kind of pride that makes me feel a false sense of superiority, because really, I feel inferior.  At the heart of this kind of pride is fear – fear that I am not good enough, and so I have to be defensive, and degrade others.  This kind of pride leads to outward defensiveness, spitefulness, and even hate.  This pride, I think, is the kind mentioned in the Psalms, the kind that leads to destruction.   It is this kind of pride that I fear, and try to stay away from, although often unsuccessfully.

But there is another kind of pride – a beautiful kind.  I believe it is the kind of pride that it takes for the Egyptian people stand up and fight every day for democracy and freedom.  I believe it is the kind of pride that it took for the black and people of color in South Africa to wage a decades-long fight against the evil of white-enforced apartheid.  I think it is the kind of pride that it takes for a fifteen year old transgender teenager to make it through high school, up against  bigotry, hate and fear.  I think it’s the kind of pride that it takes for Mario and his coworkers to stand up for decent treatment at their jobs.

I believe this kind of pride is about the confidence, or at least the courage to declare the inherent dignity and priceless worth of each of us.  This kind of pride is a celebration of the beauty and wonder that is each of us – even in the face of societies, of governments, of churches, and of people who tell us differently.  I believe at its center, this pride is a declaration, an acknowledgement, and a joyfulness that each of us is beautifully created, and valuable and wonderful beyond all measure.   This pride paves the way for the fight against oppression. 

This is the pride that I want.  This is the pride that I have for my community, for my neighbors, and for my world.  This is the pride I hope to act out of every day.  When it comes right down to it, this is the side of the fight I want to be on; Pride in our mutual worth and dignity, and dedication to the love and justice that recognizes that worth.  This is the pride that will continue to feed me so I can organize, and build power for justice. 

There’s a passage in the Judeo-Christian creation story that says, “And God saw that it was good.”  I imagine God with a big smile, swelling with pride in the beauty and worth of that creation. 

Hey Spirit of Truth

The Growth and Action Committee wants to know if you have any ideas for upcoming actions? 

What kinds of "tactics" show our faith in action?

Some examples in planning are prayers and songs, but what else could happen?

Give it some thought...     ask a friend...    do some research...

"What does a faith community do to attract attention, make a stand, fight injustice, show love and faith in humanity?"

Spirit of Truth has a unique opportunity to show the world what people of faith in love and justice do differently when they are up against the odds. We all know of examples of what people who believe in hate can do to get attention, but what can people who believe in love and justice do?

Please add some suggestions in the comments below, or bring them to church, or contact a member of the Growth and Action Committee

*Action Alert for CTUL*

The CTUL campaign for cleaning workers rights has elevated with ongoing daily actions to get Mario his job back.

Many of the planned actions have already happened, you can catch updates here

SoT is hoping to help out with a significant presence at the next two planned events

• Tuesday 3/15 6pm
• Thursday 3/17 10am Workers will make a big announcement about the next steps in the campaign

The Tuesday event will be performance based, so come out to see something great!

Thursday's morning event will be a chance for the CTUL workers to let the companies know they mean business. They need all the support they can get for this event, so if you can take off work, or show up please do.

RSVP at the facebook page

Some of you may be wondering what you can do to keep workers rights from being thrown under the bus. You may not be able to visit Madison, or Ohio or the dozen other places where the law is being changed to hurt working people, but you can stand up right here with the workers who clean your grocery stores!  Stand in solidarity with your community members. Stand in solidarity for those who are made invisible by unfair hiring and firing practices. Stand in solidarity with those who wish for a better world for all.

It's not fair.

Once when I was about seven years old I was upset about something, who knows what now, but I believed that I had been treated unfairly by my family. I decided to run away to teach them a lesson. I went into a cellar at the side of our house that could only be reached from outside and I waited. I cried and felt sorry for myself. I imagined that I would have my revenge when my family discovered I was gone and that it was all their fault. I cried some more and no one came or noticed that I was gone. Some time passed that felt like a long time to a child. I realized that I was bored and would have to come out of hiding. I stopped crying and waited until my eyes stopped being puffy, at this point if anyone noticed I had been crying it would be embarrassing. I came out and found nothing changed around me, no one knew I was ever missing.

I told this story to Pedro in a one-on-one conversation one Sunday. I started it with laughter and disclaimers about how insignificant my experience of “unfairness” is. Pedro listened. He didn’t roll his eyes or belittle my story as I feared I might deserve. He just said that he saw how sensitive I was and that I should be glad and proud to have these feelings because they are what make us human.

It turns out it’s not only humans that react to situations they believe to be unfair. Researchers have found that dogs and monkeys will stop doing tricks if they witness that other animals are getting better treats for the same actions. That’s how basic the concept of fairness is.

Children first learning about fairness often misuse the expression, “it’s not fair!” They learn early on that fairness is an important principle that adults take seriously. Children will say it’s not fair when they really mean that they don’t like what is going on. Unfairness might be a good argument to employ to get a reversal of a decision that goes against their preferences, so they use it liberally and hope it will work.

As we become older and wiser we learn to evaluate situations with a little distance. We see that there is a difference between what we would most like to have happen and what is fair. We become objective, or do a little better at it, at least.

So how do we, as a faith community committed to promoting justice in the world, evaluate what is just and fair? The world is complicated and there are many conflicting opinions about what is fair.

For myself I will try to hear the humanity in other’s stories, as Pedro did for me. I will ask if the same rewards are given for similar jobs, even animals know that this is fair. And I will consider if a plea for fairness is about greed or about dignity, we are no longer children and we can tell the difference.

The Story is Old but The Hope is Always New

Is a movement happening before our eyes? Are we playing our part? Participating with Spirit of Truth these last weeks with the organization CTUL as they fight for basic worker rights and praying each week for the workers in Wisconsin, and watching events unfold in the Middle East it feels like a moment pregnant with possibility and hope. Of course anyone who has ever been pregnant or loved someone who was knows that pregnant moments come with their own share of anxiety and fear. That's what this moment feels like. Quadafi has the guns, Walker has the Govorner' s office, and here locally the management of Carlson companies and Cub foods feels like it can just ignore calls to stop treating people like trash.

Its the same story. Locally, nationally and internationally, those in power will disregard the humanity and the dignity of those who make them wealthy, if they can. This story is very old. On Sunday at Spirit of Truth we read a portion of the ancient story of Moses and the Israelites fight with Pharaoh. It was a fight for freedom, for an end to slavery, for human dignity and a chance to rebuild a community with love and justice at the center.

The same tactics and the same false accusations were leveled against the enslaved Israelites as Gaddafi, Walker and Carlson Co. are making against workers today. On the day Moses demanded freedom for his people Pharaoh responded, " You want them to have a break! No! (in fact) You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. but you shall require them to make the same quantitiy of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it FOR THEY ARE LAZY; and that is why they cry let us go and worship our God. Let heavier work be laid on them, then they will labor and pay no attention to these lies about being overworked" Exodus 5:6-9.

Teachers are you listening? Store cleaners, street repairers, police officers, fire fighters, are you listening? The struggle that you are in is thousands of years old and the tactics are the same! You are called greedy. You are called lazy! These are the same tactics the powerful have always used to shame and dis organize the oppressed!

But remember what happens next. Pharaoh and all his stand ins are relegated to the dust heap of history! It is true that in the struggle for liberation and freedom some will pay a higher cost than others. In Libya some will die. In Wisconsin perhaps some will be laid off. We already know in Minnesota some will be fired. These costs are high and those who pay them deserve our respect and our support. Most of all we owe each other continued belief that those on the side of human dignity, those on the side of justice, those on the side of fairness are on the right side of history.

I believe that each person is the image of God. We cannot believe that and be neutral when human beings are tossed aside like trash. There is a moment happening now that calls us to take sides in an ancient struggle for the values of love and justice.