roadtrip to africa

well.....not literally,

but we are going to move from our usual location to st. simon's anglican church for an evening to learn from carol holmes and her recent trip to africa with the stephen lewis foundation

this is an issue close to the heart of immersn because poverty anywhere should cause pain everywhere.

attached to this is a video from bono as he spoke at the white house prayer breakfast. take a moment to watch this video

it is true that god is consistently shown to be on the side of the poor and the exploited throughout the scriptures.

in fact, jesus' ministry began with an interpetation of isaiah that was focused on setting people free from spiritual, physical and material poverty.

luke 4: 18-21 reads:

18"The Lord's Spirit
has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news
to the poor.
The Lord has sent me
to announce freedom
for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind,
to free everyone
who suffers,
19and to say, `This is the year
the Lord has chosen.' "
20Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus.
21Then Jesus said to them, "What you have just heard me read has come true today."

it is central to the christian message that we plead the case of the poor, hear the voice of the oppressed & see that god is more concerned with us than we are with each other. as a friend of mine recently wrote on facebook: "[i am] pretty sure that God is a humanitarian first."

amen.

here are the details:

meet @ the usual place at 7...then we'll carpool over.

OR

meet @ st. simon's at 7.15

free coffee...free snax too.

hope you can make it...let us usher in the holy week by seeking to learn more about those closest to the divine heart.